Episode 004: JOGLE, The Handlebards, Mercedes Days
Reflections on winter cycling, JOGLE with a twist, cycling motivation, Mercedes days, travelling in Spain and Germany, The HandleBards, the National Cycle Network in Yorkshire.
The Cycling Europe Podcast: It’s Back!
Yes, quite a long wait between episodes 3 and 4 but the April 2018 podcast is now available to download from iTunes or your preferred podcast provider. You can even listen to it directly from CyclingEurope.org – all the links can be found on the podcast page of CyclingEurope.org. […]
To The End Of The Known World…
…well, Todmorden, at the far western extremity of Yorkshire and home via Mankinholes and the rather muddy canal side Route 66.
Yorkshire 2018: Route 1… A Bridge Too Far?
Ultimately, yes. I’ve postponed my plans for this weekend due to the weather forecast but the planning was not in vain. I am now much better prepared to shoot off for a few days of bike-packing than I was just a few days ago. Below is a record […]
Tarifa To Nordkapp… And Nordkapp To Tarifa
This website is very nearly ten years old. Back in the early days(!) I used to answer many emails that I received on the website. In more recent years I haven’t done it so often but I’m going to do it now as this week I received two […]
Half Of UK Cyclists Injured by Potholes: A Tale Of Two Countries
Welcome to British Summer Time (or, indeed, Yorkshire Summer Time…) I never tire of watching this video: I made it as I cycled along this main road in the Dutch town of Vaals: I was close to the German border at the time, just a few kilometres from […]
“The Best Form Of Travel And The Best Form Of Travelogue”
It’s difficult to disagree with that, especially when it’s written about cycling and about one’s very own book. Here’s AJFrobisher’s full review of Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie as it appeared on Amazon.co.uk: “I cycle. I cycle a lot. 3,000 miles a year give or […]
Meanwhile In The Civilised World…
A couple of European cycling-themed videos from Brut Nature FR, a French ‘new media’ company that seems to exist on social media but nowhere else. Anyway, I digress. Both are short and both worth watching; the first about the EuroVélo 6, the second about how the bicycle has […]
The Cycle Touring Festival: 4th-7th May 2018
Now in its 4th year, the Cycle Touring Festival returns to Clitheroe in Lancashire over the May Bank Holiday weekend. It’s a wonderful few days of chat, food, films and beer… What’s not to like? Whether you’ve cycled around the world or just down to the shops, you’ll find […]
Pilgrimage: The Road To Santiago (In Pictures, Words, Audio… And Reverse)
Scroll down for a free audio extract from ‘Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie’ Take 7 celebrities, 790 km, the fabulous scenery of northern Spain and a camera crew and behold! You’ve got a filmed travelogue to warm the winter nights (OK, it’s now spring but I […]
En Roue Libre 2018: Le Festival Du Voyage A Vélo
“C’est mieux que le bureau!” Indeed… one for the francophones. If you happen to be in Brussels this weekend, here’s something that you could do: Le Festival En Roue Libre 2018. The programme is here. If, like me, you’re going to be nowhere near Brussels (although you can […]
Ride: A Fact-Packed Tour Through The World Of Cycling
A package arrived this week from my publishers, Summersdale. See if you can spot something familiar is this video…
Bespoked 2018: The Handmade Bicycle Show
Bespoke features regularly on CyclingEurope.org – see these posts from the past – and it is now in its 8th year. As in most of the previous years, the event takes place in Bristol, just next to the main railway station, this year from April 20th to April […]
Bob Jones: On The Road Again…In Portugal And Spain
It’s nice to inspire others… Good luck Bob and bon voyage!
An Adult On A Bicycle: I Do Not Despair, But Sometimes I Am Worried
I was recently asked by the Calderdale branch of the Cyclists’ Touring Club, or CTC (or indeed ‘Cycling UK’) to give a speech at their annual prize-giving evening. As I had previously spoken to the group about my most recent journey (and book) from Spain to Norway, it […]
The HandleBards: Cycle Touring, Or Not Cycle Touring?
Well, that is the question… I was telephoned earlier this week by a chap called Jack: ‘Hi, I’m Jack from The Handlebars…‘ he said. I initially struggled to piece together what he was talking about; bicycles, plays, Romeo & Juliet… It then suddenly clicked; I’d misheard the name […]
Spain To Norway: Lekker Ding!
When it comes to cycling, the Dutch know what they are talking about. The Netherlands has featured often on these pages although as a cyclist, I’ve only ever spent a day and a bit travelling in the country. Back in 2015, it was cycling day 42 of my […]
Snow: A CyclingEurope.org Retrospective
I find that by searching for ‘snow’ in the back catalogue of CyclingEurope.org posts, I’m not short of pretty photographs. From Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Norway… There was even a film!
EuroVelo 8: La Méditerranée A Vélo
Cold? This might warm you up… …as might reading this; my 2nd (and favourite) book, Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie, where I cycled the length of the EuroVelo 8 from Greece to Portugal:
Not Cycling Yorkshire?
Yorkshire Summer Time starts on Sunday 25th March 2018. OK, so does British Summer Time, but bear with me… It finishes on Saturday 27th October 2018 and lasts for 217 days. The great thing about Yorkshire/British Summer Time is that it is handily located on the calendar when […]
T’Cycle Expo, Yorkshire
I shouldn’t really mock the accent; it is, after all, my own… but this event – the first ever Cycle Expo in Yorkshire – from the 12th to the 14th October is something to look forward to. It will be taking place in Harrogate at the Yorkshire Event […]
MAMIL: ‘A Documentary Exposé…’
‘…about the secret world of middle-aged men in Lycra.‘ I’m not sure, when I think about it, that I want to find out too much about the ‘secret’ lives of MAMILs, but this does look good and, if you happen to live anywhere within spitting (or perhaps more […]
Spain To Norway… : What The Readers Think
Cycling Europe: Schleswig-Holstein And Denmark
As we probably all know (even if we’ve never had the chance to visit the country), Denmark is a great place to cycle. So is northern Germany, especially the one-time Danish territory of Schleswig-Holstein. The facilities on offer, the topology, the attitude of road users… it’s all, well, […]
The Sheffield Adventure Film Festival
Avid readers of CyclingEurope.org (I’m sure there must be one or two such people out there, no?) may remember this post from last March about my visit to the 2017 Sheffield Adventure Film Festival or SHAFF. Well, this week I have received an email about the 2018 festival […]
Unicycling Europe: Lutz Eichholz
It was, at times, challenging on two wheels for me back in 2015; here’s someone cycling parts of Norway on one…
Spain To Norway On A Bike Called Reggie: Now An American Adventure!
Losing My Faith… In Cycling?
Well, not quite. More like losing my faith in the belief that cycling infrastructure here in the UK will ever improve. A report today from Cycling UK is headlined “Flatlining cycling numbers ‘failure by successive governments’” and it makes depressing reading. A few selected lowlights: In 1989 2% […]
Mark Beaumont Backs Sustrans Big Pedal 2018
From Sustrans: World record breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont is calling on families to take up the challenge of ‘Around the world in 10 days’ as part of Sustrans Big Pedal 2018 – a UK-wide event to get more young people cycling and scooting to school. The Big Pedal […]
Top 25 Bicycle Touring Blogs: Up Ten Places At Number 9…
The Adventure Junkies top 25 list is just out and CyclingEurope.org is up ten places at number 9: # BLOG SCORE 1 Bike Packing 268 2 Travelling Two 261 3 The Path Less Travelled 254 4 Tom’s Bike Trip 254 5 Rodadas 254 6 Bike Touring Pro 252 […]
Yorkshire 2018: The Maps, Nearly
This is all very reminiscent of planning past continental adventures, the only difference being that this one will be in my back yard of Yorkshire (read here to catch up on the plan). My maps have just arrived from Sustrans and they nearly cover all of Yorkshire. In […]
A Plan For 2018
Second post of 2018. Second quote from a book – a different book – that I’m reading: “Cycling is a popular pastime in Yorkshire, especially in the industrial areas – there are no fewer than sixty clubs in West Yorkshire alone. Indeed, the county’s dedication to cycling led […]
“Here I am…” / Welcome To 2018
I woke this morning to the sound the radio (that had been playing quietly all night although, having gone to bed beforehand, I have no recollection of hearing Big Ben at midnight). I stared around the room a little whilst at the same time trying to catch the […]
2017: The CyclingEurope.org Year
As 2017 draws to a close I take a few moments to look back over the 150 posts from the past 12 months on CyclingEurope.org. It started in reflective mood, looking forward to the publication of Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie in May. Here I […]
Boxing Day 2017: Dunstanburgh Castle
On foot, not bike…
Happy Christmas!
It’s been a quiet end-of-year here at CyclingEurope.org but it’s back to normal service in 2018, a year that marks the 10th anniversary of the site. Tempus fugit… The card, by the way, is courtesy of the Cambridge Cycle Campaign where I gave a talk earlier in the […]
Cycling Tarifa To Nordkapp In 24 Questions
Last week I was contacted by Nicholas Waite, a cyclist who is planning to travel from Tarifa to Nordkapp by bicycle in 2018. As with anyone attempting such a feat, he has done the wise thing and read my book: Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie […]
Top 6 Road Bike Handlebars
By Nancy Moss When looking to upgrade your bike for a more comfortable ride, cyclists will generally look to pedals, saddles and handlebars to make the difference as these are the three key touch points that connect you to your bike. Now while riders will generally spend a […]
One Pint Of Beer And A Packet Of Crisps, Please…
…while I wait for the bus. Again. There are towns and cities across the globe; in the developed, developing and (probably even) the under-developed world where you can turn up at a bus / tram / train stop and, with a high degree of certainty, expect a simple […]
The Victorian Craft Beer Café… And A Bicycle
Telling Tales At Cycling Plus
Cycling Plus is an admirable publication, even more so in November 2017 (issue 333) as ‘Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie‘ gets a mention…
BREAKING NEWS: The 99p Shop… Is Open!
Yes, it’s true… …however you write it, Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie and Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie are now available for Amazon Kindle for a mere 99 pence or 99 cents. (If you buy the paperbacks from Amazon you can download the […]
Eroica Britannia 2017: The Film
Some of you may have been there… look out for yourself if you were. The film does seem to link the two previous posts on CyclingEurope.org together quite nicely: the film-themed podcast and this morning’s cycle into the Peak District, just. Eroica Britannia is back in Derbyshire in […]
Home To Holme To Home
I now have cold feet…
The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 003
It’s the first of the month (white rabbits etc…), which means just one thing; the next episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast is available to download from your preferred podcast purveyor or direct from this website! It’s episode 003 already (I’ll stop when I get to 999) and […]
Episode 003: Ian Street, Barry Godin, Jimmy Hyland & Harry Bunnell / Cycling Films
The cycling film special! The Leeds Bicycle Film Club (Ian Street), Mongolia (Jimmy Hyland), bikepacking & filmmaking (Barry Godin) & the definitive list of the greatest cycling films ever, perhaps (BFI/Harry Bunnell).
Harry Bunnell & The Sicily 1000
Harry Bunnell appeared on these pages a couple of weeks ago and he will be soon heard on The Cycling Europe Podcast (available to download from 1.11.17) talking about the greatest cycling films ever made. Here he is cycling around the coastline of Sicily:
HikingEurope.org: Skiddaw, England
A second day of hiking in the Lake District…
HikingEurope.org: Blencathra, England
Time to dust off the backpack and head for the hills… (in the Lake District).
