Nicola, Author at

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

Magpies swooping cyclists – do they deserve to be shot?

September 6, 2019 Nicola Aggressive birds, Bicycle helmet, Cycle groups, Women cycling

This week in my home town of Sydney, there was much talk about magpies swooping cyclists and a Sydney municipal council ‘removing’ a magpie that has been attacking cyclists for a number of years. Apparently, there’s been some 40 complaints after three years of attacks so the bird was shot. A friend of mine who writes a cycling blog called Carbon Addiction did an interesting poll on Facebook asking if his followers thought if the hapless bird deserved a bullet and the respondents were close to a 50/50 split. I’m not here to debate whether this ‘removal’ should have occurred

Women: Do you need some help to get started in road cycling?

August 29, 2019 Nicola Bicycle helmet, Bike retail, Cycle groups, Cycling Club, Lycra cycle clothing, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

When you’re considering taking a new hobby it can often be a bit daunting but it is really easy to get started in road cycling for both women and men. Obviously, the most important thing to get into road cycling is a bike, but there are also a few other items that will enhance the experience for any budding roadie. A road bike You can spend anywhere from about $800 to $20,000 on a road bike, even cheaper if you opt for a second hand or low-quality one. However, like all manufactured items in our modern world, you do tend

An interview with tracey Gaudry – UCI Women’s Commission President

August 23, 2019 Nicola Cycle racing, Olympic Games, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I was lucky to have a face-to-face interview with Tracey Gaudry who is the UCI Women’s Commission President, as well as the President of the Oceania Cycling Confederation, a member of the UCI Management Committee. And that’s just her volunteer role, she’s also the CEO of Respect Victoria, a new Victorian Government initiative to combat family violence. So I was grateful to sit down for a chat in between meetings. Her achievements in the sport of cycling speak for themselves as a competitor and now an administrator. She’s also a mother of three and typifies that adage that if you want

If you can see it, you can be it, and other great lessons from the Women’s Sport Summit

August 16, 2019 Nicola women in sport, Women's health

I was lucky enough to attend a Women’s Sport Summit last week, hearing a whole host of great speakers and meeting lots of people who work in women’s sport. The Summit covered so many sports and so many interesting issues but rather than try and outline the whole event I’ve picked up a few themes that really resonated with me as a keen supporter of women’s sport and physical activity. The focus of the Women in Sport Summit 2019 run very professionally by Konnect Learning was obviously on sport rather than physical activity per se, but there were still plenty