The big ‘training’ day. There are going to be three of them and, as I type, the 7:05 from Vigo to León is just starting its long trundle across northern Spain. We are scheduled to arrive in León at 13:23 (I’ll leave you to work out just how […]
There could be technical issues over the final few days of this Iberian cycle of 2019. Apologies in advance. All is explained in the video:
I’m sure the purists out there will heartily disapprove but, as I have to get back home to earn some money, my journey home from Coimbra will, alas, have to be aided and abetted by several train journeys – probably quite a few in fact – and one […]
A day off the bike and a journey south by car to the town of Batalha and its Gothic monastery to have a look at the completed church… …its people and birds… …its colours… …and its unfinished church… The cycling returns tomorrow. I have three days to make […]
It’s a non-cycling day. Indeed I haven’t set eyes upon Wanda since I locked her to a large pipe in the underground car park of my hotel here in Porto. I hope the authorities never read that last sentence out of context. She’ll be released in the morning… […]
A late update from Porto after another epic day of cycling. More details tomorrow but here are the statistics and here is the video: You can read the story of today’s ride in this post on CyclingEurope.org.
I’ve arrived on Portugal after a much shorter ride than yesterday (see previous posts) and it’s nice to have a few hours to sit, sip wine, soak up the atmosphere and watch the world go by which happens to be exactly what I’m doing right now. I’ll do […]
I really should read my guidebook more often. Or perhaps not… Yesterday’s long ride was a tour de force when it comes to cycling (for me) coming in at 150 km, but it had its frustrations towards the end of the day. Sometimes, when you open your map […]
A long, long – epic perhaps – day with a frustrating end. Look at the stats and watch the video. I’ll update the details at some point soon…
Well this is rather nice… 100 km of cycling and I find myself in a little local bar in a small square close to my hostel – the Hospederia Rincon De Leon – which must surely be run by the world’s most friendly and useful hotelier. If Basil […]
What a day! This post may or may not contain the usual video summary. It seems that I have no space remaining on my iPhone to store the edited video (to subsequently upload to YouTube) but the finest technical minds are working to solve the issue. Well, I […]
I’m getting back into the swing of writing these end-of-day posts. And this year, they come with added video! So here is today’s cinematic epic: Hope you enjoyed that. The full route details are available to see by following this link. That’s the visual and quantitive boxes ticked. […]
OK. A bit of catching up to be done. I’m sitting in a darkened room at Camping El Rosa – excellent site by the way – with three bored teenagers for ‘company’. They aren’t saying much, just staring at their phones away from the prying eyes of their […]
It’s 6.30am, or perhaps 5.30am as I seem to remember the woman on the public address system telling us we were sticking to UK time until we arrived in Santander. I’m going to mutiny and stick to continental time. At least it makes me feel better about having […]
The free time afforded by the ferry crossing from Plymouth to Santander has, as promised, allowed me to write the list of equipment that I photographed a few days ago. I did leave one item back in Britain, but which one? 1. Maps 2. Cycling gloves 3. Disposable […]
A less dramatic day in terms of the scenery, but equally enjoyable. And at 62km, a step up from yesterday’s 50km. Here are the full route details and here’s the video summary: The Military Road – I imagine they call it that because it is very straight – […]
If I ignore the shenanigans with the trains this morning, today has been a wonderful day of cycling. It had it all; great weather, interesting places, majestic landscapes, dramatic seascapes, bucolic cycle paths. I’ll be back after you take a look for yourself: I imagined the Isle of […]
We’re off. Not a great deal of cycling taking place today; just a 10km journey from home to the train station in Huddersfield and the prospect of an even shorter cycle to a friend’s house once I arrive in Reading. It is not the stuff of epic adventures […]
They take some doing but are fun to make and here is my third submission into the genre: UPDATE: It’s now the eve of my departure and everything is packed away. Time to reflect of what is to come over the next three weeks… Not bad… As noted, […]
I’ve mentioned the upcoming trip to Spain and Portugal a few times here on CyclingEurope.org recently, but I haven’t yet said much about what I’ll be doing immediately beforehand, which is spending two days and two nights cycling and camping on the Isle of Wight. Here’s the basic […]
