Tag: Switzerland

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€

Le Grand Tour: Day 47 – The Aftermath Of The Storm (Draft)

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Progress is being made on the book about 2022’s Grand Tour. The drat should be finished by the end of the year and then I can think about getting this fourth travelogue published for all the world to read. In advance, however, here’s another extract – in draft – that I have just completed. It recounts the day after the night before! There had been a storm at the end of day 46 and here I am picking up the pieces and getting my journey back on track as I cross the border from France and enter Switzerland…

The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 075 – Craig Fee – Cycling Into The Unknown

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In 2017, novice long-distance cyclist Craig Fee set off on a continental odyssey to cycle from London to his friendโ€™s wedding in Florence, Italy. But had he bitten off more than he could chew? In his new book, Cycling Into The Unknown, he tells the story of the journey and in this episode of the podcast, he reflects upon the experience of setting off on a make-it-up-as-you-go cycle across Europeโ€ฆ

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 070 – Crossing Europe On A Bike Called Reggie – Part 1

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โ€œThe academic year must have been a difficult one as when the summer holidays arrived, secondary school teacher Andrew Sykes was happy to do as little as possible. But while sitting on his sofa watching the exploits of the cyclists at the Great Wall of China at the Beijing Olympics, he realised the error of his ways and resolved to put a bit more adventure into his life. Two years later, accompanied by his faithful companion Reggie (his bike) but only a rudimentary plan, Andrew set off for a trans-continental cycling adventure that would take him along the route of the Via Francigena and the Eurovelo 5 all the way from his home in southern England to Brindisi in the south of Italy. There were highs and lows, rain and shine, joy and despair and they are all recounted here in a light-hearted, brisk style.โ€

“One Of My All-Time Favourite YouTube Videos… Epic Stuff!”

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On July 3rd 2022 I set off from The Hook of Holland in The Netherlands, turned right and pedalled off in the direction of France. It was an anti-clockwise tour of the continent; the EuroVelo 12 along the Belgian coast, the EuroVelo 4 to Dieppe, Lโ€™Avenue Verte to Paris, La Vรฉloscรฉnie to Mont St Michel before rejoining the EuroVelo 4 to Morlaix, the EuroVelo 1 / Vรฉlodyssรฉe to Royan, the Canal de la Garonne to Toulouse, the Canal du Midi to Sรจte, the EuroVelo 17 beside the Rhรดne to Andermatt in Switzerland and finally the EuroVelo 15 / Rhine Cycle Route back to The Hook of Holland and the return ferry to Hull on September 3rd.