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Andrew

How To Prepare For An Off-Road Cycling Adventure

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Off-road cycling, also known to others as ‘bikepacking’, is a thrilling activity for those who enjoy basking in nature’s beauty. Experienced adventurers know this well, but novices may feel nervous about hopping on a bike and going on an adventure somewhere new. If you’re going off-road cycling for the first time, it’s vital to plan beforehand to ensure a safe and fun ride. Even if you’ve done it several times, it’s always good to have a refresher. So, before you go off on a journey on rough terrain, read this list of bikepacking essential tips:

A Wanda Around Europe, Explained

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Earlier today some of you must have been scratching your heads just a little upon seeing the Twitter post or the Facebook post or the Instagram post relating to my decision to ‘tweak’ the route of my upcoming cycle around the Baltic Sea. It is, admittedly, one hell of a tweak. So much of a tweak in fact that the only remaining part of that planned Baltic Sea Cycle that remains in the new planned cycle is the rather short journey from the ferry port in Rotterdam to the Hook of Holland. And yes, even that section is nowhere near the Baltic Sea. The new route will see me not turn left upon arrival in The Netherlands but turn right in the direction of Belgium, then France, then (after quite a while) through Switzerland, then Germany before finally returning to the Hook of Holland and my return journey across the North Sea to Hull. Mmm… Perhaps ‘tweak’ might not have been the most appropriate of words. So why the change?

The Life And Times Of The Koga Kid

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The focus in recent weeks and months has been on my new Ribble Bikes hybrid that I purchased earlier in the year so as to make the cycle to work a bit more feasible. The hills of the Yorkshire Pennines can be very unforgiving and for a daily commute that involves several sharp climbs, a simple, light bicycle was needed and the Ribble Hybrid AL Trail Disc Enthusiast 2.0 does a mighty fine job. Read all about it below:

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 048 – A Mountaineer’s Guide To Cycling From Spain To Norway

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The Cycling Europe Podcast mainly features, well, cyclists. The interviewee in this episode, however, is first and foremost a mountaineer. But he’s not just any mountaineer. His name is Tim Ralph and he’s a seven summiteer; a man who has climbed the seven highest mountains on each of the continents. In the last few years, he’s also taken up cycle touring and has just published a book called ‘A Life Accomplished: From Spain to Norway on a Bike’. So what can mountaineering teach us about cycle touring? What can cycle touring teach mountaineers about climbing mountains? And what happens when an experienced mountaineer sets off to cycle from Europe’s geographical southernmost point at Tarifa in Spain to its northernmost point at Nordkapp in Norway?

Episode 048: A Mountaineer’s Guide To Cycling From Spain To Norway

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The Cycling Europe Podcast mainly features, well, cyclists. The interviewee in this episode, however, is first and foremost a mountaineer. But he’s not just any mountaineer. His name is Tim Ralph and he’s a seven summiteer; a man who has climbed the seven highest mountains on each of the continents. In the last few years, he’s also taken up cycle touring and has just published a book called ‘A Life Accomplished: From Spain to Norway on a Bike’. So what can mountaineering teach us about cycle touring? What can cycle touring teach mountaineers about climbing mountains? And what happens when an experienced mountaineer sets off to cycle from Europe’s geographical southernmost point at Tarifa in Spain to its northernmost point at Nordkapp in Norway?