An interesting week both on and off the bike. In recent weeks I’ve mentioned the purchase of a new bike in order to return to the habit of cycling to work. Well, this week, the bike was delivered and the habit re-started… Alas the delivery of the bike – a Ribble Hybrid AL Trail Disc Enthusiast 2.0 – was timed for Monday morning so I resorted to taking the car to school that day, but when I returned home, this was waiting for me…
Declan Lyons trained as a zoologist but after several years working as a journalist and management consultant he started to research and then write two Cicerone guides for people interested in cycling the Canal de la Garonne from Bordeaux to Toulouse and the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to the Mediterranean coast at Sète. Together the canals are known as the Véloroute des Deux Mers – the ‘two seas cycle route’ – and in this episode of the podcast he talks about the history of the canals and how they have been transformed in recent decades into one of France’s most popular cycling routes. Also: we hear from Ian Yarroll, an experienced cycle tourist, who, after developing balance problems, took up a recumbent trike…
Declan Lyons trained as a zoologist but after several years working as a journalist and management consultant he started to research and then write two Cicerone guides for people interested in cycling the Canal de la Garonne from Bordeaux to Toulouse and the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to the Mediterranean coast at Sète. Together the canals are known as the Véloroute des Deux Mers – the ‘two seas cycle route’ – and in this episode of the podcast he talks about the history of the canals and how they have been transformed in recent decades into one of France’s most popular cycling routes. Also: we hear from Ian Yarroll, an experienced cycle tourist, who, after developing balance problems, took up a recumbent trike…
Explore Your Boundaries – a new documentary by Mark Beaumont and Markus Stitz – is all about gravel routes following the council boundaries of Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Falkirk and Glasgow in Scotland. Markus mentioned the film at the recent Cycle Touring Festival. It was inspired by the national lockdowns and the requirement to ‘stay local’ with our exercise. It’s difficult to comprehend that the first of those lockdowns was nearly two years ago. Life seems to have returned to normal for most people, but I’m still wearing my mask on public transport and in shops. Although it was clearly a terrible time for many, I do look back upon those months of relative peace and quiet with some nostalgia, although I readily admit that my reminiscences are probably very rose-tinted… Here’s the film:
In a week when the news here in Europe has been dominated by… well, let’s not go there other than to note that Putin needs to ride his bike a bit more often and shed the macho persona he so loves, I have been transported off to France and then across the whole of Europe courtesy of two conversations that I have recorded for upcoming episodes of The Cycling Europe Podcast.
In 2021 I put out a call for anyone who was interested in recording a short monologue about their experiences of cycling to get in touch and, in the past year, quite a few people have come forward to record such a monologue. In this episode you have a second opportunity to hear Laura Massey-Pugh set out her plans to cycle around the world on a tandem, Laurence Warren tell the story of round-the-world cyclist Colin Martin as well as discuss his experiences of cycling in his adopted home of Austria, Robin Watkins talk about cycling in Czechia, the poet Caroline Burrows reflect lyrically upon her commute to work and Simon Garland recount his experiences of cycling the EuroVelo 15 or the Rhine Cycle Route. We also hear from Gavin Wood in an interview recorded at the time of the COP 26 climate conference. He works in West Yorkshire in the north of England as an active travel advisor and we chatted about the challenges of building infrastructure and changing minds in order that we can all live in a much more cycling-friendly place.
In 2021 I put out a call for anyone who was interested in recording a short monologue about their experiences of cycling to get in touch and, in the past year, quite a few people have come forward to record such a monologue. In this episode you have a second opportunity to hear Laura Massey-Pugh set out her plans to cycle around the world on a tandem, Laurence Warren tell the story of round-the-world cyclist Colin Martin as well as discuss his experiences of cycling in his adopted home of Austria, Robin Watkins talk about cycling in Czechia, the poet Caroline Burrows reflect lyrically upon her commute to work and Simon Garland recount his experiences of cycling the EuroVelo 15 or the Rhine Cycle Route. We also hear from Gavin Wood in an interview recorded at the time of the COP 26 climate conference. He works in West Yorkshire in the north of England as an active travel advisor and we chatted about the challenges of building infrastructure and changing minds in order that we can all live in a much more cycling-friendly place.
This year’s Cycling Touring Festival kicks off this weekend, in fact at 10am this morning, but it’s not too late to register for the various events taking place online over the course of the next week or so. You may even spot me popping up a few times but not speaking, just hosting three of the events. The film I made about cycling the Hebridean Way last year is also featured as part of the ‘film festival’ collection.
In this episode of the podcast we hear from two groups who are using cycling to highlight important issues in society. Iris and Jan, from Berlin, are currently cycling around the world. As they travel, they are researching approaches towards tackling mental health issues in the countries that they visit. The Climate Explorers are a small group of cyclists who are aiming to raise environmental awareness. In 2021 they embarked upon the ‘Pedal 4 Parks’ journey across the UK. Your host, Andrew Sykes, also updates us on his plans to cycle around the Baltic Sea in the summer of 2022.
In this episode of the podcast we hear from two groups who are using cycling to highlight important issues in society. Iris and Jan, from Berlin, are currently cycling around the world. As they travel, they are researching approaches towards tackling mental health issues in the countries that they visit. The Climate Explorers are a small group of cyclists who are aiming to raise environmental awareness. In 2021 they embarked upon the ‘Pedal 4 Parks’ journey across the UK. Your host, Andrew Sykes, also updates us on his plans to cycle around the Baltic Sea in the summer of 2022.
Coming to a village near you (if you live in South Yorkshire or North Nottinghamshire…).
Earlier this week I received an email from WarmShowers, the accommodation sharing website aimed at cycle tourists, about their ‘forums’. Whenever I think of forums my mind turns back to the early days of the Internet when things were a little more ‘clunky’ than they are now. But they must still be a ‘thing’ and the fact that WarmShowers have them on their website would suggest that, actually, they are still widely used.
Here’s a nice film from Markus Stitz / Bikepacking Scotland featuring the landscapes of the north of England. The film follows Rupert Robinson who completed the route of All Points North in just over 60 hours. If you are familiar with the area, you’ll definitely recognise many of the places that the route of the long-distance cycling event – that took place in September 2021 – passes through. Well worth 17 minutes of your weekend.
I’m continuing to walk to work on as many days as I can. Before Christmas I embarked on the 45-minute journey – in both directions – almost every day of the school term and absorbed myself into the world of Baltic podcasts. Over the course of six or seven weeks I practically exhausted all the relevant available audio delights on Apple Podcasts and BBC Sounds, circumnavigating the Baltic Sea not once but twice.
My mind continues to be focussed on plans for this summer’s ride around (much of) the Baltic Sea. Although I am happy for the details of the journey to simply go with the flow of events (as was the case during the previous long European cycles) with accommodation and day-to-day destinations being decided upon on the day itself, I have committed myself to two ferry journeys; from Hull to Rotterdam and then, a few days later, from Kiel in Germany to Klaipeda in Lithuania. Initially, this gave me a maximum of five days to travel from the port in Rotterdam to its counterpart in Kiel…
The Baltic Sea Cycle Route is one of the longest of the EuroVelos. It’s route number 10 and passes through every country that touches the Baltic Sea; Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia (twice), Finland, Sweden and Denmark. In the summer of 2019 Bernd Schadowski & his 17-year-old son Tristan, two cyclists from Aachen in western Germany, said auf wiedersehen to the rest of their family and set off from Lübeck with the intention of completing the 9,000 km loop. In this episode of the podcast, Bernd recounts their inspiring journey around Europe’s other big sea…
The Baltic Sea Cycle Route is one of the longest of the EuroVelos. It’s route number 10 and passes through every country that touches the Baltic Sea; Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia (twice), Finland, Sweden and Denmark. In the summer of 2019 Bernd Schadowski & his 17-year-old son Tristan, two cyclists from Aachen in western Germany, said auf wiedersehen to the rest of their family and set off from Lübeck with the intention of completing the 9,000 km loop. In this episode of the podcast, Bernd recounts their inspiring journey around Europe’s other big sea…
On October 31st last year, I posted a short message to Twitter (and similar messages on Facebook and Instagram as well as on CyclingEurope.org itself) that I intended taking a break from the whole ‘Cycling Europe’ thing to spend a bit more time doing everything else in life. I signed off saying that I would be back on January 1st 2022 and, right on cue, here I am. Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a good Christmas and are all set to make the coming year better than the previous two…
I’ve been taking a break from the website and social media but before I return in early 2022, here’s a short video about a recent trip to Scotland. In late November 2021 I attended a Cycling UK event in Stirling, where I had been asked to give a talk about ‘Cycling Europe’. It was the perfect excuse to embark upon a wee bit of winter cycling – from Stirling to Edinburgh along the northern bank of the Firth of Forth – with a little time to explore the two cities at either end of the route…
October 2021 has been a quiet month on CyclingEurope.org; just two substantive posts, one about episode 40 of The Cycling Europe Podcast and the second reflecting upon the possibility of embarking upon a cycling trip around the Baltic Sea in 2022. Well, after quite some considerable thought and an in depth chat with a German chap called Bernd who cycled the complete route in 2019 (that will be published as an episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast later in November), I took a significant step in committing myself to heading off on a long Baltic cycle tour next week by buying a ticket for the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam on Monday 20th June 2022…
Anyone (well, almost anyone…) who has ever embarked upon a long cycle journey will recognise that there is a flaw in the process. It comes at the very end of your travels – perhaps even a few weeks or months after the end – when it dawns upon you that you no longer have a big cycling ‘thing’ towards which you can look forward. I replaced my doomed trip to Japan (scuppered by COVID) with a cycle around the UK in 2020 and, more recently, a trip to the Outer Hebrides in 2021. But I now find myself back at square one and I’ll be honest; I’ve been struggling to answer that all important question ‘where next?’
