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...

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....

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.

Joanna Chmara is a cycle tourist from Poland. She runs the popular cycling website WobblyRide.com and has wide experience of travelling with her bike in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, usually as a solo cyclist. In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast, she explains what first motivated her to set off on two wheels and why the hardest part of many cycling journeys is not the mountains nor the seemingly endless hours in the saddle, but the simple act of pushing your bike over...

Shetland is the northernmost part of the United Kingdom, 170 km from mainland Scotland and only 220 km from the Norwegian coast. Of its 100 islands, only 15 are inhabited (by a population of just over 20,000) but according to the local tourist board, the remote archipelago “…has everything a cyclist could hope for”. Tim Sanders, Anne Lawther and Jayne Moore have all visited Shetland in recent months and the writer Martyn Howe has been a regular visitor over the years both on foot and by bike....

Writer Rob Ainsley has cycled from Barmouth to Yarmouth because they rhyme. He’s cycled from Britain’s smallest church in Rhos to its largest church in Liverpool. He’s cycled the London Monopoly board. And he continues to amass a long list of ‘end-to-end’ country cycles. So for Rob, cycling from Morecambe to Bridlington along the Way of the Roses cycle route may at first glance appear to be a little, err… pedestrian. But think again. He decided to cycle the route 1970s style. In this episode...

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 new home of Coniston. We then head to India to hear from long-distance cyclist James Thomas. He lives in a coastal town in Goa on the shore of the Arabian Sea but often ventures into the mountains on foot and on his bike. He reflects upon his current experiences in...

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 on May 1st 2024.

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 the European Cyclists’ Federation is the person responsible for looking after the network and developing it further. She talked to the podcast about her background in cycle touring, her role at the ECF and how she sees the future of the pan-European network. Svetlana...

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 Cycling Europe Podcast not only about the joys of the festival but also about a recent cycling journey that took him from the Istrian Peninsula on the Adriatic coast along the Parenzana Trail to Trieste and onwards over the Alps to Munich in southern Germany.

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 The Unknown, he tells the story of the journey and in this episode of the podcast, he reflects upon the experience of setting off on a make-it-up-as-you-go cycle across Europe…

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 to the county's historical capital at Lancaster, across the Pennines and through Yorkshire via Settle and Ripon, completing his trip in that county's historical capital at York. The Way of the Roses is a route of contrasting landscapes...

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 in 1990. Rich Jeffries was reluctant to cycle across Belgium but loved it! In this episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast they share their experiences in bite-sized interviews and monologues. How do you persuade a 12-year-old boy to cycle hundreds of kilometres? How do...

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 pipe and slippers. Far from it... "In 2018, Leigh Timmis became the fastest person to cycle across Europe – in just 16 days, 10 hours and 45 minutes – breaking the previous world record by an astonishing 8 days and 17 hours. But when he set out to break the record, Leigh...

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 of post-Soviet Russia, exploring the landscapes and meeting the people as they went. 30 years later, he looks back on his epic adventure.

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 the challenge that took him from the northernmost point of Shetland (map 1) to Fowey in Cornwall (map 204)… the long way.

"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 at the Great Wall of China at the Beijing Olympics, he realised the error of his ways and resolved to put a bit more adventure into his life. Two years later, accompanied by his faithful companion Reggie (his bike) but only a rudimentary plan, Andrew set off for a...

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 into the deep end by embarking upon a 3,500km cycle from Amsterdam to Athens. Along with two more experienced cycle touring friends - Pam and Ralph - this is the story of their trip; the preparation, the execution and the aftermath. They may have been jumping for joy upon arrival in...

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, he decided to take a career break and head off on a solo cycling adventure from Bilbao to Athens. It would be a 7-week ferry-hopping Greek odyssey that took him through northern Spain, to the islands of Sardinia and Scilly, across the heel of Italy to Brindisi...

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 the early autumn of 2022. The podcast was recorded at the same time as the British Chancellor of the Exchequer (the finance minister) was delivering his annual budget to parliament and the nation. Tony works for a council in the English Midlands and is their 'Sustainable Travel and Wellbeing Coordinator'....

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 Redon. He then joined French regional route number 42 to follow the coast to Saint-Nazaire before  returning to the Vélodyssée for a cycle beside the Loire to Nantes and back to Redon. Here he rejoined the eastern portion of route 42 to cycle north to Saint-Malo. Tim talks about the...

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 look at the map. Where would be nice and warm in the middle of February? The Canary Islands seemed the most likely place to deliver good weather so I arranged to travel to Costa Adeje on the island of Tenerife. I hired a bike and headed along the coast and up the hills… This was a...

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 raising money for his A Bit Of A Break charity. It funds visits for cancer patients and their families to holiday properties around the UK. He started collecting his lighthouses with a ride along the Northumbrian coast and has now visited 100. But why...