“You should read this book. It is a wonderful tale of a bicycle journey…” So says Tom Ivar Horvei in a review of Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie in a review just published on Goodreads, the respected literary review site, where the book is currently […]
Does the world need another cycling podcast? We are about to find out…
A sample from the soon-to-be-launched Cycling Europe Podcast. The full podcast which includes reports and interviews from across the world of cycling, adventure and travel is published on September 1st (and every first of the month thereafter!).
In fairness, the climb to the third of my Yorkshire Three Peaks was always going to struggle to meet the standards set by the wonderful hike to Ingleborough (see previous post). That said the not-always-favourable comparisons actually started on Ingleborough itself with a treacherous steep descent into the […]
A wonderful climb to Ingleborough this morning. Listen to my thoughts recorded at the top of the mountain: …and here are the photos:
Shortly after completing the previous post about La Vuelta this morning, I looked at the computer and wondered where my summer was going. I then looked outside and questioned the use of the word ‘summer’. Grey sky, breezy… but dry. August? Well, if the calendar says it is. […]
I’ve just spotted this on the Cycle Touring Festival twitter feed… Over to you Laura! Regional Gatherings [Read the original post here] The best thing about the Cycle Touring Festival is the chance to spend time with like-minded people. The worst thing is that it only happens once […]
When posting this morning’s video about the snail on his little adventure across my back yard towards the bin (I haven’t seen him since by the way so he could have made it over the wall, across the field and into the jaws of a passing crow by […]
One of those ‘nothing to do with cycling’ posts but this little guy was off on an adventure around the bin this morning so I thought I’d make him famous…
I met Frank at the Cycle Touring Festival in May. He was good company and he has written extensively about cycling on his own website. Here is the latest installment of his current trip around Ireland. Worth a read.
One for the francophones (& filmmakers – see below): “Le samedi 17 mars 2018, le GRACQ de Watermael-Boitsfort propose aux amoureux de la petite reine une journée entièrement dédiée aux voyages à vélo. Les projections de films vous feront découvrir qu’ici ou ailleurs, seul(e), en famille ou entre […]
Long-term followers of the website – and I mean very long-term as in those who were here at the start back in August 2008 – may remember one person getting more column inches on this blog than any other. He was first mentioned in this post and this […]
Clitheroe has been home once again to the 2017 Cycle Touring Festival… …with a good selection of bikes – very much used – on display… …some quality talks… …and a wonderful sunrise over the campsite!
And a few videos:
The weekend after the wonderful Cycle Touring Festival in Clitheroe – tickets are still available – where I will be speaking about cycling from Spain to Norway… comes The Adventure Cycle Festival. ‘Adventure cycling’ seems to be ‘cycle touring’ with less luggage. Here’s how the organisers describe the […]
One for HikingEurope.org; climbing Red Scree in Cumbria… …the view from the top… …and here are a few shots taken in and around Ambleside and Rydal (where you’ll find a great campsite). Not forgetting a famous bridge en route home:
Is it possible? I cycled eight countries in nearly four months back in 2015 but five in one day? According to Karsten Koehler, yes it was and in April 2016 he set about proving his suspicion by heading to Belgium with his bike… Here he explains his motivation: I […]
I spent the afternoon in Sheffield watching some short cycle touring films at SHAFF, the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. Below are the films that I was able to see. The text is from the SCHAFF website. COMES WITH BAGGAGE – 18MINS (trailer) “Comes With Baggage” is a lighthearted history […]
…well, the one in Calderdale. Route 66 of Britain’s National Cycle Network. “National Cycle Route 66 runs from central Manchester to Spurn Head via Bradford, Leeds, York, Beverley, and Kingston upon Hull.” according to those in charge. More details here. This afternoon part of route 66 was the final leg of a 46 km […]
Between Trondheim and the sixty-fifth line of latitude, Norway had been comparatively flat. Although my cycling route had taken me along valleys, and beside lakes and fjords, the mountains I was passing were modest in size. There was little to excite your average Munro bagger along the coast […]
Welcome to 2017… and what an exciting year it should be. The new book – Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie – is out on May 11th and during April, May, June and beyond I’ll be up and down the country talking about the journey from […]
A memorable final day of hiking; magnificent views of the Matterhorn after our final climb (and descent by train) of the trip… …preceded by an impromptu meeting with Theresa May, the new prime minister, in the morning. Here she is chatting to the senior walker of our […]
It got really tough…
Don’t miss the video below the photographs!
It got tough. Snow, ice, steep mountains but ultimately good fun…
The weather has turned somewhat – I’m typing from the shelter of my tent with rain thundering down outside – but some spectacular hiking in France and Switzerland. Enjoy the photographs:
A quick, albeit temporary, escape from BREXIT Britain. Tomorrow I drive down to the Alps for two weeks of walking from Chamonix to Zermatt along the haute route… Watch this space.
Starting to think about my walking holiday in the Alps. I set off next Thursday, driving down to Geneva to join a group who will have arrived by plane. From there we go to Chamonix and walk the classic ‘Haute Route’ to Zermatt in Switzerland. More details here. […]
I’ve recently republished some of the posts I wrote during some of the cycles of the past few years. I was wondering if there had been a few days when I had been cycling in each of my five ‘cycling years’. Alas the answer is ‘no’… …but I find […]
I’ve been distracted from the writing in the past couple of days. Here’s why:
…and here’s part two. (You will need to read the previous post if that makes no sense.) On Friday, at the invitation of a former teaching colleague and friend, I drove across to the west of Wales to climb a mountain. The plan was to climb during darkness, camp […]
