Regular listeners to The Cycling Europe Podcast will see some familiar names on the list of participants in this yearโs virtual Cycle Touring Festival. From Timmy Mallet to Anna Hughes, from Candy Whittome to Rob Ainsley. Just four of the many speakers at the event which takes place from Saturday 28th January to Sunday 5th February.
โHours, days, weeks and months in the saddle does something funny to your brain. We came back from the trip convinced that cycling was the answer to all of lifeโs problems and that if we could convince every last one of you to choose a bike not a car, weโd be well on our way to saving the planet. Easy, right?!โ Those are the words of Beth Ward who, alongside her partner Robin, cycled from Wales to Istanbul in 2019. As they pedalled an idea grew in their minds to set up a community bike workshop. When they returned home, thatโs exactly what they did in Llangollen. Beth has now been included in Cycling UKโs list of 100 women in cycling in 2022. The Cycling Europe Podcast headed down the Dee Valley to investigateโฆย ย
โHours, days, weeks and months in the saddle does something funny to your brain. We came back from the trip convinced that cycling was the answer to all of lifeโs problems and that if we could convince every last one of you to choose a bike not a car, weโd be well on our way to saving the planet. Easy, right?!โ Those are the words of Beth Ward who, alongside her partner Robin, cycled from Wales to Istanbul in 2019. As they pedalled an idea grew in their minds to set up a community bike workshop. When they returned home, thatโs exactly what they did in Llangollen. Beth has now been included in Cycling UKโs list of 100 women in cycling in 2022. The Cycling Europe Podcast headed down the Dee Valley to investigateโฆย ย
An interesting email from the Department for Transport. Very laudable that the government are using nearly ยฃ33 million to create a network of expertsdedicated to encourage active travel; walking and cycling. Yet I can’t help but feel that I would be slightly more delighted – excited even – if the headline was tweaked slightly. Just a couple of very minor modifications are needed. Here goes…
Beryl Burton was born in Yorkshire on May 12th 1937. Her upbringing was tough. Her school report described her as a ‘stubborn little mule. At the age of 10 she spent 9 months in hospital and doctors told her never to ride a bike uphill. She went on to become one of Britain’s greatest ever athletes – of either sex – and a cycling world champion seven times over. She was the country’s ‘best all-rounder’ female cyclist for 25 consecutive years from 1959 to 1983. She died, cycling, a few days short of her 59th birthday in 1996. Jeremy Wilson – chief sports reporter for The Daily Telegraph – has written an awarding-winning book about the life of this cycling enigma who remains little known outside her home county or the world of cycle racing.
Here’s hoping it’s an interesting as 2022… Here’s a look back at some of the highlights of 2022; 12 months in 12 images; podcasts, talks, people, bicycles, books, films… and cycling, of course.
Beryl Burton was born in Yorkshire on May 12th 1937. Her upbringing was tough. Her school report described her as a ‘stubborn little mule. At the age of 10 she spent 9 months in hospital and doctors told her never to ride a bike uphill. She went on to become one of Britain’s greatest ever athletes – of either sex – and a cycling world champion seven times over. She was the country’s ‘best all-rounder’ female cyclist for 25 consecutive years from 1959 to 1983. She died, cycling, a few days short of her 59th birthday in 1996. Jeremy Wilson – chief sports reporter for The Daily Telegraph – has written an awarding-winning book about the life of this cycling enigma who remains little known outside her home county or the world of cycle racing.
When I started this website back in 2008 (yes, getting on for 14 years ago…) I came to the whole endeavour as a naive touring cyclist. When I wrote ‘Crossing Europe…’ many people commented upon how they had enjoyed experiencing the cycling journey from southern England to southern Italy from the perspective of an inexperienced two-wheeled traveller who, quite frankly, didn’t know what he was doing for much of the time. That epitaph has become increasingly tenuous in the past decade as, inevitably, I have learnt what to do. I’m still learning but it would be disingenuous to continue to refer to myself as ‘naive’. Or rather it is in the world of cycle touring. I still consider myself to be very inexperienced in many other areas of cycling including the one that involves donning tight lycra and heading out for the day with minimal kit on a bicycle designed for speed…