The cycle touring world is not short of people who enjoy sharing their two-wheeled adventures in books, on social media, on YouTube and even on podcasts such as this. But for every known cyclist, there are thousands of unknown cyclists embarking upon journeys that often surpass the endeavours of more publicity-friendly adventurers. This episode of the podcast meets two of them; Anne Lawther, who has had a 40-year relationship with long-distance cycling and, via the words of Laurence Warren, Colin Martin who, 50 years ago, set off on his Moulton to cycle the world…
The cycle touring world is not short of people who enjoy sharing their two-wheeled adventures in books, on social media, on YouTube and even on podcasts such as this. But for every known cyclist, there are thousands of unknown cyclists embarking upon journeys that often surpass the endeavours of more publicity-friendly adventurers. This episode of the podcast meets two of them; Anne Lawther, who has had a 40-year relationship with long-distance cycling and, via the words of Laurence Warren, Colin Martin who, 50 years ago, set off on his Moulton to cycle the world…
Britain offers some amazing places to explore on a bicycle, but there can be few locations within the UK that offer the remoteness, drama and sheer spectacle of the islands of The Outer Hebrides. The Hebridean Way takes cyclists from Vatersay in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north: “10 islands, 6 causeways, 2 ferries and 1 unforgettable adventure”. The writer Andrew P. Sykes attempted the ride in the summer of 2021. This is his story.
It was on a campsite in central Norway in the July of 2015 when I first learnt to appreciate astrophysics. Having arrived at the campsite late in the day with a tent that had been packed away wet that morning, I was keen to get the thing erected and dried. Modern tents do dry extremely quickly, even when not in direct sunlight, but a bit of sun doesn’t go amiss. The campsite in Norway was in the bottom of a valley and when I arrived, the sun was fast approaching the hill to the north west. I naturally assumed that before long the sun would disappear behind the hill and my tent would take longer to dry. But it didn’t…
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the south to Lewis in the north along one of Britain’s most spectacular rides. In part 1 of this episode of the podcast he travelled from the island of Vatersay to the island of Berneray. In this second part of the podcast we see him complete his journey across the Isles of Harris and Lewis to the Butt of Lewis and the end of the Hebridean Way.
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the south to Lewis in the north along one of Britain’s most spectacular rides. In part 1 of this episode of the podcast he travelled from the island of Vatersay to the island of Berneray. In this second part of the podcast we see him complete his journey across the Isles of Harris and Lewis to the Butt of Lewis and the end of the Hebridean Way.
I was always planning to cycle to Skipton this weekend – I have lined up an exclusive* interview for The Cycling Europe Podcast with one of the unsung heroes of cycling touring and we are meeting at the local Morrison’s at 10am tomorrow (apparently it’s half price for Cycling UK members…) – but it was only a passing thought a few weeks ago when I arranged the chat that I might cycle up to Skipton from my home near Halifax and camp overnight. At the gym this morning I thought about it again. When I got home in the early afternoon I thought about it yet again. At 1:15pm I made the decision to do it, by 2pm I had packed the bike and left the house and just after 2:30pm I was on the train from Halifax to Bradford.
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the south to Harris in the north along one of Britain’s most spectacular rides. In part 1 of the podcast he travels from the island of Vatersay to the island of Berneray. Part 2 of the podcast will see him complete his journey to the Butt of Lewis and it will be published on Sunday 19th September 2021.
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the south to Harris in the north along one of Britain’s most spectacular rides. In part 1 of the podcast he travels from the island of Vatersay to the island of Berneray. Part 2 of the podcast will see him complete his journey to the Butt of Lewis and it will be published on Sunday 19th September 2021.
My plan is to make a film about my journey along the Hebridean Way. It will include more of the drone footage (in 4K quality) as well as footage taken using my Canon video camera. Look out for that in a couple of months. In the meantime, if you missed any of the daily videos (plus a few ‘extra’ ones including the as-yet-unseen video about my visit to Glasgow today, here they all are in one place. Enjoy!
I’m now in Glasgow and heading back to Yorkshire later this afternoon. Time to look back on the past two weeks. Here are some Hebridean Way statistics (including travel to / from the Outer Hebrides).
Another interesting day on the road, and back on the rails… It’s been day two of my three-day return to Halifax and not without incident nor cycling (which is why you are here I assume). Indeed there was just over 50 km of the stuff followed by a long two-stage journey back to Glasgow. That’s where today finished but it started back in Ullapool…
Not much text today, the story is told once again in video and photographic form. Highlight of my visit to Stornoway must surely be the excellent museum next to Lews Castle. Well with a visit if only to see the Lewis Chessmen, or some of them; the pesky British Museum are at it again keeping hold over the other 90 or so…
Today was a bit of a transitory day; moving from the business of cycling the Hebridean Way to thinking about the long journey back home. But it did have its moments, starting with a 6am paddle / wash in the sea. That was an envigorating way to start the day. I returned to the tent to make coffee but within minutes the tent had been surrounded by… cows! They can be dangerous animals so with this thought in mind, my tent was packed up in record time and I was heading – tentatively – towards the gate.
A memorable end to the day, wild camping next to the beach, crashing waves and the setting sun at the north-western extremity of the Outer Hebrides. Perhaps even Britain. I arrived at the Butt of Lewis at around 4pm, the end of the Hebridean Way. My only regret that they didn’t manage to place the metal sign to mark the end of the route in a more photogenically accommodating position…
The headline of today is that, such was my progress on the bike, I am within 40km of the Butt of Lewis. And such was the weather today that, frankly, who wouldn’t want to cycle across some of Britain’s most spectacular landscapes to get to this point? My plan had been minimal; head north along the Hebridean Way and sort out accommodation later. That’s a formula that has never let me down and (spoiler alert) it didn’t do so today. I am now happily fed and watered on the small, friendly but quite busy site at Shawbost on the western side of Lewis.
