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Budget guide to indoor trainer setup – you don’t have to spend thousands

July 18, 2019 Nicola Bike retail, Indoor trainers, Interval training, Women cycling

Indoor trainers have evolved in the last few years to become very sophisticated with price tags to match, but you don’t have to fork out thousands, so here’s my budget guide to indoor trainer setup. My preference is to ride outdoors and I’m lucky enough to live in a temperate climate where this is quite feasible, but it’s good to have a back-up to keep you bike fit. One major benefit of indoor trainers is time efficiency – one hour spent on a trainer is the equivalent of two hours on the road because there’s no coasting so you’re constantly

Pay IT Forward and Cycling are a perfect match

July 11, 2019 Nicola Blogging, Life purpose, Women cycling

The wonderful concept of ‘paying it forward’ has got me thinking about how Pay It Forward and cycling go nicely together. The idea of paying it forward is a concept that’s been around forever but was popularised by the movie Pay It Forward, which had a lasting impact on me. In the movie and the book on which it is based, the idea is described as an obligation to do three good deeds for others in response to a good deed that one receives. The good deeds should accomplish things that the other person can’t accomplish on their own. The

Join me at the Women In Sport Summit 2019 in Melbourne in august

July 4, 2019 Nicola International Women's Day, women in sport

This week I’m going to deviate a little from my usual single-mindedness on women’s road cycling and broaden my focus to women in sport. I must admit that I’ve never been a huge sports fan because it was always about men, but my love for women’s cycling has brought a newfound appreciation of women’s sport and I’m loving all the wonderful things currently happening in the sporting sphere in Australia. My focus is also on women’s sport in general because I’m attending the Women in Sport Summit 2019 in Melbourne next month. Three sports that I think are doing an

I’m very disappointed with ASO’s La Course by Le Tour De France

June 27, 2019 Nicola Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I’m very disappointed with the Tour de France organisers ASO for their lacklustre efforts with the women’s race La Course by Le Tour de France. The race was established five years ago by ASO and was applauded by the women’s pro peloton and cycling fans as a great step forward for women’s cycling, but in those five years, they seem to have been going backwards with the race. I emphasise that I write this post as a cycling fan rather than an expert on women’s pro cycling, but I’m assuming that the female pro riders as equally disappointed. And while

Should you ride your bike when you’re sick?

June 19, 2019 Nicola Illness, Women cycling, Women's health

This is a question that I’ve often pondered over the decade I’ve been riding a road bike – should you ride your bike when you’re sick? I think I’m fairly good at listening to my body and usually rest when I’m sick which includes abstaining from bike riding, but I’ve always wondered. Fortunately, thanks to my regular exercise (and a bit of luck and hand-washing) I can’t even recall the last time I was sick enough to refrain from riding. I read a great article published by the ABC a couple of weeks ago which helped satisfy my curiosity on

Every woman’s guide to perfecting an uphill start on a road bike

June 13, 2019 Nicola Bike skills, Women cycling

One of the skills I’ve never fully mastered is the uphill start on a road bike. I get it right some of the time, but I find when I have other riders who aren’t so skilful around me, I tend to stuff it up. I was on an organised ride on the weekend and we had to stop a couple of times at traffic lights on an uphill slope. This meant that when the light went green we all had to start riding on an incline and most people in the group handled it poorly, including me. So here’s a

Here’s 12 reasons why you should take up road cycling

June 6, 2019 Nicola Brain health, Mental health, Women cycling, Women's health

I’m sure I could come up with a dozen more, but here’s my top 12 reasons why you should take up road cycling. I honestly believe that every woman could benefit from riding a bike, whether it be road, trail, transport, commuting or any other reason. You really have no excuse….. Fitness If you do enough kilometres (or miles) on your bike, no matter how fast or slow, you will improve your fitness. As a result of cycling I’m the fittest I’ve ever been in my life. Friendship I have met literally hundreds of great people through cycling and many

How to Dress for road cycling in cold weather

May 30, 2019 Nicola Bike retail, Lycra cycle clothing, Women cycling

In my home town of Sydney, the weather has turned from an ‘Indian Summer’ straight to winter in a the last few days, so I thought I’d share my tips on how to dress for road cycling in cold weather. In short it’s all about the layers. I’m lucky enough to live in the lovely city of Sydney, where our weather is fairly temperate all year round, but it does get a little cold in the middle of winter. That means I’m a big fan of layers for colder temperatures, and I vary my layers depending on just how cold

cycling advocacy is the job of all cyclists

May 23, 2019 Nicola Cycling advocacy, Women cycling

I’ve always thought of cycling advocacy as the job of people employed by advocacy groups and those keen riders who constantly push for new riding infrastructure and road safety. But in recent times it occurred to me that bicycle advocacy is actually the role that all riders play, just by being riders. What I mean, is that it’s every rider’s responsibility to improve road safety and push for improved infrastructure. My role in advocacy is to write blog posts like this and my past posts to help educate drivers. But we can all do our bit just by being out

Doctors should be prescribing cycling for mental wellbeing

May 16, 2019 Nicola Brain health, Mental health, Women cycling, Women's health

One of the many reasons I ride a bike is for my mind health because cycling for mental wellbeing is so great. So why don’t more doctors send their patients away with a bike hire voucher instead of a prescription? That’s exactly what’s happening in Wales right now. The pilot program, the first such initiative in Britain, according to the health board that is leading it, reflects an effort by medical professionals around the world to give patients alternatives to drugs, in order to avoid side effects and improve cost efficiency. Patients at two medical centres in Cardiff are offered