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Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie
Meet Andrew: French teacher, writer and long-distance cyclist.
Now, meet Reggie, his bike.
With two European cycling adventures already under his belt, Andrew was ready for a new challenge. Exchanging his job as a teacher in Oxfordshire for an expedition on Reggie the bike, he set off on his most daring trip yet: a journey from Tarifa in Spain to Nordkapp in Norway – from Europe’s geographical south to its northernmost point.
Join the duo as they take on an epic journey across nearly 8000 km of Europe, through mountains, valleys, forests and the open road, proving that no matter where you’re headed, life on two wheels is full of surprises.
Now, meet Reggie, his bike.
With two European cycling adventures already under his belt, Andrew was ready for a new challenge. Exchanging his job as a teacher in Oxfordshire for an expedition on Reggie the bike, he set off on his most daring trip yet: a journey from Tarifa in Spain to Nordkapp in Norway – from Europe’s geographical south to its northernmost point.
Join the duo as they take on an epic journey across nearly 8000 km of Europe, through mountains, valleys, forests and the open road, proving that no matter where you’re headed, life on two wheels is full of surprises.
- GenresNonfiction
352 pages, Paperback
Published May 11, 2017
17 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Andrew P. Sykes
4 books37 followersAndrew P. Sykes was born and grew up in the small town of Elland, in the foothills of the Pennines in West Yorkshire and he studied for a degree in mathematics at the University of York.
Following a period of time working in London and then France, he returned to the UK in 1999 to train as a secondary school teacher of French at the University of Reading. He taught in Berkshire and Oxfordshire for 15 years before taking a career break in 2015 to learn some Spanish, cycle from Tarifa in Spain to Nordkapp in Norway and move back to live in Yorkshire. He now teaches at the same school that he attended as a pupil during the 1980s.
Since 2009 he has been travelling long distances on his bicycles: first Reggie, now Wanda (with Ronnie taking up the slack on the shorter commutes to work).
He has written four books about travelling Europe:
- Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie (2011)
- Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie (2014)
- Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie (2017)
- Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda (2024)
Andrew also produces a podcast, The Cycling Europe Podcast, that can be heard across all major podcast platforms. He has made a number of films about his cycling journeys and they can all be watched online at YouTube. He is also present on social media @CyclingEurope.
Andrew regularly gives talks about his travels. If you would like him to speak at your event, please get in touch. His contact details can be found on his website.
Following a period of time working in London and then France, he returned to the UK in 1999 to train as a secondary school teacher of French at the University of Reading. He taught in Berkshire and Oxfordshire for 15 years before taking a career break in 2015 to learn some Spanish, cycle from Tarifa in Spain to Nordkapp in Norway and move back to live in Yorkshire. He now teaches at the same school that he attended as a pupil during the 1980s.
Since 2009 he has been travelling long distances on his bicycles: first Reggie, now Wanda (with Ronnie taking up the slack on the shorter commutes to work).
He has written four books about travelling Europe:
- Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie (2011)
- Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie (2014)
- Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie (2017)
- Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda (2024)
Andrew also produces a podcast, The Cycling Europe Podcast, that can be heard across all major podcast platforms. He has made a number of films about his cycling journeys and they can all be watched online at YouTube. He is also present on social media @CyclingEurope.
Andrew regularly gives talks about his travels. If you would like him to speak at your event, please get in touch. His contact details can be found on his website.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 18, 2017
Europe is a place of great variety. There are all sorts of terrains and climates, as well as cultures, languages and a common history that stretches back millennia. On his third adventure across the continent, Andrew Sykes decides that travelling from its furthest southerly geographic point, Tarifa in Spain, all the way up to its most northerly, Nordkapp in Norway would be a good way to experience them. He is back on his faithful bike Reggie for the ride along the western side of Europe.
He rides through eight countries and thirty-five degrees of latitude including crossing the Arctic Circle. The 5000 odd miles takes him past the edge of Portugal, over the Pyrenees and along the Atlantic coast, before cutting inland past vineyards and the French countryside to reach Paris, where he foolishly takes his life in his hands and cycles along the Avenue des Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Surviving that, he carries on to a whistle stop tour of Belgium and the Netherlands before reaching Germany, his final country before the final leg of the trip. Even though he reached Scandinavia in the summer, it was still going to be a challenge to reach his final destination.
