What a day! This post may or may not contain the usual video summary. It seems that I have no space remaining on my iPhone to store the edited video (to subsequently upload to YouTube) but the finest technical minds are working to solve the issue. Well, I […]
I’m getting back into the swing of writing these end-of-day posts. And this year, they come with added video! So here is today’s cinematic epic: Hope you enjoyed that. The full route details are available to see by following this link. That’s the visual and quantitive boxes ticked. […]
OK. A bit of catching up to be done. I’m sitting in a darkened room at Camping El Rosa – excellent site by the way – with three bored teenagers for ‘company’. They aren’t saying much, just staring at their phones away from the prying eyes of their […]
It’s 6.30am, or perhaps 5.30am as I seem to remember the woman on the public address system telling us we were sticking to UK time until we arrived in Santander. I’m going to mutiny and stick to continental time. At least it makes me feel better about having […]
The free time afforded by the ferry crossing from Plymouth to Santander has, as promised, allowed me to write the list of equipment that I photographed a few days ago. I did leave one item back in Britain, but which one? 1. Maps 2. Cycling gloves 3. Disposable […]
A less dramatic day in terms of the scenery, but equally enjoyable. And at 62km, a step up from yesterday’s 50km. Here are the full route details and here’s the video summary: The Military Road – I imagine they call it that because it is very straight – […]
If I ignore the shenanigans with the trains this morning, today has been a wonderful day of cycling. It had it all; great weather, interesting places, majestic landscapes, dramatic seascapes, bucolic cycle paths. I’ll be back after you take a look for yourself: I imagined the Isle of […]
We’re off. Not a great deal of cycling taking place today; just a 10km journey from home to the train station in Huddersfield and the prospect of an even shorter cycle to a friend’s house once I arrive in Reading. It is not the stuff of epic adventures […]
They take some doing but are fun to make and here is my third submission into the genre: UPDATE: It’s now the eve of my departure and everything is packed away. Time to reflect of what is to come over the next three weeks… Not bad… As noted, […]
I’ve mentioned the upcoming trip to Spain and Portugal a few times here on CyclingEurope.org recently, but I haven’t yet said much about what I’ll be doing immediately beforehand, which is spending two days and two nights cycling and camping on the Isle of Wight. Here’s the basic […]
It was an epic 115 km by the end of the day, albeit not all on the Trans Pennine Trail itself. That was ‘just’ the portion from Dunford Bridge to Wentworth Woodhouse (and back). Good preparation for hitting the continent at the end of the month…
I wish this would happen more often than it does… Back in January I received an email from a cyclist called Paddy Ducey. He told me about how he had read the books that I have written about cycling across Europe and that he had not only enjoyed […]
The Cycling Europe Podcast hits the road and heads along the Yorkshire section of the EuroVelo 12, otherwise known as the North Sea Cycle Route, from the iconic Humber Bridge on the southern edge of Britain’s largest county to the coastal treasure that is Whitby. It was a […]
Hot on the heels of my four-day trip to the Far East of Yorkshire and the cycle from the Humber Bridge to Whitby (and thence by train to Middlesbrough) comes a new episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast. It’s the first time that I have dedicated an entire […]
There was an interesting snippet in this week’s email from Cycling UK regarding something called The Cape Wrath Fellowship. It caught my eye as a few years ago I travelled to Cape Wrath as part of a cycle trip along the northern and western coasts of Scotland. This […]
Suitably windswept. Interesting museum telling an interesting story run by English Heritage. There’s more to Whitby Abbey than Bram Stoker and Dracula…
Well it has been forecast all week to be grim but this morning is the first time those promises have born fruit. Wet, cloudy, grey… Now if this were Norway in 2015 or indeed Spain at the of the month, I would shrug my shoulders and carry on. […]
Whitby this evening was just beautiful… …and after writing this I’ll be heading back outside to cool down. The weather today was sublime, especially if you happened to be cycling. I’m not sure I have the energy to write too much this evening. Bullet points might have to […]
A full report later but here are the edited highlights…
That was a long ride but a very good one indeed. Not without its frustrations or challenges, but the best rides are so much better because of them, especially from the perspective of a belly full of curried spaghetti in a youth hostel in Scarborough. My only complaint […]
It’s a step up from Bridlington and a fitting destination after a cycle of 105km. I moved less than Wanda during the filming of this video…
After 60km of almost deserted country lanes this morning, Bridlington arrives loudly and abruptly!
