Regular readers of this blog will no doubt be aware that on the 1st July I set off from Greece in the direction of Portugal on my bike. My mission is two-fold. Firstly because I want to. Secondly because I will write my second book about the trip. […]
“I thought this book may maybe a bit boring considering I have recently read several cycling travel books of people travelling around the World. But in fact it was a very good read mainly due to the writer’s skill of making even the most mundane day sound interesting. […]
The following letter appeared in The Guardian on 12th January. It’s worth a read in light of today’s speech from David Cameron: “At last we may get a debate on Britain’s relationship with Europe (Leader, 11 January). What did the EEC/EU ever do for us? Not much, apart from: providing […]
The info-graphic below comes from GLUE. It gave me reason to reflect upon my own experiences as a driver in London during the Olympic Games last summer. Following my temporary transfer from cyclist to Gamesmaker driver (I don’t own a car so am almost 100% of the time […]
Not only is the Tour de France 2014 coning to my home county of Yorkshire, it will be passing through the town of my childhood, the place where my parents, brother & his family still live! Stage 2, Elland. More details on the Visit Yorkshire website & the date […]
“Just finished [Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie]! A thoroughly delightful book that simply lifts the spirit and creates the urge to travel. A must read for cyclists and travellers, real or armchair, alike. One of those rare books that you just wish would last […]
I hear that One Direction are doing quite well in the USA. Well, they are not the only ones to be getting rave reviews from our Americain cousins; Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie has just recieved its fourth positive review on Amazon.com (to complement […]
I’ll be cycling through Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia next summer along the route of the Eurovelo 8. I was sent in the direction of this video by an extremely helpful employee of the Montenegro tourist board. It really does make you think again…
Mobile blogging comes of age. Let’s see if it all works seamlessly. Keep your fingers crossed. The photos were taken by the camera and uploaded to the iPad mini via a special adapter for SD cards. The iPad is tethered to the mobile phone 3G signal here is […]
If you’d like to have a read before you buy, visit Picnic Café in Butter Market, Reading as they’ve just added a familiar title to their eclectic library of books (alongside ‘A Feast of [Keith] Floyd’ & Hervé Moran’s accomplished tome ‘The Genius of French Poster Art’). Take […]
When I cycled along the Eurovelo 5 back in 2010, I typed out every blog post (30,000 words in total) over the course of the five week trip on my iPhone. It may be why, over the last few years, I feel that my eye sight has begun […]
In exactly 6 months’ time I will be in Athens, or somewhere near Athens. My bike will have been reassembled after its flight from London, my panniers packed with equipment, clothes & supplies & my mind no doubt full of excitement and anxiety as to what the subsequent […]
It should be an interesting one…
This is a nice post with which to bring 2012 to a close. Alex Pavitt has written a review for Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie for his website (which is well worth a visit!): “Feeling inspired from the amazing feats of the Great Britain team […]
‘Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie‘ seems to have come of age this Christmas. It was a real delight for many who received the book as a present on the 25th to send a picture. Here is a montage of the photos that I received. […]
For a full match report visit a site that doesn’t have ‘cycling’ in the title… I am partial to a bit of photography however and these are the shots I took yesterday from seat AA 66;
Green is above average, red is below. Interesting to see how I warmed up after the summer off the bike in September, peaked in October & November & then slowed down in December as the conditions on the at times icy roads made cycling more difficult… On […]
Sheffield is a city that, on occasions, I pass through or pass by. A dot on the map between The South (where I live) to The North (where I come from and now visit two or three times a year). When I pass by it is on the […]
This is the official announcement from the Tour de France website: “Les organisateurs du Tour de France ont le plaisir d’annoncer que le Grand Départ du Tour de France 2014 aura lieu au Royaume-Uni, dans le comté du Yorkshire, avant une arrivée d’étape à Londres. Après une année 2012 exceptionnelle […]
Spotted on the Adventure Cycling Association website & originally from The Path Less Pedaled website…
Here’s an urgent message from the European Cyclists’ Federation (the ECF) which I support whole-heartedly! “There are 35 million daily cyclists in Europe. There are more than 100 million Europeans who cycle regularly. Yet the European Institutions are failing to take cycling seriously as a mode of Transport. […]
Looks like a great road. Details of the magazine on their website & Facebook page.
Last Thursday was very cold. Especially in the middle of the Oxfordshire countryside which is just where I happened to be at about 7.30am as I made my way from my flat in Reading to work on the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames. My route is an up and down […]
“The author has managed to convey the real joy of long distance cycling. I found his style of writing just made me want to keep turning the pages. His self-deprecating approach and dry, delightful wit are a joy. Read this; you will enjoy.” Dalesbloke “An excellent book, written in […]
“Tutti le emozioni della bici” The Florence Bike Festival.
Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie has gone legit! Well, it was never not so but it is increasingly available on the shelves of your local book shop. Below is the updated list of availability in Waterstone’s (and there are more to come). There is […]
I recently exchanged a few tweets with Gemma Hume from London who works for a charity called Practical Action. She also happens to be a cyclist and in aid of her charity she is mixing business & pleasure by organising a charity bike ride. It’s called ‘Nightrider’ and what […]
From the website of the European Cyclists’ Federation: “This month a decision will be made to include EuroVelo in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). If included, this would mean billions in funding, and make a major contribution towards the completion of the remaining sections of the network. EuroVelo […]
The latest edition of this mouth-wateringly adventurous cycling magazine is out now! The highlights of the November issue are… “Cycling the Americas Cass Gilbert reflects on bicycling, travel and the final destination. Ian Hibell An interview with a bicycle touring legend. French Alps Inspirational photography from Kees Swart […]
Nick Dewar
You did it! Just after midnight last night I sent £202 to BBC Children In Need thanks to all the people who downloaded the Kindle version of ‘Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie‘ in the first two weeks of November. Thanks if you were one of them. […]
Here’s a bit of cycling from Central America… “In this footage filmed from a camera mounted on a rider’s helmet, we see race winner Brendan Fairclough’s hair-rasing descent through the narrow streets of Taxco in Mexico. Taking part in the Taxco urban downhill, Fairclough races down steep stairs, […]
‘Pieman Pete’ has a few suggestions; “I was looking at the Italia routes you mention… I have climbed Tende (on the south route) and it is a relatively gentle climb until the last 10km. I have been up it a few times (see Flickr photo) and is definitely […]
Dear Reader A year ago, a journalist at The Times was very seriously injured while cycling to work. Mary Bowers, a much loved and hugely talented reporter, survived the accident but is only minimally conscious and is still recovering in hospital. We make no apology for having begun a campaign […]
Yes, it is true. Here’s the report in today’s Telegraph.
I’ve received an email from Giulia of the Italian national cycling organisation, FIAB. I had emailed her asking about possible contact that may be of use when I cross the north of Italy from Slovenia in the east to France in the west. More on that at a […]
Spent a day walking with a friend yesterday in Winchester. Had never been there before but I probably will again…
Dear friends, Welcome to November! You’ve all be amazingly supportive over the last fifteen months since ‘Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie‘ was first published back in August 2011. A budding author could not have asked for more help, advice & encouragement. The last week […]
The vibrations, despite being good, have been banned by Amazon… I’ll post the full story on here by the end of the week. In the meantime, here is the tweaked cover of the Kindle version of the book. All other versions (paperback, Apple iStore, Waterstone’s, Kobo, WHSmith, Lulu…) […]
“Colin Murray presents a new series on cycling, with the latest news and interviews from the sport as well as a look at cycling leisure and lifestyle.” Here’s the iPlayer link…
Kevin Dennis has been in touch: Hello Andrew, We are Spoke ‘n’ Chain, a creative bicycle arts team that came to being in 2009 in Bristol, and discovered both the Eurovelo routes and Kamishibai this year. We are currently developing our workshop and performance techniques and rigging a Yuba bicycle in […]
On the very same weekend that I prepare to head off from Athens along the Mediterranean coast towards the south-western point of Portugal, the 100th Tour de France sets off from Corsica…
(There doesn’t appear to be a Rough Guide to Albania)
A couple of weeks’ ago I posted some comments from Tim about cycling through Albania. I asked him for more details on his own cycle through this lesser-known European country and he has kindly obliged: The main reason I wanted to get in contact was because I was […]
“Some travel writers have the dubious talent of turning a fascinating journey into a dull book. Andrew Sykes is no such writer so his book will appeal to cyclists and non-cyclists alike. As well as the things he sees and does Andrew describes his motivations for undertaking the […]
3.6 million people have watched Martyn Ashton’s video on YouTube so this is something many of you may have already seen but it is worth watching again. Amazing… & just a little bit scary. One of the best things about it is Martyn Ashton’s age; he is very […]
Will from Devon has reviewed Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie for his website WillCycle; “No, sadly this post isn’t about a forthcoming long-distance cycling holiday. Instead, it is about a book I recently read. I’ve never done a book review before, so forgive me if […]