In Praise Of… The Leeds Bicycle Film Club
The end of the month approaches…. which can only mean that The Cycling Europe Podcast is just around the corner. November’s podcast – episode 3 – will be film themed. Here’s a short extract from the part of the podcast where I visit The Leeds Bicycle Film Club. […]
On Your Bike Abroad: Cycling The EuroVelo 3 From Trondheim To Santiago
CyclingEurope.org often veers off topic, but here’s a story that is bang on topic. It starts with an email from Harry: Hi Andrew, I’m planning to cycle EuroVelo 3 in September this year, and was wondering if I could ask you a few questions? My father read about […]
Another Commute Bikes The Dust…
…Stainland to Halifax. New commute; the (inevitable) new film:
Cycling Up Everest… In Sicily?
Yes, it’s true, kind of… The story of a cyclist from London who became the first person to ‘Everest’ Mount Etna in Sicily. On 16th September 2017, Harry Bunnell took on the volcano multiple times until he reached the same elevation as the world’s highest peak, 8848 metres. […]
Lover Of Travel? The ‘Spain To Norway…’ Speaking Tour Continues!
Since the publication of Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie in May 2017, the speaking tour has taken in the Cycle Touring Festival in Clitheroe, Oxford, Bristol, The Immrama Festival of Travel Writing in Lismore, Ireland, London, York, Cambridge and an audience of hundreds in the […]
You Wait Ages For A Review…
…then three – one for each book – come along all at once! Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie: “Five stars as it kept me smiling throughout, written simply but in a compelling style that made me want to get on my bike, forget Strava and just […]
The Return Of The Cycling Commuter
I’m delighted to announce that as from tomorrow, I return to life as… a regular cycling commuter. It is now nearly three years since I said goodbye to my colleagues at Gillotts School in Henley-on-Thames where, for most of the previous eight years I had regularly cycled to […]
Britain By Bike With Stephanie, Richard, Larry & George
I’m going to start with a short extract from ‘Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie‘. I was in Denmark at the time and, having just paused to buy some new tyres, was en route to Copenhagen: Cycling route 8 had now finished and was replaced with […]
The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 2
Episode 2 of The Cycling Europe Podcast is now available to download! More details on how to do so here… or simply click on the arrow below, sit back and relax: This is what you’ll find in episode 002: The Cycle Show (o minutes 40 seconds) Ridgeback Bikes (1″14″) […]
Episode 002: The Cycle Show, Matej Mohoric / La Vuelta, Brussels / EuroVelo 5, The Ryburn Valley Greenway
The Cycle Show, La Vuelta a Espana (Matej Mohoric, UAE Team Emirates), Brussels (Eurovelo 5), The Ryburn Valley Greenway.
“Entertaining”, “Enjoyable”, “Witty”, “Informative”
It’s Cycling UK’s verdict of Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie of course…
Tour De Yorkshire: 2018 Start And Finish Locations Announced
A few words from the Tour de Yorkshire, including some very good news for the CyclingEurope.org’s home town, Halifax: The eight host locations for 2018 Tour de Yorkshire have been unveiled today. The stages for the newly expanded fourth edition will begin or end in: Barnsley (South Yorkshire) […]
Dear Jesse Norman, Transport Minister…
I am writing to ask if you could write to the motorists of Britain (as you wrote to the cycling associations of Britain last Friday), asking them to follow the Highway Code. Specifically, could you remind all drivers about the following things: respecting the speed limits, even in […]
Brexit, Trump, Kim Jong-un… – The Antidote
If only you could bottle autumn evenings like this one…
The Ryburn Valley Greenway: A (Curious?) Update
A few weeks ago at the start of September, I posted an article to CyclingEurope.org about something called the Ryburn Valley Greenway. You may want to read what I wrote at the time (and watch the videos that I made) before you continue to read this but basically… […]
New Zealand: Cycling The Long White Cloud
A rather beautiful film about an Australian cyclist travelling the length of New Zealand… The full story can be read here.
The Cycle Show 2017: Bicycle Of The Show
Well, from the perspective of a touring cyclist it is… all €8,133 of it. The Van Nicholas Deveron, as described by the company’s sales director earlier today at the Cycle Show at the NEC in Birmingham. More snippets from the show in the podcast: download on October 1st. […]
Le Tour De Yorkshire Expands!