It was an epic 115 km by the end of the day, albeit not all on the Trans Pennine Trail itself. That was ‘just’ the portion from Dunford Bridge to Wentworth Woodhouse (and back). Good preparation for hitting the continent at the end of the month…
I wish this would happen more often than it does… Back in January I received an email from a cyclist called Paddy Ducey. He told me about how he had read the books that I have written about cycling across Europe and that he had not only enjoyed […]
The Cycling Europe Podcast hits the road and heads along the Yorkshire section of the EuroVelo 12, otherwise known as the North Sea Cycle Route, from the iconic Humber Bridge on the southern edge of Britain’s largest county to the coastal treasure that is Whitby. It was a […]
Hot on the heels of my four-day trip to the Far East of Yorkshire and the cycle from the Humber Bridge to Whitby (and thence by train to Middlesbrough) comes a new episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast. It’s the first time that I have dedicated an entire […]
There was an interesting snippet in this week’s email from Cycling UK regarding something called The Cape Wrath Fellowship. It caught my eye as a few years ago I travelled to Cape Wrath as part of a cycle trip along the northern and western coasts of Scotland. This […]
A reminder that this event takes place on Wednesday August 14th in Halifax…
Suitably windswept. Interesting museum telling an interesting story run by English Heritage. There’s more to Whitby Abbey than Bram Stoker and Dracula…
Well it has been forecast all week to be grim but this morning is the first time those promises have born fruit. Wet, cloudy, grey… Now if this were Norway in 2015 or indeed Spain at the of the month, I would shrug my shoulders and carry on. […]
Whitby this evening was just beautiful… …and after writing this I’ll be heading back outside to cool down. The weather today was sublime, especially if you happened to be cycling. I’m not sure I have the energy to write too much this evening. Bullet points might have to […]
A full report later but here are the edited highlights…
That was a long ride but a very good one indeed. Not without its frustrations or challenges, but the best rides are so much better because of them, especially from the perspective of a belly full of curried spaghetti in a youth hostel in Scarborough. My only complaint […]
It’s a step up from Bridlington and a fitting destination after a cycle of 105km. I moved less than Wanda during the filming of this video…
After 60km of almost deserted country lanes this morning, Bridlington arrives loudly and abruptly!
My arrival in Great Driffield (it’s OK but not ‘great’) coincided with the first rain shower of the day. You can see the rain clouds approaching in this video from the crest of a ‘hill’ just to the south of the great town itself:
My timing is exquisite; I’ve just arrived at Beverley Youth Hostel and it has started raining… I got no further than typing those words before the hostel manager came to rescue me from the raindrops. I locked Wanda in the shed (if you think that a curious thing […]
It seems fitting that the 3,000th post on CyclingEurope.org – that’s this one by the way – sees me return to the EuroVelo routes that have guided me across Europe three times. Here I am on EuroVelo 12, the North Sea Cycle Route, in Hull. Alas I won’t […]
It’s Tuesday August 6th 2019 and, after a four-year break, this cycle tourist is returning to overnight cycle touring. I’m a little nervous…
I’m not so outspoken although the ridiculous shooting-yourself-in-the-foot nonsense that is Brexit gets my blood boiling and my current issues with Vodafone have me using creative language that would shock your grandmother, and then there’s the idiots who park on cycle lanes* and the pavement – often both… […]
I love my F10 Xenon UL2+ (it’s a tent, not a fighter jet…): But how about one of these? They are from a company called KarTent: Here’s a report from BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat about how they could revolutionise the throw-away culture of festival tents. Interesting… Which do […]
Earlier today I posted that Wanda and I were now ready to wander… and later today, along with a friend and his un-named bicycle, we did just that; from The Piece Hall in Halifax to Skipton via Haworth and a return journey via Bolton Abbey and Ilkley (from […]
Yesterday I put the final pieces into the jigsaw that is the new cycle touring set-up as I refitted the panniers and installed an old-style (well, pre-smartphone) odometer (which is far more practical that said phone to monitor distances and speed without unlocking the phone). The east coast […]
As I write, I’m watching the arrival of the Tour de France in Paris. I’ve heard it’s been a vintage year for ‘Le Tour’ but have to admit that I’ve only been following from a distance via the third parties of social media and the odd news report […]