My arrival in Great Driffield (it’s OK but not ‘great’) coincided with the first rain shower of the day. You can see the rain clouds approaching in this video from the crest of a ‘hill’ just to the south of the great town itself:
My timing is exquisite; I’ve just arrived at Beverley Youth Hostel and it has started raining… I got no further than typing those words before the hostel manager came to rescue me from the raindrops. I locked Wanda in the shed (if you think that a curious thing […]
It seems fitting that the 3,000th post on CyclingEurope.org – that’s this one by the way – sees me return to the EuroVelo routes that have guided me across Europe three times. Here I am on EuroVelo 12, the North Sea Cycle Route, in Hull. Alas I won’t […]
It’s Tuesday August 6th 2019 and, after a four-year break, this cycle tourist is returning to overnight cycle touring. I’m a little nervous…
I’m not so outspoken although the ridiculous shooting-yourself-in-the-foot nonsense that is Brexit gets my blood boiling and my current issues with Vodafone have me using creative language that would shock your grandmother, and then there’s the idiots who park on cycle lanes* and the pavement – often both… […]
I love my F10 Xenon UL2+ (it’s a tent, not a fighter jet…): But how about one of these? They are from a company called KarTent: Here’s a report from BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat about how they could revolutionise the throw-away culture of festival tents. Interesting… Which do […]
Yesterday I put the final pieces into the jigsaw that is the new cycle touring set-up as I refitted the panniers and installed an old-style (well, pre-smartphone) odometer (which is far more practical that said phone to monitor distances and speed without unlocking the phone). The east coast […]
Earlier this year I wrote a post about one of my secondary school teachers, a woman called Mabel Pighills. She had been given copies of my first two books by her daughter and read them not knowing that she had once taught their author. When I returned to […]
Today, on a day that “number 10” is on everyone’s mind, I’m channeling Geraint Thomas and I’m with the Welshman at number 2… If you like your numbers, keep reading. This is post number 2,990 on CyclingEurope.org. I’m hoping that post number 3,000 will be published during my […]
Back in May, when the sun was beating down and the temperatures slowing rising (not sure what happened there…), I discussed some tentative plans to take Wanda (that’s the new bike, Wanda WorldTraveller of course – keep up!) for her first proper ‘adventure’ along the coast of Yorkshire. […]
When I head off on my travels later in the summer – to the Isle of Wight, Spain and Portugal – I won’t be writing a book about the whole thing. Well, unless I get kidnapped by remote Asturian villagers and spend months in captivity, learning the local […]
By Ryan Powell Every cyclist has this unquenchable desire to explore the world—wanderlust, as one would say. Either you have it in you from the very beginning, or you gained it when you started cycling. Getting to explore new places, discover new things, and immerse in the unfamiliar […]
In the months leading up to my first continental crossing of Europe back in 2010, I experimented with an Ortlieb handlebar bag, probably very similar to this one. I can’t say I was ever a fan. I just didn’t like the ‘look’ of the thing and to be […]
A few years ago, this website – CyclingEurope.org – was awash with reviews of one or another of my books. Indeed I dare say that if you chose to stroll back through the tagged archive for either Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie, Along The Med on […]
I’ll let you decide… Some of you will love this, others will loathe it. It’s touring bicycle technical pornography at its best (or worst). On a dampish afternoon here in Yorkshire, I give you Wanda, the Koga Signature WorldTraveller… Now, where shall we start? The frame! The handlebars… […]
UPDATE: Tickets for this event now available on the Square Chapel Arts Centre website: click here! Now here’s an interesting concept… Aside from being an international star of the cycle touring writing world [are you sure?] and an acclaimed supply teacher [you are joking, no?], I spend much […]
“On the 6th July 2019 at 1.30pm we will be setting off to cycle over 1700 miles for Chestnut Tree House, unsupported. From The Rose and Crown, Worthing the journey will include riding through France over the Alps into Switzerland, then into Italy and all the way to […]
I noted in the post this morning about how that pesky thing called ‘work’ has interrupted my desire to get out on the new bike this week. Perhaps it was the picture below that I noticed on the wall of the school where I was working today but […]
The Cycling Europe Podcast returns with a new touring bike special. Andrew P. Sykes visits CycleSense in Tadcaster, Yorkshire to pick up his new Koga Signature WorldTraveller bicycle and chats to the owner David Stainthorpe about his purchase. We hear from Koga brand ambassador Alee Denham from the […]
The world of (brace yourself)… work feels as though it has interrupted things with the new bike this week. Although I used the Koga to commute to work on Monday, I’m feeling frustrated that for the past two days I’ve been working in schools and that has necessitated […]
The Cycling Europe Podcast returns with a new touring bike special. Andrew P. Sykes visits CycleSense in Tadcaster, Yorkshire to pick up his new Koga Signature WorldTraveller bicycle and chats to the owner David Stainthorpe about his purchase. We hear from Koga brand ambassador Alee Denham from the […]
There are clearly going to be quite a few posts about the new bike. Apologies… First up is me ‘unboxing’ the Koga WorldTraveller-S. Not actually ‘unboxing’ the bicycle – that was done by CycleSense in Tadcaster – just me examining all the bits and pieces that came with […]
Just received an exciting tweet from CycleSense in Tadcaster. She’s arrived a week early! I’ve now spoken to Dave who runs the shop and I’ve arranged tomorrow as hand-over day. Expect a few photos from the cycle home tomorrow afternoon… Just as I ordered!
