Discover the fun of self-guided bicycling tours with Alan Cheesley, founder of Cycle4Fun.co.uk. Whether you want hilly Tuscany, the Alps or a rustic Colombian ride, you don’t have to be an Olympian to plan and enjoy a scenic holiday on two wheels.
Cycle4Fun Founder Alan Cheesley on Confidence, Training, and Self-Guided Cycling Holidays
Bristol-based cyclist Alan Cheesley, founder of Cycle4Fun, designs adaptable, mostly self-guided cycling holidays in places including the UK, Tuscany, the Alps, Croatia, Montenegro, Cuba, Japan, Colombia, and Serbia. Alan explains that anyone can do a cycling holiday with appropriate training, and he helps riders choose routes and daily distances based on fitness, preferences, and desired control. He contrasts hilly Tuscany with the more predictable Alpine climbs, encourages beginners to start slowly, and emphasizes fun over racing, including rules like regrouping at hilltops and giving pedestrians right of way. Alan supports legal pedal-assist e-bikes, describes safety choices that avoid main roads, discusses luggage options from packing light to van support, recommends researching accommodations (often via Booking.com), and promotes his free guides and YouTube videos via https://cycle4fun.co.uk.
Contact Alan Cheesley
https://www.youtube.com/@Cycle4Fun
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Alan Cheesley
01:53 You Don't Need to Be an Olympic Athlete to Enjoy a Cycling Holiday
03:27 Cycling Tuscany Compared to the Alps
05:05 Deciding Where to Go on a Cycling Holiday
06:01 Recommended Cycling Trips for Beginners
07:22 Riding Solo or With a Group
10:05 Fast Expensive Bikes and Regular Bikes
12:06 E-Bikes
14:18 Assisted Bikes vs. Electric Bikes (and Illegal E-Bikes)
16:31 Converting a Bike to an E-Bike with Swytch
17:19 Hazards of Bicycling
18:16 Cycling Old Roads in Europe, Ireland and the U.K.
19:07 It's All About Politeness
20:14 What About the Luggage?
20:55 Organizing Bike Trips for Adventure
22:15 Transporting Your Gear
25:08 Cobblestones, Rough Terrain and Bicycling in Cities
27:32 In Praise of Little Villages
28:04 Camping, Inns or Luxury Accommodations Along the Way
29:34 Choosing the Right Accommodations: Free Guides
31:05 Alan's Mission
31:43 Christi's Bicycle
33:14 When You Buy a Cheap or Inexpensive Bike, Do This
34:58 It's All About Confidence
36:35 Alan's Next Cycling Travel Adventures
37:44 How to Contact Alan at Cycle4Fun.co.uk
[00:00:00]
Christi: Welcome to Moving Along. Alan Cheesley loves bicycling, and he is passionate about helping the everyday cyclist experience unique cycling holidays abroad. Alan lives in Bristol, England, and grew up not far away with three brothers. He loved his bike, had a paper route, and a butcher's route, but he didn't have a bike in [00:01:00] his 20s and 30s, instead indulging his love of playing rugby.
When his children were born, he realized it was time once again for a bike. In 2012, Alan started his tour company called which is and now has cycling routes in the UK, Tuscany, the Alps, Croatia, Montenegro, and as far afield as Cuba, Japan, and my favorite, Colombia. Don't miss his Colombia cycling videos on YouTube.
They are so worth it. Alan believes anyone can gain confidence and have the adventure of a lifetime with a cycling holiday. I wanted to learn more. Welcome, Alan.
Alan: Thanks, Christi. Thanks for having
Christi: Alan, the burning question that I have had in my brain since I first learned about you [00:02:00] and your cycling holidays was, how in shape do you really need to be to embark on a cycling holiday?
Alan: That is a great question that everybody asks me because you-- everybody thinks they're not fit enough. And my easy answer is, I say this to my children almost daily, "Anybody can do anything, but you need to train." So that doesn't mean that you have to be an Olympic athlete, but it means you have to be ready for what you're about to take on. Not just because it's hard, but because you want to enjoy it, and if you're not physically fit enough for what you've just decided to do, then you're not going to enjoy that. Part of what I do with everybody who comes with me or I teach is to decide what you want to do, [00:03:00] and then have a training regime ready to do
Christi: Oh.
Alan: But that could mean 10 miles a day, in which case you can be any shape and size to do
Christi: Oh, 10 miles a day. I was going to say, it seems very different to go bicycling in Tuscany than, say, the Alps. How do you help people determine the best ride for them?
