The Cycling Europe Podcast

In episode 101 of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Helen Watson discusses her 2009/10 journey along the Silk Road from Edinburgh to China in the company of her husband Ed that took the couple across Europe, through the Balkans, Turkey, Syria, Iran and the Stans in the years leading up to the Arab Spring.

It's episode 100 of The Cycling Europe Podcast! Whether you've been listening since episode 001 was published in September 2017 or whether this is the first episode that you have discovered, you are all very welcome! Thanks for taking the time to spend an hour or so in the company of me, Andrew Sykes, and my guests. In this episode, the podcast chats to Richard Fairhurst, the man behind the excellent navigation website and app, Cycle.Travel. We also hear from long-term listener and podcast enthusiast Mark Skidmore; what other cycling podcasts should you be listening to? There is also exciting publishing news regarding the four cycling travelogues that I have written over the past 15 years.

Gerald Huber is an Austrian living in Paris. He commutes to work every day by bicycle. Lots of people do. In 2025, however, he decided to go a little further on two wheels and he signed up for his first ultra-long-distance cycling event, the North Cape 4000 from Italy to the most northerly point of Europe at Nordkapp in Norway. 8 countries, 4000 km. According to the organsiers, it's "a journey that will change your life". He spoke to The Cycling Europe Podcast about his experiences and his plans to go one step further in 2026.

Helen and Ben Rivers are a married couple from the south of England, retired professional musicians, but certainly not retired cycle tourists. They've been travelling Europe on their bikes for many decades and they have no plans to stop just yet. Sit back and enjoy their recollections of two-wheeled exploits that have stretched to all corners of the European continent.

Civil servant Tristam Newey has a job that occasionally takes him away from home. On a recent trip to The Faroe Islands, he decided to take his Brompton bicycle with him and extend his stay by a few days. His plan was to head off and explore some of the verdant islands that make up the Faroes archipelago. Would he recommend it as a cycling destination? Listen and find out...

In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Tom Cartledge talks about his 6,000-mile, 18-country journey from England to India in 2012 and the book that he has written about his once-in-a-lifetime adventure. "From Yorkshire drizzle to the deserts of Iran, freezing snowstorms in the lowlands, bullet casings in Serbia, firing ranges in Turkey, robbery in the Caucasus, and monkey ambushes in India—this isn’t a travel guide. It’s a ride through the bizarre, the beautiful, and the completely unhinged. It’s a story of breakdowns and breakthroughs, swearing and sweating, of strangers who saved us and hostels that nearly broke us. Of laughing through gritted teeth and cycling another hundred kilometres anyway—because turning back never felt like an option."

In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, we talk to Claire Davies, former diplomat, cyclist and writer. She chats about her journey along LEJOG and her 'end-to-end' cycles around Europe. "Are you braver than you think? That's the question Claire Davies began asking herself as she cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats, ill-prepared, unsupported and alone. At a mid-life low point, craving space and time to think, or not to think, Claire decided that a long bicycle ride was what she needed. Setting off for Scotland just a few weeks later, on a bike named Trixie, guided by a gadget called Guillaume, she had little idea what she was letting herself in for. It turned out to be a journey not only to better physical fitness and mental health, but also to empowerment and self-discovery, partly through the eyes of the people she met along the way."

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?

In this episode of the podcast, Andrew Sykes takes an autumnal short break in the English Lake District. Staying in a camping 'pod' at the National Trust campsite in Eskdale, Andrew sets off on two rides as described in Jack Thurston's Lost Lanes North. 'Still Glides The Stream' takes him on a figure-of-eight loop from Eskdale to Broughton-in-Furness and up the infamous Hard Knott Pass with its 30% incline. 'Mountain High' is a there-and-back roller-coaster of a cycle along Wasdale, to the coast at Seascale and south to Ravenglass before letting the miniature train take the strain on a chilly carriage ride back along Eskdale and the warmth of the pub in Boot.

In this episode of the podcast, Andrew Sykes sets off with Tim Sanders to cycle the length of La Vélo Francette in northern France. After taking a ferry to Cherbourg, the dynamic duo headed east by train to Bayeux before mounting their bikes and continuing on two wheels. At Ouistreham on the Normandy coast they started their journey south along La Vélo Francette, a 600 km route that travels inland to La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast. Would they arrive in time to catch their trains and ferries home? It's over two hours of cycle-camping adventure (with two hotels thrown in for good measure) interspersed with the music of the incomparable Rob Ainsley. Put your earphones in, sit back and let Andrew and Tim take the cycling strain...

In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, Andrew Sykes and Tim Sanders - both experienced solo cycle tourers - contemplate their upcoming joint cycle tour along La Vélo Francette in France. Does artifical intelligence have all the answers? What advice can Rob Ainsley offer? Plus, Andrew Simons discusses being the skipper of a new Dover-Boulogne ferry service aimed at pedestrians and cyclists.

In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, journalist Steve Silk talks about the journey behind his new book, Go West, a cycling odyssey along the A40 from London to west coast of Wales. We also hear from Australian cyclist Gayle Moore who recounts the story of her two coast-to-coast rides across Ireland and then northern England.

Andrew Sykes heads into the Yorkshire Dales for a few days and this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast sees him travel from Bradford to Skipton, Appletreewick, Grassington and Buckden, via a canal and a couple of steep hills. Much of this episode, however, is given over to other cyclists who have recently contributed to the podcast in the form of a monologue. We hear from Justin Shiels about Welcome To My Garden, Neal Porter about his cycle around the coast of Britain in aid of MND and from Richard and Cath Jeffries about their winter LEJOG...

Jacob Lemanski tells the story of his epic ride around the world, twice, and how it has inspired him to retell the tale in his own series of podcasts as well as in 'ant art'. Keep listening and all will be explained...

Joel Stokoe discusses his experiences of cycling on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and Steve Cuthbertson recounts the story of his journey from Romania back to his home in southern England in aid of charity.

Sophie Gordon of Cycling UK discusses the development of the organisation's off-road routes including the newest of the eight routes, The Marcher Castles Way.

In the early autumn of 2023, at the start of a year-long sabbatical from work, Johnny Murtagh cycled from his home in southern England to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. “But the real story isn’t just the journey itself – it’s the incredible group of people I met along the way. A motley crew from all corners of the world, each with their own unique reasons for being there, and together we shared unforgettable moments.” He spoke to The Cycling Europe Podcast about his memorable experiences as a cycling peregrino and his new group of fellow-minded friends.

With his partner, Maudi, Dutch cyclist Eric has cycled the World. He was initially inspired to set off on two wheels by Peter Gostelow and his ‘Big Africa Cycle’. Via their popular Wheels to Wander YouTube Channel, Eric and Maudi now inspire others with their engaging filmed travelogues and practical advice videos. Eric joined the podcast to reflect on his years in the saddle...

After a week on Shetland (listen to part 1 of this two-part podcast), The Cycling Europe Podcast takes the late-night ferry south to Kirkwall on the islands of Orkney. Following a day spent exploring the capital, Andrew Sykes cycles west for three nights of camping in the historic town of Stromness. From here he heads first to Hoy, home to the spectacular beach and cliffs at Rackwick and the Scapa Flow Museum where he discovers more about the wartime importance of the deep water harbour. After spending a day off the bike investigating the delights of Stromness itself, Andrew cycles off on a journey around the mainland taking in prehistoric Skara Brae and the bucolic Brough of Birsay before a return to Kirkwall and his ferry home via Aberdeen.

The Cycling Europe Podcast travels to the most northerly islands of Britain for a week of camping, hostelling and cycling. Renowned for its wild beauty, but also its capricious weather, Andrew Sykes sets off on a ride that will stretch the entire length of the archipelago from Unst in the north to Sumburgh in the south taking time to explore the attractions, meet the locals and compare notes with fellow travellers as he cycles.