Andrew P. Sykes
Travel writer, website editor, podcaster, content creator & speaker at CyclingEurope.org
About
I'm Andrew, a cyclist, author, and French teacher based in Halifax. I've ridden across Europe multiple times and written four books about those journeys, each one named after the bike I rode: three featuring Reggie, one featuring Wanda. I run CyclingEurope.org and host The Cycling Europe Podcast. By day I teach French at The Brooksbank School. My degree is in Mathematics, which somehow led me here. Ask me about long-distance cycling in Europe, writing and publishing travel books, podcasting, and teaching French.
Experiences
- Travel writer, website editor, podcaster, content creator & speaker at CyclingEurope.orgTurned 20,000 km of cycling Europe into four books
Reading in 2010 to the Hook of Holland in 2022. Now a publisher has asked me to narrate all four as audiobooks.
- North CapeAfter ten rejections, planned a ride to the North Cape
I'd quit, sell my Reading flat, learn Spanish in Salamanca, and time the ride to the last midnight sun.
- Podcast Host at The Cycling Europe PodcastBegan a cycling podcast still climbing the learning curve
Episode 001 went out in September 2017. On episode 100 I shared the news about my audiobooks.
- La Vélo FrancetteCycle-camped 600 km from Normandy to La Rochelle
Tim Sanders and I rode La Vélo Francette, never sure we'd make our trains and ferries home.
- Author at Le Grand Tour: On a Bike Called WandaFell back on Plan C and cycled a 4,705 km loop
Nine weeks across five EuroVelo routes, filming and blogging as I went. The book followed in 2024.
- Spain to NorwayPublished my third travelogue with Summersdale
Spain to Norway came out in 2017. I've since recorded it as an audiobook with the other three.
- BooksWrote my second cycling travelogue
Income from it and my first book was meant to fund my 2015 plan to quit teaching and ride north.
- Author at Crossing Europe on a Bike Called ReggieRode from my home to southern Italy with barely a plan
Reggie and I followed the Via Francigena and EuroVelo 5 from southern England to Brindisi. It became my first book.