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Where am I going in 2023?


At present, I have no plans for any trips for 2025

My experience and style

What to expect


Who am I?

I am a retired engineer, with a grown up family, and have ridden motorcycles and bicycles all my life. I was inspired to cycle tour after completing Lands End John O'Groats for charity in 2000.

I have restored several old bicycles and have a collection of about 25, including a pennyfarthing. After becoming a founder member of the Clitheroe Bike Club I became a club run leader and a British Cycling Level 2 coach visiting local primary schools.

I enjoy photography and film making and have been a Rotarian for over 30 years doing charity work at home and abroad.

I have cycled in 25 countries to date and led over 25 tours for CTC.

My tour leading style
My leading style is fairly relaxed and I try to feed participants lots of information before the tour starts to ensure everyone is familiar with the tour and the areas we visit. I provide digital routes to install on a Garmin or similar device, and have a couple of spares for those who don't own one. I provide basic maps and sometimes basic turn instructions, but find digital maps are better and provide less chance of error. Where the route is complicated, such as in busy towns and maybe for the first day, I will lead from the front and ensure everyone is safe and happy. Otherwise, I may be anywhere in the group, either taking photographs or looking after those in need. Depending on the composition of the group I will sometimes have a back marker to ensure no one is left behind. The main aim is to allow everyone to ride at their own pace, so they can take photographs or visit anything interesting on the way. We travel to enjoy it.
The roads I take
I will explore any type of terrain but tend to stick to tarmac wherever possible. There are countries where dirt roads are essential to get to where we want to go and these are OK, but I try to ensure that this usually entails a shorter mileage day. Hills are not a problem as this is where you get to see the best views of the landscape. Whilst towns and cities are visited I tend to avoid them unless there is a specific need to go in. I prefer minor country roads, which are safer and allow groups to mix better. I tend to plan rides of about 50 miles per day, depending on terrain and the location of suitable accommodation. Sometimes I take ferries across estuaries which creates a nice change of scenery.
The places we stay
I will stay in any accommodation, often dictated by what is available for groups. I tend not to stay in youth hostels, unless I have no other choice, and prefer bed and breakfasts or motels and hotels. I take couples and singles but expect the latter to pair up in twin rooms, where possible, due to the usual lack of sufficient rooms and to keep the costs realistic.
Where do I go?

I will go anywhere that interests me and love to experience other cultures. I have led tours in the UK for both families and for experienced riders. Over the years I have tended to do World Wide Tours to Australia, Japan, Cambodia, China, NW America, Cuba and the Balkans. Closer to home I have led tours to Ireland, Shetland and Orkney and the Lakes and Dales in the North West of England. I have been cycling touring in Turkey, Sicily, India and most of the Nordic countries. The world is my playground.

Where have I been?

I have travelled the world from camping in the UK, through the Balkans, to the USA, Australia, Japan and through Cambodia. Below are just a few examples:


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Cambodia

A wonderful journey past one of the many floating villages on the Sangkar river leading to the town of Battambang from Siem Reap.

 Read here
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Lakes and Dales

This is the 14th century Castle Bolton in North Yorkshire's impressive Wensleydale Valley, where we stop for a short tea break before heading over Redmire into Swaledale. 


 Read More 

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Yellowstone - Old Faithful hot springs.

 Just a few of the Hot Springs around Old Faithful, which erupts every two hours. An amazing place with 500 geysers and 5000 thermal features in 9,000 sq. km.  


 Read More 

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Honshu - Japan

 Shiroyone Senmaida Rice paddies in the Noto Peninsula in NW Honshu Japan. Tended by locals with hand tools.  An incredible place to tour by bicycle.

 Read more 

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Tasmania - Australia

 The northern coast of Tasmania at Devonport, teeming with birdlife and nearby fairy penguins. Such a lot of unusual wildlife in Tasmania.

 Read more 

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Great Ocean Road - Victoria, Australia

  One of the thirty coastal rock features near Peterborough on the south coast of Victoria. Eroded by years of pounding seas and wind. A coastline with many shipwrecks. 

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Slovenia - Spodnja Sorica

 The village of Spodnja Sorica in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia with the statue of the impressionist painter Ivan Grohar  in the foreground, 30km north west of the capital Ljubljana.


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Oregon - The Sisters

 The exquisite Sisters Mountains in the background covered in a halo of cloud. A small tourist/artist town in Deschutes County below the Cascade Ranges.


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Shetland and Orkney

 

This was a two week holiday taking the overnight ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland where the three largest islands are cycled, visiting several important settlements and observing the varied wildlife. The visit to Orkney again takes in several islands and the important historic settlements which predate the pyramids. A visit to Scapa Flow where the navy have shielded their ships in two world wars and to this day houses carcasses of ships scuttled by the Germans.
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Richard's contact details

r.dudgale45@gmail.com
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