Episode 045: The UK To Greece (And Beyond…) / Valencia To Gibraltar

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Whilst recovering from cancer treatment, Candy Whittome was given a copy of Anne Mustoeโ€™s book โ€˜A Bike Ride: 12,000 Miles Around the Worldโ€™. It inspired her to embark upon a long cycling journey herself, if not quite all the way round the world, then a good portion of it.ย Her doctors were supportive (although her family needed some convincing) and in 2021 she set off on the first leg of her journey cycling from Britain to southern Greece during the second summer of the COVID pandemic. In this episode of the podcast, Candy looks back upon that ride and forward to the next stages that will take her to Asia and beyondโ€ฆย Plus: Chris Atkin reads an extract from his new bookย about a journey across southern Spain.

Cycle, Work, Cycle, Repeat

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After last week’s trip down to London to meet and interview Tim Moore, another week of travel but this week much more of it on the bike. Ronnie, the Ribble Hybrid has just finished his first complete week carrying me to and from work. It’s the first time since, I think, 2017 that I’ve completed a full week of cycle commuting and long may it continue! It’s the back end of winter so the mornings are rapidly getting lighter and and weather has generally been amenable to cycling; just one of the ten rides last week was in the wet. Some mornings, there was even a distinct hint of spring…

Transport Issues: Near, Far And Very Far Indeed

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An interesting week both on and off the bike. In recent weeks I’ve mentioned the purchase of a new bike in order to return to the habit of cycling to work. Well, this week, the bike was delivered and the habit re-started… Alas the delivery of the bike – a Ribble Hybrid AL Trail Disc Enthusiast 2.0 – was timed for Monday morning so I resorted to taking the car to school that day, but when I returned home, this was waiting for me…

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 044 – The Canal De La Garonne & Canal Du Midi / Trikesย 

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Declan Lyons trained as a zoologist but after several years working as a journalist and management consultant he started to research and then write two Cicerone guides for people interested in cycling the Canal de la Garonne from Bordeaux to Toulouse and the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to the Mediterranean coast at Sรจte. Together the canals are known as the Vรฉloroute des Deux Mers – the โ€˜two seas cycle routeโ€™ – and in this episode of the podcast he talks about the history of the canals and how they have been transformed in recent decades into one of Franceโ€™s most popular cycling routes. Also: we hear from Ian Yarroll, an experienced cycle tourist, who, after developing balance problems, took up a recumbent trikeโ€ฆ

Episode 044: The Canal de la Garonne & Canal du Midi / Trikes

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Declan Lyons trained as a zoologist but after several years working as a journalist and management consultant he started to research and then write two Cicerone guides for people interested in cycling the Canal de la Garonne from Bordeaux to Toulouse and the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to the Mediterranean coast at Sรจte. Together the canals are known as the Vรฉloroute des Deux Mers – the โ€˜two seas cycle routeโ€™ – and in this episode of the podcast he talks about the history of the canals and how they have been transformed in recent decades into one of Franceโ€™s most popular cycling routes. Also: we hear from Ian Yarroll, an experienced cycle tourist, who, after developing balance problems, took up a recumbent trikeโ€ฆ ย  ย  ย 

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: