A date for your diary if you happen to be near Reading on December 12th… “MEET ANDREW: FRENCH TEACHER, WRITER AND LONG-DISTANCE CYCLIST. NOW, MEET REGGIE, HIS BIKE. With two European cycling adventures already under his belt, Andrew was ready for a new challenge. Exchanging his job as […]
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire: “We are delighted and honoured to announce that Yorkshire has been chosen to host the 2019 UCI Road World Championships. The sensational news was announced last night by UCI President Brian Cookson OBE live from Doha, Qatar which is […]
I’m still using the excuse that Reggie the Ridgeback Panorama is too heavy to use on a regular basis on the hills of Calderdale and West Yorkshire in general. It’s pathetic, I know, but there you go. When I lived in relatively flat Reading, Reggie was my ‘do-anything’ […]
Nice little video from Rapha… But do these guys ever chat? “For the launch of the new collection, three riders took a trip to northern Italy to explore the area surrounding the Messner Mountain Museums – Italian climber Reinhold Messner’s dedication to man’s encounter with mountains – in […]
An updated version of what you may have seen before. Can you spot the differences? But here’s something that you probably won’t have seen before; the map for the new book. Available in spring 2017 from all good bookshops…
An interesting angle on the new book; the most frequent 100 words (pre-publisher edit…).
There’s no getting away from the fact that it is now autumn. If you are a weather forecaster, it started weeks ago on September 1st. If you stick to the ‘old rules’, the autumn equinox was this week and in the next month or so the leaves will […]
The 218th review for Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie was posted on Amazon.co.uk yesterday. That’s exactly twice as many for Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie which now has 109 reviews. When it comes to the ratings, however, Along The Med is still in front […]
It’s been a quiet few days here on CyclingEurope.org as I have been busy editing down the draft manuscript of ‘Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie’ ready for submission to the publishers on October 3rd. I’m already on my second read through and I suspect there […]
I have mentioned Ian Street a few times on these pages in the past. He is the man behind the successful Leeds Bicycle Film Club (as heard on BBC Radio 4!) and his next project is… Pedalling Ideas. The clue is in the title of the event but here are […]
By Amy Shaw Winter is coming. But that doesn’t have to mean cycling hibernation for the next 6 months – the crisp morning air and crunch of leaves beneath tyres make it worth bracing the elements. Cycling in the upcoming winter months can mean riding at extreme intensities […]
From the sister site, apsykes.com…
I’m in the final throes of writing the new book and have arrived at the island of Andøya. This picture sums up cycling along the coast of northern Norway perfectly… I felt obliged to share it once again. (It originally appeared here.)
It was August 28th 2013 when I completed my cycle from southern Greece to southern Portugal. The full story here or the even fuller story here… And here are a few photographic memories. Full marks to anyone who can identify where they were taken; Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, […]
From the sister site…
I came across this article that I wrote for a bike insurance website last year when writing the new book, Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie, yesterday. It never appeared on CyclingEurope.org but here it is now… If you’re planning a long distance cycling trip, it’s important that […]
Here’s a post from 2014 about my visit to the Brompton factory in London. It was interesting to watch the documentary about building a Brompton bicycle this week on BBC1. Worth a look. Here’s the link.
A memorable final day of hiking; magnificent views of the Matterhorn after our final climb (and descent by train) of the trip… …preceded by an impromptu meeting with Theresa May, the new prime minister, in the morning. Here she is chatting to the senior walker of our […]
By Mark Shaw The Vélodyssée isn’t just long…it’s so long it stretches all the way to Devon! In fact, this incredible Atlantic coats cycling route extends for a full 1,245km, taking in glorious regions like Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Poitiou-Charentes and Aquitaine along the way. What’s more, with […]
It got really tough…
Don’t miss the video below the photographs!
It got tough. Snow, ice, steep mountains but ultimately good fun…
The weather has turned somewhat – I’m typing from the shelter of my tent with rain thundering down outside – but some spectacular hiking in France and Switzerland. Enjoy the photographs:
Reviews of the books are always welcome and here’s one that has taken the reviewer a considerable amount of time to write. I appreciate particularly the fair comments about the first two books being self-published and the downsides that come with that. It’s a timely opportunity to remind […]
From one of the stars of The 35 Degrees…
A quick, albeit temporary, escape from BREXIT Britain. Tomorrow I drive down to the Alps for two weeks of walking from Chamonix to Zermatt along the haute route… Watch this space.
Exactly one year ago today I arrived at Nordkapp, the northernmost point of Norway and continental Europe after a cycle of 7,776km. Here, for the first time in one post, the story of that final day – cycling day 96 – from Honningsvåg to Nordkapp:
Cycling day 95; the penultimate day on the road to Nordkapp, 365 days ago today…
Last year on July 26th I was almost there…
This film was shown on BBC2 this evening. Goodness knows why they hid it away at 10pm on a Sunday evening. It would have been better to show it at 8pm on Saturday night on BBC1. The trailer is below; the film itself available on the BBC iPlayer […]
Here’s a nice place for a cycle; Calderdale. Anyone know it? And here’s a wonderful short film about the area that’s just been made by Shibden Digital: If you don’t know the area yet, you will soon, especially when The Piece Hall and Square Chapel Centre for the Arts […]
Starting to think about my walking holiday in the Alps. I set off next Thursday, driving down to Geneva to join a group who will have arrived by plane. From there we go to Chamonix and walk the classic ‘Haute Route’ to Zermatt in Switzerland. More details here. […]
When I think back to last year’s cycle from Tarifa to Nordkapp, these are two of the photographs I think about most. they were taken near Tromsø in Norway on this day in 2015… Here they are again, unfiltered and filtered:
The sun has set over another academic year… For the second half of the 2015/16 school year I have been working at The Brooksbank School in Elland as a maths / French / cover teacher. It also happens to be the school that I attended myself, far too […]
6 years ago today, I pushed the bike out of my flat in Reading and set off on a cycle to southern Italy. Here’s how day 1 was blogged at the time: La Via Romeo Francigena / Eurovelo 5 The Send Off Party! Iconic Location No. 1: Windsor Castle […]
I was fortunate to cycle through Nice in August 2013 after having spent six weeks in the city during early 2000. A real tragedy in a beautiful city. When you watch the news today, don’t forget what it normally looks like. And make sure you visit one day.
Coming soon, the Italian translation of ‘Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie‘. Here’s the prologue, translated by Enrico Antonio Mion: Prologo Vendono una maglietta con scritto che esistono tre ragioni per diventare insegnante: Natale, Pasqua e l’estate. Sebbene non concordi con questo sentimento cinico, vi è un […]
NOTE: THIS IS REBLOGGED FROM A THIRD PARTY WEBSITE. IT IS NOT THE INTENTION OF ANDREW SYKES TO CYCLE THIS ROUTE IN 2017. Eurovelo 12, The North Sea Cycle Route…
A review of things cycling in and around Leeds in the coming weeks and months…
This Thursday, 14th July 2016, the Tour de France once again points its riders in the direction of the summit of Mont Ventoux in the south of France. As I was cycling from Cape Sounio in southern Greece to Cape St. Vincent in southern Portugal in the hot […]
I’m loving these posts from Maxine Dodd. Very good indeed.
Back on this day in 2013, I was cycling through northern Greece heading for the border with Albania. Andy Murray had just won his first Wimbledon title…
(Updated July 2016) I have (obviously) not included the bike itself – a 2010 Ridgeback Panorama, the four Ortlieb Roller Plus Panniers or any clothing. Exped dry bags Waterproof Ortlieb map holder Robens Osprey 2 tent Mountain Equipment sleeping bag Decathlon sleeping bag line PowerMonkey Extreme rechargeable battery and […]
I’ve recently republished some of the posts I wrote during some of the cycles of the past few years. I was wondering if there had been a few days when I had been cycling in each of my five ‘cycling years’. Alas the answer is ‘no’… …but I find […]
These evoke memories of cycling in the area of Saumur last year en route to Nordkapp…
Another bicycle-meets-film event from Leeds’ greatest bicycle impresario… Mr Ian Street:
Today, for the first time in my eight-year blogging career I was asked to give someone face-to-face advice about running a successful ‘adventure’ website. The person concerned is Mike, a geography teacher at the school where I’ve been working since earlier in the year. This is one of […]
On this day, 2013…
Every so often a company called Vuelio creates a list of cycling blogs that they consider to be ‘influential’. Not sure how they quite work that out but the list has just been updated and, as before, CyclingEurope.org is in there at number 3. If you visit the […]
From Kevin Mayne of the European Cyclists’ Federation:
Now I’m already a fan of the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre but whilst looking up its exact specifications for the new book, I found this. Not sure I would dare…
Does it exist? Apparently so… I know this as last week I received an email from Ben Black of Beer 52 in Edinburgh. “I wondered if you would like to review our craft beer club – Beer52. It may seem like a digression from your normal posts, but […]
I’ve spent the last couple of hours examining the Copenhagen Bicycle Strategy 2011-2025 as part of my research for the new book. It’s enough to make your average British cyclist weep. Well worth a read but have tissues to hand… Draft extract from The 35 Degrees: Tarifa to Nordkapp on […]
A year ago today, en route to Nordkapp, Norway…
In preparation for the publication of the final book in the popular and acclaimed European cycling trilogy (The 35 Degrees: Tarifa to Nordkapp on a Bike Called Reggie, published in spring 2017 from Summersdale) until August 31st… CROSSING EUROPE… / ALONG THE MED… JUST £1.99 / $2.99 / €2.99 Latest Reviews for Crossing Europe on a […]
On this day three years ago…
The Tour de France 2016 is almost upon us and SIS have created an infographic that gives an insight into how the riders in Team Sky stayed fuelled during those long days in the saddle. I have to say my own approach as I cycled across Europe was […]
An updated promotion video for The 35 Degrees: Tarifa to Nordkapp on a Bike Called Reggie, published by Summersdale in spring 2017.
