This is my first post, my first blog. What’s it for? Why am I writing this?
Nearly two decades ago, on a whim, I cycled to Santiago de Compostela. Until a week before, I’d never cycled more than 10 km in one go. But I bought some panniers from Lidl, a lightweight tent from Argos and set off. I packed some pages ripped from a road atlas and a disposable camera and off I went.
It was fairly tough going. Navigation was basically “choose the yellow roads” and I had no idea where I would stop for the night until it was getting dark. I rode 200 km a day and suffered several “sporting” injuries. But I made it, and caught the bug.
Since then, I’ve taken every opportunity to cycle in as many different places as possible. Forty-eight countries at last count. When I get back people ask what it’s like cycling there, why did I go there, and, invariably “isn’t it dangerous?” This blog is an attempt to share that information — nowadays when I go somewhere new I try and google what the cycling is like and often find it fairly hard to get the sort of details you need for a cycling tour.
So that’s what this blog is for — if you want to know what it’s really like to cycle in a particular country, click on the country for information on road surfaces, facilities, cycle friendliness, and any other tips I think might be helpful.
Hopefully this will be useful to someone. And if you’re wondering, the answer to the question “isn’t it dangerous?” is emphatically “No!”, the most dangerous place I’ve ever cycled is the UK, and that includes rush-hour in Marakech. I did once spend four nights in a Serbian hospital but that was entirely my own fault. Cycling anywhere is the best way to see a country, you get to see the whole country, you can go any direction you choose, stop where you like, and cover far greater distance than walking.