The Cycling Europe Podcast

By Andrew P. Sykes

Society & Culture Sports & Recreation Outdoor Places & Travel

What's The Cycling Europe Podcast about?

The wonderful world of cycle touring... from CyclingEurope.org.

From the EuroVelos to round-the-world cyclists, you'll find it all here on The Cycling Europe Podcast.

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The Cycling Europe Podcast episodes:

06.01.2024
Episode 079: The Cycle Touring Festival / Albania
Most episodes of The Cycling Europe Podcast know where they are going from the outset. This episode is slightly different. We start in the English Lake District to take in the sounds of the recent Cycle Touring Festival in its...
04.21.2024
Episode 078: Le Grand Tour On A Bike Called Wanda / Andrew P. Sykes
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 - Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda - that is published...
02.14.2024
Episode 077: Agathe Daudibon / Svetlana & Quentin / Seth Maltzmann
The Cycling Europe Podcast is back and for this first episode of 2024 we have a triple-whammy of cycling-themed chats and stories. The EuroVelo network is now 26 years old but it’s not resting on its laurels. Agathe Daudibon of...
11.02.2023
Episode 076: Tim Sanders – The Parenzana Trail / Venice to Munich
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 year’s event in Clitheroe he spoke to The...
09.16.2023
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 new book, Cycling Into...
08.01.2023
Yorkshire Day Special: Cycling The Way Of The Roses
To celebrate Yorkshire Day 2023, another opportunity to listen to a Yorkshire-themed podcast (albeit one that starts in Lancashire). "Andrew P. Sykes takes The Cycling Europe Podcast out on the cycle path and travels from Morecambe on Lancashire's west coast...
07.23.2023
Episode 074: Cathryn Ramsden / Dale Majors / Gavin McCulloch / Rich Jeffries
Cathryn Ramsden cycled with her husband and son from Calais to Annecy. Dale Majors has cycled with his wife and six young children on several long trips across Europe and in the US. Gavin McCulloch cycled to Moscow from Scotland...
07.15.2023
Episode 073: Leigh Timmis – The Race Of Truth
Disillusioned by life in the post-graduation rat race of the film industry, Leigh Timmis set off on his bike and spent seven years cycling around the world. When he finally returned home to the UK, he didn't reach for his...
05.27.2023
Episode 072: Greg Yeoman – Cycling Across Russia In 1993
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...
05.06.2023
Episode 071: Mark Wedgwood – Cycling All The OS Maps
Mark Wedgwood had always been a lover of maps. In 2022, newly liberated from the constraints of a full-time job, he decided to cycle across every Ordnance Survey Landranger map of Britain. He spoke to The Cycling Europe Podcast about...
04.22.2023
Episode 070: Crossing Europe On A Bike Called Reggie – Part 1
"The 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...
04.10.2023
Episode 069: Susan and Ron Crump – Cycling Amsterdam to Athens
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...
03.25.2023
Episode 068: Cycling Bilbao To Athens – Tony Lenihan
Tony Lenihan, a retired policeman, works for his local council in the English Midlands as their ‘Sustainable Travel and Wellbeing Coordinator’. He’s also a keen cyclist and, in the early autumn of 2022, after more than 40 years of work,...
03.16.2023
EXTRA: Active Travel – Tony Lenihan
Tony Lenihan is a touring cyclist and in the next full episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast - number 068 - you will hear him talk about a journey he made 'from B to A' - Bilbao to Athens in...
03.10.2023
Episode 067: Cycling In Brittany – Tim Boden / Geoff Husband
In June 2022, Tim Boden - an experienced group cyclist - set off on his first solo cycle tour, to Brittany in north-west France. His route took him from the port of Roscoff along the Vélodyssée / EuroVelo 1 to...
02.25.2023
Episode 066: Cycling On Tenerife
A few months ago I was approached by Jet2 Holidays who asked if I would be interested in discovering the joys of cycling in one of their winter destinations in southern Europe. Of course I said yes and had a...
02.11.2023
Episode 065: Matthew Sturgeon – Cycling To Mainland Britain’s Lighthouses
Matthew Sturgeon is an architect and cyclist from Ilkley in Yorkshire and he’s on a mission to visit every one of mainland Britain’s 186 lighthouses. Inspired by his late late wife Angela, who raised £40,000 for cancer research, Matthew is...
01.28.2023
Episode 064: Laura Massey-Pugh – Around The World On A Tandem