The cyclist and filmmaker Barry Godin has featured several times here on CyclingEurope.org over the past few years – visit these posts to read more about him and his films – and it was nice to catch up with him again at the Cycle Touring Festival the weekend […]
Another inspiring Cycle Touring Festival has been and gone and I am beginning to miss it already. It will hopefully be back in 2020. The festival has now been running for five years and I’m proud to say that I have attended in four of those years, only […]
The weather report from the Cycle Touring Festival in Clitheroe is not great this Sunday morning. Somewhat reminiscent of Switzerland in August 2010; very wet but not that cold. (More details in ‘Crossing Europe…‘.) Yesterday, however… Beautiful!
The plan is to pick up the new touring bike – a Koga WordTraveller S – on Thursday June 27th. Rather than driving over to CycleSense in Tadcaster (the other side of Leeds), I’ll probably catch the train to York and jump on a bus back to Tadcaster. […]
Another post in the context of ‘investing in’ a new touring bicycle. A reminder that a few weeks ago I ordered a custom-built Koga Signature WorldTraveller touring bike from CycleSense in Tadcaster. Since then, I’ve been reflecting on the process and some of the component parts; the handlebars for one and the front dynamo hub that generates electricity for another. David Sinclair provided some very interesting advice on the latter point and he’s been in touch again in response to me asking why he went down the route of not purchasing a Koga and opting for a custom-made Hewitt bicycle.
Today has been a little like an episode of Line Of Duty; it starts all mundane and then quickly descends into all kinds of shenanigans. The day started with cats in Yorkshire and ended with a fall down a 30-metre ravine in South America. That should keep you […]
It’s been quite a few months since the last episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast and a new instalment is well overdue. Attentive followers of this website over the last few weeks will have noted that one subject has predominated; my investment in a new touring bicycle. At this time of the year, when northern hemisphere cyclists are beginning to think about where they might pedal off to in the summer, it seems a timely topic of conversation.
There is a risk that CyclingEurope.org might be entering a phase of being a useful website once again… In response to the post earlier in the week about the Denham handlebars on my new touring bike – the Koga WorldTraveller-S 2.0 – which also made reference to the USB charging device that is connected to the Son 28 front dynamo hub, I have received a detailed and very interesting email from David Sinclair.
If you search for the word ‘Denham’ on this esteemed website (yes, this one!), you’ll find it appears twice; once in reference to the handlebars for which I have opted on the new Koga Signature WorldTraveller-S 2.0 and once in a post from earlier in the year. Until yesterday, I didn’t realise that the two are connected, but they are and here’s why.
With the placing of the order for the new touring bike – see previous post – the fuse has been lit on the firework of a new cycle tour. But to where? And when? Tentative plans have been discussed over the past few months here on CyclingEurope.org but in the back of my mind, I knew that if I didn’t replace poor old Reggie – another long trip is beyond him I’m afraid – none of them would come to fruition. Now that he has (nearly) been replaced, the ball is back in my half of the court. (Not that, in fairness, it ever left my half of the court but let’s not quibble; you know what I mean…) I need to decide where I will take my new, as yet un-named, bicycle, the KOGA Signature WorldTraveller-S 2.0…
Today I took the plunge and placed an order for a new touring bicycle. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the KOGA Signature WorldTraveller-S 2.0 Rohloff Discbrake bicycle.
In the last couple of days I’ve been catching up with the new series of ‘Pilgrimage‘ on BBC Two. The programmes document the journey of a small group of celebrities as they walk some of the stretches of the ancient path from Canterbury to Rome, the Via Francigena. […]
Yesterday I received an online alert about an article on YesCycling.com – ‘a buyers guide to the cycling world‘ which featured a reference to ‘…on a Bike Called Reggie‘. I went to investigate and discovered not just one reference, but three! Here’s what was said about each of […]
…which, alas, still involves spending money. Much of my time over the past couple of weeks has been spent poring over the Koga Signature website (see posts passim). I think it’s fair to say that I have now reached a point of having convinced myself that it is […]
So… Tadcaster. Small market town between Leeds and York on the River Wharfe, famous for its breweries. Until a few weeks ago, a town that I had never previously visited. Under the blue sky of a crisp Friday morning in late March, it’s an attractive place, especially as […]
“Forty-three countries down, Hera Van Willick rides her bicycle across continents, fully self-supported. This is her journey and what she has learned along the way.” On Saturday evening I went to my local arts centre – indeed the arts centre where I spend much of the working week […]
An extract from a distinctive day during the hot summer cycle from southern Greece to southern Portugal as described in Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie. Saturday 17th August When I emerged from the tent at 7am, after a night of only brief spells of sleep, […]
Welcome to Andermatt… Alas I’m not there at the moment. Although if I were, I dare say it wouldn’t look like it did in August 2010 when the picture above was taken. I suspect it might be somewhat whiter. I was, of course, en route for southern Italy […]
The competition closed at midnight on February 28th and the judges have been locked away in a secret location to deliberate. OK, that’s not quite true. The judges – Laura and Tim Moss, round-the-world cyclists and organisers of The Cycle Touring Festival – probably did it on their […]
The Cycling Europe Cycle Touring Photograph of the Year Competition that was launched recently has been continuing to receive some top-notch entries: All of the photographs above are excellent examples. Just remember that the rules of the competition (see below) stipulate that the photograph must include a bicycle […]
I have received an email from Ian Johnston. It has provoked me to do a bit of digging in the Cycling Europe archive and as a result I am writing this longer-than-normal post. Enjoy. The Tende Pass is perhaps one of the lesser-known Alpine passes but it is […]
The Cycling Europe Cycle Touring Photograph of the Year Competition that was launched recently has been continuing to receive some top-notch entries: All of the photographs above are good examples of what you could be sending in yourself. Just remember that the rules of the competition (see below) […]
Yes, only 99p for the Kindle edition of the book, but not for long so be quick!
Here’s a sad tale but also one that brings back fond memories that make me smile. We all remember our school teachers but some stick in our minds more than others. I grew up in a small Yorkshire town and attended the local comprehensive school. Some of my […]
It has been a good week; daffodils are on sale in Morrisons (meaning that spring can only be a few weeks away), Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie has re-entered the best-selling lists on Amazon (mainly because the publishers are selling the Kindle edition – for […]
I like this app. It’s a fairly simple thing but, for those like me who are fans of the EuroVelo network, it’s rather nifty. I stumbled upon it via the Wikipedia EuroVelo page the other day as I wanted to check a distance of one of the routes. […]
Following on from the previous post, it appears to be ‘update Sunday’… Here’s another, reflecting upon the reaction to my post of a few days ago: The Butterfly Effect. Before reading on, you may want to hop back to that post to read what I said at the […]
The Cycling Europe Cycle Touring Photograph of the Year Competition (bit of a mouthful but there you go…) that was launched recently has been receiving some top-notch entries: All of the photographs above are good examples of what you could be sending in yourself. Just remember that the […]
In its ten-year history, CyclingEurope.org has never really had a competition worthy of the name. However, a few days ago I posted a small collection of photographs of my own bikes in a short article about the freedom of movement in Europe. This got me thinking… We all […]
The BBC are currently airing a fascinating series on BBC Two called ‘Icons‘, eight documentaries dedicated to the great and good of the 20th century. Last night’s episode was dedicated to ‘explorers‘ and the four people that had been chosen to be celebrated (and, potentially, voted for) were […]
In these dying days of Britain being within the European Union, a retrospective photographic look at what the freedom of movement – across a peaceful continent of countries with shared values and aspirations – means in reality… That freedom is about to be curtailed for most people within […]
The Cycle Touring Festival has featured frequently on CyclingEurope.org in recent years and I’m delighted to say that it is back in 2019. Here is how the organisers – Laura and Tim Moss – explain it: “We really believe the Cycle Touring Festival is different. Unlike other festivals, we don’t […]
Continuing from the general theme of recent posts, looking forward to cycling (or other) exploits in 2019, trying to put aside the concerns of ageing, this entry in the ever-increasing canon of CyclingEurope.org introduces you to an inspirational film from Lynnea Salvo. If the name is familiar, it […]
“Oh to be 50 again – get out as much as you can…“ That’s what ‘brendaintheboro” has commented on the first post of 2019 on CyclingEurope.org. She has a point. Sir David – in the previous post – would, without doubt, agree. But just how much should I […]
There was a hint of this in yesterday’s post but 50 is clearly a number on my mind… Today is Wednesday 2nd January 2019 but I’m writing this on December 27th 2018. My 50th Christmas is over. My 50th New Year is about to take place. Christmas 2018 was […]
Welcome to 2019 and let’s kick off by talking books. I’m sure I’m not alone in having a small section of my bookshelves that looks like this: Sandwiched between some dictionaries and a satirical updated Enid Blyton take on the impending horror that is Brexit, a small collection […]
Signed copies available for Christmas: more details on this page of CyclingEurope.org.
