OK, I’m now back in Elland after my ride up and then down (kind of – I caught the train from Hebden Bridge to Halifax and then cycled back along the Hebble Trail and then the canal) the Calder Valley. Apart from the simple joy of getting out […]
I hate to admit this but… As chief executive (well, I write most of it) of CyclingEurope.org you’d think I’d be off on my bicycle every day doing this and that, cycling to work, heading off into the countryside every weekend seeking out nooks and crannies on my […]
Todayย is my last full day in my flat in Reading, Berkshire before I head north to Yorkshire for a few weeks then to Cadiz, Spain for a bit of language learning and then set off to cycle from Tarifa to Nordkapp. The new owner moves in tomorrow. Compared […]
So here it is… More details on Le Tour Yorkshire website.
“Words and verse about the race” sums up this half hour programme called ‘Fear and Loathing In Harrogate‘ that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 earlier this week. Recorded in, well, Harrogate on the day that the Tour de France passed through the town, it’s well worth thirty […]
It’s perfectly normal at the fag end of the old year to reflect upon what has happened over the previous twelve months and look forward to the new year with vague (perhaps even precise) resolutions to do everything better than you did before. In the books I have […]
Here in West Yorkshire – my home county and the place to which I will be relocating permanently later in 2015 – I have just had a brief Boxing Day walk over the newly-created cycle path in West Vale (about 3 miles south of Halifax) that makes use […]
Earlier today on Twitter I suggested that I should take Reggie (my bike) out for a photo shoot. I proposedย various locations; next to the River Thames? The Kennet and Avon Canal (beside rather than in)? The park? The M4 (bad idea)? The motivation for the photo shoot? Reggie […]
I write this from an ever-so-slightly echoey flat. Last week my plans for 2015 took a significant step forward in that I moved the bulk of what is best described as my ‘stuff’ to Yorkshire and it is now sitting in a large heap in the garage of […]
This is one post that most definitely has nothing to do with cycling . Apologies. It has everything to do with, err… an office building. Reading, the town where I have lived since late 1999 (and which I will soon be leaving to return to Yorkshire albeit via […]
When it comes to writing pieces for this website, September is always a lean month. I’ve just been looking back at the number of posts made every month and since 2009 when CyclingEurope.org burst into life on the world wide web (albeit under the much less catchy soubriquet […]
‘Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie‘ has now been available for nearly twoย months and the reviews have been very positive! Here isย a selection of comments from the reviews so far posted to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com: โHumorous, entertaining and even informative. Hard to put down. Travel writing […]
The cycling is now complete. Just a couple of miles short of 300 along the northern coast of Scotland from Dunnet Head to Tongue (via Thurso), along to Durness (and a quick non-cycling detour to Cape Wrath), south to disappointing Scourie, to the relative metropolis that is Ullapool […]
I didn’t know what was in store for me when I left the campsite in Scourie. I was glad to be leaving; despite being listed in the Cool Camping Scotland book that I had bought prior to the trip, the only cool aspect of the place (and here […]
By Henry Arnold The Tour de France was an overwhelming success. The two stages held in Yorkshire: Leeds to Harrogate and York to Sheffield, drew crowds totalling 2.5m. Not only did the Tour bring the sport into more and more homes it also proved that the Yorkshire terrain […]
Fear not! It’s not another book, and it won’t be (unless someone calls with an offer I can’t refuse) but it does sum up my plan for August 2014 in terms of cycling. This afternoon I bought a ticket for the overnight sleeper train from London Euston to […]
Well, I’ve got to have a press release, no? Press Release: โAlong The Med on a Bike Called Reggieโ For immediate distribution Wednesday 30th Julyย 2014, Reading, Berkshire We are delighted to announce the publication of the cycling travelogue ‘Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie‘ by Yorkshire […]
Here’s a great video from Welcome2Yorkshire summing up in imagesย and music the two-day visit of the Tour de France to Yorkshire. A few screen shots to whet your appetite…
The atmosphere today on theย Cรดte de Greetland (known locally, more prosaically as Queen Street, Hammerstones and Blackley Road) was wonderful. Half the population of the small town of Elland (c. 20,000) must surely have been somewhere along the hill. I was brought up on Blackley Road and my […]
…for two days at least. It should be fun!ย
By guest blogger Ian Fergusson Le Tour de France has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1903 as a newspaper publicity stunt.ย The worldโs greatest bicycle race is also the worldโs largest free sporting event. Thousands line the streets of France every year to cheer on […]
Well, disappointing news about David Millar (see previous post and today’s news of him being dropped by his team, Garmin), but the Tour de France circus moves on… After Yorkshire it arrives in London and here are a couple of cracking posters produced by Transport for London.ย Both posters […]
My old secondary school, Brooksbank School in Elland, West Yorkshire are doing their very best to make sure that those who will be in the area for stage 2 of the Tour de France have a great view of the race both during its passage through the town, […]
Courtesy of ‘Yorkshire Jules’ (@julieredred on Twitter) this must be the best Tour de France related photo I have yet seen. Fabulous! (Update from her mum: she is Phoebe, aged 9, started cycling 2 years ago and rides with Clifton cycle club in York.)
