YOUTUBE EXCLUSIVE: Episode 066 Of The Cycling Europe Podcast

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A few months ago I was approached by Jet2 Holidays who asked if I would be interested in discovering the joys of cycling in one of their winter destinations in southern Europe. Of course I said yes and had a look at the map. Where would be nice and warm in the middle of February? The Canary Islands seemed the most likely place to deliver good weather so I arranged to travel to Costa Adeje on the island of Tenerife. I hired a bike and headed along the coast and up the hills… This was a different approach to travelling on two wheels. How did I get on without a tent and four panniers but in a luxury hotel on an unfamiliar bicycle?Show less

Tenerife: Day 5

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A few mindful moments just after sunrise on my final morning staying in Costa Adeje on the Spanish island of Tenerife. It’s interesting seeing how, from the perspective of the drone, the natural and man-made worlds have collided rather sharply. But at 8am there was still calm to be found before people crawl from their beds and take up position beside the pools, in the cafรฉs and bars and on the beaches…

Tenerife: Day 4

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When I was thinking about what to do today, top of the list of โ€˜possiblesโ€™ was staying at the hotel and cracking on with some writing. I was hoping to knock off at least another couple of chapters of the new book this week, but it hasnโ€™t happened, yet. And it never happened this morning. With it been another nice day, it seemed a waste to sit at my computer, especially when there are so many things I havenโ€™t done on this island. That includes getting anywhere near Mount Teide. Would today be the day I did?

Tenerife: Day 3

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The cycling dayโ€ฆ Itโ€™s strange being on a cycling holiday without a bicycle. Thatโ€™s how it felt yesterday. Today the normal order was restored and I have been cycling. Not on my bike but a hire bike from a local company called Mr Bike Tenerife. I donโ€™t think thatโ€™s his real name but Mr Bike delivered the โ€˜Pro Mountain Bikeโ€™ to the hotel this morning at just after 11:30 as promised. Let the cycling commenceโ€ฆ

Tenerife: Day 2

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I still have to jump on a bike butโ€ฆ I suppose that was never the plan until day 3. Today was spent wandering very slowly along the coast from Costa Adeje to Los Cristianos and then back again via a route slightly inland. My fitness app tells me 20km and 27,000 steps. Thant will work wonders on the average. โ€‹

Tenerife: Day 1

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Itโ€™s a slight departure for this esteemed organ of the cycling world to head off on a package tour but this week thatโ€™s exactly whatโ€™s happening; I have been invited by Jet2 Holidays to sample a bit of cycling on the Spanish island of Tenerife. โ€‹To say itโ€™s outside of my comfort zone would be a mild understatement – I am happiest with at least two panniers and a simple campsite at the end of the day – but Iโ€™m always up for something new so here goesโ€ฆ

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 065 – Matthew Sturgeon โ€“ Cycling To Mainland Britainโ€™s Lighthouses

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Matthew Sturgeon is an architect and cyclist from Ilkley in Yorkshire and heโ€™s onย  a mission to visit every one of mainland Britainโ€™s 186 lighthouses. Inspired by his late late wife Angela, who raised ยฃ40,000 for cancer research, Matthew is raising money for his A Bit Of A Break charity. It funds visits for cancer patients and their families to holiday properties around the UK. He started collecting his lighthouses with a ride along the Northumbrian coast and has now visited 100. But why lighthouses? Whatโ€™s his favourite lighthouse? What has been the most disappointing lighthouse? What has been the most difficult to cycle to? And what will be lighthouse number 186? Matthew tells his story to The Cycling Europe Podcastโ€ฆ

Episode 065: Matthew Sturgeon โ€“ Cycling To Mainland Britainโ€™s Lighthouses

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Matthew Sturgeon is an architect and cyclist from Ilkley in Yorkshire and heโ€™s onย  a mission to visit every one of mainland Britainโ€™s 186 lighthouses. Inspired by his late late wife Angela, who raised ยฃ40,000 for cancer research, Matthew is raising money for his A Bit Of A Break charity. It funds visits for cancer patients and their families to holiday properties around the UK. He started collecting his lighthouses with a ride along the Northumbrian coast and has now visited 100. But why lighthouses? Whatโ€™s his favourite lighthouse? What has been the most disappointing lighthouse? What has been the most difficult to cycle to? And what will be lighthouse number 186? Matthew tells his story to The Cycling Europe Podcastโ€ฆ