Sykes is not trying to set any records, this is riding for the hell of it, to venture out, meet people, see places and for the pure pleasure of being on a bike. And enjoy it he does, even though he battles through rain, relentless headwinds and some near misses with very large trucks. He meets various friends in certain towns and cities on the route as well as cycling with random cyclists who were sharing some of the same journeys. Sykes writes with infectious enthusiasm and it is a really enjoyable read. Hopefully, this will inspire some to make their own journeys of discovery.
He rides through eight countries and thirty-five degrees of latitude including crossing the Arctic Circle. The 5000 odd miles takes him past the edge of Portugal, over the Pyrenees and along the Atlantic coast, before cutting inland past vineyards and the French countryside to reach Paris, where he foolishly takes his life in his hands and cycles along the Avenue des Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Surviving that, he carries on to a whistle stop tour of Belgium and the Netherlands before reaching Germany, his final country before the final leg of the trip. Even though he reached Scandinavia in the summer, it was still going to be a challenge to reach his final destination.
Sykes is not trying to set any records, this is riding for the hell of it, to venture out, meet people, see places and for the pure pleasure of being on a bike. And enjoy it he does, even though he battles through rain, relentless headwinds and some near misses with very large trucks. He meets various friends in certain towns and cities on the route as well as cycling with random cyclists who were sharing some of the same journeys. Sykes writes with infectious enthusiasm and it is a really enjoyable read. Hopefully, this will inspire some to make their own journeys of discovery.
June 4, 2020
How can you go on such an amazing adventure and write such an uninspiring and dull book is beyond me. I really wanted to enjoy it and I was hoping that after the first few 'admin' chapters it would - literally - pick up the pace, but from Spain until Norway, that never happened. Chapter after chapter follows the same format, that once you've figured it out, becomes very repititive and because it's loaded with more logistics information (understandably) than anything remotely exciting or fun it also becomes extremely boring.
It didn't help that I read it not long after the brilliant One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter; a book that was so heartfelt and at times emotional and bursting with life, a true joy to read. This is the exact opposite: dry, devoid of any sentiment or emotion, almost technical. There was not a single part in the entire book that I felt his excitiment for what he was doing or gained an insight into his motivations or thoughts being out on the road for 7,500km. Instead, I learned about the intricate cycling networks and camping sites across Europe, the benefits of the European Union and French history.
By the end, I was skipping every section that wasn't about the actual cycling - and there's a lot of those. I finished it with a sigh of relief, only last night and there isn't a single bit I remember about it that stood out or that moved me or that had me grabbing my pencil to make a note - a sign for me of a thoroughly enjoyed book: underlying and exclamation points everywhere! And needless to say I won't be reading the other two books in the 'series', even though for cycling journeys, they sound amazing.
Bottom line: great journey, really bad and emotionless writing and it's a style that didn't work for me. If you're after a cycling adventure, I'd highly recommend Mike Carter's book but if you've read and enjoyed it chances are this will leave you wanting for more.
It didn't help that I read it not long after the brilliant One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter; a book that was so heartfelt and at times emotional and bursting with life, a true joy to read. This is the exact opposite: dry, devoid of any sentiment or emotion, almost technical. There was not a single part in the entire book that I felt his excitiment for what he was doing or gained an insight into his motivations or thoughts being out on the road for 7,500km. Instead, I learned about the intricate cycling networks and camping sites across Europe, the benefits of the European Union and French history.
By the end, I was skipping every section that wasn't about the actual cycling - and there's a lot of those. I finished it with a sigh of relief, only last night and there isn't a single bit I remember about it that stood out or that moved me or that had me grabbing my pencil to make a note - a sign for me of a thoroughly enjoyed book: underlying and exclamation points everywhere! And needless to say I won't be reading the other two books in the 'series', even though for cycling journeys, they sound amazing.
Bottom line: great journey, really bad and emotionless writing and it's a style that didn't work for me. If you're after a cycling adventure, I'd highly recommend Mike Carter's book but if you've read and enjoyed it chances are this will leave you wanting for more.
August 27, 2017
Summary: You should read this book. It is a wonderful tale of a bicycle journey, and of the person behind it.
And now, for the rest of my review. Andrew P. Sykes is a seasoned travel writer, or to be precise, bicycle tour writer, having published his third book. With the first one he hit a nerve, in that he did the tour, and generously told us about all the good bits, but also the bad ones.
His second book had some of that, but drowned much of it in diary-like detail. Still, he continued to fascinate this reader.
I said of the first book that it lacked some structure, the sort of structure that a publisher would force upon a writer. But on the other hand, Andrew shared much of the meandering of his thoughts, diverging a lot from the point. But such, I said then, is also the mind of a traveller, that is the point of travel, and I feared a publisher would discourage such passages.