Alan: Well, there are plenty of travel companies who produce rides, and you can, you can go to them and you pay a lot of money, and they have everything organized for you. But what I found was that people either don't wanna pay that sort of money, or more importantly, they want more control over where they go, how long they cycle each day the places they want to, go to, and also who they wanna be with.
Tuscany, for instance, I would say, [00:04:00] yeah, it's hilly, it's up and down, and there's a lot-- there are a lot of wineries, so you should be careful where you want to stop for a quick tipple and how long you've got further in the journey. And the Alps is much easier than it sounds,
actually,
Christi: Why is that?
Alan: Because it's predictable. There are-- It's hilly, it's-- but it's not up and down. It's pretty much straight up but not that steep. And if you're used to-- If you can train to do a 7% hill, which is to me is, is not much of a hill, but it, it's-- a 7% hill is all you're likely to get in on the Alps. Except now and again, you're-- you might get a 10 to 12%, so you can walk it.
Know, A lot of people do that. It's not a race. This is meant to be fun. And some people actually get off and walk for 10 minutes or so just to stretch their legs
Christi: interesting. [00:05:00]
Alan: is cycle, this is cycle for fun, not a route march
Christi: And how do you help people decide where to go? I think you have a form on your website, right? With some questions.
Alan: There are many different places to go. I've done, I think it's coming up for 15, 16 trips for a week in different parts of the world. And you can go to those, and if you go to my website, you'll see some pictures and some some ideas. And if you want to go to one of these places and you're fitter than me, stronger than me, or not quite as strong or fit as me or you want to have a break every other day or what- whatever you want, then you...
what you do is you choose one of my routes and tell me your plan, and then I can adapt it for you really quickly and give you that as a, as your [00:06:00] self-guided trip.
Christi: Cool. And what about, what do you recommend for beginners?
Alan: Beginners should start by just getting on your bike and also don't do too much. One of the things I did before my, my first big ride was to the tip of Cornwall called Lands- called Land's End. Beautiful. Yeah. And I went-- I wanted to go on the cycle paths, which are all off-road and some of them quite rugged.
Not, not too bad, but it was, it was good for my h- little hybrid bike, 200 pounds hybrid bike. And I thought that I could do 50 miles a day. So we've got a, a, a hill group called the Mendips here and close to me. So I d- so I did 25 miles there and back up to the top and back again, and I thought, "Well, if I can do that in a couple of hours, [00:07:00] then 50 miles is no problem at all."
And then I couldn't walk for three weeks after that because that was too much. Whereas now I can do it in a heartbeat anytime. So the difference is start slowly. Re-remember what you're aiming at, but start long before that trip, and then you'll enjoy it.
Christi: Do you recommend people go with a group, or do you get people who want to go by themselves? Or how does that work?
Alan: It depends on you. Some people go-- that there are plenty of really good companies who organize bike tours if you want to meet people and you, you, you, you're herded around in a group. You can tell by, by the way my language, I
don't
like
Christi: I was going to ask if this is part of why you started the company. Uh-huh.
Alan: It was, yeah. I, I'm pretty independent.
I'm an independent person. I traveled a lot when I was younger on my own, and [00:08:00] I quite like my own company. But I also enjoy the camaraderie of, something that rugby gave me, which was relying on each other and helping each other and working as a team. And yes, you can go on a, an organized group tour, but you, you're told where to go, and some people like that.
So that... I'm not going to diss that. And your, your bags are taken away from you and, know, everything's done for you. And that's fine. It really is fine. But that isn't how a lot of people that I've spoken to want to, want to do it. They want to choose their own path, and they wanna choose their own places to stop and, and their own length of days.
Christi: At their own pace, would you say? Their
Alan: Yeah, at their own pace of tr- absolutely. So like you, like you suggested, maybe they're not as fit as they as others,
as
Christi: Asking for a friend.
Alan: Yeah. Well, yeah, of [00:09:00] course. And, and, but it's not, it's about fun, it's about enjoyment. It's not, it's, it's not meant to be something that you...
Daunting. I, I do like them to be a little challenging, because I think we could all do that in our lives. So some people like those organized tours and organized trips. What I found most people wanted, though, was to, to, to be in control, more in control. That means... But they're frightened to death of, of know, Goog- Is Google Maps good enough?