…but were afraid to ask? Well, perhaps not. But if you do want to find out almost anything about the Tour de France, here is a good place to start, or rather two good places to start. I was sent the two books shown here by the publishers […]
The Yorkshire Bicycle Show takes place over the weekend of the Tour de France Grand Depart in Yorkshire, the 4th – 6th July, at Leeds Town Hall. The organisers have just finalised the list of talks that will be hosted as part of the event and here it […]
By guest blogger Emily Buchanan With the Tour de France set to depart from Yorkshireย in July, thereโs never been a better time to embrace bike culture in the UK. From a 100-day cultural festival in the North East to the second annual Edinburgh Festival of Cycling in Scotland, […]
Yesterday was my birthday. It wasn’t a great birthday as I also happened to be ill and had taken the day off work. I’m still ill and I’m still off work. Late last night as I was coughing in my bed, unable to fall asleep, I heard my […]
My short speaking tour of Yorkshire ended last night here in Ripon. Appearing on the radio and making presentations is far more tiring that riding a bicycle long distances. Thanks to Russell of Russell’s Bike Shed, the people at Amici and Bici and Iain Pearce in Sheffield, to […]
Here is Russell of Russell’s Cycle Shed in Sheffield. You’ll normally find him in his workshop (and he’s about to move into new premises at Sheffield train station) but tonight to was at the cycling cafรฉ called Amici and Bici hosting my talk. The crowd was friendly and […]
Coming To A Radio Station / Cafรฉ / Pub / Bike Shop / Cathedral Near You! Well, if you live in Yorkshire… Later this week I’ll be talking a short break from putting together the final chapters of Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie (due out […]
Well, I’ll be in Leeds at the Yorkshire Bike Show for the launch of ‘Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie‘ at 3pm on 5th July (come along!) after having watched the ‘off’ just outside Leeds Town Hall (which is the venue for the show). On Sunday […]
While Yorkshire gears up for the Tour de France, Ireland – north and south – get ready for the arrival of the Giro d’Italia in 2014…
By guest bloggerย Tom Nelson The countdown to Le Grand Depart has at long last begun with a one hundred day cultural festival that celebrates the start of arguably the greatest cycle race of all time, the Tour de France. Indeed it is the first time that such a […]
I’ve mentioned the first two days of the Tour de France 2014 frequently in recent months as it will be visiting Yorkshire, the region where I myself was born and grew up. I haven’t really written aboutย day 3 of Le Tour which will see the cyclists set off […]
Yorkshire is going potty over the arrival of the Tour de France in July. Yorks of Thirsk* a cafe in North Yorkshire (@YorksTea) are going, err… tea potty. Just look at these displays they have created; *”A friendly independent cafรฉ in the market town of Thirsk. Cyclists and […]
More details on the TOB website… (It looks as though Yorkshire is now part of France! Perhaps in 2015…)
By guest blogger Tom Nelson With the National Road Race cycling route now confirmed and the weather picking up into longer, brighter spring days itโs time to get on your bike and explore the beauty of Britain. The plethora of exciting cycle routes in this relatively small country […]
Watch the video here… I’ll be there. Will you?
