Tag: Russia

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 094 – From Ibiza To The Norfolk Broads (Revisited)

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In 2020, episode 23 of The Cycling Europe Podcast featured a chat with cyclist and David Bowie fan James Briggs. Inspired by the lyric of his musical hero, David Bowie, James set off on a cycling odyssey from Ibiza… to the Norfolk Broads. At the time he was writing a book about his music-inspired journey and now, five years later, it has just been published. According to the blurb, “Criss-crossing Europe, he visited French chateaux where Bowie recorded, Spanish Olympic stadiums he played, former communist states where his music was banned, and the Berlin Wall he helped topple – all while navigating angry Soviet ballerinas, suspicious village mayors, and an irate Cliff Richard fan.” In this episode of the podcast we listen to what James had to say back in 2020 and catch up with him again about what happened next. We also hear from Rob Ainsley who in episode 23 provided his own suggestions for lyric-themed cycling adventures. Will James find inspiration in any of Rob’s ideas for his next long-distance cycle?

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 072 – Greg Yeoman – Cycling Across Russia In 1993

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In 1993, recently graduated student Greg Yeoman set off with his Australian friend Kate Leeming on a cycling expedition of nearly 13,000km, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. In a journey that is currently impossible, they pedalled across the entire length of post-Soviet Russia, exploring the landscapes and meeting the people as they went. 30 years later, he looks back on his epic adventure.

Welcome To 2022… And Back To Cycling Europe

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On October 31st last year, I posted a short message to Twitter (and similar messages on Facebook and Instagram as well as on CyclingEurope.org itself) that I intended taking a break from the whole ‘Cycling Europe’ thing to spend a bit more time doing everything else in life. I signed off saying that I would be back on January 1st 2022 and, right on cue, here I am. Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a good Christmas and are all set to make the coming year better than the previous two…

brown and white concrete houses under gray sky

On Your Marks… EuroVelo 10: The Baltic Sea Cycle Route

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October 2021 has been a quiet month on CyclingEurope.org; just two substantive posts, one about episode 40 of The Cycling Europe Podcast and the second reflecting upon the possibility of embarking upon a cycling trip around the Baltic Sea in 2022. Well, after quite some considerable thought and an in depth chat with a German chap called Bernd who cycled the complete route in 2019 (that will be published as an episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast later in November), I took a significant step in committing myself to heading off on a long Baltic cycle tour next week by buying a ticket for the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam on Monday 20th June 2022…

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 027 – Dr Ian Walker

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In 2015 I cycled from Tarifa in Spain – the southernmost point of mainland Europe – to Nordkapp in Norway – the northernmost point. It took me over 100 days. In 2019 Dr Ian Walker – an academic at the University of Bath – completed the journey in the opposite direction… in 16 days 20 hours and 59 minutes. In the process he became the fastest person ever to cycle across Europe north to south. That’s no mean feat for a man in his mid-forties who had only taken up ultra-long-distance racing a few years prior to breaking the record. I needed to find out how he did it…

Cycling Day 53: Missunde To Flensburg

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Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle. The campsite at Missunde really was a gem. Every box on the Cycling-Europe-travelling-cyclist-ideal-campsite list was ticked. Twice. The previous number one site of the trip had been in Orléans; but it didn’t have this:   By the time […]

Rest Day 2: Olympia, Greece

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The reason for trekking all that way across the Peloponnese was, of course, to visit the ancient ruins of Olympia. I don’t want to make this to be too big of a thing but if you read my book about cycling to Italy you may remember that I […]

The Cycling Author Shelf Of Fame?

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Dear Mr Sykes – I’m too full of respect to refer to you as Andrew – I’ve just completed reading your “Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie” and thoroughly enjoyed it, well done, not just for completing the journey, but also the book. You are […]

Alpine Downs and Ups

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Do you ever want to scream? Today is one of those days. I live in a flat where I pay a communal charge and it has just been increased by 500% from around £90 to just under £430. Now this is clearly an error but it annoys me […]