Cycling Australia – covering all levels of cycling

  By Nicola | May 15, 2012 - 7:40 pm | Cycle groups, Cycling Club, Women cycling 1 Comment

I don’t know about you but I’ve always thought of Cycling Australia as being in existence to support elite level cyclists. So it was a pleasant surprise to meet two great women who work there, and to hear about the plans to provide a greater reach.

Emma Rickards is the National Coaching & Development Coordinator and Alexandra Bright, the National Participation Coordinator.

I spent an hour and a half with them yesterday to hear about a fundamental change happening not only in their organisation but in others as well.

Alex explained to me that Cycling Australia has adopted the slogan “We are cycling start to finish” which means that as an organisation they are looking at all disciplines – road, track, MTB and BMX and at all levels of cycling. It’s simply about getting more Australians to ride bikes whether it be commuting, leisure, touring, exercising, racing or just ducking down to the shops.

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NSW Criterium racing for women cyclists

  By Nicola | May 7, 2012 - 3:12 pm | Cycle racing, Cycling Club, Cycling Club racing, Women cycling 3 Comments

Women's racing at SUVelo. Photo courtesy of sweatandgears.com

It’s great to see the state of NSW getting behind women’s only grades at club level crit racing. For those who don’t already know a criterium, or crit, is a bike race held on a short course often held on closed streets. The course is short, usually less than 5 km, and is a closed circuit, where riders complete multiple laps. Riders typically race for a given length of time, then complete a specified number of laps.

Last week I had a chat with Donna Meehan of Domestique who is the driving force behind the initiative. Donna is working with Cycling NSW and three Sydney clubs – Sydney Uni Velo (SUVelo), Lidcombe Auburn Cycle Club (LACC) and Southern Cross Cycle Club (SXCC).

It all stems from a survey conducted earlier this year by Cycling NSW to gauge the level of interest in women’s only grades in races. There were a number of options proposed and the most popular was a monthly weekend race in the Sydney area with A and B grades.

That’s exactly what they’ve delivered with this program listed below.

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Two helpful books for female cyclists

  By Nicola | May 1, 2012 - 1:25 pm | Cycle groups, Cycle racing, Cycling journalism, training, Women cycling 1 Comment

Living in the ‘information age’ means we have access to a vast amount of information on so many topics. If we want to know anything about any subject we all head straight for Google and usually find out the answer within seconds. However, there’s nothing like a book to really properly explore a topic and I’ve found two great books about women’s cycling that you might find useful.

The first one I actually read in Kindle format on my newly acquired Ipad in January this year but the second one is a fully fledged printed book that I picked up on sale at my local bike shop.

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How do I get my wife/partner to ride with me?

  By Nicola | April 23, 2012 - 7:36 pm | Cycling Club, Lycra cycle clothing, Women cycling, women's bikes 1 Comment
Me on my first Gong ride in 2008. I was really nervous but really loved it.

I’ve been asked this question by quite a few of the men who I ride with. They, like me, love cycling so much that they want to share its many benefits with those closest to them. So here’s a few tips that might help. Please excuse the stereotyping and generalising.

Be patient and understanding

Women generally approach activities like cycling differently than men. It starts early in life and patterns are set. If you cast your mind back to your childhood you’ll recall that if you were a boy and rode a bike then you probably did some daredevil stuff like riding off jumps or at the least rode around for hours on end with your mates. Girls on the other hand tend to amble along, not ride as far, generally don’t take risks and stop for a chat. Sound familiar?

So when adult women start riding a bike again they generally don’t have too many fundamental bike skills other than being able to balance. That was certainly the case with me. As I said, I’m making some generalisations here.

So if you’re a man trying to encourage your female partner to ride a bike then you need to be patient and understand that she’s probably not very confident or even competent on the bike. Don’t expect her to want to jump on a road bike, and hit the closest road for a 50 km sprint around the neighbourhood. Let her dictate the pace at which she progresses. For example, if she’s not keen on clip-in shoes to begin with then encourage her, but don’t push her into it. Perhaps it’s better to start with flat pedals and running shoes and progress to clip-ins. But keep that pedal spanner on hand if she changes her mind though.

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Dressing for cool weather for women cyclists

  By Nicola | April 17, 2012 - 1:17 pm | Lycra cycle clothing, Women cycling 3 Comments

Stylish winter cycle clothing from Rapha

I’m very lucky that I live in a place with a temperate climate which affords me warm summers and cool (not really cold) winters. In researching for this blog post I read about dressing for sub-zero temperatures which thankfully I’ve never experienced on my bike so I won’t be covering that here.

I thought it would be useful to share with you how I cope with my cool winters and the autumn and spring temperatures in between.

Firstly, it’s important to still look good and colour coordinated. Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you need to lose all sense of style.

The secret rests with layers. Things you can take off and store in your pockets if you get too hot. The easiest way to test if you’ve got too much on, is if you’re already warm before you start your ride, you’ll be hot within a short period of time. You should be cool rather than cold before you start so you’ll be just right when you’re in the middle of your ride. Also, don’t forget to factor in the outdoor café at the end of the ride.

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Bike commuting tips for women

  By Nicola | April 10, 2012 - 7:25 pm | Lycra cycle clothing, Women cycling, women's bikes 1 Comment
Former Premier of NSW Kristina Keneally regularly commuted on her bike

Now I have to confess up front that I don’t commute to work so I’m not an expert on the subject but I know many other cyclists, both men and women who do and I thought it would be valuable to put a few tips together.

