Category: Adventure

Yorkshire To Edinburgh By Bicycle

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The cycle touring summer of 2020 has been somewhat delayed by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown restrictions that were implemented in March. However, to a greater extent, limitations on travel have now been lifted and it seems an appropriate time to head off on the bike. If you read the post from a couple of days ago you will know that my plan is to head north from where I live in Pennine West Yorkshire in the direction of… Edinburgh. Here are some more details.

Summer 2020: Plan B…

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Plan A was, of course, to cycle the length of Japan. I should have arrived in the country today and be looking forward to cycling for around six weeks from north to south via Tokyo to take in the atmosphere of the Olympics. Next year? Perhaps… Time will tell. So it is on with Plan B which, until a few days ago, was a very vague “well, I’d like to go camping somewhere in the UK…”. The pesky Coronavirus has, of course, reached its tentacles into most aspects of our lives in recent months and ‘camping in the UK’ is one of them. Although many campsites have now reopened, many remain closed or open with limited capacity and facilities or, bearing in mind all the staycationers this summer, have no availability.

Ding Dong! The Sonorous Sound Of The Crane Bell, No?

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Should you be so inclined, you can visit the CyclingEurope.org YouTube Channel and watch all of the videos. It would take you a while so you might be inclined to prioritise those that have been very popular… Bearing in mind the time and effort it can take to make some of the videos, might I recommend such epics as the recent masterpiece that is Scammonden: A Valley of Contrasts in all its 4K glory? Or perhaps one of the films from my 2019 cycling odyssey across northern Spain and Portugal? Or how about a hiking film from the ‘Hiking Europe’ collection? The Three Peaks… Of Borrowdale is a personal favourite but there are plenty of others from which to choose. Yet if you do just that…

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 022 – Women’s Festival Of Cycling

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It may be flatter in The Netherlands but can that really explain why women set off on their bicycles 25-times more often than here in the UK? It seems unlikely. Cycling UK’s Women’s Festival of Cycling takes place from 11th-31st July. Its aim is to encourage more women to cycle and The Cycling Europe Podcast talks to Cycling UK’s Helen Cook about the thinking behind the event and what will be taking place. On July 11th the 4th list of ‘100 Women in Cycling’ will be published by Cycling UK. The podcast speaks to Susan Doram who appeared on the list in 2019 about her cycling journey from the company car to cycling the globe, via much, much more…

Episode 022: Helen Cook & Susan Doram / Women’s Festival Of Cycling

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It may be flatter in The Netherlands but can that really explain why women set off on their bicycles 25-times more often than here in the UK? It seems unlikely. Cycling UK’s Women’s Festival of Cycling takes place from 11th-31st July. Its aim is to encourage more women to cycle and The Cycling Europe Podcast talks to Cycling UK’s Helen Cook about the thinking behind the event and what will be taking place. On July 11th the 4th list of ‘100 Women in Cycling’ will be published by Cycling UK. The podcast speaks to Susan Doram who appeared on the list in 2019 about her cycling journey from the company car to cycling the globe, via much, much more…

The Koga E-WorldTraveller Bicycle

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I don’t have a great deal to say about this but the Koga E-WorldTraveller bicycle shown here is basically an e-bike version of Wanda, my Koga WorldTraveller Signature. Give me another 20 years and I might be investing but there are more and more eBikes on the road and it’s not just the older generation. I see quite a few younger people cycling them and it no longer seems incongruous. Better a young person on an eBike than in a car!

Max’s Podcast Story: “The Best Yet”

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I write the books and post things to this website because I enjoy doing so. It’s as simple as that. The same goes for the podcast which has now come of age following the release of episode 021 earlier this week. It is, however, rather humbling to receive the positive feedback that so many of you make the effort to give. Below are a few comments that I have been delighted to read this week. Thank you to everyone who has listened to the podcast and to all those people below, thank you for taking the time to get in touch. The latest instalment of The Cycling Europe Podcast investigates the epic cycle of Maximilian J. St. George at the start of the 20th Century. Max was the man who invented bikepacking about 100 years before bikepacking itself was invented… Or should that now be ‘re-invented’?

A Tale Of Two Cycles: It Was The Best Of Rides, It Was The Worst Of Rides…

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With a nod to Charles Dickens, that just about sums up yesterday’s cold, rain-drenched ride from Tadcaster back home after collecting Wanda the WorldTraveller from her pit stop at CycleSense. One of those days when it would have been all but impossible to actually get off the bike, fumble with the phone with numbed fingers and take any photographs. So there is no photographic proof that the conditions were as bad as they were; you’ll just have to take my word for it.