I’m a GoPro fan – see some of my videos here – so this caught my eye…
By Samantha Long It is one of cycling’s greatest conundrums; greater even than the matter of deciding who is the all-time best cyclist. Or what is the most challenging climb? Or where is the most spectacular ride in the world? The question in question is… A lovely relaxing […]
Just arrived home after a weekend visiting friends back in my old life in Reading… and discovered these items of great beauty on the doorstep. They have been sent by Laurence King Publishing and are very nice indeed; The Cyclist’s Bucket List, A Road Bike Journal and Le Tour […]
I only have one bike, a touring bike obviously, so when I saw a link to this article on the RoadCC website, I was immediately interested. What do you think? Why your next bike should be a touring bike—the most versatile bike type around#cyclinghttps://t.co/7oZLSs3AD9 pic.twitter.com/CXljTDttvG — road.cc (@roadcc) […]
Normal service is resumed… And to get us going how about a little reminiscing; 100 photos from last year’s cycle from Tarifa to Nordkapp. The 35 Degrees: Tarifa to Nordkapp on a Bike Called Reggie will be published by Summersdale in spring 2017. Available in all good bookshops […]
You know where I stand. If you don’t, a few clues below. Don’t forget to vote…
“What did the EEC/EU ever do for us? Not much, apart from: providing 57% of our trade; structural funding to areas hit by industrial decline; clean beaches and rivers; cleaner air; lead free petrol; restrictions on landfill dumping; a recycling culture; cheaper mobile charges; cheaper air travel; improved […]
The lists below will come as no surprise to most people. If Britain does vote to leave the EU, I hope that those in the list at the bottom (and perhaps you if you plan on voting ‘out’) will appreciate the fact that it is those in the first […]
Are you up for paying but having no say? More details at Square One Law.
It’s been a grim week but as I was reading up on events this morning on the BBC news website I spotted this short video about a Japanese couple who went on a very long honeymoon, with a drone. The results were outstanding and here they are. Worth […]
If you watched last night’s programme on BBC 2 about EU immigration to the UK, you may remember the woman at the start who lived and worked in Clacton-on-Sea. She blamed the lack of availability of housing in the area on EU immigrants. Clacton is part of the Tendring […]
More details on the website. If you can’t make Brighton between July 14th and 16th, perhaps you can attend in New York, Amsterdam, Milan, Mexico City or Sydney…
If you follow this blog via Twitter or Facebook I should perhaps start with an apology that over recent weeks, the tweets and posts about cycling and travelling have been far outnumbered by those on the subject of the EU referendum next week. It’s a hollow apology however […]
I agree with every word of Gordon Brown’s film. If you are no fan of Gordon, read what Michael Heseltine had to say on the same topic in the FT. My thoughts on why we should stay in the EU coming soon on CyclingEurope.org.
The revamp of CyclingEurope.org (and its new sister site apsykes.com) continue apace with the opening of a new bookshop which can be found up there in the menu and also here. It so far has four shelves with around 20 carefully selected books each: The Cycling Bookshop The […]
Melanie Rice writes: Yorkshire lasses Kate Horsfall of Wetherby and Judith Worrall of Thirsk are inviting all ladies who like to cycle to their Yorkshire Lass Cycling Club’s first charity sportive on 14 August – 140 entrants have already signed up and just 160 places remain. Supported by […]
Actually, apsykes.com has existed for some time and it redirected to here, CyclingEurope.org. But that’s no longer the case as apsykes.com has fledged the nest and is now out there on its own. Looks good, no? It’s amazing how much fun and just how satisfying it is creating […]
So far, so good…
Some news tonight of something that I never really thought would happen. The kind of thing that happens to others, not a French teacher from Yorkshire. But it has. I am delighted to announce that earlier today I signed on the dotted line… …and that The 35 Degrees: […]
This morning’s action. If you are reading this today, Sunday 8th, the event continues until this evening… More details here.
Happy 90th birthday Sir David…
Yes, you are looking at it. This website – CyclingEurope.org – has tonight notched up its one millionth page hit. I didn’t quite catch the big moment but here is the situation as of 8pm this evening. As you can see, a million page hits ‘only’ equates to […]
See you in Halifax in 2017…
Yes, you thought you’d seen it all… First the cycles and the blogs, then the books, now the PowerPoint. Fear not, Cycling Europe has not entered the world of middle-management training, but I have spent the day putting together next Saturday’s presentation. 7pm, HX5 0TD. Pie and peas […]
…is nearly here! Full details on the Tour de Yorkshire website. I’ll be on BBC Radio Leeds (available worldwide online!) on Friday afternoon at 2pm talking about things cycling. Here are the routes for the three days of the event. Better bring a jumper. Perhaps even a snow shovel…
By Shaun Lane, BiPolar UK “I felt like a challenge, not having ridden 100 miles for a very long time, something like 30 years!” In 2014 Steve took part in the Prudential Ride100. Having been diagnosed with bipolar in 1997 Bipolar UK is very close to Steve’s heart […]
Here’s the map (the first version at least). Feedback welcome.
I’ve been distracted from the writing in the past couple of days. Here’s why:
