Spoke Lore

tales from a bicycle traveler

A small harbor on blue water in front of rolling green hills and a pointed steeple peeking up from behind green trees. Color boats were floating in the harbor beside a wooden pier stretching across the water.

Cycling into Girvan: Discovering a Hidden Coastal Gem in Scotland

Traveling by bicycle often leads to places you never planned to visit. After a month cycling Ireland, a spontaneous invitation brought me to Girvan, a quiet fishing town on Scotland’s west coast. With a generous local host as my guide, I explored coastal paths, historic landmarks, and hidden corners that revealed the charm of this overlooked destination.

atinyadventurer

Mar 317 min read

Medieval stately homes with brown tiled rooftops on a harbor on a blue lake. A medieval castle rises behind the homes with spires on two rectangular towers on either side. Green trees can be seen to the left of the castle underneath a bright blue sky.

Visit The Land of Roses in This Stunning Swiss Town

Cycling the EuroVelo 6 took me from the Loire Valley to the Swiss border, through generous hosts, camembert dinners, and quiet hilltop homes in Mulhouse. But it was in Rapperswil — the “town of roses” — where something shifted. With 16,000 roses in bloom, cobblestone streets, a medieval castle overlooking Lake Zürich, and the longest wooden bridge in Switzerland stretching across the water, I found a brief but radiant moment of light in an otherwise difficult chapter of my jo

atinyadventurer

Mar 245 min read

Courtyard of a historic European building with pale cream walls, arched colonnades, wrought-iron window grilles, and a tall clock tower rising above the rooftops on an overcast day.

Two days turned into a week when I visited this small city in Slovakia

On a rainy September day, I cycled into Slovakia and found myself unexpectedly at home in Bratislava. This is a story about the way places become meaningful through the people we meet.

atinyadventurer

Mar 1011 min read