Here’s the plan for my trip to the Outer Hebrides… …and here’s a podcast I made about cycling the Hebridean Way prior to setting off: More episodes of The Cycling Europe Podcast can be found on this page of CyclingEurope.org. And finally, since you’ve made it this far, […]
Tonight’s instalment of this trip to the Outer Hebrides will be brought to you mainly through the medium of video. Someone asked why I didn’t add a narration to these videos. Well, it adds an extra level of complexity to do so but, as the wind today was light (anything above a gentle breeze causes horrible distortion on the iPhone microphone), I’ve added a few comments as you’ll hear when you listen.
Of all the islands that I have so far visited on this trip, the island of North Uist has been the least unexpected. That’s not a criticism, just an acceptance that what I cycled through today gave me pretty much all the things that come to mind when […]
Things have turned. In one way for the worse but in others for the better. Not that what preceded day 5 had been bad to turn against but you know what I mean… As I type I’m holed up in a small – minute one might say (‘snug’ an estate agent would say) – wooden shed on the south-western edge of South Uist but let me take you back to the start of the day at the campsite on Benbecula…
It’s been difficult to fault the Outer Hebrides so far (as you will continue to discover below). Only one very modern facet of life has let me down; mobile data coverage. Uploading text like this isn’t a problem. Photos need 3G and video needs 4G. Why am I telling you all this? Well, you may find that the usual mix of text, images and video (that you have become accustomed over the years…) takes a few days to upload. Today, North Uist offered me a Vodafone 4G signal so, for the first tome since arriving on Barra, I was able to upload videos. You may want to look again at the previous two posts to watch those videos before you read this. (And come back to this post tomorrow or the day after for today’s video…) On with the show!
I compared notes with my fellow wild campers this morning. None of us had slept particularly well on the dunes beside the beach at Vatersay. I think for all four of us it was a combination of the winds, a little rain but also middle age. When I opened the flap of the tent at around 6am the sun was shining, just. It had managed to pierce its way through a break in the thick clouds that were, on and off, continuing to deliver light showers. It was a sunrise, of sorts. What wasn’t ‘of sorts’ was the location. It is almost as if the tourist authorities behind the creation of the Hebridean Way had ordered a spectacular place for their ride to start and it had been delivered with enthusiasm.
I had a good night’s sleep in my private room at the youth hostel. I was fearing that the ride from the train station to the accommodation last night might involve a hill; it didn’t. Far from it. Just a gentle cycle beside the harbour wall. The Rough Guide claimed it would be “a fair trek with a backpack from the ferry terminal [to the youth hostel]” but I can only imagine the authors have rarely hiked any distance with a backpack. A ‘fair trek’ it wasn’t. Mercifully. They also claim that the climb to McCaig’s Tower requires a “stiff ten-minute climb” from the centre of time. Again, they were stretching the point. I’ll let you know what they think about the Hebridean Way…
Trains. Three of them today to kick off this journey to the Western Isles. As I type I’m sitting in the third train which is rattling it’s way along the West Highland line towards my destination for the day, Oban. But back to this morning, or rather, last night.
I have to admit that these kinds of photographic displays of kit have, in recent, years become very much of a cliché, but they are fun to make and someone out there in the ether may find them of use. For most people they provide amusement and, perhaps more often, bemusement (“why the hell is he taking that with him???!!”). Below, in excessive detail (it wasn’t a busy day…), you’ll find set out most of what I will be taking with me when I travel to the Outer Hebrides early next week to ride the length of the Hebridean Way.
Britain offers some amazing places to explore on a bicycle, but there can be few locations within the UK that offer the remoteness, drama and sheer spectacle of the islands of The Outer Hebrides. The Hebridean Way guides cyclists from Vatersay in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north: “10 islands, 6 causeways, 2 ferries and 1 unforgettable adventure”. In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, writers, travellers and cyclists reflect upon their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. The chief executive of the local tourist board is also on hand to offer his advice.
Britain offers some amazing places to explore on a bicycle, but there can be few locations within the UK that offer the remoteness, drama and sheer spectacle of the islands of The Outer Hebrides. The Hebridean Way guides cyclists from Vatersay in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north: “10 islands, 6 causeways, 2 ferries and 1 unforgettable adventure”. In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, writers, travellers and cyclists reflect upon their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. The chief executive of the local tourist board is also on hand to offer his advice.
So the time is approaching that I’ve got to make a decision as to if / when to head off to Oban, catch the ferry to Barra and set off along The Hebridean Way. I’ve mentioned the plan a few times on here and there’s even a dedicated page that you’ll find by clicking on the ‘cycles’ tab and the top of this page and choosing ‘2021: The Hebridean Way’. What you won’t find there is any kind of day-by-day plan. That’s where this post comes in…
Just been watching Tom Pidcock win the mountain biking gold medal at Tokyo 2021. The urban triathlon route earlier today wasn’t very inspiring but the mountain biking route – in the hills outside of Tokyo – was much better. I should of course have been there; not competing(!!) but cycling through Japan… But there you go. Or rather, there I didn’t go. An email arrives from Italy to lift my spirits. It’s about two new cycling routes in the Trentino area of northern Italy. Trentino is basically the hilly bit to the north-west of Venice, and much more cycle-friendly than the nearby iconic coastal resort.
