Cycling Day 86: The Photographs
All of these photographs were taken today following my arrival on the Lofoten Islands…
Cycling Day 86: Bodø To Ramberg
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Well, I wasn’t quite expecting to be sitting typing this by the edge of a beautiful sandy beach with clear turquoise water lapping on the shore. Pity there isn’t a blue sky and temperature to continue the tropical […]
Cycling Day 86: The Ferry To The Lofoten Islands
There will be a little bit of cycling once I arrive at Moskenes (although to where I’m not quite sure) but for the time being it’s a case of watching the world go by (as long as they are in a ship) from the front of this streamlined […]
Norway Photographs: Cycling Days 83-85
The 4G connection has come alive this morning! Here is the full set of pictures that I attempted, but failed, to upload last night:
Cycling Day 85: Skauvoll To Bodø
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. A long, tough day. Many ups and downs. Weather, at times, not great. But I have arrived in Bodø. For me that’s more of a milestone than crossing the Arctic Circle as I seem to have said to […]
Cycling Day 84: Føray To Skauvoll
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. A day of two halves separated by a two-hour wait for a ferry, but over 65 km was cycled (75 km including the ferry) and I am now within one day of cycling to Bodø from where I […]
Cycling Day 83: Aldersund To Føray
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. A shorter day today; time to catch up on cleaning and charging! Great campsite in Føray. It would be wonderful if they were all like this… As for tomorrow, well, Bodø is too far away for a one-day […]
Cycling Day 83: The Arctic Circle
Passed through at 9.35am…
Cycling Day 82: Søvika To Aldersund
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Just one picture to round off the day:
Cycling Day 82: Along The Leirfjord
To see a short video from the bridge, visit the Facebook page.
Cycling Day 81: Vennesund To Søvika
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Just two pictures to round off the day. It’s still blue sky up there and the forecast for Monday is good. It will be another day of island hopping I think but just one ferry. Having cycled the […]
Cycling Day 81: The Best Yet?
It’s not over yet but so far I’d put it up there at number 1 in the league. I’m currently waiting for the second ferry of the day – a longer trip from Forvik to Tjøtta – so expect a few more pictures later. I like working on […]
Cycling Day 81: Sømna
Beautiful… (and I’m only half way along the island!)
Cycling Day 80: Kolvereid To Vennesund
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. The day the blue sky returned…
Cycling Day 80: Water, Falling In A Good Way…
It’s now mid-afternoon and so far, no rain has fallen. My cycling day is nearly finished; I’m just waiting for the ferry to take me from Holm to Vennesund where there is, I’m promised, a campsite… It might be emergency food rations for my evening meal if there’s […]
Cycling Day 80: Morning Reflections…
Almost live from Norway…
Cycling Day 79: Namsos To Kolvereid
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Mmm… What to say about today apart from the rain? A ferry, lots of bridges, a rather drab destination. Not the most memorable of days. How can I keep this going if I get drenched by the end […]
Cycling Day 79: Grim Up North(ern Norway)
Three images that sum up my morning…
Cycling Day 78: Osen To Namsos
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. There was a risk of today being just another day along the route to Nordkapp. Grey sky, wind from the north, I spent much time odometer watching… …it then started raining and I cycled into drab Namsos. Campsite? […]
Norway: The Story So Far…
Here is how it was via Instagram…
Cycling Day 77: The Osen Fjord
Not a bad place to spend the night…
Cycling Day 77: Åfjord To Osen
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. A much better day today. Weather just a grim as yesterday but everything else improved! I tried to focus the lens of the camera on the smaller things today (although I couldn’t stop myself from including a couple […]
Cycling Day 77: Åfjord
Two hours ago I was in the tent feeling rather grimy after not taking a shower last night, trying to work out whether my nascent cold was still in my nose or had moved south again to my throat, listening to the pitter patter of rain on the […]
Cycling Day 76: Trondheim To Åfjord
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. A Mercedes day if ever there was one… More of an exploration of Norwegian civil engineering than the glory of the countryside. Grim weather. Tried out wet weather gear. Effective if a little cumbersome. Met a Norwegian cyclist […]
Cycling Day 76: Trondheim
It’s just before 9.30am and I’ve returned for the final time into the centre of Trondheim. Steven and Anita have been good hosts for the past two nights; I’ve eaten and drunk well, I’ve learnt a little about how the Norwegians live their lives (the good and the […]
Tarifa To Nordkapp: The Final 25 Days?
Well, it might be 25. It could be more; it could be less… I am on target to reach Europe’s most northerly point by the end of the 100th day of cycling as my average is currently around 77 km/day with fewer than 2,000 km left to cycle. […]
Rest Day 14: Trondheim, Norway
A day spent in and around a rather damp Trondheim with Steven, Anita and Annie…
Cycling Day 75: Viggja To Trondheim
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Again, another late update… I knew it would be a relatively short cycle on day 75; ‘just’ 40 km to Trondheim where I had agreed to stay for a couple of nights with a guy called Steven who […]
Cycling Day 75: Trondheim
For pilgrims this is the end of the walking or cycling path… For others, well, just another nice town en route…
Cycling Day 75: The Norwegian Sea
No commentary needed…
Cycling Day 74: Kvikne To Viggja
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Again, a day on which I expected only to cycle a modest number of kilometres but which in the end turned out to be significantly above average in terms of length. It was made somewhat easier by this: […]
Interactive Guide To The Tour De France
I can’t believe it’s a year since I was sitting outside my parents’ house in the ‘Col de Greetland’ in Yorkshire awaiting the riders on stage 2 of the Tour de France. This weekend the 2015 race kicks off in Utrecht of course and SiS and Trek Factory […]
Cycling Day 74: Northern Summer…
…but there’s snow on those mountains!
Cycling Day 73: Grimsbu To Kvikne
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I’m about to start writing… And here I am. I’ve showered, eaten, washed the dishes (OK, there aren’t that many) and I’m sacrificing listening to Any Questions on Radio 4 in order to write up about not just […]
Cycling Day 72: Good Architecture, Great View
Amazing…
Cycling Day 72: Ringebu To Grimsbu
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Coming soon… Well, soon if you define ‘soon’ as tomorrow. I’m about to start writing about both cycling days 72 and 73 in the cycling day 73 post. Scroll up a bit!
Cycling Day 72: The Climbing Starts…
If I had had any breath remaining by the top of the mountain, the view would have taken it away… And this is just day 1 in the mountains of Norway.
Cycling Day 71: Redalen To Ringebu
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Come back later… You did? Good. I’ve been sitting here procrastinating. Amongst other things I’ve been reading up about why there are different kinds of number plates in Norway. I thought there were just two but actually there […]
Cycling Day 71: Preparing To Decamp
I quite like the idea of a morning post as well as an evening one. I know the weather is great back in the UK – not so hot here I imagine – but the sky is thankfully just as blue…
Cycling Day 70: Langset To Redalen
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I was woken this morning by the sound of raindrops on the tent. As I pondered whether to get up immediately or wait for a while I reflected upon how I only ever used to pack everything up […]
Cycling Day 70: Good Start!
I’m not often sufficiently inspired to start posting at 11am but today is different…
Cycling Day 69: Oslo (South) To Langset
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Data is still an issue so just one picture tonight but I will update with others later in the week once my 10gb monthly allowance is replenished, hopefully on Wednesday. Let’s start back at midnight last night. Earlier […]
Rest Day 13: Oslo, Norway
I’m rapidly running out of data this month and not on a WiFi connection tonight so this is just a teaser of the pictures to come from Oslo where I spent rest day number 13… I’ll hopefully update with more photographs later this week. Update: over a week […]
Cycling Day 68: Høysand To Oslo (South)
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I didn’t sleep well at Høysand Camping as, despite my best efforts, I hadn’t managed to find a patch of ground that was flat. I felt myself roll off the camping mat frequently during the night and when […]
Cycling Day 67: Tanumshede To Høysand
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. First up today was a short wander around this reconstructed Bronze Age village just next to where I had camped. It compared quite well to my tent accommodation… Then breakfast at the local supermarket where I bumped into […]
Cycling Day 66: Lysekil To Tanumshede
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. The bad news: I never did get my clothes washed. The good news: who cares? It’s be a fantastic day of cycling in a magnificent corner of Sweden under a bright blue sky. There isn’t a great deal […]
Tarifa To Nordkapp: 5,000 Km Down, 2,500 Km To Go…
Here are the updated statistics after today’s wonderful ride through south-western Sweden. Tomorrow I cycle into the final country, Norway, but it’s a big one…
Cycling Day 65: Myggenäs To Lysekil
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Last night I saved from you the disturbing news that (brace yourself), my third pair of reading glasses spontaneously snapped. Bizarrely, this is exactly what happened to the second pair. I was just sitting there when… crack! Even […]
Tarifa To Nordkapp: Route Planning Gets Interesting… And Hot?
It’s a while since I sat down to look at a map like this. Heading for Lysekil today and then, is that a heatwave being celebrated in the headline? I think so…
Cycling Day 64: Gothenburg To Myggenäs
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Hotel all-you-can-eat breakfasts can be useful on a long cycling trip but I think this morning my IBIS fill up put me in a lethargic mood from the start. I wouldn’t say that I was on a go […]
Rest Day 12: Gothenburg / Göteborg, Sweden
A wander around the city to begin with… …followed by a visit to the Volvo Round-The-World Yacht Race final event just to the north of the river. Perhaps I should consider sailing as my next ‘adventure’ activity. I have previous after my little jaunt on the Mediterranean with […]
Cycling Day 63: Ugglarp To Gothenburg
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Every epic cycle trip requires at least one epic day of cycling and yesterday was, probably, that day. 169 km. Not quite the 270 km that I cycled from Tarragona to Valencia back in the summer of 2013 […]
Cycling Day 62: Båstad To Ugglarp
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Various things put me in a grumpy mood this morning. The internet still wasn’t working (campsite or 3G), I was looking at at a half hour wait for the campsite reception to open so that could pay, and […]
Cycling Day 61: Helsingør To Båstad
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Båstad. The Rough Guide to Sweden sees fit to give the pronunciation: /bow-sta/. It didn’t prevent me from smirking when I saw the town on the map this morning when still in Denmark and choosing it as my […]
Krongborg Slot, Helsingør, Denmark
So, shortly after arriving in Helsingør (see previous post that I have yet to write but hopefully by the time you see this, I will have done… such is the world of running a travel-related website) I returned to the centre of the town. The main attraction is […]
Cycling Day 60: Copenhagen To Helsingør
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Just as it was yesterday, rain has been a theme of the day, but when I ‘woke’ (for the third or fourth time) there was no pitter-patter of raindrops upon my tent. That said, dampness was still in […]
Rest Day 11: Copenhagen, Denmark
The first day of prolonged rain so probably better off the bike than on it. That said, my visit to the centre did involve a 7 km ride from the campsite (see previous post) and a very wet ride back in the late afternoon. I joined a three […]
Copenhagen: Cycling City? First Impressions…
The question mark is a touch rhetorical… Of course it is! There are bicycles everywhere and cycle lanes take you from anywhere to anywhere. That’s really not surprising, but… Contrary to what the ‘everything-about-cycling-in-Britain-is-rubbish’ crowd would have you believe, there’s a large minority here who wear helmets, a […]
YHA Celebrate Bike Week 2015 With A Big Investment
By Philip Gamble of the YHA Bike Week 2015 is now upon us and cycling events are taking place across the UK in order to encourage more people explore the outdoors on two wheels. From ‘Bike Breakfasts’ to pedal powered juke boxes, there are a wide range of […]
Cycling Day 59: Vemmetofte To Copenhagen
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I’ll be honest. This isn’t going to get written until tomorrow… The pictures aren’t that great either. —– OK, it’s now cycling day 61 and I am finally sitting down to write this. I will keep it brief […]
Cycling Day 58: Møns Klint To Vemmetofte
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I usually write these updates while I’m sitting next to the tent. Tonight I’ve found somewhere rather more beautiful and even more peaceful… I’ll be honest. I’ve now returned to the campsite – only a couple of […]
Equipment Update
The last couple of weeks have seen various items of equipment meet their maker, not just on the bike but other bits and pieces as well… Let’s starts with the bike however: Replacement chain, cassette, brake pads and rear wheel in Hamburg. A new set of Schwalbe Marathon […]
Rest Day 10: Møns Klint, Denmark
“One of Denmark’s most famous landmarks…” according to the Lonely Planet guidebook. They – the cliffs that is – are impressive although you wouldn’t want to bring a group of school children here; the paths are perilously close to the cliff edges and rock falls are not uncommon […]
Sunday: The Day Of Rest (In Møns Klint)
Fear not! I haven’t suddenly gone all religious… …but after a full week of long, strenuous and flattish rides (ones that rarely give you an opportunity to sit back in the saddle and relax), I’m taking an impromptu day off. Møns Klint with its allegedly spectacular cliffs […]
Cycling Day 57: Ulslev To Møns Klint
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Now before I start, I forget to mention something yesterday. I got my tyres pumped up in a shop! [That it?] But there’s more… I asked the chap who did the pumping what he thought about the tread […]
Cycling Day 56: Spodsbjerg To Ulslev
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I have found an idyllic place to camp tonight on the eastern side of the island of Falster on the shore of the Baltic Sea. This is the beach, just metres from my tent: How I managed to […]
The View From My Breakfast Rock In Denmark…
I think I’ve arrived in Scandinavia. No doubts.
Cycling Day 55: Fynshav To Spodsbjerg
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I’ll try and keep it brief tonight, for my sake just as much as yours. I’ve said that before however and always find a few tangents… First up (after two muffins for breakfast) was the ferry. Actually (first […]
Cycling Day 54: Flensburg To Fynshav
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I chatted late into the evening with Franziska and Klaus whilst sitting on their garden terrace sipping wine and eating Scandinavian chocolate. They had left me alone at the house for a couple of hours earlier in the […]
Cycling Day 53: Missunde To Flensburg
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. The campsite at Missunde really was a gem. Every box on the Cycling-Europe-travelling-cyclist-ideal-campsite list was ticked. Twice. The previous number one site of the trip had been in Orléans; but it didn’t have this: By the time […]
Cycling Day 52: Borgdorf-Seedorf To Missunde
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. When I went to the reception of the campsite in Borgdorf-Seedorf this morning to pay my bill, I owed 4 cents on top of the deposit of €10 that I had paid for the card that recorded how […]
Possibly The Best View From A Campsite So Far?
A sneak preview of tonight’s round up of cycling day 52. This is what I’ll be looking at when I write it. Unless it starts to rain…
Cycling Day 51: Hamburg To Borgdorf-Seedorf
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I was up and about ridiculously early this morning. We ate and drank well the previous evening so I can’t really explain why I did get up so early. Perhaps it was the bright sunshine outside which gave […]
The Start Of Part II: Hamburg To Denmark
I’m going to be following (hopefully) an ox herding route (now an official cycle path) called the Ochsenweg up through the northern German region of Schleswig-Holstein towards Flensburg, the final town in Germany. The vague route is highlighted in green on the map below but I’m hoping that […]
Rest Day 9: Hamburg
A day of sightseeing and shopping…
Rest Day 8: Back To School / Reggie Gets A Refit
My day has been spent in a German school in the suburbs of Hamburg talking about my travels. Nice students, nice teachers! Here are some of them: In the meantime, Reggie was in for repairs. It was always part of the plan to get the bike serviced […]
Cycling Day 50: Harsefeld To Hamburg
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I’m half way to Nordkapp! Come back later for the full story of cycling day 50… Have you come back? Good. Then let me finish off this post… It’s now Sunday evening and a full three days after […]
Cycling Day 49: Bremen To Harsefeld
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. I followed the HH-HB / route 7 for the first two-thirds of the day… It’s now Friday morning and I’m doing a bit of a catch up on blog side of things. Cycling day 49 was Wednesday and […]
Rest Day 7: Bremen
The day was spent 50:50 between discovering the Hansiatic city and shopping (in preparation for cold, wet Scandinavia…). The pictures are just of the first 50.
Cycling Day 48: Vehrte To Bremen (Via Syke!)
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Not a great deal to report on for cycling day 48. After having spotted the town of Syke just to the south east of Bremen on my map the previous evening, I sat down on the steps of […]
The German Town Of Syke
The town of the Sykes! Never before have I regretted so much not having a black marker pen to hand… The town of Syke is, alas, not one of Germany’s most attractive destinations. A little run down and in need of investment (insert your own joke at this […]
Cycling In France (Review)
I did promise to write one of the reviews after each country (here’s the one about Spain) but I am only now sitting down to write the review about cycling in France. As before, it may make more sense if you go back and read the post I […]
Cycling Day 47: Münster To Vehrte
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. So, where were we? Ah yes; in a very wintery Munster getting hailed upon… On the terrace of the bar where I wrote up the report for cycling day 46 yesterday afternoon I was at least protected from […]
Münster: Paying Hommage To A… Road
Remember these iconic images / poster from an advertising campaign here in Münster to get people out of their cars and into buses or onto bikes? Well, I wasn’t able to climb the tower of the cathedral to take my picture but I did find the […]
Cycling Day 46: Reckling-Hausen To Münster
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Let’s start with the positive: I’ve arrived in Münster, the sun is shining sporadically and, on the whole, the physical cycling conditions today were good. For most of the time I was able to travel along dedicated […]
Cycling Day 45: Düsseldorf To Reckling-Hausen
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. First of all, if you have looked at the statistics in the above link, did you notice this? You probably didn’t. I stopped for a coffee and to write up about cycling day 44 in a supermarket. […]
Cycling Day 44: Cologne To Düsseldorf
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Over the last ten years I’ve visited Germany on quite a few occasions; twice to Stuttgart, twice to Hamburg, once to each of Munich Berlin and Bonn. I have a very positive view of the country based upon […]
The Rhine Cycle Route: Really?
Seriously underwhelmed with what I’ve found. The first hour cycling north out of Cologne has been only sporadically sign-posted with Eurovelo 15 signs leaving me guessing as to whether I am on the right track on not. I’m following the little red signs assuming that they are sending […]
Cycling Day 43: Aachen To Cologne
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Yesterday I made clear my (self-inflicted) frustration at not being back on a campsite but couped up in a small hotel room in Aachen. As I sit here by the banks of the Rhine at tonight’s campsite just […]
“Wirral Men Complete Epic Charity Bike Ride”
Press release: 5 COUNTRIES – 10 DAYS – 1315 KILOMETRES – £3600 RAISED FOR CHARITY Earlier this year we told you about a group of young men from Wirral who were planning to undertake an epic and unsupported bike ride from London to Berlin to raise funds […]
Germany: The Plan (Ish)
Today was a little bit of a wake-up call; arriving in Germany I expected the place to be full of campsites. Aachen certainly wasn’t. Although it does have a ‘camping platz’ just out of town, it’s not for tents, just motor homes. The woman in the tourist office […]
Cycling Day 42: Maastricht To Aachen
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. The collegiate atmosphere of the five cycling tourists on the one small patch of ground at the campsite south of Maastricht continued this morning as we all packed away our things are readied ourselves to head off in […]
Tour De Yorkshire: The Race, The County, The Amazing Things On Offer To Visitors
By James Moore Taking place between the 1st and 3rd of May, the Tour de Yorkshire was a staggering success, the utterly new and refreshing racing event drawing one and a half million people as spectators whilst simultaneously showcasing the county to countless viewers hailing from 150 countries […]
Cycling Day 41: Borgloon To Maastricht
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Tonight has been chuffing cold! I have now crawled into the tent at the campsite a few kilometres south of Maastricht wearing four upper layers of clothing, a beanie on my head and a Buff around my neck. […]
Cycling Day 40: Chapelle-Saint-Lambert To Borgloon
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Kevin Mayne and his wife Cheryl have been great hosts. Not only did Kevin make the effort to come and ‘collect’ me on Friday afternoon after I cycled over the border into Belgium from France but they wined […]
Rest Day 6: Waterloo, Belgium
It seems appropriate on the day of the Eurovision Song Contest to visit the site of the Battle of Waterloo. Let’s face it, it’s a field, but what is more interesting – very interesting – is the brand new and excellent visitor centre built underground, the round panoramic […]
Cycling Day 39: Maubeuge To Chapelle-Saint-Lambert
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. A little delayed, here’s the write up… I set out all my bits and pieces of paper on the an outside table of a café in central Maubeuge to sort out what could to be sent back to […]
Cycling Day 38: Seraucourt-le-Grand To Maubeuge
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. It was a late finish today – back in Maubeuge! – so I’ll write the prose tomorrow or later tonight. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures… I’m back! It’s now Friday morning and I’m sitting outside the Café […]
Maubeuge: Crossing Points
2010: 2015:
Cycling Day 37: Pierrefonds To Seraucourt-le-Grand
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. Don’t worry; until earlier this afternoon I’d never head of Seraucourt-le-Grand myself. It’s not too far from Saint-Quentin (and don’t worry, even French teachers like me pronounce it that way as well!) More of my destination in a […]