When I first tried to put a little meat on the bone that is the Eurovelo 8 (next year’s trip), I made the following comments on the Eurovelo 8 section of the website about travelling through Albania & Montenegro; “I could avoid Albania & Montenegro altogether! How? Well, […]
Having just upgraded to the new iPhone, my BioLogic iPhone 4 bike mount has just become redundant. The company have reassured me via Twitter that they are working on a new mount for the iPhone 5 which is wonderful news. I use the mount every day in conjunction […]
Over the next few months, I will drone on endlessly on this website, on Twitter & on Facebook about this piece of cycling equipment or that. I will debate the merits of widget A over that of widget B to the extent that when I do finally make […]
From the European Cyclists’ Federation website: “Cycling tourism is one of the biggest growth sectors in tourism. A new study says it’s worth €44 billion per annum to Europe. Experts are getting ready to discuss how they can make this sector even bigger at a conference this week in […]
“As my title suggests I can’t wait for the next tale of travel by bike in Europe, I finished it so quickly as I enjoyed it so much. I am assured the next book is due after summer 2013 on Eurovelo 8 Athens to Cadiz. I thoroughly enjoyed […]
Only found out that the Tour Méditerranéen existed this week… Lazy journalism I know but hey! it’s Sunday so this is what Wikipedia says about the race: “Le Tour Méditerranéen is a professional road bicycle racing event held in southern France along the Mediterranean Sea. The Tour Méditerranéen is a five-day stage race that began in […]
‘That phrase, over-used in the review of books ‘the perfect summer read’. Well, this is the perfect WINTER read, because it’s like sitting down the pub with your mate trading travel and bike stories with a nice glass of vino by the fire. Andrew Sykes’ writing is informal, […]
Cast your minds back to September 2010. I had just returned to the UK from my cycle to Italy and I tentatively checked my online mobile phone account with Orange. I’d planned ahead and made sure that I had a quota of data available for use each day […]
If you’ve read Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie, you may well remember Iain who I stayed with overnight in Deal, Kent. I look up to Iain as someone who seems to know much more about the technicalities of cycling than me. It wouldn’t be […]
“I bought this book having read some great reviews, I wasn’t sure it would be my thing, how wrong I was. It doesn’t get bogged down with technical details about the bike or equipment, and stays fairly easy on complications to the end, although it’s packed with detail about […]
Looks like fun! Here is the official site. And here is the blurb: “Dodging speeding cars, crazed cabbies and eight million cranky pedestrians is all in a day’s work for Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the best of New York’s agile and aggressive bicycle messengers. It takes a special breed […]
UPDATE 2018: It looks as though the Google Map referred to here has now been deleted… There are still some valid comments below however so I’ll leave this post online; just don’t expect to find the map it refers to… You may also want to visit this page […]
Sitting in my flat in Reading on a Saturday morning, I’m in dream mood; I just posted about my own past cycling experiences in the Alps and here’s someone else’s adventure immortalised in film: Reveal The Path. I spotted it on Twitter last night and the trailer is […]
I’ve just caught up with last Monday’s Cycle Show on ITV4 which contained an interesting piece on cycling up to the Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps. Some stunning images and it’s worth watching on the ITV Player just for the views (although if you do, be quick as […]
Digital mapping moves on apace. Only this week I was emailed by a guy from the German website Cycle Routes & Tours pointing out that some of the Eurovelo routes have been mapped on his site. I’ve added the links he gave to the relevant route sections in […]
It’s nearly all over…
Perhaps the first line of the latest five-star review for Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie will help me break into the lucrative market currently dominated by Fifty Shades of Grey… “This a passionate read – and if you enjoy travel or you enjoy cycling, […]
Click on the image to watch the video…
Well, that’s what it was called when I was growing up; it’s a great name isn’t it? Imagine other races being named after drinks; The Beer Race, The Orange Squash Race, The Bloody Mary Race… None of them works quite so well as ‘The Milk Race‘. It’s now […]
Welcome back! (Sorry, just practising for a future job on daytime television…) A couple of posts back, I wrote about my visit last week to York but there was a little gap in my day. Here’s what I did in the gap… The writing of my book has […]
Absence makes the heart grow fonder… However eager I am for the academic year to end in July and for the long holidays to start, six weeks later at the end of August I am secretly looking forward to the new academic year kicking off. I love fresh […]
If Newcastle had been at one end, York should have been at the other end of the familiarity spectrum during my visit to Yorkshire & the North East of England last week; I had, after all spent three years in the city as a student, albeit over twenty years ago. […]
Matt writes; “STATS Total Days: 42 Rest Days: 10 Cycling Days: 32 Total Distance: 2900km Avg Distance per Cycling Day: 90km Number of Punctures: 0 Accommodation Campsite: 21 Wild camped: 2 Couch surfed: 13 Hostel: 5 Hotel: 1 Total Expenditure*: 1086€ Avg Daily expense: 25€ *Not including flights […]
50 reviews on Amazon.co.uk & still going strong with an average star rating of 4.7. Here is number 50; “This book was just great. From the first page to the last I was never bored and was always desperately wondering what Andrew (the author) was going to do […]
How cool is this! More info at BicycleDutch.