The travel writer and cyclist Simon Parker first appeared on The Cycling Europe Podcast in February 2021when he talked about his ‘Earth Cycle’ TV programme. He returns to discuss his latest project; an end-to-end cycle around Britain in the midst of a global pandemic. His main aim was not to clock up the kilometres but to meet the people and hear their stories. He told his own story in a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph and here he looks back upon a cycling staycation to beat most others.
The travel writer and cyclist Simon Parker first appeared on The Cycling Europe Podcast in February 2021when he talked about his ‘Earth Cycle’ TV programme. He returns to discuss his latest project; an end-to-end cycle around Britain in the midst of a global pandemic. His main aim was not to clock up the kilometres but to meet the people and hear their stories. He told his own story in a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph and here he looks back upon a cycling staycation to beat most others.
Thirteen years ago this weekend I was sitting on my sofa at the start of the school holidays. It was 2008 and the Beijing Olympics had just started. Just outside the Chinese capital it was wet. Very wet. Nicole Cooke, the British cyclist was sodden, rain dripping from every square centimetre of her body. I watched, bleary-eyed (perhaps I was still recovering from the end-of-academic-year festivities) as she cycled under the fortifications of the Great Wall and then, as she approached the finish line, raised her fist and punched the damp air to celebrate her victory. She had just become the Olympic cycling road race champion. It was to become a pivotal moment in my middle-aged life. There and then I resolved to set off on an exotic cycling adventure…
An update on what I posted last weekend about my new tent; an MSR Hubba Hubba 2-person backpacking tent. If you remember, I had a frustrating time trying to put up the tent when it arrived, mainly because I chose to watch the YouTube video during and after erection. I still cannot fathom why I wasn’t able to see the different coloured webbing on the inner and outer tent but there you go…
Phew! What a scorcher! It was predictable that, with horizon-to-horizon sun forecast for the first time in weeks, the cyclists would be out in force. And they were, especially in the few kilometres north of Skipton. As were, alas, hoards of drivers so, when the opportunity arose, escaping the main road from Skipton to Grassington came as welcome relief.
“Sykes has a particular and endearing style of writing, and he can at times share quite personal thoughts, but this book never descends into “me, me, me”. Instead, he comes across as a humble, kind and friendly human being, with a superb sense of humour, and he certainly isn’t afraid of poking fun at himself.”
Maike Brinksma is an athlete, academic, environmental activist… and cyclist, from The Netherlands. In the summer of 2021 she will be one of the first people ever to cycle the ‘Amazon of Europe Bike Trail’. She talks to the podcast about her plans to explore the riverine landscapes of the Mura-Drava-Danube UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. She also reflects on the joys of being a Dutch cyclist. (Or is she?) Plus: Caroline Burrows, the Bristol-based Scottish poet and cyclist, recounts her experiences of cycling to work in her short story ‘False Flat’.
Maike Brinksma is an athlete, academic, environmental activist… and cyclist, from The Netherlands. In the summer of 2021 she will be one of the first people ever to cycle the ‘Amazon of Europe Bike Trail’. She talks to the podcast about her plans to explore the riverine landscapes of the Mura-Drava-Danube UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. She also reflects on the joys of being a Dutch cyclist. (Or is she?) Plus: Caroline Burrows, the Bristol-based Scottish poet and cyclist, recounts her experiences of cycling to work in her short story ‘False Flat’.
I cycled a bit of this way back in 2010. It was an impressive, if rather damp, section of the route to southern Italy, my version of the EuroVelo 5. The EuroVelo 19, coming in at around 1,000 km is a manageable length and takes in cycling through three countries; Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Here’s a new video from the European Cyclists’ Federation to promote the route.
In recent episodes of The Cycling Europe Podcast you have been able to listen to a diverse range of monologues that have been recorded by listeners to the podcast who have a story to tell. And the four that have appeared have been rather good. Laura Massey-Pugh kicked things off in episode 32 with her plans to break the world record for cycling around the globe on a tandem bike; in episode 33 Robin Watkins reflected on his cycle across Czechia a few years ago; Laurence Warren spoke about cycling on Austria in episode 34 and in the most recent episode – number 35 – Simon Garland looked back rather comically on his experiences of cycling the length of the Rhine.
If you live in the north of England, you don’t have to travel far to get to Route 66. The other Route 66 that is; the cycling one. In my part of the north – West Yorkshire – it’s the Calder Valley Cycleway and follows the Rochdale Canal. With friend Craig, I spent much of today cycling in a loop from home to Ripponden, up the hill to Batings Reservoir and then down the other side of the Pennines to Littleborough where we hooked up with the Rochdale Canal.
A few months ago I made a special episode today The Cycling Europe Podcast that was all about cycling-friendly accommodation options. The podcast featured interviews with people about WarmShowers, the YHA, wild camping and the Bike & Boot Hotel in Scarborough. The hotel has just released a video about their establishment on the Yorkshire coast and it’s rather good. Lights? Camera? Action!