Of the second book, I said that I am still a Sykes-fan, but it is high time that a publisher joins the team.
And now that has happened, a professional team has attended to every little detail, resulting in a dramaturgically well made book. OK, some of the meandering is cut away, but Andy (I find myself calling him that, because, after this book I feel I know him so well) tells the reader how on some days, he feels bad. Sometimes due to the bad weather, the headwind, the endless climbs, the bad camping conditions. And some days just because he does not feel good. He shares this with a bare honesty that makes this a tale about much more than a fascinating journey, but also about the journey of the mind, one we know does not always follow the route pencilled out on the map. With the help of a man he meets along the way, Andrew introduces the reader to the fantastic term “Mercedes day”. Read and you will find out what that is.
This is Andrew’s best book so far. You must read it, trust me, it will be a great journey, you will feel that you take part, and there is nature being described wonderfully, but even more the Brit encountering many very un-British situations and conditions, providing some lovely comedy bits.
How can this be better? Well, Andrew has build a loveable character of himself. I think that he could have done the same to some of those he meets along the road, going a bit deeper into them. The same could be with some of the places he visits.
In either case, I liked this book, a lot. And I am waiting eagerly for the next one.
And now, for the rest of my review. Andrew P. Sykes is a seasoned travel writer, or to be precise, bicycle tour writer, having published his third book. With the first one he hit a nerve, in that he did the tour, and generously told us about all the good bits, but also the bad ones.
His second book had some of that, but drowned much of it in diary-like detail. Still, he continued to fascinate this reader.
I said of the first book that it lacked some structure, the sort of structure that a publisher would force upon a writer. But on the other hand, Andrew shared much of the meandering of his thoughts, diverging a lot from the point. But such, I said then, is also the mind of a traveller, that is the point of travel, and I feared a publisher would discourage such passages.
Of the second book, I said that I am still a Sykes-fan, but it is high time that a publisher joins the team.
And now that has happened, a professional team has attended to every little detail, resulting in a dramaturgically well made book. OK, some of the meandering is cut away, but Andy (I find myself calling him that, because, after this book I feel I know him so well) tells the reader how on some days, he feels bad. Sometimes due to the bad weather, the headwind, the endless climbs, the bad camping conditions. And some days just because he does not feel good. He shares this with a bare honesty that makes this a tale about much more than a fascinating journey, but also about the journey of the mind, one we know does not always follow the route pencilled out on the map. With the help of a man he meets along the way, Andrew introduces the reader to the fantastic term “Mercedes day”. Read and you will find out what that is.
This is Andrew’s best book so far. You must read it, trust me, it will be a great journey, you will feel that you take part, and there is nature being described wonderfully, but even more the Brit encountering many very un-British situations and conditions, providing some lovely comedy bits.
How can this be better? Well, Andrew has build a loveable character of himself. I think that he could have done the same to some of those he meets along the road, going a bit deeper into them. The same could be with some of the places he visits.
In either case, I liked this book, a lot. And I am waiting eagerly for the next one.
October 15, 2018
Good read
Really good read and was nice to see my home town of Dundee getting a mention. Hope bbc Reggie is ok.
Really good read and was nice to see my home town of Dundee getting a mention. Hope bbc Reggie is ok.
March 10, 2018
Excellent I need to read the others
March 24, 2018
The best form of travel and the best form of travelogue
I cycle. I cycle a lot. 3,000 miles a year give or take a mile here and there. Around 20 - 30 miles each ride. A few 100 mile plus rides....but let's consider what Andrew Sykes has done. 7,700km from the south of Spain to the northernmost tip of mainland Europe, Nordkapp in Norway. A wonderful journey described with a keen eye for detail and an obvious pleasure for the simple fact of cycling ever onwards through changing landscapes, countries, cultures and climates. A book that will keep you warm while Andrew is battling the cold and incessant rain. A great read and a great ride. Chapeau Andrew (and of course the inimitable Reggie).
I cycle. I cycle a lot. 3,000 miles a year give or take a mile here and there. Around 20 - 30 miles each ride. A few 100 mile plus rides....but let's consider what Andrew Sykes has done. 7,700km from the south of Spain to the northernmost tip of mainland Europe, Nordkapp in Norway. A wonderful journey described with a keen eye for detail and an obvious pleasure for the simple fact of cycling ever onwards through changing landscapes, countries, cultures and climates. A book that will keep you warm while Andrew is battling the cold and incessant rain. A great read and a great ride. Chapeau Andrew (and of course the inimitable Reggie).
