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A few tips for women training for a long bike ride

November 14, 2019 Nicola Bike maintenance, Indoor trainers, Long ride training, training, Women cycling

Training for a long bike ride is essential for me because I’m not capable of riding long distances without getting some kilometres in my legs. I’m a huge fan of setting goals and committing to an organised event because it provides me with an incentive to get out of bed early in the morning and get on my bike. By long bike ride, I’m thinking of 100 km or more. Of course, this is all relative so this advice applies to whatever the definition of a long ride is for you. Get some ‘Ks’ in your legs There is no

how to return to riding your road bike after buying an e-bike

November 7, 2019 Nicola Commuting by bike, E-bike, Women cycling, women's bikes

A friend of mine suggested that I write a blog post about how to return to riding your road bike after buying an e-bike. She recently bought herself an e-bike to commute to and from work, and due to a holiday and other life obstacles had a break from riding her road bike. She found it difficult to return to the human-powered riding mainly because of the physical exertion that was required. She actually answered her own question while we were discussing this quandary, but I thought it was worth exploring the topic. For her, the answer was to think

Do you want to improve your road bike descending skills? Your answer should be ‘yes’

October 31, 2019 Nicola Bike skills, Descending, Women cycling

I’m riding in the annual Gong Ride on Sunday so it’s timely for me to brush up on my road bike descending skills because there’s a couple of big descents in the ride. When I first started riding a road bike, 11 years ago, I thought you just jumped on and away you went, but it didn’t take me long to realise that there were more skills involved than I had first thought, and for me one of the hardest to master has been to descend safely on a road bike. Here are a few tips to hone your own

Cycling does get easier. Greg Lemond was wrong

October 24, 2019 Nicola Bike skills, Heart health, Women cycling, Women's health

US cyclist Greg LeMond famously said, “It never gets easier; you just go faster” but I’d like to challenge that assertion, because in my opinion, over a number of years cycling does get easier. I used to think that this was a phenomenon called muscle memory but I’ve been doing a little research which suggests there’s more to it than just muscle memory. I recall when I was about two years into road cycling an older gentleman on a club ride said to me that he thought it took three years of riding to really get comfortable and confident on

Calling all Female road bike riders – you should try clip-in shoes for road bikes

October 17, 2019 Nicola Clip-in shoes, Pedal stroke, Women cycling

I’ve recently joined a couple of social media groups for female road cyclists and the issue of wearing clip-in shoes for road bikes seems to be a recurring thing. While it’s obviously an issue for both men and women, from my experience female riders often get a little nervous about the idea. They fear falling off and injuring themselves, or worse still embarrassing themselves. I’m really lucky that my partner coerced me into riding my road bike with clip-ins from day one and I never looked back. So to make it a bit easier here’s some background information about clip-in

HOw you stay upright on a bicycle

October 12, 2019 Nicola Bike skills, Magic, Women cycling

I confess that I don’t have much of a ‘science brain’ so the wonderful world of physics has never been a strong point of mine but given my passion for cycling, I’ve always been a bit curious about how you stay upright on a bicycle. In the past I’ve often explained to riders who are nervous about going around corners faster they feel is possible is that there are centrifugal forces that will stop you from toppling over. In doing a little research this is certainly one of the factors but there is actually quite a bit more to it.

Do you worry about not keeping up? You may be suffering from FONKU

October 3, 2019 Nicola Magic, Mental health, Mindfulness, Women cycling, Women's health

I have to admit that I’m not a great fan of silly acronyms but I was rather proud of myself when I came up with FONKU – Fear Of Not Keeping Up. For me, it really sums up my own fears and lack of self-confidence and from talking to other female road cyclists it really is an issue. When I first wrote about this in February 2018 I got some great comments from other riders like “Great acronym – I knew straight away what you were talking about! I think another “fear of” that stops me riding with bunches at

Commonly asked question – What is the best women’s bike saddle?

September 26, 2019 Nicola Bike fitting, Bike retail, Bike saddle, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes, Women's health

In my role as a female cycling advocate I’m often asked – What is the best women’s bike saddle? And unsurprisingly, there isn’t one answer. It depends on what sort of riding you do, on your own shape and size but thankfully help is at hand with a number of brands who’ve done plenty of product research and development in this crucial area. The saddle (or seat) is the key contact area of your bike. It takes most of your weight often for many hours and therefore it is crucially important to have a comfortable seat. If you buy a women’s

Bravo to the NSW Office of Sport for Her Sport Her Way

September 20, 2019 Nicola Women cycling, women in sport

Earlier this year I attended a Sports forum hosted by Sports NSW and the presentation that really stood out for me was about a NSW Government program called Her Sport Her Way. Like many people who have worked in private enterprise for most of their working life, I’m a bit cynical about government programs but what really stood out for me was the enthusiasm that Kerry Turner from the NSW Office of Sport showed for the subject. Since that initial presentation, I’ve been lucky enough to meet with Kerry to hear more about the Her Sport Her Way program and

Today is the day when you need to ask someone – R U OK?

September 12, 2019 Nicola Mental health, Women cycling

Today is R U OK? Day which is a fantastic initiative to encourage us to pause for a moment and ask the people around us – R U OK? You might ask what this topic has to do with cycling. I believe that mental health and cycling are closely linked because the magic bicycle can play a big role in the treatment of mental illness. But this topic is also really personal and close for me. A little over a year ago my friend Tom Lutton took his own life after struggling with depression for many years. Until he died