An ever-increasing number of people have cycled around the world. Not many have done it on a tandem. Even fewer have broken a world record in the process. Laura Massey-Pugh was on the back and her husband Stevie was on...
01.14.2023
Episode 063: Beth Ward – Wales To Istanbul & Drosi Bikes
“Hours, days, weeks and months in the saddle does something funny to your brain. We came back from the trip convinced that cycling was the answer to all of life’s problems and that if we could convince every last one...
01.01.2023
Episode 062: Jeremy Wilson – Beryl Burton – ‘Britain’s Greatest Athlete’
Beryl Burton was born in Yorkshire on May 12th 1937. Her upbringing was tough. Her school report described her as a 'stubborn little mule. At the age of 10 she spent 9 months in hospital and doctors told her never...
10.28.2022
Episode 061: The 1903 Tour De France… On A Brompton
Gareth Dent has a long-term relationship with small-wheeled bicycles. Growing up in Stevenage in the late 1960s he made the most of the town’s futuristic network of cycle routes on his 14” Moulton Mini. 40 years later he rekindled his...
10.16.2022
Episode 060: Cycling The Route of ‘The Wheels Of Chance’ By H.G. Wells
Tristam Newey is a science-fiction writer from Southampton who loves all things sea, air, space.. and cycling. Inspired by H.G.Wells' 1896 comic novel The Wheels of Chance, in July 2022 Tristam set off to retrace the journey of the book's...
09.04.2022
Episode 059: Le Grand Tour, Part 8 – The Rhine Cycle Route / EuroVelo 15
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he concludes his ‘Grand Tour’ cycle around Europe. In this episode of the podcast, after completing his ride along the Via Rhôna / EuroVelo 17 in Andermatt, Switzerland, he sets...
08.23.2022
Episode 058: Le Grand Tour, Part 7 – La Via Rhôna / EuroVelo 17
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. In this episode of the podcast he sets off from the Mediterranean resort of Sète and follows the EuroVelo 17 - the...
08.11.2022
Episode 057: Le Grand Tour, Part 6 – La Véloroute Des Deux Mers From Bordeaux To Sète / Canal De La Garonne & Canal Du Midi
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. He has now arrived in Bordeaux at the start of the ‘Two Seas’ cycle route - La Véloroute Des Deux Mers -...
08.02.2022
Episode 056: Le Grand Tour, Part 5 – La Vélodyssée From Morlaix To Royan / EuroVelo 1
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. After a day off in Morlaix, Brittany, Andrew sets off cycling south along the EuroVelo 1 - known locally as the Vélodyssée...
07.24.2022
Episode 055: Le Grand Tour, Part 4 – La Vélomaritime From Mont-Saint-Michel To Morlaix / EuroVelo 4
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. In this fourth part of the ’Grand Tour’ series, we follow Andrew’s progress as he rejoins the Velomaritime near Mont-Saint-Michel and cycles...
07.18.2022
Episode 054: Le Grand Tour, Part 3 – La Véloscénie From Paris To Mont-Saint-Michel
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. In this third part of the ’Grand Tour’ series, Andrew sets off along the Veloscenie cycle route from the historic city of...
07.13.2022
Episode 053: Le Grand Tour, Part 2 – The Belgian & French Coasts To Dieppe / EuroVelos 12 & 4 / L’Avenue Verte To Paris
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. In the previous episode, he had travelled through his first country, The Netherlands. In this episode he continues his journey south along...
07.04.2022
Episode 052: Le Grand Tour, Part 1 – The Dutch Coast / EuroVelo 12
The Cycling Europe Podcast enters a new era with this episode. Not only recorded on tour, this episode has also been edited on tour! Throughout July and August, new episodes of the podcast will be published telling the story of...
06.18.2022
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 south to vertiginous climbs in...
06.01.2022
Episode 050: Cycling The Way Of The Roses
To celebrate its 50th episode, Andrew P. Sykes takes The Cycling Europe Podcast out on the cycle path and travels from Morecambe on Lancashire's west coast to the county's historical capital at Lancaster, across the Pennines and through Yorkshire via...
05.21.2022
Episode 049: Cycling Slovakia End To End With Rob Ainsley
Writer, cyclist - and now composer - Rob Ainsley is the master of the cycling ‘end-to-end’: Britain, France, Spain, Poland, Cuba… and now Slovakia, west to east. He chats to The Cycling Europe Podcast about his recent journey across the...
05.01.2022
Episode 048: A Mountaineer’s Guide To Cycling From Spain To Norway
The Cycling Europe Podcast mainly features, well, cyclists. The interviewee in this episode, however, is first and foremost a mountaineer. But he’s not just any mountaineer. His name is Tim Ralph and he’s a seven summiteer; a man who has...
04.13.2022
Episode 047: Planning A Four-Year Cycle Around The World
Nathan Molyneaux is a planning manager in the food industry. He’s also a great believer in the Chimp Paradox, an understanding of which allows you to take control of your emotions in order to act in your own best interests....
04.03.2022
The Making Of The Cycling Europe Podcast
I am in Hebden Bridge, experimenting. If you are reading this, congratulations! You are clearly a fan of the podcast as I’m making no effort to publicise this secret episode of the podcast. It doesn’t even have a number! You...
03.27.2022
Episode 046: Tim Moore, Travel Writer
Tim Moore has been referred to as ‘Bill Bryson on two wheels’. Any reader of his adventures - both on and off a bike - will appreciate why the comparison is justified. In his first cycling travelogue, he set off...
03.13.2022
Episode 045: The UK To Greece (And Beyond…) / Valencia To Gibraltar
Whilst recovering from cancer treatment, Candy Whittome was given a copy of Anne Mustoe’s book ‘A Bike Ride: 12,000 Miles Around the World’. It inspired her to embark upon a long cycling journey herself, if not quite all the way...
02.26.2022
Episode 044: The Canal de la Garonne & Canal du Midi / Trikes
Declan Lyons trained as a zoologist but after several years working as a journalist and management consultant he started to research and then write two Cicerone guides for people interested in cycling the Canal de la Garonne from Bordeaux to...
02.13.2022
Episode 043: Monologue Special / Gavin Wood
In 2021 I put out a call for anyone who was interested in recording a short monologue about their experiences of cycling to get in touch and, in the past year, quite a few people have come forward to record...
01.30.2022
Episode 042: Cycling For Society / Baltic Sea / Climate Explorers
In this episode of the podcast we hear from two groups who are using cycling to highlight important issues in society. Iris and Jan, from Berlin, are currently cycling around the world. As they travel, they are researching approaches towards...
01.01.2022
Episode 041: The Baltic Sea Cycle Route – Bernd Schadowski
The Baltic Sea Cycle Route is one of the longest of the EuroVelos. It’s route number 10 and passes through every country that touches the Baltic Sea; Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia (twice), Finland, Sweden and Denmark. In the summer...
10.11.2021
Episode 040: Unsung Heroes – Anne Lawther And Colin Martin
The cycle touring world is not short of people who enjoy sharing their two-wheeled adventures in books, on social media, on YouTube and even on podcasts such as this. But for every known cyclist, there are thousands of unknown cyclists...
09.17.2021
Episode 039 – Part 2: The Hebridean Way… On A Bike Called Wanda (Harris & Lewis)
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the...
09.05.2021
Episode 039 – Part 1: The Hebridean Way… On A Bike Called Wanda (Vatersay To Berneray)
In episode 038 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes spoke to a number of travellers about their experiences of cycling The Hebridean Way. Now it’s his turn to get onto his bicycle, Wanda, and cycle from Vatersay in the...
08.08.2021
Episode 038: Cycling The Hebridean Way
Britain offers some amazing places to explore on a bicycle, but there can be few locations within the UK that offer the remoteness, drama and sheer spectacle of the islands of The Outer Hebrides. The Hebridean Way guides cyclists from...
07.24.2021
Episode 037: Simon Parker – Britain By Bike
The travel writer and cyclist Simon Parker first appeared on The Cycling Europe Podcast in February 2021when he talked about his ‘Earth Cycle’ TV programme. He returns to discuss his latest project; an end-to-end cycle around Britain in the midst...
06.27.2021
Episode 036: Maike Brinksma – The Amazon Of Europe Bike Trail
Maike Brinksma is an athlete, academic, environmental activist… and cyclist, from The Netherlands. In the summer of 2021 she will be one of the first people ever to cycle the ‘Amazon of Europe Bike Trail’. She talks to the podcast...
06.10.2021
Episode 035: Max & Varnum – Cycling Europe 1908-09 / Simon Garland – EuroVelo 15
In June 2020, The Cycling Europe Podcast dedicated the whole of episode 21 to the epic early 20th Century European cycle of the American Maximilian J. St. George. After discovering the podcast, Tim & George, both grandsons of Max got...
05.29.2021
Episode 034: Steve Silk – The Great North Road / Laurence Warren – Austria
One hundred years ago, the Great North Road closed and the A1 opened, heralding a century of domination by the motor car. The Cycling Europe Podcast meets BBC journalist (and one-time San Franciscan cycle courier) Steve Silk who set off...

What's The Cycling Europe Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Cycling Europe Podcast episodes:

Episode 079: The Cycle Touring Festival / Albania

Episode 078: Le Grand Tour On A Bike Called Wanda / Andrew P. Sykes

Episode 077: Agathe Daudibon / Svetlana & Quentin / Seth Maltzmann

Episode 076: Tim Sanders – The Parenzana Trail / Venice to Munich

Episode 075: Craig Fee – Cycling Into The Unknown

Yorkshire Day Special: Cycling The Way Of The Roses

Episode 074: Cathryn Ramsden / Dale Majors / Gavin McCulloch / Rich Jeffries

Episode 073: Leigh Timmis – The Race Of Truth

Episode 072: Greg Yeoman – Cycling Across Russia In 1993

Episode 071: Mark Wedgwood – Cycling All The OS Maps

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

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

Episode 068: Cycling Bilbao To Athens – Tony Lenihan

EXTRA: Active Travel – Tony Lenihan

Episode 067: Cycling In Brittany – Tim Boden / Geoff Husband

Episode 066: Cycling On Tenerife

Episode 065: Matthew Sturgeon – Cycling To Mainland Britain’s Lighthouses

Episode 064: Laura Massey-Pugh – Around The World On A Tandem

Episode 063: Beth Ward – Wales To Istanbul & Drosi Bikes

Episode 062: Jeremy Wilson – Beryl Burton – ‘Britain’s Greatest Athlete’

Episode 061: The 1903 Tour De France… On A Brompton

Episode 060: Cycling The Route of ‘The Wheels Of Chance’ By H.G. Wells

Episode 059: Le Grand Tour, Part 8 – The Rhine Cycle Route / EuroVelo 15

Episode 058: Le Grand Tour, Part 7 – La Via Rhôna / EuroVelo 17

Episode 057: Le Grand Tour, Part 6 – La Véloroute Des Deux Mers From Bordeaux To Sète / Canal De La Garonne & Canal Du Midi

Episode 056: Le Grand Tour, Part 5 – La Vélodyssée From Morlaix To Royan / EuroVelo 1

Episode 055: Le Grand Tour, Part 4 – La Vélomaritime From Mont-Saint-Michel To Morlaix / EuroVelo 4

Episode 054: Le Grand Tour, Part 3 – La Véloscénie From Paris To Mont-Saint-Michel

Episode 053: Le Grand Tour, Part 2 – The Belgian & French Coasts To Dieppe / EuroVelos 12 & 4 / L’Avenue Verte To Paris

Episode 052: Le Grand Tour, Part 1 – The Dutch Coast / EuroVelo 12

Episode 051: Freewheeling In France With Lyn Eyb

Episode 050: Cycling The Way Of The Roses

Episode 049: Cycling Slovakia End To End With Rob Ainsley

Episode 048: A Mountaineer’s Guide To Cycling From Spain To Norway

Episode 047: Planning A Four-Year Cycle Around The World

The Making Of The Cycling Europe Podcast

Episode 046: Tim Moore, Travel Writer

Episode 045: The UK To Greece (And Beyond…) / Valencia To Gibraltar

Episode 044: The Canal de la Garonne & Canal du Midi / Trikes

Episode 043: Monologue Special / Gavin Wood

Episode 042: Cycling For Society / Baltic Sea / Climate Explorers

Episode 041: The Baltic Sea Cycle Route – Bernd Schadowski

Episode 040: Unsung Heroes – Anne Lawther And Colin Martin

Episode 039 – Part 2: The Hebridean Way… On A Bike Called Wanda (Harris & Lewis)

Episode 039 – Part 1: The Hebridean Way… On A Bike Called Wanda (Vatersay To Berneray)

Episode 038: Cycling The Hebridean Way

Episode 037: Simon Parker – Britain By Bike

Episode 036: Maike Brinksma – The Amazon Of Europe Bike Trail

Episode 035: Max & Varnum – Cycling Europe 1908-09 / Simon Garland – EuroVelo 15

Episode 034: Steve Silk – The Great North Road / Laurence Warren – Austria

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