Ping! A one-line email appears at the top of my inbox. “Asked the guys in the bike shop what I need for a trip to Paris,” writes Michael, “and they all chorused: 'Gears!’” It is less than 24 hours before we begin a long-distance bicycle ride from London to Paris with three other friends. Our plan is to follow the Avenue Verte, a concatenation of cycle paths, backstreets, bridleways, trails and minor roads that connects the London Eye with Notre Dame via the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry. The fully signposted route was formally launched last summer, to coincide with the Olympics, but the English guide will be published in March.

According to the British cycling charity Sustrans, which helped to plot the itinerary on this side of the Channel, and will publish the guide, we will have to pedal around 250 miles, including a beefy section passing over the vertiginous chalk range of the South Downs ( www.sustrans.org.uk/avenueverte ). Somehow, our proposed marathon training sessions never came to pass. On the eve of departure, those of us, including Michael and me, who own single-speed road bikes are starting to have second thoughts.

Although I enjoyed childhood holidays pedalling through Dutch forests, I only bought my first bicycle, a retro racer with a lightweight steel frame, less than a year ago. I am not the only person in Britain who has fallen in love with cycling recently. Over the past year, there has been a nine per cent surge in the number of cyclists on London’s major roads, while trips along the National Cycle Network, of which the Avenue Verte is a part, grew by 18 per cent between 2010 and 2011 — its largest ever annual increase.

Moreover, the domination of Team GB’s cyclists during the Olympic and Paralympic Games stimulated a peloton of Britons to get on their bikes, and last month the Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins, who also won a gold medal at the London Olympics, was voted the BBC’s Sports Personality of 2012. Cycling in Britain has never been more popular.

My friends and I decided to carve up the distance to Paris over four days. Shortly before leaving, though, I received a call from the ferry company. Due to once-in-a-month tidal variations, there would be no ferry on the date we were hoping to cross the Channel. As a result, we had to catch a boat the following morning, which meant that our leisurely jaunt would be crunched into three muscle-sapping days.

Encouraged by an online message board, which mentioned a bicycle courier who had cycled on a “fixie” (a single, fixed gear bike) from Dieppe to Paris and back again in a single day (a round trip of approximately 260 miles), we assembled at the London Eye to begin our initial schlep to the cottage near Heathfield in East Sussex where we would spend the first night. We hoped to arrive in time for supper, but getting out of London was trickier than you might think. After dithering in Battersea and Clapham, we joined the Wandle Trail, a leafy pathway beside the River Wandle. It offers the pleasant but premature impression that you are leaving the metropolis. An hour or two later, we still hadn’t hit the M25.

A leafy pathway beside the River Wandle

Beyond the motorway, the route became bogged down in the suburban hinterland of Redhill and Horley. Our map directed us into an ugly concrete underpass, where bikes were forbidden and the walls were decorated with phallic graffiti. Then we came to a fork. “Which way?” asked Ed, looking at two identical asphalt roads. “This one,” replied Jarad, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Can’t you tell? It’s so much more 'verte’.” This was before the “Greenway” fetched up at Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal. We wiggled through a car park, and past the end of a runway as a Boeing 737 howled above us. “What would the French make of this vision of England?” asked Ed.

Once we started heading east along the traffic-free Forest Way, though, instead of south via the satellite communities and transport hubs of Greater London, things improved. As the sun was setting, we saw dense purple mist lying low in fields near Groombridge like some extraterrestrial crop. The following morning, which was crisp and sunny, we span towards the coast through crooked redbrick villages full of ancient oast houses with distinctive conical roofs. It was an exhilarating ride — steeling us for the arduous up-and-down overlooked by the Long Man of Wilmington, the gargantuan chalk figure cut into the South Downs.

By day two, we were a man down: one member of the group had to pull out due to an inflamed Achilles tendon. The rest of us completed the leg from Heathfield to Newhaven with endorphins chasing through our bodies, and rolled onto the ferry. We began the four-hour crossing by tucking in to full English breakfasts.