Fantastic news from Welcome To Yorkshire, organisers of the Tour de Yorkshire: Yorkshire has received a huge boost today with the news that the Tour de Yorkshire will grow from three to four days in 2018. Organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and A.S.O had been seeking to extend the […]
The Cycle Show 2017: Preview
It’s that time of the year when the cycling world heads for the NEC in Birmingham for the annual Cycle Show… I’m off to the press and trade day today; the show opens to the public tomorrow and continues until Sunday. Expect a few posts about the event […]
The UCI World Championships: Bergen
I had the pleasure of visiting Bergen – host of this year’s UCI World Championships – a few days after arriving at Nordkapp back in 2015. I recommend a visit… These pictures (see link to original post below) may tempt you to book a flight (or perhaps even […]
Official Launch Of The EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena) App
From the EuroVélo website… (and the reason why I was in Brussels last week): “A new application has been launched for smart phones and tablets to help people plan and then cycle the route of EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena). Over a thousand years ago, pilgrims used […]
Cycling Brussels: The Audio Report
The following report will be included in the next episode of The CyclingEurope.org Podcast published on October 1st. It was recorded during my visit to Brussels last week to meet up with the project team developing the tourism aspect of the Eurovelo 5. It also includes a look […]
Brussels: The Greenway
Brussels: Bicycles, Beer And A Band
A busy day…
A Short Trip To… Brussels
I’ve spent much of the past three years thinking about cycling from southern Spain to northern Norway; planning the journey, completing the journey, recovering from the journey, writing the book about the journey and, more recently, marketing the book about the journey. (What? You hadn’t noticed?) The next […]
Chris Froome, Geoff Thomas And The Three Tours Challenge
As predicted a few weeks ago here on CyclingEurope.org (10 Things To Know About… La Vuelta A España), Chris Froome did indeed win the Vuelta. OK, it wasn’t a difficult prediction to make and anyway, I was merely quoting the predictions of those with greater knowledge at Cyclist.co.uk. […]
THIS WEEK: Cycle To Work Day – 13th September 2017
“Cycling Epic!” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (And Heroic?)
I pick out this review for Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie from Amazon.co.uk as I’ve rarely (well, never) been described as ‘heroic’ before. I have already updated the CV… “A book which serves up so much. It will delight not just avid touring cyclists but […]
Up The Buttress!
Remember Crossing Europe On The EuroVelo 5?
I’m currently reminiscing, putting together a short presentation* for my visit to Brussels next week where I’ve been asked to reflect upon my 2010 cycle from the UK to southern Italy along the EuroVelo 5. Browsing through the photos and website posts from the time (I came up […]
Cycling The World… Single Speed
Yes, single speed. Just to clarify: with one gear. It sounds a crazy idea to most but not to Markus Stitz, an Edinburgh-based bikepacker from Germany. In the autumn of 2015 (shortly after I finished my own somewhat-less-epic ride from Tarifa to Nordkapp), Markus set off to cycle […]
10 Things To Know About… La Vuelta A España
It’s rest day at La Vuelta.. have you been keeping up? With just six stages remaining, here is some background information about the race published on CyclingEurope.org back in the hot, sultry [are you sure?] days of August. Interesting to compare the names mentioned in point 10 with […]
The Ryburn Valley Greenway
‘Greenways’, ‘Vias Verdes‘, ‘Voies Vertes‘… they are all the same thing – in English, Spanish and French respectively – and they have cropped up from time to time in this parish, most recently a couple of months ago when I had the opportunity of cycling along the Waterford […]
This Day In History… And The CyclingEurope.org Podcast
It’s Friday 1st September 2017. On this day in history… …Louis XIV died (1715) …the last known passenger pigeon, Martha, died in captivity in Cincinnati Zoo (1914) …Ernest Hemingway’s Pulitzer-prize winning novel, The Old Man and the Sea was published (1952) …the wreck of the Titanic was discovered […]
Episode 001: Tim McKenna / UK To Istanbul, The Calder Valley, CTC Birthday Rides, The Cycle Touring Festival
UK to Istanbul, the Calder Valley of Yorkshire, ‘Along The Med…’, CTC Birthday Rides, Cycle Touring Festival.
