Bike skills Archives - Page 3 of 6 -

Every woman’s guide to riding with clip-in pedals

March 8, 2016 Nicola Bike retail, Bike skills, Indoor trainers, training, Women cycling

I work in a bike shop and I often get asked about clip-in pedals from both men and women. But it seems that the women are a little more nervous about the idea. They fear falling off and injurying 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 pedals and the different types and some tips to get started. I’ll focus mainly on road pedals and cleats

US woman striving to be the world’s fastest female on a bicycle

March 1, 2016 Nicola Bike skills, Women cycling

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a woman from the US who is attempting to break a land speed record later this year. The story had me really intrigued so I read more and here’s some Q&A which I found on her website – Project Speed. In September 2016, Denise Mueller will be the first woman in cycling history to attempt a paced bicycle land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. What is the appeal of the Land Speed Record? It is uncharted territory. Something no woman has done before, yet men have been setting

Tips for women preparing for a 100 km plus ride

November 25, 2015 Nicola Bike fitting, Bike maintenance, Bike retail, Bike skills, training, Women cycling

I’ve signed up to do the Cadel Evan’s ride in late January next year, a mere eight or so weeks away so I really need to start focusing on my training. I’ve done a few long rides in the past including the JDRF Barossa ride which is 160 km, and Melbourne’s Around the Bay which is 210 km, so I know I can ride the 111 km I’ll be required to complete. But I know I’ll enjoy the ride a lot more if I undertake sufficient training. I also know that after the Cadel ride I’ve also got a few

Great events happening for female road cyclists

November 10, 2015 Nicola Bike skills, Cycle groups, training, Women cycling

Last year Cycling Australia undertook some research where they spoke to about 2,500 female cyclists who were either members of Cycling Australia, and therefore a cycling club, or keen leisure road cyclists. In this research the women who responded identified the majority of their riding is completed alone, but there was a clear desire for riding with other women of similar ability levels. I remember reading that at the time and feeling a little sad, and hoping that the sort of activities I get involved in like the Cycling NSW Women’s Commission will help over time. I’m really pleased to

Every woman’s guide to descending on a road bike

October 20, 2015 Nicola Bike skills, training, Women cycling

I’m a huge fan of continuous improvement and lifelong learning and these principles apply to developing bike skills for both women and men. One skill which many female cyclists struggle with is descending. I think it’s because we are fairly risk averse and when we feel like our bikes are going too fast the temptation is to grab the brakes. I know I’ve still got a long way to go with my own descending skills so I’ve done a bit of research and borrowed from experts to bring these descending tips together. Familiarise To start, familiarise yourself with the condition

Every woman’s guide to bunch riding

May 19, 2015 Nicola Bike skills, Cycle groups, Cycling Club, training, Women cycling

Earlier this year my cycling club LACC started a women’s only bunch ride which I was asked to lead. It started out as part of a pilot program for women’s bunch rides under the auspices of Cycling NSW, and when the pilot program concluded at the end of March, the regular participants voted to keep going with the weekly ride. I was very happy to continue with it and get real buzz out of encouraging other women to learn more about road cycling and riding in a group. It’s a straightforward ride, just four short laps around Sydney Olympic Park,

She Rides programs inspiring the joys of cycling for women

May 12, 2015 Nicola Bike skills, Mountain bike riding, Women cycling

I really enjoy writing about the awesome professional female cyclists on a regular basis, but I equally like to focus on the other end of the spectrum. So this week I’d like to give some kudos to Cycling Australia’s She Rides program. She Rides is a grassroots program aimed at female cyclists who are new to cycling. It could be that they are returning to riding a bike after many years, or in some cases they’ve previously missed out altogether. I don’t know if I would have had the confidence to try road biking six years ago if I hadn’t

Kaarle McCulloch has her sights set firmly on Rio 2016

March 31, 2015 Nicola Bike skills, Olympic Games, Professional cycling, Track cycling, Women cycling

I caught up with track cyclist Kaarle McCulloch last week to hear about her challenging last few years and her future plans to be in the team for the Rio Olympic Games next year.Like many female cyclists Kaarle didn’t take up cycling until fairly late in her sporting life. Up until the age of 15 she was firmly focused on running but realised that she was pretty good, but not quite good enough to go the Olympics, a dream she had harboured since she was 12 years old. She had no interest in cycling but was persuaded by her step

A woman’s guide to improving road bike skills

March 24, 2015 Nicola Bike skills, Cycle groups, Cycle racing, Cycling Club, Cycling Club racing, training, Women cycling

If you take up riding in your 30s or 40s as many of us do, one area you need to focus on if you want to advance, is to learn some bike skills. As children most of us rode a bike, but the majority of us were not formally taught, so we didn’t have the chance to learn any bike skills and this particularly applies to women. In my experience in meeting many female cyclists, women tend to approach cycling quite differently to men. Although many of us rode bikes as kids we usually did a few laps around the

Four Aussie women to tackle the 3,000 mile Race Across America

March 17, 2015 Nicola Bike skills, charity bike ride, Cycle racing, training, Women cycling

If you think the Gong Ride or Around the Bay is a serious challenge, then think again. A few weeks ago I was contacted by a team of women who are training for a huge race/relay called Race Across America that takes place each year in June. Last year I wrote about two American women tackling it and this time it’s a team of four Australian women calling themselves the Veloroos – Natasha Horne, Sarah Matthews, Julie-Anne Hazlett and Nicole Stanners. Race Across America known as RAAM is a race but instead of being in stages it is one continual