From The Jaws Of (Near) Disaster: The Tale Of Maximilian Is Told

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Two weeks ago today, following a rather lethargic cycle around my local area here in the west of West Yorkshire, I was descending the short but steep hill near my house when suddenly my bike – Wanda WorldTraveller – stopped functioning as she should. I juddered across the road struggling to pull on at least one of the brakes, veered to the opposite side of the tarmac and ground to a halt against the kerb on the wrong side of the road. Mercifully it was a quiet Sunday afternoon and the incident only involved me, Wanda, the aforementioned kerb and my dented pride.

Episode 021: Maximilian J. St. George / Cycling Europe In 1908

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This episode of the podcast is going to be slightly different. Rather than talking to a current cyclist, I’m going to be investigating the life of a cyclist from the past. You’ve probably never heard his name before and you’re even less likely to have heard his story. He was a German-born American called Maximilian J. St. George. His story is told via extracts from his book, Traveling Light or Cycling Europe on Fifty Cents a Day read by the actor Jeremy Walker with contributions from the historian Dr James Stout, the cycling writer Michael Hutchinson and two Romanian long-distance cyclists Lehel Benedek and Elod Keresszegi. It’s an epic take of an epic cycling journey from over 100 years ago by the original Mr. Cycling Europe…

Ceri Middleton: Bikepacking Across Spain In February

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Ceri was one of the cyclists who submitted their photographs to the recent cycle touring photo competition and he even made it to the shortlisted final ten photographs. It was a cracking image (shown above). It was taken during a trip in February 2019 along the Ruta de la Plata in western Spain. In fact, his route from Seville to north-eastern Spain brought back good memories from my own cycling trip along a very similar route back in 2015 as I made my way from Spain to Norway…

Cycle Touring Photo Competition 2020: The Winners!

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The voting has now closed and the votes have been counted. Many thanks to every one who submitted their photos and the hundreds of people who took the time to vote over the course of the past week. Thanks also to Cicerone Press and ECF EuroVelo for offering the prizes. But, without further ado… the winners are…

Cycle Touring Photo Competition 2020: The Shortlist Public Vote

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The judges have met, deliberated, discussed, debated and chosen their favourite ten photographs. If you made it into the top ten, congratulations! You have won a new EuroVelo map overview map that will be in the post before the end of the month. If you didn’t make the top ten, commiserations; there’s always next year… And it’s now time for the public to have their say to decide 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

Cycle Touring Photo Competition 2020: The Winners Are…

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The judges will now deliberate and come up with a shortlist of ten photographs. Those ten shortlisted winners will all win a brand new EuroVelo map. There will then be a public vote (a knock-out competition) that will start on Tuesday 2nd June – here on CyclingEurope.org, on Twitter and on Facebook with the votes being added together to determine the first, second and third placed photographs.

The Vango Force Ten MTN 2 Tent

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I have a new tent, kindly supplied by OutdoorWorldDirect.co.uk. The tent was actually delivered a couple of months ago in anticipation of my now-cancelled trip to Japan this summer but I was hoping to erect it for the first time at the now-cancelled Cycle Touring Festival earlier this month. No one can cancel the sunny weather however and, courtesy of the farmer who lives next door, yesterday I finally erected the tent in one of his fields. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Vango Force Ten MTN 2 tent!

Episode 020: Ian Finlay / Cycling Around The World

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When I started writing my first book – Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie – I never imagined that it would one day help encourage a man who I’d never met to chuck in his long-term job and start cycling around the World. But apparently it did. That man is Ian Finlay and in this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast he tells us about his journey so far through Europe, Asia and across Australia to New Zealand where, yet again, a certain virus put a spoke in his plans…

The Cycle Touring Festival This Weekend! (No..?)

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At last! It’s here! The weekend of the Cycle Touring Festival in Clitheroe. I’m really looking forward to… What? Really? Ah yes… It was cancelled. Mmm… That pesky Coronavirus thing. Bugger! What’s that? Oh yes, I remember… There was a ‘virtual’ replacement festival that took place in April instead. Of course there was…

Episode 019: Abigail Melton & Lilith Cooper / Gears For Queers

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It doesn’t matter who you happen to be, whether it’s Mark Beaumont, Josie Dew, Alastair Humphreys, Fred Bloggs or even (dare I say) Andrew P. Sykes, if you’re intent upon embarking on a long-distance cycling adventure of your own, at some point you need to move out of your comfort zone, push the bike out of the garden gate and set off cycling, however uncomfortable that may feel, initially at least. That’s what Abigail Melton and Lilith Cooper decided to do and they’ve just written about their experiences as first-time cycle tourists in a new book called Gears For Queers.

