Product Description

"A truly inspirational read."

"Good Vibrations does exactly what it says on the tin. That's exactly what I felt when I read it. It'll entertain, amuse and inform a host of aspirant travelers and armchair explorers like myself."

"The author writes with warmth and wit, and does an excellent job of capturing every emotion, every landscape."

"If this book doesn't inspire the reader to jump on their bike and go....nothing will."

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 trans-continental cycling adventure that would take him along the route of the Via Francigena and the Eurovelo 5 all the way from his home in southern England to Brindisi in the south of Italy. There were highs and lows, rain and shine, joy and despair and they are all recounted here in a light-hearted, brisk style.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2741 in eBooks
• Published on: 2011-08-15
• Released on: 2011-08-15
• Format: Kindle eBook
• Number of items: 1

Review
A truly inspirational read. --Amazon.co.uk review

I thought this book was brilliant, it almost made me wish I had learnt to ride. --Amazon.co.uk review

If this book doesn't inspire the reader to jump on their bike and go....nothing will. --Amazon.co.uk review

The author writes with warmth and wit, and does an excellent job of capturing every emotion, every landscape. --Amazon.co.uk review

"Good Vibrations" does exactly what it says on the tin. That's exactly what I felt when I read it. --Amazon.co.uk review

About the Author
Andrew P. Sykes was born and grew up in the small town of Elland in the foothills of the Pennines in West Yorkshire. He studied for a degree in mathematics at the University of York and immediately after graduation went to work in London for a firm of city accountants. The world of auditing was not however for him and in 1993 he left the U.K to go and work in France, initially in the tourist industry and then for four years teaching English in the Loire Valley city of Tours. He returned to the U.K. in 1999 to train as a secondary school teacher of French at the University of Reading. He still lives in the town and can currently be found working as the Head of Modern Languages at a secondary school in South Oxfordshire. You may well spot him each morning and each evening during term time cycling to work through the picturesque countryside that lies between the Thames Valley towns of Reading and Henley-on-Thames.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
There is a t-shirt you can buy that states that there are three reasons to become a teacher; Christmas, Easter and summer and although I don't subscribe to the cynical sentiment, there is a pertinent message for all teachers in the smugness; we are very lucky to have such a long period away from our workplaces every year so we shouldn't waste it. Unfortunately, that's exactly what I was doing in the summer of 2008. No plans, no adventures. In fact, nothing apart from a six-week period of sloathing from one unimportant activity to the next. The far off Beijing Olympics were successfully filling the gaps in between.
The previous academic year must have been a difficult one and for some reason I had resolved to do as little as I possibly could come the summer holidays. As I sat on my sofa watching the rain-drenched cycling events at The Great Wall of China, I was effortlessly working my way to achieving an A* in procrastination.
However enticing a period of six weeks of doing very little may seem as you are tearing your way through the corridors of a school trying to fit in all those tasks that clearly the person who originally designed the working life of a teacher had no idea existed, the novelty can soon wear off. How wonderful it must be to do something exciting. Really exciting. The kind of exciting that makes other people stop and want to know more. My eyes and thoughts returned to cyclists at the Great Wall. That was exciting.
Although never quite at the standard of an Olympic competitor, I had always been a committed cyclist. Through a combination of necessity and desire, I had been cycling almost without interruption since the age of ten and was proud of the fact that by my mid 30s I had disposed of my car and was an enthusiastic cycling commuter. Admittedly it hadn't quite turned me into the svelte, Lycra-clad muscle machine that I had once dreamt might be the knock-on effect, but my morning and evening efforts were keeping me relatively fit and healthy.
So the idea of planning an adventurous trip by bike didn't take a great leap of imagination. Seeing the cyclists pedalling in the rain at the Olympics in China merely flicked the switch that had been waiting to be activated for some time. The more difficult question was where to?
How could I challenge myself? I had never done any long-distance cycling before. The furthest I had been was down the Thames Valley to London and, on a separate occasion in the other direction to Oxford. Hardly the stuff of adventure. John O'Groats to Lands End? Exotic? Perhaps not. Around the World? A bit too adventurous, especially on my budget. Somewhere closer to home but not too close seemed to be the compromise. Europe. OK. But from where to where? Who did I know on the continent? It would be useful to have not just somewhere but someone to aim for. That way I would have a friendly face in situ to help me celebrate upon arrival! Family in Spain? Friends in Germany? A former colleague in southern Italy... Yes, that would work. Cycling from my flat in Berkshire to my friend's villa in Puglia, in the heel of Italy. Not a bad idea. It certainly ticked the box of being a little bit out of the ordinary. I could hear the staffroom conversations already
"Any plans for the summer Andrew?"
"Yes, I'm going to cycle to southern Italy to see a friend".
"Oh!"