Cycling In The Picos De Europa, Spain
I went walking in the Picos De Europa back in 2007 and they are certainly a spectacular range of mountains in northern Spain. Here’s a good blog post from ‘Reading, Running, Cycling‘ about attempting them on two wheels… A few years ago, I watched the whole of the […]
Coming To An Ear Near You: 1.9.17
Only four days to go… A monthly digest of news, interviews, reports, rides, readings, features… from the people behind CyclingEurope.org. If you think you might have something to contribute, please get in touch. Whether you’ve embarked on an epic ride or simply decided to to get back into […]
‘Spain To Norway On A Bike Called Reggie’: The Score So Far…
“You should read this book. It is a wonderful tale of a bicycle journey…” So says Tom Ivar Horvei in a review of Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie in a review just published on Goodreads, the respected literary review site, where the book is currently […]
I Don’t Have To Cycle Up Everest…
Here is a post from Rachel Cullen’s website. She’s a runner but has caught the bug for cycling… For anyone who knows the Calder Valley (as I do), the hills she refers to will be familiar. I feel her pain!
THIS WEEK: Cycle To Work Day – 13th September 2017
It’s back: will you pledge? You can do so here. Here’s what the organisers have to say: Cycle to Work Day, the annual event encouraging workers across the UK to take to two wheels for their commute, will celebrate its 5th anniversary this September 13th. The event invites […]
Episode 000: Does The World Need Another Cycling Podcast?
Does the world need another cycling podcast? We are about to find out…
What Is The CyclingEurope.org Podcast?
What is the CyclingEurope.org Podcast? Here’s your answer. Over to, err… me: Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or listen on the Awesound website.
Maxine Dodd’s Vuelta A España
Hola! This year’s Tour of Spain got underway last weekend with a really absorbing Team Time Trial in the ancient city of Nîmes. My first image is of the team with the magical name ‘Sunweb’ – They put in a great performance, but lost out to eventual stage […]
Pilot Episode
A sample from the soon-to-be-launched Cycling Europe Podcast. The full podcast which includes reports and interviews from across the world of cycling, adventure and travel is published on September 1st (and every first of the month thereafter!).
TODAY: Up The Buttress!
Here’s a cycling event with a difference: ‘Up The Buttress…’. The buttress in question is a steep, cobbled 365 metre lane from Hebden Bridge in the direction of Heptonstall in the Calder Valley of Yorkshire. In the words of the organisers: “£10 to attempt the Buttress, then your […]
The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire: 3. Whernside
In fairness, the climb to the third of my Yorkshire Three Peaks was always going to struggle to meet the standards set by the wonderful hike to Ingleborough (see previous post). That said the not-always-favourable comparisons actually started on Ingleborough itself with a treacherous steep descent into the […]
The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire: 2. Ingleborough
A wonderful climb to Ingleborough this morning. Listen to my thoughts recorded at the top of the mountain: …and here are the photos:
The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire: 1. Pen-y-ghent
Shortly after completing the previous post about La Vuelta this morning, I looked at the computer and wondered where my summer was going. I then looked outside and questioned the use of the word ‘summer’. Grey sky, breezy… but dry. August? Well, if the calendar says it is. […]
10 Things To Know About… La Vuelta A España
After this year’s visit to see the Tour de France and my ever-growing enthusiasm for the Tour de Yorkshire, I feel I should know the other big ‘classic’ races better than I do. Yesterday saw the start of La Vuelta, Spain’s grand tour, so I’ve just given myself […]
How Electric Bikes Have Changed the World
A guest post by Alexa Cobb Whether you’ve seen someone riding down the street on one or you’ve read about them in a magazine, electric bikes are becoming a popular phenomenon. For some, an electric bike enables them to get to work without needing a shower when they […]