Absolutely not, by, by the way, is my answer. That'll take you to places that you don't wanna go to. It won't be as much fun. And sticking to main roads is obviously dangerous and you know, stressful. So I organize trips using many different apps and software including Google Maps to create an experience which is stress-free and fun.
[00:10:00] And then as I've said, I can adapt it to whoever wants to go.
Christi: And do you go with them?
Alan: No. No, this is that, know, that would be the previous one. There are plenty of other companies who do that. No, I, I have ridden these routes, and I've taken a group of people with me, always different people. But people who have different abilities. Some have electric bikes as well, and, and s- and that's okay.
Some, I'm going away in a couple of weeks' time to Puglia, down the south of Italy, and there are two guys with, know, 5,000-pound
bikes,
and, and there's another guy with electric. And what they like about my trips is that it's a bit for everybody. So the, the, the ones with the with the fast bikes, I have a few rules, but one of the, but, but one of the things is that on two of the days, they've, they can have a more difficult route
in between, so we meet [00:11:00] later.
Christi: S- so the regular bikes go one way and the e-bikes go another way
Alan: Now, the e-bikes can go the same way as the regular bikes, but the fast bikes, the 5,000 pound bikes
with the
Christi: Oh, the, the Tour de France crowd.
Alan: Yeah. Yeah. Those, those guys could do the Tour de France But they love, they love coming with me, on my trips because it's relaxed.
Christi: They don't have the
Alan: But no, no, exactly, yeah, they can be competitive with themselves.
But, but one of the rules I have is that when a hill comes you go up that hill at your own pace, but we all stop at the top and, and reflect together. And then, and then we go off again. But,
Christi: you get the good views at the top of the hill, right?
Alan: It's so-- Yeah, that's the thing. I mean, you, you can f- you, you can go to the Netherlands and, and Belgium and cycle and it, and it, it-- they're wonderful countries to cycle in, but it's windy because it's flat, and [00:12:00] you get no views because it's flat.
So it's a trade-off. know, You, you put the effort in and you get the reward.
Christi: Oh, nice. You don't mind people have e-bikes? You don't care?
Alan: No. I mean, no.
Christi: You know what I would love to know, Alan, is, is about the e-bikes is when you first encountered it, Were you resistant to it or did you embrace e-bikes or do you think they're great for people like who are differently abled or what do you think?
Alan: Well, first of all, I'm not a judge. The only judge I've got is the
mirror.
So I, I... But I-- And I think that other people judge too quickly. So the first time I saw an e-bike was coming down I was in-- I'd, I'd just gone over the Alps for the first time in 2016, came down the other side and going through the Dolomites.
The Dolomites were on the left. So we, we'd just entered in a, in my natural way. we've just come through [00:13:00] apples, and now we're into vineyards at the other, the other end. And, and so I saw... So it's quite flat, and we were near a river, and I saw in the distance some cyclists. And although my eyes aren't 20/20, I could see that they didn't look like your typical cyclist.
and so I was
intrigued.
Christi: What? They weren't pedaling or what?
Alan: No, they were pedaling. Yeah. I mean, you, you a proper e-bike a legal e-bike, you, you have to pedal. We'll get into that in a sec if you like 'cause I've got this thing about illegal things. They should be much harder on, on the culprits. But so I saw these guys in the, in the distance, and we got gradually closer and closer, but not as, not as quickly as I thought we would.
When I got there, I realized why. They were all on electric bikes, and they were all in
their
60s, and they were seeing the same things as me. [00:14:00] And this is-- I thought straight away, "This is fantastic." I'd heard about e-bikes, but I didn't know that you could go, go over the Alps with them. And why not?
Y-you know, these guys would've been sat at home doing very little
probably.
Alan: But with the e-bikes, they... let me, let me explain e-bikes as well because e-bikes is a funny phrase. A s- I'd like to call them
Assisted Assisted bikes are the, is a better way of explaining it because electric bikes can be illegal.
There are, there are three things you have to have with an electric bike, with an e-bike or an assisted bike. One is the motor has to be 250 watts or less. Two, you have to be pedaling to get the power. If you stop pedaling, you stop the power.
Christi: Got it
Alan: And three is 25 kilometers an hour or 15 [00:15:00] miles an hour, and then it cuts out.
And the ones you've probably seen going, flying past you are illegal.
Christi: Those are the ones that the delivery guys in New York City use. Okay. Okay. 'Cause that's
my experience of e-bikes.
Alan: Yeah, that's not an e-bike, that's an illegal vehicle, and it should be taxed like a proper vehicle,
like a, like a car. But that's my soapbox. I, I'm not talking about that at all. I'm talking about the legal ones that I've just explained.
And, and so these, these people were having a great time doing all the things that I was doing on an ordinary bike, but they were not putting as much effort in, but they were putting effort into it. You cannot ride a legal e-bike without putting the effort in
Christi: Right. 'Cause you have to pedal,
Alan: You have to pedal, and depending on how much [00:16:00] effort you want to put in will depend on whether you're on eco or number two, number three, number four, or number five.
So no, I'm all for them. I think they're a great thing, and it, and also five years ago, my wife wanted to come... Tina wanted to come with me and do more cycle rides. And it was difficult because we're, we, know, we're different. I've, I'm more experienced, and I'm b- bigger. And I converted her bike to, by Swytch.
Alan: It's a, it's a company called Swytch. I think they're British actually, but they're all over America. It's Swytch with a Y if anybody wants to look them up. And, and what you do is just change the front wheel 'cause it's got a m- a motor in it, and do some wiring, put a battery on, and then you're away. And so the battery, it says will do 20 miles, but she's done
60 because she only ever used it at the top of [00:17:00] a hill when, know, or near the top of a hill when it was tough.
Christi: Uh-huh
Alan: You know, You don't have to have it on all the time, whereas, whereas an e-bike, you, you pretty much have to.
So that was an interesting experience for me and my family because the girls all, or my, my two girls also now cycle and they didn't before.
Christi: Are there, dangers of bicycling? Like, you mentioned busy roads and I saw some of those bridges you went over in Colombia looked pretty scary.
Alan: Well, that was unusual. That was an unusual trip. That was an old railway line that got decommissioned in the '60s, I think. And there's not a lot of money in that part of Colombia, so the infrastructure isn't there for safety. So we, we took risks, and I wouldn't recommend that as part of my...
Well, unless you're guided. I, I would recommend being guided through the jungles of Colombia.
But, but most [00:18:00] of my trips are self-guided, and yeah, I-- none of my trips go on main roads. Depends what you call a main road, really. Anything that a truck can go down will not be on one of Ah, okay.
Definitely not.
Alan: So cars, yeah, maybe. I don't like them, but but we're blessed in, in Europe and that includes Ireland and of course UK, because we, we have old
roads that are no longer used very often because there's been a new motorway built. And so the only people that use these roads are tractors and cyclists.
So we're blessed with
those.
Christi: Yeah. And walkers uh, are your, a lot of your routes, are they shared use
Alan: Yeah. Yeah, Yeah,
Again, one of my rules when I'm s- anybody who cycles with me or, and also on all my recommendations, is that pedestrians always have right of way, [00:19:00] even if they're, even, even when they're
wrong.
Christi: Even when they're four abreast? Yes.
Alan: Tink, and very polite, "Thank you very much." It's, it's all about politeness, and I think, I think that we've lost a lot of those rudimentary polite gestures by driving all the time, and road rage, and not, not,
being
Christi: Some impolite gestures.
Alan: Yeah.
It's really not necessary and, and, know, I've had, I've had motorists who don't know the rules of, and y- the...
I, I'm on the... i, I notice in America, a lot in America, there's a cycle path by the side of the road. In Australia too, there's, there's, they do this a lot. I really don't like them, but what, what happens is s- sometimes if, cars don't like you, they encroach
Christi: Ah.
Alan: and beat their horn at you or because they don't understand, and I [00:20:00] completely ignore them. That's the best
Christi: That's the best way to handle it, huh?
Alan: Yeah. And say thank you. Just thank you.
Christi: See you up ahead.
Alan: yeah. At, at the next lights, yeah
Christi: Well, I guess that brings me to another question, and that is, are most of your recommended routes, are they what you might call inn to inn? Like, you just go... I mean, what do you do? You carry your luggage on your back, you backpack, or do you get people to take your luggage,
Alan: Yeah, it's a good point. There's a few things there to unpack. First of all it's up to the individual. I have organized trips where I carry everything, and I have organized trips where I have a, a van backup. So all of the above really. Personally, I like to te- I like to go end to end, so that's, that's more of an adventure.