The harbour at Newhaven

As we waited to disembark at Dieppe, Michael, dressed almost entirely in black, turned to me and said: “I feel like a Special Bike Operative about to be unleashed into a drop zone.” I think his tongue was in his cheek — but at the same time, there was a boyish part of me, bubbling with excitement at the prospect of beginning the next stage, that knew exactly what he meant.

Cycling in France is a very different experience to riding in England. The French part of the Avenue Verte doesn’t take you through airports or obscenity-blighted underpasses. Instead of irascible drivers like the old lady in Redhill who flicked a V-sign in our direction, we passed grinning children who shouted, “Allez! Allez!”

Just outside Dieppe, we joined a former railway line converted into a smooth, flat cycle path that glides along for 25 miles to Forges-les-Eaux. Confusingly, this is the only section of the route officially designated “Avenue Verte” on French maps. Despite vistas of pretty dairy farms, I found it somewhat monotonous — though at least it meant a break from huffing and puffing up hills. From Forges, we pushed on for another 15 miles until we reached the Swan Hotel in Gournay-en-Bray, a deservedly popular stop-off for cyclists, with a proprietor who specialises in homemade “confiture”.

The Avenue Verte offers two alternative routes into Paris — one of which is around 44 miles longer than the other. On the final day of our journey, faced with the immovable deadline of an evening Eurostar booking to St Pancras, we decided to deviate from both of them in favour of a more direct itinerary, which shaves off 33 miles from the shorter of the two AV routes into the French capital. This was designed by an amateur cyclist called Donald Hirsch, whose website (www.donaldhirsch.com/dieppeparis.html) contains a regularly updated printable guide. Following Hirsch’s route proved to be a wise decision: we arrived at the Gare du Nord with half an hour to spare.

We were delayed when Jarad’s Bianchi road bike fell apart in the Forêt de Marly to the west of Paris: unbeknown to him, the bolts securing his chainring had come loose one by one. (Thankfully, this was the only mechanical failure; none of us suffered a puncture.) Moreover, the final 30 miles were fiddly, with a lot of stopping and starting to check directions. For a while, the Eiffel Tower hovered on the horizon, alluring yet unobtainable, like a mirage in a desert. After a mad dash down the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, all we had time for was a quick beer before jumping on the train.

Oddly, none of us really minded that we didn’t get to enjoy a celebratory dinner in Paris. Yes, it would have been good to have a little more time — the cycling on the final day, in particular, had a persistent, psychotic intensity. But for five amateur cyclists in their early thirties, most of whom had never tackled anything more difficult than traffic-ridden London commutes, attempting the Avenue Verte in three days was the perfect introduction to long-distance cycling — tough, but not too tough. In the event, I didn’t regret taking a single-speed bike: I never had to get off and push.

To begin with, we had been scornful of cycling-enthusiast “Mamils” — middle-aged men in Lycra — whom we passed along the way. By the end, though, we were all talking about investing in skin-tight bike-wear and plotting our next ride. “You’re all turning into Mamils,” said my wife on my return. It won’t be long before she’s right.

Cycling basics

Packing

Here are my tips for a smoother ride. The most important thing is to minimise the amount of weight that you will carry. “Take as little as possible,” says the cycling writer Max Leonard, author of Fixed: Global Fixed-Gear Bike Culture. “Pack, then take half of it out.” Though be sure to carry a couple of spare inner tubes. Carry it all in a decent-sized saddlebag (if possible, forego a rucksack or messenger bag altogether); and if your bag isn’t waterproof, put a pair of socks and something warm in a plastic bag inside. Divvy up among the group communal items such as a pump, tyre levers, multi-tools, plug adaptors, and phone chargers.