Matt Krog’s final post from the Eurovelo 6 from Nantes to Budapest. He made it & many congratulations to him for doing so. He will continue his journey to Rome and he will be continuing to blog at his website Matt’s Big Bicycle Tour. Thanks for creating some […]
Yesterday I did something that I probably haven’t done in the last ten years; I spent my day offline; no mobile phone, no computer, no iPad, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Instagram, no blogging, no Internet searching… Nothing! Now, fear not; I didn’t do this because I think […]
Wednesday 22nd August Bratislava to Gyor: 4 hours, 82km “In the morning I went for a walk with Ivana and benji (their dog) through the nearby vineyards. It was a great walk through the country side and we picked grapes from the vines to munch along the way. […]
Tuesday 21st August Rest Day in Bratislava “Each room in the Downtown Backpackers is named after a famous artist. I was staying in Picasso along with 7 other people and was the first of the Piccasans to wake the next morning. I packed up my things quietly before […]
Monday 20th August Vienna to Bratislava: 4 hours 7 minutes, 77km “I took advantage of the hostel buffet breakfast, feasting on 3 bowls of muesli and a couple of hot chocolates. I said farewell to Julien (who was driving off to Salzburg today) and cycled off out of […]
Saturday 18th August Rest Day in Vienna “I decided to join Julian and Heidi for breakfast and we found a quiet little cafe to have a coffee and pastry. I had opted for the traditional Viennese cake called Sachertorte, which is a chocolate type cake with layers of […]
Friday 17th August Krems to Vienna: 4 hours, 80km “More riding along the river today. Passing many cyclists, my knee was holding out fine. The previous day through the renowned Wachu region had many beautiful wine land and mountain landscapes on offer. Today the views were less awe […]
The paramedic was called Sarah and she had found this corner of the Minster Gardens in which to pass the time with a book. Interestingly, the bike is a Ridgeback, one of Reggie’s cousins but with smaller wheels and a thick frame it reminded me more of an […]
Here are the pictures; the text will come later…
The Baltic Mill in Gateshead isn’t the most attractive of buildings; it was, after all built as a mill and the storage and processing of grain didn’t require too much ornamentation. There are visible attempts of grandeur; notably the tiled words ‘Baltic Flour Mill’ and the clean vertical […]
So, here I am in the North-East of England, far away from my little abode in the South and Thursday morning finds me in the very relaxing atmosphere of the café of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. The place itself doesn’t open until 10am so […]
A few shots of the Tyne at night…
To be fair, the home side were out-played by the East Midlanders. Brian Clough would not be happy to have had victory prised from his side by a penalty in the last minute of second half extra time. It’s a funny old game. If they want to stay […]
It’s now a year since Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie was first published. The literary journey since August 2011 has been almost as eventful as the one by bike to Brindisi back in summer 2010; here’s hoping that Year 2 will be just as […]
Filmed in 1965 Hartlepool by his brother, Ridley Scott, the now late Tony Scott gets on his bike and rides… “A teenage boy plays truant from school, and spends the day riding around the town and the deserted beach on his bicycle, letting his mind wander as he imagines […]
I’ve always thought that ‘The North’ starts at Kings Cross; it’s a little enclave in London where northern vowels predominate & people refer to each other as ‘love’ rather than ‘mate’. My mini tour of ‘The North’ starts today albeit without Reggie (my bike). Today I travel to […]
Towards the end of my cycle yesterday, I crossed the Reading University campus. As an ex-student, I know the area very well and am always delighted to see a new development spring up. I was particularly pleased to see the building shown here; The Reading Enterprise Centre. Against […]