By Tom Butcher I cycled the Great Glen Way earlier this summer and, apart from the infamous midges that Scotland’s famous for, it was a great ride. It took me two days in all. Due to the terrain and the nature of the route, this is a mountain […]
I remember cycling from the southern tip of Spain to the northern tip of Norway back in 2015 – my third crossing of Europe by bike – and coming to the conclusion that however wonderful the experience was (and it was usually just that), I had inadvertently sacrificed […]
Yorkshire 2018 never happened. It was my great plan to cycle all of the National Cycle Network routes in Yorkshire during the calendar year 2018. If you are seen as an optimist even by those at the positive end of the thinking spectrum, you might point out that […]
I was recently contacted by a cyclist called Dean Fletcher. Dean lives in northern Portugal, close to the border with the Spanish region of Galicia. He explained that he had just set up a website extolling the virtues of cycling in the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula […]
His name is Colin Baird and he wants to see all of Scotland by bicycle. So says the short biography of ‘Cycling Scot’ on his website, CyclingScot.co.uk. He likes cycling, he likes Scotland… and he also likes cycling books. He even has a short hall of cycling book […]
Way back at the start of August, I set myself two challenges. The first was to climb the national ‘Three Peaks’ of Britain in three weeks. I did just that, ascending to the summits of Scafell Pike, Mount Snowdon and finally Ben Nevis over three consecutive weeks in […]
Cast your mind back 12 months; more specifically to 15 minutes and 13 seconds into film-themed episode 003 of The Cycling Europe Podcast: You heard an interview with Jimmy Hyland who, in 2016, set off on an adventure across Mongolia. He made an award-winning film about his travels – Mohon […]
By Jamie Osman You need not be familiar with the latest cycling statistics to understand the growing apprehension among cyclists globally regarding bike safety on the road. In South Africa, Stellenbosch-based cycle tour company Cape Vélo believes this is just one reason cyclists are turning to gravel riding; they are […]
Every six months or so an email arrives from The Netherlands announcing the publication of a new edition of Bicycle Traveler. We’ve had to wait a little longer for the 13th issue but it’s now available, and best of all, it’s free! There are some familiar names in […]
By Ron Ferguson When they go on holiday, most people feel the need to relax and have fun. Others want to spend their getaway in the most glamorous areas. There are also those who want to spend time in the middle of nature. What about combining all this? […]
So, here is the complete film of my August quest to climb the highest peaks of England, Wales and Scotland. 26 minutes of hiking adventure…
The challenge is accomplished! Three peaks in three weeks? I didn’t need all 21 days in the end, just 18. OK, plenty of people do the national three peaks in 24 hours. On a physical level, I take my hat off to them. But then again, speed isn’t […]
There’s enough in and around Fort William – the local town to Ben Nevis – to keep the average man occupied for a day. I’m an average man and it has kept me occupied until 4pm. The campsite is at the foot of Ben Nevis itself… …and I […]
It’s always good to from people that I have met on my travels. This week, two fellow continental drifters from the cycle from Spain to Norway back in 2015 have been in touch. First up is Peter Udell. I met him in northern Spain in the early part […]
“In this video we explore what makes us want to cycle – and encourage you to start your own bicycle tour. It’s possible! Back in June and July of 2018, my girlfriend Belén and I cycled the famed ‘Pamir Highway’, through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. During our trip we […]