Cycle Touring Zine Callout

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If you tune in to The Cycling Europe Podcast this weekend, you will discover a new episode – number 19 – in which ‘Gears For Queers’ – that’s Abigail Melton and Lilith Cooper – discuss their cycle as novice cyclists from Amsterdam to Montpellier in the south of France. They’ve written about their adventure in a new book that will be published in early June called (you guessed it…) Gears For Queers! If you listen to the chat on the podcast, you will hear mention of ‘Zines’ and specifically the Cycle Touring Festival Zine that Abi and Lilith are currently editing. They are looking for contributions and you have until May 23rd to get thinking and get creative.

Paul Gentle’s Tarifa to Nordkapp 2020: France, Part 2

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If you listened to Episode 015 of The Cycling Europe Podcast you will remember that Paul didn’t make it quite as far as Nordkapp, for fairly obvious reasons. But he did make it as far as Nice in France and will hopefully one day soon return to complete the journey. But here in the written world of these CyclingEurope.org posts (as opposed to the spoken world of podcasts), Paul has just arrived in France and is heading in the direction of Nice…

Cycle Touring Photo Competition 2020: Update

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Over 100 entries have been submitted to the Cycle Touring Photography Competition 2020! And there’s still three weeks to go before the deadline of the 31st May. All you need to do is send your best photos from 2019 (that must include a picture of your bike on a cycle tour of some kind) to office@CyclingEurope.org. Great prizes from Cicerone Press and the European Cyclists’ Federation. Full competition details at CyclingEurope.org/Compeition.

Barry Godin: Tour Of Mont Blanc

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As lockdown continues, cycling anywhere remotely exotic is most definitely off the agenda for several months to come. Stay local! However that doesn’t prevent us from vicariously enjoying the adventures of others from the pre-Coronavirus era. Barry Godin has just published a new film about mountain biking the Tour de Mont Blanc. Having walked almost all of the Tour de Mont Blanc route over two seperate hiking trips – in 2006 and then in 2016 – it’s an area of the world that I know well and Barry’s film was a pleasure to watch.

The Cycling Europe Podcast: The Story So Far In 2020

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It’s been a busy year so far for The Cycling Europe Podcast and with episode 18 just published, it’s perhaps a good moment to look back over the six podcasts that have been published since January. All of the podcasts can be listened to directly from The Cycling Europe Podcast homepage or via your favourite purveyor of podcasts.

Episode 018: Ed Lancaster / EuroVelo

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If you are a long-distance cyclist in Europe, it’s highly unlikely that you have managed to avoid the EuroVelo network of cycling routes. Created and administered by the European Cyclists’ Federation, the 16 routes are a source of support and inspiration not just long-distance cyclists but also those who set off on much shorter trips within Europe. But what is the thinking behind the EuroVelo network? Why was it created? What can you expect if you choose to cycle one of the routes? And where is the network going in the future? All questions that we asked Ed Lancaster of The European Cyclists’ Federation, the man in charge of developing and promoting Europe’s greenest travel network.

“How About This For A Ride To Paris?” (The Full Story…)

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With the Coronavirus continuing to hit hard, lockdown looking as though it will stretch well into May – perhaps even June – and with the consequences of ‘social distancing’ likely to impact upon our lives for many months to come, there are silver linings. The principal one from my perspective is time. The time to do things that ordinarily we would have put on the back burner; the time to finish old things, to start new things, to plan, to think, to dream… These latter three activities are particularly useful if, in the back of your mind, you have another long cycle tour in fermentation.

The 2020 Virtual Cycle Touring Festival: A Review

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Last weekend was the virtual Cycle Touring Festival. I was planning on writing a few words about the event myself but then a chap called Graham Johnson from Derbyshire got in touch. He had never previously attended the (non-virtual) Cycle Touring Festival but had signed up for a few of the online webinars – including the one delivered by yours truly – at this year’s virtual event and was planning on writing something for his local CTC / Cycling UK group newsletter. Could he use some of my photos to illustrate his text? he asked. Yes, of course! Could I publish your article about the festival on CyclingEurope.org? I asked. Yes, of course! Mutual happiness all round. And here is what he wrote, illustrated by the photographs he chose to use. I think it’s all rather entertaining. He is clearly a man with a book inside him.

The Virtual Cycle Touring Festival: This Weekend!

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Earlier this month I talked about the annual Cycle Touring Festival going virtual for 2020 and the time is almost here! The festival kicks off later today (Friday) and continues over this coming weekend of the 25th and 26th April. Laura and Tim Moss, who have organised the festival every year since 2015, have done a magnificent job in putting together, once again, an eclectic, interesting and potentially inspiring programme of events.