Alan: If you're going from, from one city to another city that's [00:21:00] maybe 400 miles away and take three or four, maybe five or six days to get there, that's an adventure. But sometimes you can't do that. So for instance, in Serbia just recently, a couple of years ago it started in Belgrade, and we did a circle all around the top half of the country and ended up back in Belgrade.
So it was, it was going point to point, to, to town to town, but y- but, know, we-- logistically we couldn't work out how to get the bikes, know, and the transport cause Serbia's pretty reliant on one city. So point to point is my preferred, and sometimes you have to do circles, but I don't like staying in the same place twice
Christi: So you don't like the out and back?
Alan: No, I d- I definitely don't like that. However, some people do, and so you could organize one of my routes or routes where [00:22:00] you just take three or four of the towns and add a circle to it. That's, that's possible. It's not what I recommend because I like adventure, and I think that that's what people like.
Alan: And now going back to whether you take your your gear with you or not, this is a big, this is a big, big thing because it depends on how much gear you've got, and over the years, I've perfected this.
So I, I-- as I said, most of my European trips, we have a backup van which takes your, your bag. When we get to the hotel, your bag's in the room.
Yeah, that, that is nice. And, and they know where you are, so... And one of the guys who comes with me is a chef. They track me, and they know where we're going to be tired, so they-- And y- you get to a top of a hill, and it's like an oasis.
The van's there with a
banquet out
the [00:23:00] back. Uh,
Christi: wow.
Alan: that's, that is nice. And y- and, and I, and I explain how to do that as well. It's so simple. These are two friends of mine. I, I used to coach them playing rugby. They're a bit younger than me and, and yeah, so they've turned out to be t- a bit too big for bikes, so they've wanted to come that way.
So you can do it the five-star way and in luxury. And also es- especially I did a trip around the Great British coast, not all in one go, it was little chunks. And so I was taking a train to point A, cycling to point B, and then taking a train from point B back to, back to home. And it was too difficult logistically to have a backup van, and I didn't really want to do that.
So I've learnt over the years how to pack, and you don't wanna-- I, you know, I see people who are new to [00:24:00] this, and they've got the kitchen sink
with them
Christi: Yeah.
Alan: And it's all un- unnecessary. And so my advice to... I, I remem- remember meeting one young lady who was packed out and she said, "How do you do this?" And I said, "Well, look, everything that's going to be next to your skin, make sure it dries well." So what happens is that you go to a hotel or whatever you, you go to, wash everything in the sink, and it's dry by the morning.
Christi: Well that's clever.
Alan: really simple. It's really simple, isn't it? And then you don't have to carry all these things. And also a dress or a, or a shirt, you're going to put it on for about two hours after a
shower. So r- do you need really-- Do you, do you really need more than one or two? It's, it's, it's-- And it's, it's not about being the, the belle of the ball. It's about comfort, [00:25:00] and I'd rather carry less and have fun on my bike than worry about wearing the same shirt
every night.
Christi: I see that. And so generally, you mentioned Belgrade, but generally do you avoid cities? I'm thinking two things. One is like, well, if you go out to dinner, you have to have something nice to wear, but also the cobblestones.
Alan: Yeah. the maps that I create show cobblestones and rough terrain. So there's different apps that you can use to, to do that, and I don't mind riding on cobblestones for a little, for a, a few hundred meters, but it's not the sort of thing I wanna do every day or, know, the whole day.
But there's nothing wrong with it as long as it's not raining. If it's raining, get off, get off and walk. What's wrong with walking with your bike for 100 meters, 200 meters? Right.
People worry about that
too
much,
I think.
Christi: They worry about the weather?
Alan: the weather, [00:26:00] yeah, just wear a coat, and also you asked about cities. I absolutely love cities, but I don't want to cycle in them.
I wanna cycle to them and out of them. So let me give you an example. Belgrade, for instance, that was that's a beautiful city. It's a wonderful city where two rivers collide and, you know, one of them is the Danube. It's, very romantic. It's a beautiful city. Very, very beautiful with a, a big hill in the middle.
And so I always make sure that my rides start in a place like that, and then you cycle out through it. So I make sure that we go through all the nice areas and you can see... Like Rome, for instance, you go past the Colosseum. You have to
because it's the Colosseum, yes Yeah. But you make sure that those roads are safe 'cause there's cycle paths there, and...