However I do think that commuting to work by bike is an option that many women should consider. Women tend to approach cycling differently to men (please excuse the stereotyping) and that includes bike commuting. A lot of men treat commuting like a race and constantly attempt to outdo their previous times and those of other riders. On the other hand women tend to treat it more like a practical way to get to work and are more focused on safety than speed. So naturally women have a few ‘special’ requirements.

To me it’s all in the planning. Here’s a few tips I’ve compiled to get you started.

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Our Victorian-era sisters suffered for their love of cycling

  By Nicola | April 2, 2012 - 6:48 pm | Lycra cycle clothing, Women cycling 2 Comments
Women’s cycling wear was a little restrictive in days past

A little known fact about me is that I have three university degrees (and am currently undertaking my fourth). One of them is a MA in history which I completed many years ago at Sydney Uni just for fun. History, and in particular social history has always fascinated me. I came across a wonderful description of women who took up cycling in the Victorian era and the challenges that their attire brought.

“What shall we wear?” is a query rising from every channel of woman’s life: for upon each occasion we must be suitably clad to enjoy its peculiar benefits. This is especially noticeable for such exercise as bicycling, for, in this case, it is not only a matter of appearing well, but the health, the comfort and safety demand a carefully selected costume and equipment. From The Ladies Standard Magazine, April 1894

Also from the same magazine came a letter from a reader that described in detail the problems women faced when riding a bicycle in restrictive clothing. If I was compelled to go back to wearing a skirt on my wheel, I would give up cycling…. I shall never forget what I suffered with my arm, all the fault of my skirt. Some friends and I were riding one day last summer against a very heavy wind, when it caught my skirt and wound it around my pedal, throwing me. The rapid gait I was going caused the force of the fall to break my arm. It laid me up six weeks; then it was I decided to wear almost any other costume, but never a skirt, and declared if ever I recovered the use of my arm, I should wear bloomers; and truly glad I am that I did so decide, for never in the years of my experience as a bicycle rider have I derived such pleasure from cycling. I climb hills impossible before. It has increased my speed just double. I fear nothing from teams or roads, for if I slip I light on my feet. With my bloomers and heavy undergarments, leggins to my knees, a corset waist, and in cool weather a double-breasted box coat, which amply protects me from chilling, I enjoy my riding.

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Cornering tips for road bike riders (especially women)

  By Nicola | March 26, 2012 - 2:10 pm | Cycle racing, Cycling Club racing, Professional cycling, training, Women cycling 1 Comment
Greenedge-AIS rider Judith Arndt showing us how it’s done in the Women’s Cup in SA in January

It’s been a while since I’ve written an article about tips and while I’m certainly not an expert in riding skills I’ve learnt a lot in the past three and a half years that I feel I’m qualified to share.

My own first lessons on fundamentals like cornering came from my very patient partner Phillip. This was followed by lots of tips from more experienced riders on the LACC bunch rides around Sydney Olympic Park. Some of them were a little patronising but most were very welcome.

I also learnt a lot when I attended a bike skills workshop last year and have tried to put the skills I learned into practice. That said, I’m still not great at cornering. I brake more than I should and go slower than I potentially could because I’m scared of crashing.

Women are generally more cautious than men when it comes to anything that involves physical activity and we need lots of a encouragement before we become proficient at something.

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SKCC women – poster girls for women’s participation in club cycling

  By Nicola | March 20, 2012 - 1:03 pm | Cycle racing, Cycling Club, Cycling Club racing, training, Women cycling 6 Comments

Since I started writing this blog last year I’ve had no less than four women that I’ve interviewed or spoken with who have mentioned St Kilda Cycling Club (SKCC) as the club to join in Melbourne if you’re a women. So I thought I should find out a little more for myself by speaking to one of the key people behind SKCC women’s program, Gaelene Snelling.

When I spoke to Gaelene a couple of weeks ago she proudly reported that of the current 600 SKCC members, 165 of these are women who are signed up on a mixture of racing and recreational licences. That’s an impressive 27.5 per cent of the total membership which I’m sure is a great deal more than most cycling clubs in Australia.

So I asked Gaelene what her club’s secret was, and it was no surprise that she said there wasn’t really a secret. She, along with many others has worked hard to encourage women to join the club by building activities gradually.

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Cycling is the new golf in more ways than one

  By Nicola | March 13, 2012 - 3:31 pm | Cycle groups, Women cycling Comments Off

The ACE website holding page

You’ve probably heard this catchcry before – Cycling is the new golf. Previously I’d thought of it in terms of middle-aged men who previously played golf every Sunday morning hanging up their clubs and taking up Sunday morning group rides. One of the big advantages of this is that cycling is generally less time consuming than golf so the husband/father can spend more time with their family.

A couple of weeks go I met a guy who’s taken this concept one step further and added a business dimension. He believes cycling is the new golf because the group he’s founded – Australian Cycling Executives or ACE has assembled an enviable group of business executives who’d rather do their business networking while riding their bikes than dragging a bag of clubs around 18 holes.

His name is Ryan O’Neill and he’s a former professional sportsman who like so many of us has caught the cycling bug and has also found a way to make it into a business venture.

But like all the topics I write about on this blog I always search for the female angle and that appeared in the form of three female business executives who have joined Ryan’s list of 500 senior executives. They are a very small minority which is something Ryan would like to see change. He’s genuinely keen to ensure it isn’t a boys club.

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