Explore Your Boundaries – Mark Beaumont / Markus Stitz

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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:

Escaping Europe… In Europe: France / Albania

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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.

The Ribble Hybrid AL Trail Disc Enthusiast – 2.0 (Also Known As…)

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Yesterday I wrote a post that set out my thoughts about buying a new bike with a view to starting to commute to work once again. My primary reasons for considering such a purchase were to have a bike that had forgiving gears for the hills around where I live and for the bike to be relatively cheap. Relative, that is, when compared to my current bike, a rather expensive Koga WorldTraveller Signature. If you were an early adopter of that post (i.e. you read it shortly after it was published) you may have missed the updates that I made where I introduced an alternative bike, the Ribble Hybrid AL Trail Disc Enthusiast 2.0…

The Return Of The Cycling Commuter, Again

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Finally, the half-term holiday has arrived. And breathe… It’s been my first half-term back as a permanently employed full-time teacher in a secondary school for quite a few years. I’d forgotten just how tiring that can be. But I survived and am looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation. Kind of… A few bits and pieces on the agenda this week; a podcast interview to record in Harrogate on Tuesday, potentially a second interview to record online but upmost in my mind is the potential purchase of a new bicycle.

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 043 – Monologue Special / Gavin Woodย ย 

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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.

Episode 043: Monologue Special / Gavin Woodย 

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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.