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Cycling Day 4: Dos Hermanas To Sevilla
Click here to see the detailed statistics of today’s cycle I had to wait until nearly halfway through the Eurovelo 8 trip along the Mediterranean to intersect with my previous continental crossing – my...
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18th July, Cycling Days 1, 15 And 87
6 years ago today, I pushed the bike out of my flat in Reading and set off on a cycle to southern Italy. Here’s how day 1 was blogged at the time: La Via Romeo Francigena / Eurovelo 5 The Send Off...
View ArticleA Short Trip To… Brussels
I’ve spent much of the past three years thinking about cycling from southern Spain to northern Norway; planning the journey, completing the journey, recovering from the journey, writing the book about...
View ArticleCycling Brussels: The Audio Report
The following report will be included in the next episode of The CyclingEurope.org Podcast published on October 1st. It was recorded during my visit to Brussels last week to meet up with the project...
View ArticleOfficial Launch Of The EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena) App
From the EuroVélo website… (and the reason why I was in Brussels last week): “A new application has been launched for smart phones and tablets to help people plan and then cycle the route of EuroVelo 5...
View ArticleThe Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 2
Episode 2 of The Cycling Europe Podcast is now available to download! More details on how to do so here… or simply click on the arrow below, sit back and relax: This is what you’ll find in episode 002:...
View ArticleMuch Ado About Cycling: Ten Years Of Cycling Europe
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Cycling Europe website. It wasn’t called ‘Cycling Europe’ back in August 2008; it went by the rather more specific name of ‘Puglia 2010’ which made...
View ArticleThe Social Side Of EuroVelo
In the ten years that CyclingEurope.org has existed in this little corner of the worldwide web, one major thing has changed online; social media has taken over, or so it sometimes seems. Not that I’m...
View ArticleCycling In Belgium
My journey across the continent continues… I have already posted planning notes on cycling through Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Here are my planning notes for Belgium after which only France...
View ArticleThe Ortlieb Roller Classic (Plus) Pannier With QL2.1
Sorry, but it’s time to sound like a nerd. At least I’ve warned you… Panniers. If you didn’t look away at the end of the first paragraph, you’re likely to have do so now but for the few of you left...
View ArticleCycling In France
So, after Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Belgium I arrive in France on my pre-Eurovelo 1/3 quest to have put at the very least a bit of thought into the planning of the route. Only one country to...
View ArticleDitching The Rough Guides In Favour Of…
I would happily class myself as an enthusiastic early adopter of technology, especially when it comes to cycling. Back in 2009 when I cycled along the Pennine Cycleway as a shakedown of my skills as a...
View ArticleThe EuroVelo 5: Cycling Lucca To London
It’s always nice when people get in contact either to give their own perspective on cycling in Europe (or indeed elsewhere) or seeking advice and guidance. Jess contacted me back in June via this post...
View ArticleThe Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 012
The Cycling Europe Podcast is back in the UK and heads to Scotland to chat with Paul Cheese, musician and long-distance cyclist. His travels took him on an astonishing journey to almost every nook and...
View ArticleDespairing No Longer: A EuroVelo 5 Discovery In Belgium
What is the point of a cycle touring route if no one knows it is there? That’s the question that Kevin Mayne has posed on his website IDoNotDespair.com. I met Kevin back in 2015 as I was cycling from...
View ArticleThe Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 013
The British people have spoken and, by popular demand, The Cycling Europe Podcast returns with episode 013. In this latest audio extravaganza of all things cycling, we head to Matlock in the English...
View ArticleWarning: Detailed (And I Mean Detailed) Maps Of The EuroVelo Network
One for the maps geeks. (Of which I am one…) You may wish to turn away if you have a dodgy internet connection as clicking on the links below is likely to test your patience in terms of download time,...
View ArticleEuroVelo Extra: The Facts And Figures
The ECF have just published a 'press pack' of information about the EuroVelo network. Here are a few snippets. They complement perfectly what Ed Lancaster said on the The Cycling Europe Podcast that...
View ArticleEurovelo 8: The Google Map
UPDATE 2018: It looks as though the Google Map referred to here has now been deleted… There are still some valid comments below however so I’ll leave this post online; just don’t expect to find the map...
View ArticleGood Vibrations: “I Want More” 5*
“As my title suggests I can’t wait for the next tale of travel by bike in Europe, I finished it so quickly as I enjoyed it so much. I am assured the next book is due after summer 2013 on Eurovelo 8...
View ArticleWeighty Matters
Over the next few months, I will drone on endlessly on this website, on Twitter & on Facebook about this piece of cycling equipment or that. I will debate the merits of widget A over that of widget...
View ArticleIn Praise Of… BioLogic Bicycle Accessories
Having just upgraded to the new iPhone, my BioLogic iPhone 4 bike mount has just become redundant. The company have reassured me via Twitter that they are working on a new mount for the iPhone 5 which...
View ArticleAlbania & Montenegro: ‘The Path Less Travelled’
When I first tried to put a little meat on the bone that is the Eurovelo 8 (next year’s trip), I made the following comments on the Eurovelo 8 section of the website about travelling through Albania...
View ArticleThe Eurovelo 8 In Italy
I’ve received an email from Giulia of the Italian national cycling organisation, FIAB. I had emailed her asking about possible contact that may be of use when I cross the north of Italy from Slovenia...
View Article“A Vibrant Travel Book With Culture & History Alongside Cheerful Banter.”
This is a nice post with which to bring 2012 to a close. Alex Pavitt has written a review for Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie for his website (which is well worth a visit!):...
View ArticleWelcome To 2013 & The Eurovelo 8
In exactly 6 months’ time I will be in Athens, or somewhere near Athens. My bike will have been reassembled after its flight from London, my panniers packed with equipment, clothes & supplies &...
View ArticleThe iPad Mini & En Route Communication
When I cycled along the Eurovelo 5 back in 2010, I typed out every blog post (30,000 words in total) over the course of the five week trip on my iPhone. It may be why, over the last few years, I feel...
View ArticleBoktips From Sweden @velonavia #cycling
Mentions of my book on far-flung websites are always intriguing to read; the thought that someone far off is absorbed in reading about my little journey across Europe is as delightful as it is curious....
View ArticleThanks, From Andrew (And A Bike Called Reggie)
Dear friends Earlier this weekend my book ‘Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie’ sold its 5,000th copy and I’d like to use this milestone to take the opportunity of saying a...
View ArticleSlovakia: Day 3 In Words & Pictures
A significant amount of climbing was involved in today’s mountain exploring but fortunately it was courtesy of cable cars rather than our own efforts. More of that in a moment. Last week I was...
View Article“Armchair Cycling Doesn’t Get Better Than This!”
Graham Thompson writes on Amazon.co.uk: “Andrew Sykes is a language teacher, an admirable profession that to do well, I assume, must have some empathy with the countries and people who live and speak...
View ArticleComing Full Circle: CyclingEurope.org Meets Eurovelo.com
It’s getting on for five years since I first came up with the idea of cycling to Italy during my long summer holiday from work as a teacher. At the time, in those initial weeks and months of frankly...
View ArticleGood Vibrations: Review Round-Up #cycling #books
Another 5-star review of Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie at Amazon.co.uk (see below) but also a couple of new short reviews at Amazon.com (see bottom of this post). First up is...
View ArticleCycling The Eurovelo 8: The 10-Week-To-Go List
It’s 7:10am on April 21st. In exactly 10 weeks (to the minute, hopefully), my cycling expedition across Europe starts as my flight from London Heathrow to Athens takes to the air. OK, if you want to...
View ArticleThe Eurovelo 8 In Maps
When I cycled the Eurovelo 5 to Italy, all my maps were Michelin 1:200,000 scale maps and there were ten of them in total – see the overview map of Europe here (I didn’t take the Belgian ones by the...
View ArticleCamping The Eurovelo 8
It is by far my preferred type of accommodation. Usually. OK, when in a city centre, I am more often than not seduced by the attractions of a hotel but anywhere which is remotely green (and even...
View ArticleThe PowerMonkey Extreme: Power Problem Solved?
Way back in June 2010 I wrote this post about the FreeLoader solar charger. It was just before I set off along the Eurovelo 5 in the summer of 2010 and I was hopeful that I had found a nifty solution...
View ArticleA Visit To Tent Heaven…
Tent heaven or the nearest I have ever come to tent heaven 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...
View ArticleThe Knowns And Unknowns Of The Cycling World
Three weeks to go… Still so much to do in terms of planning and I am beginning to feel the same way as I did back in 2010 before I set off for the south of Italy; a mixture of excitement and anxiety....
View ArticleCycling Day 31: Castellane To Gréoux-les-Bains
Back in summer 2010 it took me 30 cycling days to get to Brindisi in the south of Italy from my home in southern England. It’s now cycling day 31 on this particular trip. I cycled 3,311km three years...
View ArticleEurovelo 15 / The Rhine Cycle Route
I used to regularly post extracts from emails that I received on here but recently I seem to have stopped doing so. For no particular reason. It’s a delight to be asked about the routes that I have...
View ArticleWord, The Words & The Wordle
Just as with the first book, the first thing that I needed to do requires nothing more than a bit of patience and a lot of copying and I have spent several hours today doing just that. I am conscious...
View ArticleThe European Cyclists’ Federation Interview
The ECF have just published an interview with me where I discuss this summer’s cycle from Greece to Portugal along the rough line of the Eurovelo 8. The interview can be found on the ECF’s increasingly...
View ArticleEurovelo 3 Plus: Back Of An Envelope Time…
I’ve just been looking at the descriptions and maps produced by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) for the Eurovelo 3 and the portion of the Eurovelo 1 that would guide me from Santiago de...
View ArticleEuroVelo: The State Of The Network Address
Like Chris Packham of Springwatch fame, I love a good graph or visual that says something in one glance that would take a thousand words to explain. And the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) - the...
View ArticleThe Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 051 – Freewheeling In France With Lyn Eyb
France is a top destination for cycle tourists and, with its great diversity of landscapes - from windswept cliffs in the north to vast swathes of forest in the west to sun-drenched villages in the...
View ArticleThe Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 075 – Craig Fee – Cycling Into The Unknown
In 2017, novice long-distance cyclist Craig Fee set off on a continental odyssey to cycle from London to his friend’s wedding in Florence, Italy. But had he bitten off more than he could chew? In his...
View ArticleExploring Emilia-Romagna By Bike: Top Cycling Routes
In publishing Le Grand Tour at the start of the month, I was required to get to grips with producing a properly formatted ePUB document. Nothing to do with drinking in your local; everything to do with...
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