Comfort

To sustain morale and avoid crotchetiness, it’s vital to keep up blood-sugar levels: take full advantage of the hot food on the ferry, and ensure that you bring a sufficient supply of water and snacks such as nuts, energy bars and bananas — be aware that shops and restaurants in France keep very strict time, so a late lunch may not be an option. Cycling up to 80 or 90 miles a day means a lot of time in the saddle — I was very thankful that I’d invested in a pair of padded cycling shorts, as well as a small pot of chamois cream to ease chafing.

Route-finding

The route is well signposted throughout, but take a map, as well as more than one printout of the directions (in case members of the group get separated), along with a waterproof plastic sleeve to help you navigate if it rains. Start early each day (remember to reset your alarm clock to avoid oversleeping, which is what my friend Michael did on the third morning), and, once you’re on the road, try to get into a rhythm: “It’s better and less tiring to roll along slowly without stopping,” says Leonard, “than to stop and start every 10 miles while someone catches their breath, adjusts their bag or goes to the loo.” If you are travelling home with Eurostar, remember to call ahead to reserve a place for your bike on the train you’re travelling on (at a cost of £30 per bike each way; subject to space), and factor in time to find the drop-off point for bikes round the back of the Gare du Nord — it took us a little while.

Alastair Sooke travelled with LD Transmanche Ferries (0844 576 8836; www.ldlines.com), which operates two return sailings daily between Newhaven and Dieppe with a crossing time of four hours (cyclist fares start from £20 each way), and Eurostar (www.eurostar.com), single tickets from £40, plus £30 for the bike).

Britain’s largest bike exhibition, the London Bike Show, returns to ExCel London next week.

The event, from January 17-20, features more than 150 exhibitors and dozens of attractions. Visitors will be able to watch fast-paced racing every day, and the programme includes both an elite men’s and women’s criterium, a number of support races and a youth race, as well as folding bike and penny farthing races.

Among the leading cycling brands at the show are Genesis, Ridgeback, Pinarello, Assos, Schwalbe, Marin, Wilier, Brooks and GoPro. They will be displaying their latest bikes and accessories, with many offering discounts and offers. Visitors will be able to test out the bikes on the IG London Nocturne, the UK’s first indoor criterion circuit.

Other highlights

At the Jaguar Performance Theatre, coaches and experts will look at how performance can be improved through better technique, nutrition and preparation. There will be talks on bike maintenance and tuning as well as Q&A sessions with some of Britain’s top cyclists. The theatre will also host several team launches, including that of Team Madison Genesis.

For those looking for a personalised experience, the BikeRadar Training Hub, run by experts from Koolstof Coaching, offers professional fitness and training advice for a fraction of the normal price. In two-hour sessions, visitors will have their Vo2 Max tested, receive a spin scan analysis and a personalised training plan. Tickets are limited: sign up by going to londonbikeshow.co.uk/attractions/bike-radar-training-hub.

The Cool Wall features a display of the finest examples of bike innovation, hand-picked by experts from around the world. Among the items on display is the One-77 Aston Martin bike – the world’s most technologically advanced road bike – which costs £25,000.

In the DMR Pump Track Challenge, Britain’s best riders will race head to head on two 220-yard timber tracks over rollers and beams. Also on display will be the Animal Bike Tours display team, where the former mountain bike world champion, Marytn Ashton, and the professional mountain biker Blake Samson will be wowing the crowds.

Exclusive ticket offer

Telegraph readers are being offered a 30 per cent discount off all tickets to the show. Quote the offer code TELE14 to claim your £14 ticket. The offer applies to advance bookings only. See thelondonbikeshow.co.uk

Opening times

Thursday 17 January - 10am-6pm

Friday 18 January - 10am-6pm

Saturday 19 January - 10am-7pm

Sunday 20 January - 10am-6pm

The London Bike Show takes place alongside the Outdoors Show, the Active Travel Show and the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show. Tickets are valid for entry to all four shows.

France Show

One of the Telegraph's destination experts, Fred Mawer, will be appearing at the France Show at Earl's Court this weekend. Tickets are £10; see thefranceshow.com for more information.