But you've gotta go through the city. And then when I get back to a city, [00:27:00] because you've been cycling for three or four, maybe six or seven days, I do a walking tour. I organize a walking tour, usually a free one where you tip and, and that gives you-- does two things. It gives you a very good view of that city but also it allows your... Yeah, the s- the saddle areas to have a, a rest and you can stretch your legs
instead
Christi: Right, exactly. Like, just take it easy for a day and walk.
Alan: Yeah. But, but also I do like those little villages. I, I mean, y- in two weeks time I'm going to be in Puglia, which is down south of,
of Italy,
and yeah. And every village is, is like at the top of a hill, big white, white buildings at the top of a hill, and, and there's no hotel because it's so small. So I've picked out some apartments that we're staying in for each time.
But [00:28:00] those villages have their charm, just like a city has its charm too
Christi: And I guess that brings me back to the inn to inn. Do you get people who also like to camp or mostly people stay at inns?
Alan: There are a lot of campers who cycle, and that's, that's a good thing. You know, It's up to them where they go. So what I do with my, trips, I'd stay wherever I wanna stay, and people can do what they like. I organize it for them, but, you can get a four-star hotel in places like Serbia for 35 euros a night.
Christi: Wow.
Alan: So that's what? 40 du- 40 bucks a night? And, and that's a room, so that would be... Oh, let me tell you this little story as well. So I was in Spain down in Andalusia, down near Malaga, on my own. I was, I was doing a little trip on my own in January, and I stayed in this hotel, four-star hotel, and it was built inside a
cliff. So there are 20 [00:29:00] rooms, 10 10 on the bottom, 10 on the the next floor, and they all looked out to this wonderful lake. So ev- every room had a great view. And, and the room itself was just superb. It's a four-star hotel. And I FaceTimed Tina and said, "Look, what do you think?" And she said, "Well, why don't you take me to places like that?" And that was 35 euros
Christi: In Andalusia. Wow. You wouldn't think, I mean... So you just stumble upon it or you have your sources?
Alan: No, no, I do my, I do my research. Booking.com is, my go-to. So anybody can use that. I use it a lot, so I do get some discounts. but no, they're around. You ju- And, and I explain how... I've got a a free guide as to how you can choose the right
accommodation.
Christi: I want you to tell me about that. I have a note about that. Anybody who goes to your website can get it?
Alan: Yeah. [00:30:00] It's all-- it's-- there, there is at the top of the website... Yeah, free guides is, is in the top menu. And all the guides are there. And it's a great picture of somewhere in Montenegro as well. But if you put-- Yeah, all I'm doing, I'm getting your email address so I can send you some lovely information.
But, but there are lots. There's Croatia, Tuscany, Montenegro, Slovenia. Yeah. And I've got more as well, but it's just because it's a hobby I don't always have the time to put everything on the website. But anybody can contact me.
Christi: What's the best way to contact you? Through the website?
Alan: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. If you go to the-- it's Cycle4Fun, cycle4fun.co.uk with a number four. You can ask for any of those guides or go to the contact page.
Christi: We'll put it in the show notes for sure, so don't worry about that. But that's really nice. You do this guide, and you also have the YouTube channel, which really shows some of your ... I know, I'm hooked on It
Alan: [00:31:00] Yeah.
Christi: some of the bicycling, adventures that you've done. Journeys, I guess I'll call them.
Alan: Yeah, I'm just trying to get as many people cycling as possible because it's such so much fun. And like I said, it's, it's like walking, but you go further. A lot of people think when they hear of cyclists, they think of Tour de France.
Well, I don't need that. I mean, my ego left me 30 years ago or more. I don't need any of that stuff, and neither should you. But just going out and having... Just doing a little bit of cycling actually gets you fit, whether you like it or not.
Christi: Doing a little bit
Alan: That's just the byproduct.
Christi: And I'm going to say, so I have a bicycle, and how did I get this bicycle? Because they're kind of expensive if, you know, whatever, just if you're not sure that maybe, you know, you can really get back into it. But a neighbor of mine was [00:32:00] cleaning out a barn and had one of his daughter's old bikes in there, and it was-- but it was a full-size bike, and gave it to me.
So I went out and bought a helmet, and it's sitting in the basement. So, Now maybe you've inspired me, Alan, to get it out
Alan: I hope so. I, I also wanna, I wanna talk about that as well because I have two bikes. One I call the pub bike, which is the one I just, I don't mind if somebody pinches it. It's 15 years old, and when I bought it 15 years ago, it was £400, which was, to me, a lot of money in those days.