I’ll be wearing this with pride… kicking off in Berlin over the next few days!
It’s a while since I’ve had any WarmShowers visitors but last Monday I had two. They weren’t however travelling separately, in fact they were travelling very much together, on a tandem (which just managed to squeeze into the flat & spent the night in the place where my […]
In the lead up to arrival of the Tour de France in July, Yorkshire (my home county) is having a get together, The Yorkshire Festival. All the details on the website (and a couple of screen shots from that site below) but this official song from a group […]
A very Happy Christmas to all the follows of CyclingEurope.org & readers of “Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie” (if you aren’t a reader yet, why not download a copy to your new tablet via Kindle or iBooksย if you were lucky enough to get one?). Here’s a […]
The year is slowly drawing to a close… and I haven’t got very far with the new book. I’ve so far written about 6,500 words (which equates to about 5% of the final total unless it turns out to be a modern-day War & Peace). I’m not worried […]
If you are in Yorkshire on Friday 30th May 2014, come along! More details on the Le Tour Ripon website.
Don’t you just wish you came from a place like this? Oh, yes… I do! Bienvenue dans le Yorkshire! Bring on the Tour de France 2014! And the route that was revealed last week not only passes through the small town in West Yorkshire where I was brought […]
Richmond is posh Yorkshire. I think William Hague is the MP and he is the ultimate in posh Yorkshire. You can hear it in the way he speaks. I’ve heard lots of people sing the praises of Richmond but I can’t ever remember having been there. Until today. […]
After a second full English breakfast in as many days the walking party split and we all headed off in our respective directions; some back to Norwich, one to Cardiff, one to Derby and me in the direction of Yorkshire. I’m due to West Yorkshire to visit family […]
This weekend it’s my brother’s turn to get on his bike; along with 19 other cyclists he’s cycling in aid of Macmillan Cancer & the Yorkshire Air Ambulance from his home in West Yorkshire to the Isle of Man and then doing a lap of the TT circuit. […]
In preparation for the visit of the Tour de France 2014 to my home region of Yorkshire, a bicycle show is being held in Leeds. Here’s the press release: “Tour de France fever comes early to Leeds with the Yorkshire Bicycle Show” “Across our region bicycle fever is […]
The problem with writing these updates a couple of days after the events is that I forget so much so quickly. It can be very frustrating but here goes… I had breakfast in the centre of Perpignan and was still not sure which route to take into Spain. […]
Eddy wasn’t just good, interesting company; he was useful company. Before the combined effects of the food, cycling and two glasses of local white wine (I know, sorry, I’m a lightweight) had had their effects, he talked to me about his own experiences of cycling through Spain and […]
I wasn’t in the greatest of moods this morning when I woke. I had slept relatively well (who wouldn’t after most of a bottle of Montenegrin Chardonnay?) but was still narked that I had been taken in by the wide boy who had turned the patch of land […]
I can highly recommend this type of holiday if you want to delve into the variety of accommodation on offer within Europe. Last night I was having a shower in a wet room and then donning a white bath robe in a boutique hotel in was of Europe’s […]
They used to make a really cool little video showing a fly-through of the route of the Tour de France, but strangely, for the 100th Tour de France they have reverted to simplicity… Shame. My route this summer will pass over the route of the Tour de France […]
Here are some exciting things being planned in West Yorkshire (the area where I was brought up) to tie in with the Tour de France visiting the region in 2014. Hopefully I will be involved in some way, shape or form…
Last weekend when I was staying at my brother’s house in Yorkshire, my niece happened to be browsing through the travel section of The Sunday Times. She pointed out an article about ‘cycling-friendly‘ hotels, the first of which was in Provence, France and my ears pricked up. The […]
I wrote at length a few days ago about my visit to Springfield Camping – A Visit To Tent Heaven – while I was in Yorkshire earlier this week. I looked at the Vango/Force Ten Nitro Lite 200+ and was generally impressed. I’m still very unsure about the […]
Surely not watching England play cricket must be one of the most relaxing activities known to man. I’m at Headingley cricket stadium in Leeds, Yorkshire and after having watched just under an hour of action this morning, I’ve just been spending a very pleasurable two hours wandering around […]