Episode 017: Geraint Rowlands, Owen Peak & Gareth Cadwaladr / Cycling Europe In 12 Years

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Epic cycle tours come in many shapes and sizes. Some stretch over many thousands of kilometres, some take in dozens of countries, lots take months, perhaps even years to complete. But few cycle tours take 12 years and still claim to be unfinished. That’s what a group of Welsh cyclists have been doing since 2007 since they set off from the port of Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales. The Cycling Europe Podcast spoke to Geraint Rowlands, Owen Peak and Gareth Cadwaladr about their cycle tour of Europe with a difference.

Paul Gentle’s Tarifa to Nordkapp 2020: France, Part 1

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If you listened to Episode 015 of The Cycling Europe Podcast you will remember that Paul didn’t make it quite as far as Nordkapp, for fairly obvious reasons. But he did make it as far as Nice in France and will hopefully one day soon return to complete the journey. But here in the written world of these CyclingEurope.org posts (as opposed to the spoken world of podcasts), Paul has just arrived in France and is heading in the direction of Nice…

Cycling Europe: ‘A Time Of Birds’ By Helen Moat

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Spring 2020 will forever go down in the annals of history as the time of the Coronavirus. We don’t yet know how the story will end – this is history in the making – but we do know that the pandemic has had a significant impact upon the lives of most people. Schools closed, festivals cancelled, sporting events postponed, film premieres rescheduled… Yet with the majority of the population at home, what better time to pick up a book and start reading. And what better time to head off on a vicarious cycle across Europe. But fear not! This is not some shameless plug for my own books. (Although they are rather good…) It is about a new book that is being published on April 9th called A Time For Birds by Helen Moat.

Paul Gentle’s Tarifa to Nordkapp 2020: Spain, Part 4

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If you listened to Episode 015 of The Cycling Europe Podcast you will remember that Paul didn’t make it quite as far as Nordkapp, for fairly obvious reasons. But he did make it as far as Nice in France and will hopefully one day soon return to complete the journey. But here in the written world of these CyclingEurope.org posts (as opposed to the spoken world of podcasts), Paul is in Barcelona and about to set off in the direction of France…

Episode 016: Mark Beaumont / The Man Who Cycled The World

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Welcome to this rather special episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast. Since the inception of the podcast in 2017, we’ve featured many people with fascinating stories to tell; people who have cycled across the world, people who have inspired others, people who have displayed their passion for cycling in some extraordinary ways. But the guest on this episode of the podcast eclipses almost all others when it comes to long-distance cycling achievement, Mr Mark Beaumont.

Paul Gentle’s Tarifa to Nordkapp 2020: Spain, Part 3

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Where were we? Or rather, where was Paul Gentle? The observant amongst you – well, the ones who listened to Episode 015 of The Cycling Europe Podcast – will remember that Paul didn’t make it quite as far as Nordkapp, for fairly obvious reasons. But he did make it as far as Nice in France and will hopefully one day soon return to complete the journey. But here in the written world of these CyclingEurope.org posts (as opposed to the spoken world of podcasts), Paul has just arrived in Valencia.

Episode 015: Paul Gentle / Tarifa To Nordkapp Via COVID

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Imagine you set off to cross a continent on your bicycle only for a global pandemic to stop you in your tracks. That’s what happened to Paul Gentle as he attempted to cycle from Tarifa in Spain to Nordkapp in Norway. The Cycling Europe Podcast spoke to Paul about his plans, his cycle through Spain and France and his race against the clock to get back home to the UK while it was still possible.

The Time To Stop Cycling? I Think It Might Be…

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It seems likely is that in a few weeks time, we will be at the point on the curve where Spain and Italy now find themselves. Yesterday it was reported that in Italy “The latest crackdown effectively bans jogging and bicycle rides, the only types of outdoor exercise that were allowed.” Might it be a good idea to refrain from doing so here in the UK when we are at an earlier point on the curve? I think it might.

Paul Gentle’s Tarifa to Nordkapp 2020: Spain, Part 2

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The Coronavirus outbreak has upturned many of our lives. I am now unemployed, for example, but in the context of a medical emergency, even that seems quite small beer. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a piece written by Paul Gentle about the first leg of his cycle from Tarifa in Spain to Nordkapp in Norway. Alas, that endeavour has also become a victim of the virus and now been cancelled. A few days ago Paul returned back to the UK from Nice in France. To his credit, however, Paul has written a second piece for CyclingEurope.org about the second part of his cycle through Spain.