My touring bike, the one I love, I absolutely love, I bought for £250
Christi: Oh, how did you swing that?
Alan: No, it was built in the '80s. It's very old. It was being thrown out, not being used, and it's, it's a perfectly good bike. And it's-- if, if anybody is a bike [00:33:00] enthusiast, they'll understand what Dawes Super Galaxy is. And, it was a very special bike in its day, in, well, late '70s, early '80s. It's good enough. It really is good enough.
Alan: You know, buy a cheap bike. Just the, the only thing you need to do, and I would do this with your bike clean the chain, clean the cogs, just make sure everything's is smooth running.
So not oil, you don't need oil. You need a, a blue lube just to clean it and take all the bits and pieces off of it, you know, all of the dirt. Just so your chain and your cogs need to be clean. You need to have good brakes that work, okay? That's important. And you need to make sure the gears work smoothly so that when you're climbing a hill and you wanna go up a gear, then you can change easily.
The rest of [00:34:00] it is just ego.
That's my opinion. I don't even wash my bike. You know, I wash-- I keep, I keep the gear,
the gears clean.
Christi: Uh-huh. You don't start polishing up and getting fancy about it. That's great advice.
Alan: Well, it brings more people into it, doesn't it?
Christi: Yeah, and also, well, just knowing that you don't have to have the big investment in the hobby, It is an investment. It's more of an investment of your energy and your time.
Alan: Yeah. there's a phrase in, in England, I'm sure it's worldwide, that you see some people with £5,000 worth of bike and they're not cycling it very well. They... All the gear and no idea
Whereas I've seen plenty of really good cyclists on, $200 bikes
Christi: Hmm. Wow. Including you, and your pub bike costs more.
Alan: My pub bike's, my pub bike is the most expensive one.
Christi: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. You [00:35:00] don't care if anybody pinches it.
Alan: Not really
Christi: Oh, let me just ask you one more question, and that is... What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
Alan: I ever received? Do you mean about cycling or...?
Christi: your business, cycling
Alan: Um well, in life, don't, let anyone judge you. It's, you know, you're the only judge. Stand up to bullies, I think there's another. Uh, but when it comes to cycling everything is about confidence. If you see a hill and you go, "Oh no, it's a hill," you're going to struggle up that hill. If you see a hill and go, "Okay, I've got to get this right, so I must focus on my glutes. I must focus on the circle and not up and down. You know, I must..." And then by the time you've thought about it, you're probably already there. It's all about confidence. And also don't be afraid of going places.
The world is a friendly place. I've been to many [00:36:00] places where a lot of people cr- well, S- Serbia is one. That was one of the most friendly place I've ever been. Montenegro and, talking to people in the Balkans, in those countries that were at war one generation ago,
Christi: Mm-hmm.
Alan: The younger people now, they don't want, they don't want war,
All they want is, to be part of the rest of us. They don't want to be thought of as an old warring nation. They go... They're young. They've, they-- That was the, the previous generation. So don't be afraid to go to these places 'cause they will welcome you.
Christi: After Puglia, where have you got your sights set?
Alan: There are a few things. Well, in January, I always go away on my own, just somewhere south of Spain to Portugal, somewhere, somewhere around there. I usually go on my own. And then in June, I'm going to do a trip over the Alps again to Grado, which is on the Adriatic. It's, just the top [00:37:00] right-hand corner of, of Italy, so in between Trieste and Venice. So that's one trip. And then in September, I've got one planned from Innsbruck to
Milan,
Christi: That sounds nice.
Alan: Again over the Alps, but that's through Lake Como and Saint Saint
Moritz?
Christi: Very nice. And do you have victims lined up to
Alan: Yeah. Yeah, I'm afraid those two trips are-- they're queuing up. I don't like too many people to come with me because, one, I wanna sort of enjoy it as much as anybody else, but, two I document everything and I don't, don't, want to document something for 12 people because that's just not... it's, it's a different type of trip.
Christi: So people can contact you through your website which is cycle4fun.co.uk,
Alan: Yeah
Christi: get your free guide to see if a cycling adventure holiday [00:38:00] is for them, right?
And they can ask you questions there, too,
Alan: Anytime. Yeah
Christi: Anytime.
Wow. Thank you, Alan. Thank you so much for this conversation. I'm totally inspired.
Alan: Good. It's been a real pleasure. I think you're really good at asking the right questions, Christi, so thank you for making me feel at home.