A few weeks ago a woman contacted me on social media and pointed out that her husband was holding back on buying a new bike until I published a review of the Koga WorldTraveller bicycle that I purchased back in the early summer of 2019. I have to admit that I have promised a review on several occasions but never actually got around to writing one. Well, finally, here it is. Much to the relief of the husband concerned…
In June 2020, The Cycling Europe Podcast dedicated the whole of episode 21 to the epic early 20th Century European cycle of the American Maximilian J. St. George. After discovering the podcast, Tim & George, both grandsons of Max got in touch, as did Juniper, great grandson of Max’s travelling companion Varnum Parish. Varnum not only rode with Max for several months but wrote his own diary. The podcast talks to Tim, George and Juniper about their ancestors’ travels in Europe. Plus: Simon Garland takes a comical look back on his EuroVelo 15 cycle along the route of The Rhine…
In June 2020, The Cycling Europe Podcast dedicated the whole of episode 21 to the epic early 20th Century European cycle of the American Maximilian J. St. George. After discovering the podcast, Tim & George, both grandsons of Max got in touch, as did Juniper, great grandson of Max’s travelling companion Varnum Parish. Varnum not only rode with Max for several months but wrote his own diary. The podcast talks to Tim, George and Juniper about their ancestors’ travels in Europe. Plus: Simon Garland takes a comical look back on his EuroVelo 15 cycle along the route of The Rhine…
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!
So… the Outer Hebrides. I have posted two articles recently about my proposed cycle along the Hebridean Way and, after a nice ride over the Pennine moors this afternoon, I am in the mood for adding a little flesh to the bones of my plan. It’s all weather-dependant of course. I have no wish to travel to the north-western corner of the British Isles if the outlook is not looking that great (I learnt my lesson the hard way back in the ‘summer’ of 2014…) but, whenever I do decide to go, I need to be able to pounce with a plan!
A major follow-up episode to the Maximilian J. St. George episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast will be published on the weekend of the 12th-13th June, exactly a year since the publication of the original podcast and almost 113 years since Max set off from his home in America on June 15th 1908. The new episode will be number 035 and will include interviews with Max’s descendants as well as new information about a certain Varnum Parish…
Like Chris Packham of Springwatch fame, I love a good graph or visual that says something in one glance that would take a thousand words to explain. And the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) – the Brussels-based organisation that is responsible for the EuroVelo network have just produced its first ever ‘Route Development Report’. Basically, it’s a ‘state of the nation’ address but limited to the EuroVelo long-distance cycle routes rather than the less important topics such as education, health and defence…
I’ve always been a fan of hills and mountains. Growing up in Pennine Yorkshire, they were an ever-present backdrop to my childhood but I remember travelling to France for the first time when I was about 14 years old on a school exchange to a small town just south of Lyon. The Alps began to appear in the distance as we trundled down the ‘Autoroute du Soleil’ and I was transfixed. Over the next few decades I have been able to stand witness to the grandeur of not just the Alps but many mountain ranges across Europe, including those to be found in the UK. After cycling from Tarifa to Nordkapp in 2015, one reason why I chose to return to live in Yorkshire was because I missed waking up and seeing the hills. There weren’t too many of those in the centre of Reading, my home town for the 15 years prior to the 2015 cycle.
One hundred years ago, the Great North Road closed and the A1 opened, heralding a century of domination by the motor car. The Cycling Europe Podcast meets BBC journalist (and one-time San Franciscan cycle courier) Steve Silk who set off on his bicycle to cycle from London to Edinburgh to rediscover what remains of the old road, its stories, milestones and coaching inns. Steve’s book – The Great North Road – is published by Summersdale on July 8th. Plus: cycling in Austria with local resident Laurence Warren. Is there more to this Alpine country than just big hills?
One hundred years ago, the Great North Road closed and the A1 opened, heralding a century of domination by the motor car. The Cycling Europe Podcast meets BBC journalist (and one-time San Franciscan cycle courier) Steve Silk who set off on his bicycle to cycle from London to Edinburgh to rediscover what remains of the old road, its stories, milestones and coaching inns. Steve’s book – The Great North Road – is published by Summersdale on July 8th. Plus: cycling in Austria with local resident Laurence Warren. Is there more to this Alpine country than just big hills?
A few days ago, I posted an article to CyclingEurope.org about the possibility of visiting The Outer Hebrides this coming summer and cycling the Hebridean Way. The response was one of the best that any article on CyclingEurope.org has ever received. On the website itself and on social media, the comments came in thick and fast and such were their quality that they merit a post of their own. They are collated below but before you read them, I suggest you first of all read the original post that was published on May 23rd.
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I had been sent a copy of The Great British Adventure Map. It’s now on my wall in such a position where, every morning, I spend a few minutes staring at it as I shave. Such is the level of detail that it’s the kind of map that will see me shave my chin many hundreds of times before I have exhausted its facts and figures. In recent days, however, my eyes have been drawn north. North west to be precise to a corner of the map that has had me examining the Outer Hebrides…
A (slightly) sound dampened room for recording The Cycling Europe Podcast… I may need a few more tiles but they make a real difference! While you are here… if you enjoy the podcast, why not consider supporting it via Ko-Fi?
“When the long cycle tour is over, what next? Well, after a cold beer, a gluttonous meal and a fourteen hour snooze it’s hastily back to reality. You can just let the memories live on in your mind, which is perhaps most satisfying of all, or you can try and share the joys of the ride with others. When I completed my trip following a David Bowie song lyric 2700 miles ‘From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads’ following the Starman’s musical and artistic legacy across Europe, I opted for the latter.”
In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast we are pointing our wheels in the direction of Istanbul. In pre-COVID Europe, Mat and Harriet Hall headed off on their first long-distance cycle tour along the EuroVelo 15 to Switzerland before hooking up with the EuroVelo 6 to Romania and then finally following the EuroVelo 13 to Turkey. They have now turned their adventure into a series of films that document the highs and occasional lows of life on the road. Plus: this month’s monologue comes from Robin Watkins who recounts his travels through the towns and villages of Czechia.
In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast we are pointing our wheels in the direction of Istanbul. In pre-COVID Europe, Mat and Harriet Hall headed off on their first long-distance cycle tour along the EuroVelo 15 to Switzerland before hooking up with the EuroVelo 6 to Romania and then finally following the EuroVelo 13 to Turkey. They have now turned their adventure into a series of films that document the highs and occasional lows of life on the road. Plus: this month’s monologue comes from Robin Watkins who recounts his travels through the towns and villages of Czechia.
The Humber Bridge is the longest bridge in the world that you can cross on a bicycle… or it was until recently when the authorities. for ‘security reasons’, decided to prevent access to the bridge by cyclists and pedestrians. A (very!) long detour was suddenly required to cross the Humber Estuary. Not great.
It’s now nearly 6 years since I completed my cycle from Europe’s southernmost point to the continent’s northernmost point; Tarifa to Nordkapp or, as it was later immortalised in the title of the book, Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie. Many of you will have read […]
In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast we cycle across the World via Britain, Spain, Macedonia, Italy, the west coast of America, the length of Africa and Sierra Leone (plus a few other destinations thrown in for good measure). It’s all courtesy of a new book from DK Eyewitness called Ride: Cycle The World. The podcast brought together its editor, Rachel Laidler, and two of its contributors, Chris Scaife and Tom Owen, to chew over the books one hundred suggested rides. We also hear the first of our podcast monologues, recorded by tandem cyclist Laura Massey-Pugh.
…And on the subject of maps. I’ve just stumbled upon something that’s not only rather good but, dare I say, useful! (It’s not the list mentioned in a few moments although that is of interest too – keep reading). I received an email this week about a list (there you go…) of the UK’s ‘best cycling staycations’. It’s sponsored by Raleigh and is worthy of visual meander. Their list includes some familiar and not-so-familiar locations.
Despite the headlines on today’s newspapers that are screaming that we will be able to travel out of the UK this summer, I suspect that for the majority of us, it’s more likely to be another year of staycationing. So the arrival of a new map of Britain on my doorstep yesterday was welcome. But it’s not just any old map… MarvellousMaps.com make a series of these detailed themed maps of the country…
In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast we cycle across the World via Britain, Spain, Macedonia, Italy, the west coast of America, the length of Africa and Sierra Leone (plus a few other destinations thrown in for good measure). It’s all courtesy of a new book from DK Eyewitness called Ride: Cycle The World. The podcast brought together its editor, Rachel Laidler, and two of its contributors, Chris Scaife and Tom Owen, to chew over the books one hundred suggested rides. We also hear the first of our podcast monologues, recorded by tandem cyclist Laura Massey-Pugh.
My name is Jon Hunter and in 2010 I bought an Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op Revolution Pathfinder over the internet after wanting to get back into cycling. The last time I rode a bicycle, I used it for delivering newspapers as a child! I rode the bike for quite a while until the pressures of family, young children and work reluctantly saw me put the bike in the shed to be ridden at a later date. I didn’t realise how later that date would be.
I’ve never entered a cycling sportive in my life… but I’m a sucker for a good poster and these posters from the people who organise the Eroica events have featured several times in the past on CyclingEurope.org. They’ve just sent through the complete set for 2021 – yes, it appears that they are starting again… – and the first of their cycles is actually today in South Africa.
Since purchasing the drone about a month ago, I’ve been continuing to take small steps towards making a film that involves some cycling. Although not quite there yet, this new film does tell the story of my 72 km ride yesterday along the Calder Valley and back with friend Craig. Hopefully the next film will involve some drone footage of a cyclist actually cycling. The cyclists featured here are all static; admiring the view, operating said drone or pumping up a tyre. It was a glorious day for a bike ride with barely any wind; it’s amazing to note how little wind is required to keep those turbines rotating. One day I’ll return up there with the drone and try to fly it through the turbines as they spin. Perhaps…
It’s only April but in the last four months there have been six episodes of The Cycling Europe Podcast and we are now recognised as in the top 5% of podcasts worldwide! The guests in 2021 have been many and varied; if you are into your cycling, travel or adventure, you are certain to find something that sparks your interest. We have had the please to welcome Cycling UK’s new CEO, Sarah Mitchell, Suzanne Forup who is an active campaigner for cycling in Scotland, the academic and ultra-long-diistance cyclist Dr Iann Walker, travel writer and TV presenter Simon Parker, world bikepacker Markus Stitz, the ‘Tandem WOW’ team of Rachel Marsden and Catherine Dixon, round-the-world penny-farthing cyclist Joff Summerfield, Tahverlee Anglen of WarmShowers, the YHA’s Simon Ainley, Simon Kershaw from one the UK’s newest cycle-friendly hotels, Bike & Boot and the wild camper extraordinaire Tim Millikin. Quite an eclectic bunch!
We seemed to have had more than our fair share of snow in the north of England during the winter of 2020-21. Last week, however, the temperatures were in the low twenties and people were sunbathing on the beaches at Scarborough so I wasn’t quite expecting to wake up this morning and see that the snow had returned in April. I put the drone into action and here is the result. I reckon that by midday it will have all melted – probably until next winter – but you never know…
A few weeks ago, shortly after attending an online seminar on the subject, I posted an article about cycling in Slovenia. It was kind of the ‘official’ version. My experience of cycling in Slovenia, as I set out in that post, is very limited; just a few hours back in 2013 as I cycled from Croatia in the direction of Trieste in Italy. Even after such a short visit, however, I was impressed and the seminar made it clear that there was much, much more to see in this, one of Europe’s smallest countries. A few days later a Slovenian cyclist called Miha Pavšič emailed with an ‘insider’s view’ of cycling in Slovenia. All good things come in threes and clearly cycling in Slovenia is no exception as Robin Watkins has now been in touch. He visited Slovenia in September 2017 and below are his thoughts on travelling through the country and, again, some beautiful photographs.
The Paris-Roubaix cycle race has been postponed until later in the year. No surprise there bearing in mind the new lockdown just announced in France. Cobbles are an (almost) every day part of cycling here in the Calder Valley of Yorkshire. My bones have been shaken on a regular basis in recent years since my return to God’s Own County. Perhaps they should have just moved it to the north of England rather than waiting until the autumn of 2021… I wrote about the Paris-Roubaix in Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie.
As I was croaking my way through recording the links for the latest episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast that was published overnight, I mentioned that I would put all the relevant links to the accommodation providers on the website. We, here I am doing just that. The four people interviewed were Tahverlee Anglen from the accommodation sharing website WarmShowers, Simon Ainley from the Youth Hostel Association of England and Wales, Simon Kershaw from a new hotel – soon to be a chain of hotels – called Bike and Boot in Scarborough and the wild camper Tim Millikin. You can find more details about Tim’s travels and the book he has written by visiting his website.
Across the globe, the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 are beginning to ease. Foreign travel may not be an easy option for most people in summer 2021, but being able to explore your own country probably is. In this episode of the podcast, we look at some of the accommodation choices available to touring cyclists including wild camping, hotels, hostels and reciprocal accommodation sharing with contributions from WarmShowers’ Tahverlee Anglen, wild camper Tim Millikin, the YHA’s Simon Ainley and Simon Kershaw from Scarborough’s newest hotel, Bike and Boot.
Across the globe, the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 are beginning to ease. Foreign travel may not be an easy option for most people in summer 2021, but being able to explore your own country probably is. In this episode of the podcast, we look at some of the accommodation choices available to touring cyclists including wild camping, hotels, hostels and reciprocal accommodation sharing with contributions from WarmShowers’ Tahverlee Anglen, wild camper Tim Millikin, the YHA’s Simon Ainley and Simon Kershaw from Scarborough’s newest hotel, Bike and Boot.
The countries of continental Europe and the European Union itself have been much criticised in the (right-wing) British media in recent weeks on matters relating to the distribution of the COVID vaccines. In those criticisms there is, of course, a non-too-subtle dollop of British smugness. To at least 48% of the British population (of which I am part), these are sentiments that make us squirm. They are predictable and fail to take into account the ‘bigger picture’ of a continent which, in terms of the quality of people’s lives, is light years ahead of most parts of backward, squalid Britain.
Last weekend I posted an article about cycling in Slovenia (Cycling Slovenia: It Was “Blinking Marvellous” (…And Probably Still Is). I have only visited the country very briefly myself – back in 2013 en route from Greece to Portugal – and most of my comments were based upon an online event that I had attended a few days earlier. However, in response to that post, local resident and keen cyclist Miha Pavšič has been in touch with some interesting comments and some beautiful images.
Two of Scotland’s finest – one born and bred, one adopted – have come together to invite you to ‘explore your boundaries’. Both are familiar to listeners of The Cycling Europe Podcast; one is Mark Beaumont (episode 16), one is Markus Stitz (episode 29). Mark is an athlete and broadcaster with a string of cycling accolades to his name; Markus became the first person to cycle around the world on a single-speed bike and now runs Bikepacking Scotland. They not only share a name (nearly…) and a passion for cycling, but also great filmmaking and storytelling skills and they have come together to produce the following film, not in a far flung foreign location, but on their doorsteps in Edinburgh…
“Slovenia was pretty and flat and in the late afternoon of a hot day in July, it was a very picturesque and pleasant place through which to cycle. Although linguistically (and probably culturally – I didn’t really have the chance to find out) much the same as Croatia, physically, the countryside was more like southern Germany and, I guess, Austria which was only 100km further north. All the fields had been freshly cut and large rolls of hay were strewn across the landscape like discarded Liquorice Allsorts made from Shredded Wheat. In the distance were the hills, carpeted by a continuous cover of dark green trees, which pushed this area to well over 700m above sea level. It was in total contrast to the coastal cycling that I had been experiencing for much of the previous week and it was blinking marvellous.”