Tentย heavenย or the nearest I have ever come to tentย heavenย can be found on the third floor of an old mill in the Calder Valley of West Yorkshire. It’s home to Springfield Camping and is the kind of shop that you really could live your entire life exploring. […]
The recent death of actor & comedian Paul Shane brought a few mentions of this film into the press. It was made in 1972 for BBC Television, written by Alan Bennett & centred around a cycling trip during Edwardian times by a group of cyclists from my own […]
We have now left the High Tatras and are making our way back to the western edge of Slovakia and the capital Bratislava. The plan is that we will arrive in the late afternoon – at 16:07 to be precise – and stay on a floating hotel on […]
Ian Street, fellow Yorkshireman, cyclist and writer has written the following piece for his website IntoThe Orchard. Ian is a man with ideas that need all the publicity they can get. Have a read and, as he says at the end of the article, contact him if you […]
To help celebrate passing the milestone of 5,000 copies of Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie, I asked people on Twitter & Facebook to nominate people or causes who might benefit fromย receivingย a complimentary copy of the book. I had quite a few nominations and thanks […]
On watching the video below your first reaction may be โhasnโt the person behind the camera got better things to do with their time on a cold, snowy day in the north of England?โ. It is a film of a journey through Calderdale in West Yorkshire but not […]
Not only is the Tour de France 2014 coning to my home county of Yorkshire, it will be passing through the town of my childhood, the place where my parents, brother & his family still live! Stage 2, Elland. More details on the Visit Yorkshire websiteย & the date […]
Sheffield is a city that, on occasions, I pass through or pass by. A dot on the map between The South (where I live) to The North (where I come from and now visit two or three times a year). When I pass by it is on the […]
This is the official announcement from the Tour de France website: “Les organisateurs du Tour de France ont le plaisir d’annoncer que le Grand Dรฉpart du Tour deย France 2014 aura lieu au Royaume-Uni, dans le comtรฉ du Yorkshire, avant une arrivรฉe d’รฉtapeย ร Londres. Aprรจs une annรฉe 2012 exceptionnelle […]
If Newcastle had been at one end, York should have been at the other end of the familiarity spectrum during my visit to Yorkshire & the North East of England last week; I had, after all spent three years in the cityย as a student,ย albeit over twenty years ago. […]
I’ve always thought that ‘The North’ starts at Kings Cross; it’s a little enclave in London where northern vowels predominate & people refer to each other as ‘love’ rather than ‘mate’. My mini tour of ‘The North’ starts today albeit without Reggie (my bike). Today I travel to […]
The great & the good of the International Olympic Committee family decided to stay put this morning. It was either that or they had decided to join the estimated 1 million people in Hyde Park to watch the men’s triathlon. For the IOC people it wasn’t far to […]
I have shamelessly stolen this entire post (apart from this paragraph) from the most recent Sustrans email. It covers my corner of the World; West Yorkshire. I don’t live there now but I suppose it will always be ‘home’… NCN West Yorkshireย cycle routes mapย This is the first […]
Well, actually it was Huddersfield Town 2, Yeovil 0. But fear not; I’m not about to start giving a classified check of the League 1 results every Sunday morning, ย As mentioned a few posts ago, my brother (and several hundred other people) cycled from Yeovil to Huddersfield in […]
Time to catch up with a few of the cyclists who I have been following or I will be following over the coming weeks and months. There are quite a few… First of all my brother, Matthew, who is cycling with quite a few other supporters of Huddersfield […]
Earlier today I made my way back down south after having spent the weekend in Yorkshire. Arriving by train in the capital I passed through Kings Cross station. I used to be a frequent visitor to Kings Cross when I worked in London about twenty years ago but […]
I received the following very nice email earlier this week about Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie: “I’ve just finished the vibrations and ‘good’ they were. I really enjoyed reading about your travels and thoughts on the way (and before). Apart from the obvious success […]
CyclingEurope.org has just carried out its very first interview! It’s with a couple of cyclists who are planning to do something rather special and who are an inspiration to the rest of us. I’m sure you’ll hear and see their names a lot more over the next couple […]
My home town of Reading is only thirty minutes or so from central London on the train and over the next couple of months, I will be very grateful for that small quirk of geography as I will be up in the capital quite a bit. First off […]
Well, sometimes it can be. Last night, after polishing off a plate of pasta that could have provided a decent foundation for a detached house in the home counties, I slumped onto the sofa to consult Twitter. @Shelaghย Fogarty, Five Live presenter & uber-swimmer had tweeted the following message; […]
I’m about to escape the south for the frozen north (well, Yorkshire) for a few days. I’ll be tweeting but probably not blogging so have an enjoyable festive season. Happy cycling ! P.S. If you discover that Santa has brough you a Kindle, iPad etc… on the 25th, […]
A few days I posted a video about the wisdom of the Dutch in planning & building their cycle network. Now it’s the turn of my fellow Yorkshire folk to bask in the glory I am about to heap upon them. As I type I am sitting on […]
On August 6th, 2009, I was cycling through the Yorkshire Dales on my pre-Eurovelo 5 shakedown trying to work out if I was suited to long-distance cycling. I wrote the following comments on the blog; “On passing through a pristine village called Airton, I stopped to enquire if […]
Listen to my BBC interview about the cycle and the book via Audio Boo. Read the article that appeared in the Reading Chronicle. Watch a 25 minute film that combines the BBC interview with pictures and videos from the cycle. Read about my forray into the media world. […]
The strangest thing about being interviewed live on BBC Radio Berkshire yesterday was not actually the interview itself; it was sitting in my living room about three hours before the interview listening to me being named and discussed by the presenter of the programme, Suzanne Courtney (Pop Idol […]
Not me. Not yet. I was just in Waterstones and located where my yet unnamed book could be slotted in the travel section. It would be in good company, just to the left of Paul Theroux’s ‘The Pillars Of Hercules’ (which I have on my bedside table poised […]
Just returned from a very quick overnight visit to Yorkshire to see family. I didn’t cycle up there but did hire a car and took the opportunity this morning to revisit the towns of Halifax & Huddersfield. The former has a small but relatively unknown jewel in its […]
…in a Hyundai. Driving is not my favourite occupation but at least if I hire a car I usually have a bit of luxury to make the most of the experience. The Hyundai doesn’t really offer that as a compensation. As for the progress northward, it is slow. […]
If you are reading this then it is probably at least Friday, if not Saturday or Sunday. My phone no longer wants to “connect to the data network”. Apologies. You probably all think I have been murdered if you aren’t used to using the Spot tracker link just […]
I feel like a meercat (correct spelling?) when I wake up on a campsite; I desperately search out a bit of sun and bask in it for a while to heat up my body. Today was a classic example but I was assisted in my efforts by my […]
Rain set in about an hour ago – hail at the start! – and it looks as if it will continue. The countryside initially was just like West Yorkshire. Very strange and I really feel that I have yet to escape the north of France.
Just look at how blue it is and how fluffy the clouds are…. The town itself is less beautiful although my hotel – the building on the photo – has the same interior designer as the boudoirs at the Moulin Rouge. The story of the day? Here goes… […]
This is not the best preparation for a continental cycle ride but it is a Friday night and the end of an academic year. I met my friend Sally earlier in town for a drink, came home and slumped in front of the TV with a pizza on […]
My day started by cursing (under my breath)ย a French colleague for not really doing her job properly and I then spent this morning teaching French to a bunch of enthusiastic (in the main) 12 year olds (including one American). This afternoon I went to Reading University and met […]
As I have said before, I love the fact that people all over the World read my blog and contribute either through the comments or by taking time to email me. It is no doubt the nearest I will ever come to receiving fan mail (teenage school kids […]
Some books of potential interest, especially the one in the middle; Great Cycle Journeys of the World. The blurb reads:ย With 34 classic cycle routesย covering six continents,ย through some of the world’s most stunning natural landscapes, this book provides something for everyone planning their next cycling holiday. ย Featured areas […]