May 23, 2018
I really would like to gave this 4 stars but I cant, first it took nearly 2 weeks to read which kind of proves it is not a page turner. The author is quite engaging, quite funny and quite clever, the problem being so many have and do this better, Mark Wallington is clever, funny and engaging. I also do not like to be preached to on the virtues of the EU by Andrew, if I want politics I will read a book by some one with more knowledge on the subject. On the plus side it cost me 99p so was a cost effective read but his other 2 books are £2.99 so will wait for a price drop before buying. I feel a bit guilty with this negative review as the author lives a short distance from me !!
April 22, 2018
I started reading this at the same time I started reading Tim Moore's book about cycling in France, French Revolutions. While Moore's book is like riding into a headwind up a mountain, this flows beautifully. He is funny, he doesn't try to be too clever, tells it as he says it. It is interesting, with a good mix of people he has met, interesting places, a little history thrown in for good measure. Have done long distance cycling he describes the 'Mercedes days' well. Thoroughly enjoyed it and inspired me to get back out on my like and do more.
January 27, 2019
The reason my partner usually tries to encourage me not to read this sort of book is that it sets me thinking - I had already planned my first solo trip, cycling from Amsterdam to Bruges before I got to the last chapter!
Sykes is a pleasant travel companion, interested in the history and geography of the countries he passes through
Sykes is a pleasant travel companion, interested in the history and geography of the countries he passes through
August 21, 2022
Sadly a pretty dull bike touring book. If you plan on taking the same route, it's likely to have some logistics tips, but even having Brexit occur during the ride doesn't add any real reflection or color.
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June 11, 2024Reggie goes to Norway
As a fan of these sort of travel books it was a wonderful cycle with Andrew and Reggie along the way and the final country in this journey Norway my favourite Country to visit makes my own love for travel grow stronger year by year.
As a fan of these sort of travel books it was a wonderful cycle with Andrew and Reggie along the way and the final country in this journey Norway my favourite Country to visit makes my own love for travel grow stronger year by year.
January 1, 2018
An interesting read, that certainly has made me interested in doing something similar. I would have like a lot more photos of the places and people met in the trip to add more colour.
August 24, 2020
Great collection of books, read them you wont be disappointed.
January 1, 2021
I really enjoyed this gentle, amusing and informative book covering a pan-continent travel on a bicycle. Almost enough to make me want to do this, but only almost.......
September 14, 2021
Travel inspiration
Really enjoyed watching this journey unfold, with many diversions to Google Maps to check out locations passed and campsites visited.
Really enjoyed watching this journey unfold, with many diversions to Google Maps to check out locations passed and campsites visited.
December 9, 2021
Entertaining book.
December 23, 2021
Liked this book a lot!
December 7, 2017
I really enjoyed reading about Andrew P. Sykes' bicycle touring adventure from the Cadiz, Spain to Nordkapp, Norway.
Whilst the journey is by bicycle, the story isn't about cycling as it just acts as a medium to tell the tale of his trip. Initially focused on his ambitious goals and daily averages, as his journey continues, that become less important than the people and places he visits.
Having read Andrew's previous two Reggie books (Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie and Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie), I must say that this has been my favourite so far.
What a wonderful read.
Whilst the journey is by bicycle, the story isn't about cycling as it just acts as a medium to tell the tale of his trip. Initially focused on his ambitious goals and daily averages, as his journey continues, that become less important than the people and places he visits.
Having read Andrew's previous two Reggie books (Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie and Along The Med on a Bike Called Reggie), I must say that this has been my favourite so far.
What a wonderful read.
January 25, 2025
Another enjoyable book by Andrew.
I enjoy the mix of travel, history & humour with Andrew's writing. I'm planning to ride part of this route myself & reading the book has helped me with my preparations.
I enjoy the mix of travel, history & humour with Andrew's writing. I'm planning to ride part of this route myself & reading the book has helped me with my preparations.
July 28, 2018
Andrew is a good friend of mine, despite the age difference, he's rather cool and knowledgeable. I volunteer where he currently works, and his enthusiasm for cycling has made me delve into the world of cycling.
One thing though, I can't help but read the book and imagine his voice nattering on, so certain parts of this book, which may not be as funny for other people, are hilarious for me.
He also signed it for me, "Mike, on yer bike. :) Andrew Sykes".
One thing though, I can't help but read the book and imagine his voice nattering on, so certain parts of this book, which may not be as funny for other people, are hilarious for me.
He also signed it for me, "Mike, on yer bike. :) Andrew Sykes".
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews