The Cycling Europe Podcast

Andrew P. Sykes
  • 4.8 (72)
  • Places & Travel
  • Twice monthly

The wonderful world of cycle travel... from CyclingEurope.org. From the EuroVelos to round-the-world cyclists, it's all here on The Cycling Europe Podcast.

  1. 8 Jun

    Episode 100: Richard Fairhurst / Cycle.Travel – Mark Skidmore / Cycling Podcasts

    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.

    1hr 14min

  2. 31 Mar

    Episode 099: Gerald Huber – Cycling The North Cape 4000

    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.

    1hr 1min

  3. 26 Jan

    Episode 098: Helen & Ben Rivers

    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.

    1hr 1min

  4. 19 Jan

    Episode 097: Tristam Newey – Cycling On The Faroe Islands

    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...

    59 min

  5. 11 Jan

    Episode 096: Tom Cartledge – Saddlesore – From England To India

    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."

    48 min

  6. 5 Jan

    Episode 095: Claire Davies – Braver Than You Think

    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."

    1hr 11min

  7. 30/10/2025

    Episode 094: James Briggs – From Ibiza To The Norfolk Broads (Revisited)

    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?

    1 hr

  8. 18/10/2025

    Episode 093: The English Lake District – Eskdale & Wasdale

    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.

    1hr 7min
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4.8
out of 5
72 Ratings

About

The wonderful world of cycle travel... from CyclingEurope.org. From the EuroVelos to round-the-world cyclists, it's all here on The Cycling Europe Podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    Andrew P. Sykes
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    112
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Andrew P. Sykes
  • Show Website
    The Cycling Europe Podcast

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