Episode 002: The Cycle Show, Matej Mohoric / La Vuelta, Brussels / EuroVelo 5, The Ryburn Valley Greenway
The Cycle Show, La Vuelta a Espana (Matej Mohoric, UAE Team Emirates), Brussels (Eurovelo 5), The Ryburn Valley Greenway.
New Zealand: Cycling The Long White Cloud
A rather beautiful film about an Australian cyclist travelling the length of New Zealand… The full story can be read here.
Official Launch Of The EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena) App
From the EuroVélo website… (and the reason why I was in Brussels last week): “A new application has been launched for smart phones and tablets to help people plan and then cycle the route of EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena). Over a thousand years ago, pilgrims used […]
“Cycling Epic!” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (And Heroic?)
I pick out this review for Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie from Amazon.co.uk as I’ve rarely (well, never) been described as ‘heroic’ before. I have already updated the CV… “A book which serves up so much. It will delight not just avid touring cyclists but […]
Cycling The World… Single Speed
Yes, single speed. Just to clarify: with one gear. It sounds a crazy idea to most but not to Markus Stitz, an Edinburgh-based bikepacker from Germany. In the autumn of 2015 (shortly after I finished my own somewhat-less-epic ride from Tarifa to Nordkapp), Markus set off to cycle […]
Episode 001: Tim McKenna / UK To Istanbul, The Calder Valley, CTC Birthday Rides, The Cycle Touring Festival
UK to Istanbul, the Calder Valley of Yorkshire, ‘Along The Med…’, CTC Birthday Rides, Cycle Touring Festival.
Cycling In The Picos De Europa, Spain
I went walking in the Picos De Europa back in 2007 and they are certainly a spectacular range of mountains in northern Spain. Here’s a good blog post from ‘Reading, Running, Cycling‘ about attempting them on two wheels… A few years ago, I watched the whole of the […]
‘Spain To Norway On A Bike Called Reggie’: The Score So Far…
“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 […]
Episode 000: Does The World Need Another Cycling Podcast?
Does the world need another cycling podcast? We are about to find out…
Pilot Episode
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!).
The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire: 3. Whernside
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 […]
The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire: 2. Ingleborough
A wonderful climb to Ingleborough this morning. Listen to my thoughts recorded at the top of the mountain: …and here are the photos:
The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire: 1. Pen-y-ghent
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. […]
The Cycle Touring Festival: Regional Gatherings
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 […]
The Cycling Films Of Barry Godin
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 […]
The Snail’s Morning Adventure
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…
Frank Burns: Ballysadare-Sligo-Dromahair – 50km
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.
En Roue Libre: Le Festival Du Voyage A Vélo
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 […]
Cycling The World, Again, Phileas Fogg Style
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 […]
The Cycle Touring Festival 2017
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!
The Valleys Of West Yorkshire: Home To Ilkley
And a few videos:
The Adventure Cycle Festival
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 […]
Manic Monday? Not In Cumbria…
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:
Cycling Five Countries In One Day?
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 […]
Sheffield Adventure Film Festival: Bike Packing Films
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 […]
The Ultimate Road Trip: Route 66…
…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 […]
The Scottish Bothy Bible
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 […]
Cycle Touring Festival 2017
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 […]
Mont Blanc To The Matterhorn: The Final Day Of Hiking
Mont Blanc To The Matterhorn: Hiking Day 10 / Rest Day In Zermatt
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 […]
Mont Blanc To The Matterhorn: Hiking Days 7-9
It got really tough…
Mont Blanc To The Matterhorn: Rest Day In Evolène
Don’t miss the video below the photographs!
Mont Blanc To The Matterhorn: Hiking Days 4-6
It got tough. Snow, ice, steep mountains but ultimately good fun…
Mont Blanc To The Matterhorn: Hiking Days 1-3
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:
Mer De Glace, Chamonix, France
Escaping Britain
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.
25 Pieces Of Kit To Record An Alpine Walk
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. […]
Summers Past, Summer Future…
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 […]
The Three Peaks… Of Borrowdale
I’ve been distracted from the writing in the past couple of days. Here’s why:
Cadair Idris: A Great Escape
…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 […]
