Tag: Germany

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 078 – Le Grand Tour On A Bike Called Wanda / Andrew P. Sykes

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In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, guest presenter Andrew Edwards chats to Andrew P. Sykes about his 2022 cycle around Europe and his new book โ€“ Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda โ€“ that is published on May 1st 2024.
โ€œSecondary school teacher and inveterate would-be adventurer Andrew P. Sykes is back in the saddle. This time, however, it doesnโ€™t belong to his long-term sidekick Reggie. Thereโ€™s a fresh-faced kid on the block and sheโ€™s a bike called Wanda. (Nothing fishy about that!) The new double act set off on a grand tour of Europe to explore some of the continentโ€™s most iconic cycling routes and locations: the Vรฉlomaritime, the Avenue Verte to Paris, the Vรฉloscรฉnie to Mont-Saint-Michel, the Vรฉlodyssรฉe, the Canal de la Garonne, the Canal du Midi, the ViaRhรดna, the Furka Pass and the Rhine are all on the itinerary of this light-hearted loop from the Hook of Hollandโ€ฆ to the Hook of Holland. Join Andrew and Wanda as they put their best foot and only front wheel forward in a hot, dusty but at times very damp quest to delve into the lives, landscapes, history and culture of some of our nearest continental cousins and the countries they call home.โ€

The Alpe Adria Cycle Path

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A while ago – back in November 2023 – I published an episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast (number 076) that consisted of an interview with a friend of mine, Tim Sanders. I know him through the Cycle Touring Festival and the podcast was actually recorded at last year’s event. (This year’s event is at the start of May by the way – see the recent post here on CyclingEurope.org.) Tim talked about cycling from Venice to Munich via Innsbruck in Austria on a route called, err… mรผnchen venezia. It needs a better name than that but there you go. When I received an email a few days ago from ‘freewheeling’ David I thought he was writing about the route that Tim had discussed in the podcast. But he wasn’t…

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 076 – Tim Sanders โ€“ The Parenzana Trail / Venice to Munich

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Tim Sanders holds the accolade of being one of only two people to have attended every single Cycle Touring Festival since the event first appeared on the calendar in 2015. During this yearโ€™s event in Clitheroe he spoke to The Cycling Europe Podcast not only about the joys of the festival but also about a recent cycling journey that took him from the Istrian Peninsula on the Adriatic coast along the Parenzana Trail to Trieste and onwards over the Alps to Munich in southern Germany.

a view of a city at sunset with a church in the background

“Freiburg Is Wonderful For Cycling”

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So says cycling contact Simon Johnson, and watching the video that he pointed me in the direction of, it’s not difficult to see why. It’s one of those ‘watch and weep’ videos I’m afraid from the perspective of anyone who lives in the UK… I must add it to the list of places to visit; it’s not far from the Rhine. (Zermatt also gets a mention in the video! I have been there – it’s a car-free town in the Swiss Alps – and I mention it to anyone who claims we can’t remove cars from British towns and cities…)

Cycle Magazine: Le Grand Tour – Now Available Online

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If you are a member of Cycling UK and pay your ยฃ4 every month, you will hopefully have had the opportunity to read my account of last year’s Grand Tour that appeared in the June / July 2023 issue of Cycle Magazine. (If you are not a member, why not?? It’s a bargain and the magazine is one of the best cycling reads that you can get your hands on; real people, real cycling, real stories…)

Cycle Magazine June / July 2023… And Le Grand Tour

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Welcome to June… and to the summer of 2023. Well, if the first is your definition of summer. There are several from which to choose. My focus over the next few months will be continue to write the first draft of my new book about last year’s ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. I’m now heading south along the Vรฉlodyssรฉe in the west of France (day 25 of around 60) so I should have that draft ready by the end of the summer. However, earlier this year I was approached by Dan Joyce, the editor of Cycling UK’s Cycle magazine, asking if would be able to contribute an article about last year’s cycle. That article has now been published and if you are a member of Cycling UK, you should have received your copy of the magazine in the last few days. It’s the June / July issue.

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 069 – Susan and Ron Crump – Cycling Amsterdam to Athens

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In the autumn of 2022, Susan and Ron Crump, a retired couple from Kentucky in the USA set off on their first cycle tour. Instead of dipping their toes in the shallow end of the cycle touring pool, they plunged into the deep end by embarking upon a 3,500km cycle from Amsterdam to Athens. Along with two more experienced cycle touring friends – Pam and Ralph – this is the story of their trip; the preparation, the execution and the aftermath. They may have been jumping for joy upon arrival in Athens but were they jumping for joy throughout the cycle? And has the trip been a springboard for future rides or will their next visit to Europe be on a cruise ship?ย