I packed up early afternoon and began cycling through the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam, leaving the traffic, bikes and people behind, heading west on a quiet and straight cycle path towards the city of Haarlem. The rain was pelting down nearly the whole way so that by the time I had reached Haarlem, I…
From London, I took the train to Brugge, in North-east Belgium. The only noticeable change from the last time I was here being the sun to brighten up the dreary clock tower. Down a cobbled street, I found my way to the hostel I stayed at previously by passing the four windmills on the outskirts.…
…in just over 5 days, with 20 quid and a road map… Few people sell everything they have to leave the country. But that’s exactly what I just did. With nothing more than my bike, three bags of gear, and some crazy ideas, I’ve packed up and boosted. I’m currently in the Netherlands but just…
Cycling through tiny hamlets, towns and cities – along open countryside, forests, farms, lakes, coastlines, beaches, cliffs, rivers and over mountains – on tarmac, gravel, dirt and mud – in scorching sunshine, clouds, rain, hailstones, thunderstorms and fog. And that’s only half of it. I met hundreds of lovely people, seen some incredible things and…
My plan as of two days ago: Cycle back across the coast of the Netherlands, to Rotterdam, take a few nice pictures of windmills or something, and sum up my trip. Reality: Got to Netherlands, didn’t want to pay for boat across river, decided to take long way round via tunnel. Cycled 20km to tunnel,…
Baguettes, croissants, wine spilling over from France and fine chocolates, strong beers and… waffles. My journey through Belgium has been a true ramble. With an excellent map of the region, donated by the cyclists I met in Luxembourg (cheers!), it’s no struggle to go everywhere and anywhere, especially with the thousands of cycle paths. It’s…
A surprisingly interesting and very green city, Luxembourg is the heart, and really the only city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with around 100,000 people. Despite the political importance to the EU and the 100+ banks that are based here (contributing to a large part of the country’s wealth), it has a relaxed atmosphere…
One road. No turns. Great countryside. But lots of rain. After four excellent nights in Paris, I left on Friday morning, heading east towards Luxembourg. A few hours to break free from the urban metropolis of Paris and the landscape flared out once again into the beautiful French countryside with Autumn coloured sleepy villages –…
I think I’ve run out of luck with the sunshine. For the first time since I left Poland – over 3 months ago, it’s rained for 3 days straight. I’ve not had much luck with the roads on the way to Paris either. On Monday I found myself on a busy main road filled with…
For the last few days, I’ve been in Lyon, the second largest city in France. It’s a really fresh city and rich in culture. And unlike Paris (so I’m told), it’s much easier to walk around. But it’s really no problem here anyway, because like a lot of the other cities in Europe they have…
First things first, Saint Tropez is overcrowded and boring. Celebs have no taste these days. Anyway, the last few days I’ve made my way through epic thunderstorms, rain and yesterday a horrible headwind towards Lyon. But today it’s finally sunny! The lack of good weather has also made for a lack of good scenery, and…
Currently cycling down the south coast of France, from Nice to Saint Tropez. Last night I found an epic cliff-side spot for wild camping, with a hidden beach below. Can you see the tent? Going to the toilet in the middle of the night was risky business!
Yesterday I cycled the 25km back to Monaco from Nice, pannier free, along the coastal road, instead of the main road. It was one of the best cycles I’ve ever experienced. Not only was it 27 degrees on a quiet Sunday but the surrounding coastline is simply amazing here. The road hugs the cliffs, gently…
The last few days have been tough. Waking from Lake Garda, after a thunderstorm during the night, I cycled 165km (100 miles) per day to reach where I am now – Nice, in France. The first two days involved cycling across the most boring farmland plains of Northern Italy to reach Cuneo. The traffic was…
Back in Ljubljana again. On Saturday night just when I went to bed in a vineyard in Italy, I realised I lost my wallet, with all my bank cards. So I had to make a U-turn from Nova Gorica and head back over the unavoidable hills to Ljubljana and to the British Embassy to get…
From Ljubljana my journey took me north, on the advice of the hostel staff, to see the real Slovenian countryside. A gently sloping back-road broke from the forestry surrounding Ljubljana to reveal the vast plains of the Sava Valley, a huge glacial valley leading directly into the Julian Alps. My journey was far from isolated…
I think it’s only rained twice since I left Budapest over a month ago. I guess I got so used to it being super sunny that I didn’t see the point in checking the weather forecast anymore. But early yesterday morning when I left Pula the air was hot and the sky was a blanket…
In the hostel in Zadar I met Jasiah, who was also coincidentally travelling to Silba, so we went together. Silba is a lovely, simple place. For a start, there are no cars allowed, only bicycles. It’s hard to see why you would need a car anyway on an island that’s only 15 square kilometres. Its…
From Sunj I cycled my way south down the hilly coastline of Croatia. To my left, mountains and to my right, the sea with countless islands. Whoever told me that the road is flat is an idiot. At least I got a fantastic view. A couple of hours down and I reached Prizna where I…
So on my last full day in Zagreb a touring cyclist, Steven, who has travelled from Sweden, found me from my blog and met up with me in the city for some beer and rakija so we could share our cycling experiences. It turns out we were both leaving the next day and so he…
Yesterday I had the pleasure of cycling up the mountain Medvednica to the summit, Sljeme. At over 1000m you get a great view over Zagreb. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to reach the top up the winding road. It was worth it. The photos are not so great but you could see…