After a short period of excessively high temperatures here in the UK, the summer has returned to its default setting of cool and wet. Today is very wet and, as I stood at the bus stop hiding from the raindrops, I started reflecting upon the fact that I […]
Earlier this year I wrote a post about one of my secondary school teachers, a woman called Mabel Pighills. She had been given copies of my first two books by her daughter and read them not knowing that she had once taught their author. When I returned to […]
Today, on a day that “number 10” is on everyone’s mind, I’m channeling Geraint Thomas and I’m with the Welshman at number 2… If you like your numbers, keep reading. This is post number 2,990 on CyclingEurope.org. I’m hoping that post number 3,000 will be published during my […]
I escaped today’s further descent into right-wing populism… (I mean… why? What has happened? Wasn’t the referendum and then that idiot Trump enough? Now ‘you’ – probably not ‘you’ personally but I can’t exclude the possibility that some visitors to CyclingEurope.org are utterly stupid – think all your […]
By Claire Philbin He may not be participating in this year’s Tour de France after a horrifying injury at the Critérium du Dauphiné left Chris Froome with multiple fractures and ruled him out of the rest of the season. But if you bet on Tour de France 2019, […]
By Claire Philbin This year is the 100th Anniversary of the yellow jersey. An iconic symbol in the world of cycling, especially when it comes to the Tour de France, the yellow jersey symbolises the stage leader as well as the winner upon finishing. Many cyclists have won […]
Back in May, when the sun was beating down and the temperatures slowing rising (not sure what happened there…), I discussed some tentative plans to take Wanda (that’s the new bike, Wanda WorldTraveller of course – keep up!) for her first proper ‘adventure’ along the coast of Yorkshire. […]
When I head off on my travels later in the summer – to the Isle of Wight, Spain and Portugal – I won’t be writing a book about the whole thing. Well, unless I get kidnapped by remote Asturian villagers and spend months in captivity, learning the local […]
By Rob Ainsley I forced myself to watch it, and it was indeed cheap, shabby, lowest-common-denominator, shouty, dim-witted drivel: clickbait for aggressive, bigoted simpletons. I’m happy to record my anger here, and in other cycle forums, but I’ve no intention of encouraging the nonentities in the production company […]
By Ryan Powell Every cyclist has this unquenchable desire to explore the world—wanderlust, as one would say. Either you have it in you from the very beginning, or you gained it when you started cycling. Getting to explore new places, discover new things, and immerse in the unfamiliar […]
If Brexit wasn’t bad enough… Last night’s ‘cyclists vs. drivers’ offering on Channel 5 was a rather predictable hatchet job on the former group of travellers. Although the voices of two pro-cycling contributors were featured (including a police officer), they were far outnumbered by a rather aggressive group […]
By Aaron King Whether you’re entering cross-country cycle events, commuting to work or just enjoying a relaxing ride in the forest, there’s one thing every cyclist needs. And that’s the right clothing. Having the right clothing is what helps you battle the weather, keeping you warm in winter […]
By Alex McGareth During my travels across Europe, I recently decided to cycle between two Italian cities. It’s one of the harder rides I’ve done, and despite having a good time, I won’t do it again next year. The route in question leads from Milan to Sanremo, snaking […]
In the months leading up to my first continental crossing of Europe back in 2010, I experimented with an Ortlieb handlebar bag, probably very similar to this one. I can’t say I was ever a fan. I just didn’t like the ‘look’ of the thing and to be […]
A few years ago, this website – CyclingEurope.org – was awash with reviews of one or another of my books. Indeed I dare say that if you chose to stroll back through the tagged archive for either Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie, Along The Med on […]
Sometimes a comment is made in response to one of my posts here on CyclingEurope.org that deserves the attention that perhaps the ‘comments’ section of each post doesn’t afford. Rob Ainsley is a cyclist and writer – a bit like me I suppose – and I had the […]
I’ll let you decide… Some of you will love this, others will loathe it. It’s touring bicycle technical pornography at its best (or worst). On a dampish afternoon here in Yorkshire, I give you Wanda, the Koga Signature WorldTraveller… Now, where shall we start? The frame! The handlebars… […]
UPDATE: Tickets for this event now available on the Square Chapel Arts Centre website: click here! Now here’s an interesting concept… Aside from being an international star of the cycle touring writing world [are you sure?] and an acclaimed supply teacher [you are joking, no?], I spend much […]
“On the 6th July 2019 at 1.30pm we will be setting off to cycle over 1700 miles for Chestnut Tree House, unsupported. From The Rose and Crown, Worthing the journey will include riding through France over the Alps into Switzerland, then into Italy and all the way to […]
I noted in the post this morning about how that pesky thing called ‘work’ has interrupted my desire to get out on the new bike this week. Perhaps it was the picture below that I noticed on the wall of the school where I was working today but […]
The Cycling Europe Podcast returns with a new touring bike special. Andrew P. Sykes visits CycleSense in Tadcaster, Yorkshire to pick up his new Koga Signature WorldTraveller bicycle and chats to the owner David Stainthorpe about his purchase. We hear from Koga brand ambassador Alee Denham from the […]
The world of (brace yourself)… work feels as though it has interrupted things with the new bike this week. Although I used the Koga to commute to work on Monday, I’m feeling frustrated that for the past two days I’ve been working in schools and that has necessitated […]
The Cycling Europe Podcast returns with a new touring bike special. Andrew P. Sykes visits CycleSense in Tadcaster, Yorkshire to pick up his new Koga Signature WorldTraveller bicycle and chats to the owner David Stainthorpe about his purchase. We hear from Koga brand ambassador Alee Denham from the […]
There are clearly going to be quite a few posts about the new bike. Apologies… First up is me ‘unboxing’ the Koga WorldTraveller-S. Not actually ‘unboxing’ the bicycle – that was done by CycleSense in Tadcaster – just me examining all the bits and pieces that came with […]
Just received an exciting tweet from CycleSense in Tadcaster. She’s arrived a week early! I’ve now spoken to Dave who runs the shop and I’ve arranged tomorrow as hand-over day. Expect a few photos from the cycle home tomorrow afternoon… Just as I ordered!
So my seven nights on board the Fred. Olsen operated MS Brabant have come to an end. I will be very honest; I’ve always been a little dismissive of cruise ships and the cruising fraternity in general. Cycling along the Mediterranean coast in 2013 I would often come […]
Not much to say. On with the photos… And that is all folks. Hope you’ve enjoyed this cycling-cruising ‘adventure’. Normal service will soon be resumed…
Here I am in Cologne. Again. I think it’s the most British-like place I’ve ever visited in Germany. Nice, but a bit tatty around the edges. I was last here in 2015 as I cycled from Spain to Norway. You can read my thoughts at the time – […]
Finally! Some cycling… And not just any cycling. For the first time in my life I have been on an e-Bike on a short ride along the Mosel at Cochem, a place famous for its fairy-tale castle. Great fun was had and this e-Bike sceptic has been converted. […]
The town that keeps on giving. Most places have a nice area and then it stops around the next corner. Bernkastel-Kues just keeps on delivering; every street, every square is more pretty than the previous, and so it goes on… (or so it seems). Chocolate box stuff here […]
We’re now on the Mosel in Germany and at 6am this morning it was beautiful…
There’s no theme to these; just what attracted my eyes as I wandered from ‘German Corner’ where the Rhine meets the Mosel towards the old town. Some you may like, some you may loathe. You’ll be glad I squeezed some bicycles in there… Enjoy!
A relaxing morning in Koblenz during which nothing bicycle- or cycling-related happened (well, apart from me finding the first EuroVelo 15 sign…). So it’s just the sightseeing today I’m afraid. The Rough Guide didn’t big up the city – “not many attractions” – but I found a sufficient […]
This travel blogging malarkey is hard work; up with the larks, filming, chatting with the captain, watching the world go by. It’s not yet 9am. The street cleaners will sympathise…
I can’t ever remember knowing about the existence of a place called Speyer until it was mentioned in the pre-visit briefing last night. Mannheim, yes. Cologne, of course. Dusseldorf, obviously… but Speyer, never. So this morning’s stroll around “one of Germany’s oldest cities” was nice. A bit like […]
The ship hasn’t been far today; an early morning arrival in Strasbourg (from Mannheim – see previous post…) and we’ve been moored here – adjacent to the EuroVelo 15 of all things – ever since. Rainy outside but I did spend an amiable few hours wandering the streets […]
Well this is all new to me. But I have to admit, I’m already missing the bike. Let me recap… As you may recall (because I told you in this post only last week), I have been asked to deliver some talks on a river cruise boat along […]
I occasionally come across cycling-themed displays in schools as I go about my work as a supply teacher. The ones shown below were found at Calder High School near Hebden Bridge and Salendine Nook High School near Huddersfield. Any more to add to the collection?
The cyclist and filmmaker Barry Godin has featured several times here on CyclingEurope.org over the past few years – visit these posts to read more about him and his films – and it was nice to catch up with him again at the Cycle Touring Festival the weekend […]
An interesting present from an old friend yesterday; a bottle of ‘Tom and the Peloton‘ wine. It’s an AOC from the Ventoux area of France and is dedicated to Tom Simpson, the cyclist who died near the summit of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the Tour […]
So, summer has arrived. Well, meteorological summer. Pedants who insist on sticking with the astronomical one (which starts on June 21st) will still have to live in spring for a few more weeks but the rest of us are already basking in the sunshine… (That’s how it works, […]
Another inspiring Cycle Touring Festival has been and gone and I am beginning to miss it already. It will hopefully be back in 2020. The festival has now been running for five years and I’m proud to say that I have attended in four of those years, only […]
The weather report from the Cycle Touring Festival in Clitheroe is not great this Sunday morning. Somewhat reminiscent of Switzerland in August 2010; very wet but not that cold. (More details in ‘Crossing Europe…‘.) Yesterday, however… Beautiful!
The plan is to pick up the new touring bike – a Koga WordTraveller S – on Thursday June 27th. Rather than driving over to CycleSense in Tadcaster (the other side of Leeds), I’ll probably catch the train to York and jump on a bus back to Tadcaster. […]
Another fantastic video from Danny Macaskill (it seems a while since I saw the last one…). It’s a very cute film, or rather stars a very cute little girl who has fun in Danny’s trailer. It’s a shame that they tell us explicitly that she wasn’t actually on […]
A good end-of-series win yesterday at Headingley in Leeds for the English cricket team. It stands them in good stead for the upcoming World Cup. A post that has little to do with cycling but it did occur to me yesterday as I headed back to the train […]
Another post in the context of ‘investing in’ a new touring bicycle. A reminder that a few weeks ago I ordered a custom-built Koga Signature WorldTraveller touring bike from CycleSense in Tadcaster. Since then, I’ve been reflecting on the process and some of the component parts; the handlebars for one and the front dynamo hub that generates electricity for another. David Sinclair provided some very interesting advice on the latter point and he’s been in touch again in response to me asking why he went down the route of not purchasing a Koga and opting for a custom-made Hewitt bicycle.
The HandleBards are a unique cycling theatre company, who carry all of their set props and costumes on the back of their bicycles, performing charmingly chaotic Shakespeare’s plays at outdoor venues all across the UK.
Today the Tour de Yorkshire returned to the cobbles of Halifax and stage 4 of the race set off from the historic Piece Hall. In fairness, we didn’t get to see much of the riders themselves (not to the extent that I was able to see them in […]
Bright Eyes Art Garfunkel Is it a kind of a dream Floating out on the tide Following the river of death downstream Oh, is it a dream? There’s a fog along the horizon A strange glow in the sky And nobody seems to know where it goes And […]
Podcasts are on my mind. If you read the previous post you would have noted that I included a snippet from the next episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast that will be returning in early June. The topic of that podcast will be the purchase of a new touring bike and I have now edited the full interview with Alee Denham who is currently in Colombia en route to Alaska. I’m hoping to interview someone from Koga and will be taking my microphone to the Cycle Touring Festival later in May to record a few thoughts. It might be you… Watch this space.
Today has been a little like an episode of Line Of Duty; it starts all mundane and then quickly descends into all kinds of shenanigans. The day started with cats in Yorkshire and ended with a fall down a 30-metre ravine in South America. That should keep you […]
Theft is on my mind. I have just ordered a rather expensive bicycle and Josh Quigley, a man who wants to cycle around the world, had his bicycle stolen in London this week before he’d had the chance to even leave the country. Once my new Koga is delivered, I intend buying insurance but we all know that prevention is better than cure…