The Normality Of Self-Isolating On A Bike Ride

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We live in surreal times. The world is approaching a state of lockdown. The shops are emptying of toilet paper and hand sanitiser. The Italians are singing from their Juliet balconies. We are encouraged to ‘self-isolate’ at the drop of a, err… handkerchief. Work from home! Wash your hands! Sneeze into your elbow! This is far from normal.

Episode 014: Timmy Mallett / Utterly Brilliant!

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The Cycling Europe Podcast returns with a celebrity interview! Mark Beaumont? Tim Moore? Josie Dew? Not quite… This celebrity not only has surprising long-distance cycling credentials but also some thought-provoking comments to make about the joys of heading off on your bike for a long-distance adventure. His name? […]

Santander To Coimbra 2019: The Movie

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If you follow @CyclingEurope on Twitter, you may have noticed that over the past couple of weeks, short videos have been posted recounting the story of my cycle from Santander in Spain to Coimbra in Portugal last summer. The reason for the appearances of the videos is two-fold. […]

The Bear Necessities Of Cycling In Japan

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A few weeks ago, I watched a short series of beautiful BBC natural history films called Japan: Earth’s Enchanted Islands. Alas they are are no longer on the iPlayer but a few short clips are available on YouTube. Here’s one of them: Bears… They featured several times in […]

Cycling Japan, Via London

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Wednesday 2nd January 2020, 9am A long, long time ago… well, back in 2008 when I was living in Reading, I decided to head off to London to see a document at the British Library. The document in question had been written by Archbishop Sigeric. He was the […]

Top Tips For Cycling In Italy

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By Aaron King Italy is a beautiful country, full of striking scenery, historic sights, and famously passionate locals. Cycling is a great way to see Italy for tourists and locals alike. Whether you’re visiting the Italian Alps or Dolomites, or taking a trip to the famous Italian lakes, […]

Sustrans: Trails, Lochs And Glens…

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These are nice: “Walking and cycling charity Sustrans has teamed up with mapping experts Ordnance Survey (OS) to launch a series of video clips that explore the National Cycle Network – a network of traffic-free paths and on-road cycle routes spanning the breadth of the UK. Created by […]

The Best Destinations for Cycling in Europe

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By Kevin Raneri European cities provide a great experience for anyone looking to explore their destinations on a bike. Exploring beautiful routes with the wind in your hair is a unique experience. The cities boast excellent cycling routes, stunning views of the countryside, infrastructure for cyclists, and bike-sharing […]

Top 25 Bicycle Touring Blogs 2019

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Still maintaining its position at number 9 in the list… Bike Packing Bicycle Touring Pro Life in Travel Cycling About Tom’s Bike Trip Freewheeling France The Path Less Pedaled World Biking Cycling Europe Cycling Challenge Biciclown Bike Tour Global La Vida de Viaje Znajkraj Going Slowly With Saddlebags […]

reTyre: What Is This Sorcery?

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As you might imagine, I receive quite a few emails from companies trying to persuade me of the virtues of their latest cycling product. E-Bikes, cycling helmets, innovative bicycle lights and cycling gloves from China seem to be the most popular topics of the emails I read and […]

Emily Chappell: Where There’s A Will…

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In 2015 Emily Chappell embarked on a formidable new bike race: The Transcontinental. 4,000km across Europe, unassisted, in the shortest time possible. On her first attempt she made it only halfway where she found herself suddenly on her back in a field, floored by the physical and mental […]

The Sound Of Cycle Touring

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Some names are easily forgettable. David Evans, Margaret Butcher, Terry Wilson… (I just made those up. Apologies if you are offended because you have one of those names.) My own name isn’t that exciting; Andrew Sykes. That’s why I stuck the ‘P’ in there for the purpose of […]

Cycling Japan: The Numbers

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It’s not quite the deep mid-winter but today, with the heating on and me having yet to leave the house, it could easily be so. My mind turns to the heat and humidity (that was the topic of the last Japan-related post) of next summer, Japan and… a […]

Cycling Japan: Into The Eye Of A Storm?

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With Typhoon Hagibis moving over Tokyo, it seems an appropriate moment to consider what the weather might be like when I cycle the length of the country in July and August 2020. Let’s start with typhoons. Here’s an image from the Windy.com website of Japan with the current […]

Episode 010: The Isle Of Wight

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The Cycling Europe Podcast is heading to northern Spain but pauses en route for two days of cycling on the Isle of Wight. Andrew P. Sykes follows the Round-the-Island Cycle Route in an anticlockwise direction before hooking up with the Red Squirrel Trail for a return to Cowes […]