Category: Cycle racing

female pro cyclist

Female pro cyclist Kimberley Wells focused on a huge year in 2016

Bike skills, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

One of the many topics I love to cover in my posts is the world of the female pro cyclist. They receive so little coverage compared to their male counterparts that I feel it’s part of my responsibility to help. Plus I really love to interact with them. I first spoke to Kimberley Wells three years ago so thought it was about time we caught up with her. Kimberley and I exchanged a few emails for this interview…..   Q: What are you up to Kimberley? A: Racing up in Belgium at the moment. Ran 7th in the Dwars Door

Read more

A catch up with women’s hour record holder Bridie O’Donnell

Commuting by bike, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Track cycling, women specific bike

When I started this blog four and a half years ago my very first pro cyclist interview was with Australian Bridie O’Donnell. Bridie’s recently hit the headlines by breaking the hour record on the track in Adelaide so I thought it was timely to catch up with her.   Q: Firstly, huge congratulations on breaking the hour record on the track recently. Was it the hardest physical challenge you’ve ever taken on?  A: Thank you very much! The physical challenge of the Hour itself was not the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but the 6 months preparing for it was.

Read more

Upcoming 2016 events for female cyclists in NSW

Cycle racing, Cycling Club, Cycling Club racing, Women cycling

I’m a member of Cycling NSW’s Women’s Commission which I joined earlier this year. By way of background, the Women’s Commission (like a committee) works “across the sport of cycling in NSW to ensure the development of policies and initiatives which promote participation amongst women and girls of all ages into the sport and recreation of cycling”. I must admit that I wasn’t sure if volunteering for this role would be a complete waste of time and we’d just sit around ‘shooting the breeze’, but I’m pleased to report that the focus is on action and getting events happening. Here’s

Read more

Exciting women’s pro road racing cycling calendar for 2016

Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I know I said last year was going to be an awesome year for professional women’s road cycling and 2016 is shaping up to be even better. Here’s a few races that you should definitely follow this year. Unfortunately we won’t see too many of them on TV in Australia but you can keep up with them, and other races via social media and various internet sites. Cycling Tips Ella has great coverage of women’s racing as well as Prowomenscycling.com. 6 May to 8 May – Tour of Chongming Island, China This event is the first multi-day event of the

Read more

Should I buy a road bike with disc brakes yet?

Bike retail, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

I’ve recently bought myself a new road bike with disc brakes. It won’t be replacing my beloved carbon road bikes (yes I have two of them) which have caliper brakes but it will suit another purpose – commuting to work, short trips here and there, and maybe even some off-road riding. I chose to buy the Specialized Diverge because it has the ‘go anywhere’ capability and while I’ve only ridden it once I’m already in love. The hydraulic disc brakes are probably the biggest difference this bike has with my others so I thought it was worth a blog post

Read more

Strongher – a movement to inspire more women to ride

Cycle groups, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I was really interested to read over the weekend about a new women’s international cycling initiative called Strongher. I must admit that when I first saw the name I thought it was some sort of weird European spelling for the word ‘Stronger’, but on my second attempt I realised it was the combination of ‘Strong’ and ‘Her’ which is quite clever. The founders of the movement, aiming to “give women a stage to show themselves”, are a large bunch of female professional cyclists. It was launched in London over the weekend by professional cyclists Marianne Vos, Hannah Barnes, Lauren Kitchen,

Read more

Should I buy a flat bar road bike or road bike?

Bike retail, Commuting by bike, Cycle groups, Cycle racing, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

As regular readers of this blog probably know I work in a bike shop and one of the most regular questions I’m asked by both men and women is: Should I buy a flat bar road bike and a drop bar road bike. So I thought it would be useful to talk about the pros and cons of both types of road bike. Firstly I have to confess that I ride a drop bar road bike and love it, so I won’t be changing to a flat bar any time soon, but I can see some merit in them, and

Read more

Top tips for following the Tour de France

Cycle racing, Cycle tours, Professional cycling

My partner and I have just finished our third trip to the Tour de France so I thought I would share a few tips for following the mighty race. I know it’s not strictly a women’s cycling topic but I know many female (and male) cyclists who would like to undertake a similar trip. Choose your transport wisely Lots of people follow the Tour in campervans but it can also be tackled by car and either camping of staying in hotels. We hired a campervan so I can’t really tell you about the other options and in my opinion a

Read more

Bravo to La Course by Le Tour de France

Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

A lot of others wrote about La Course by Le Tour de France before the race took place on Sunday. Many wrote about its significance for women’s cycling and I definitely agree with them. I had the pleasure of watching La Course on French TV in the middle of a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon in a bar appropriately named Cafe de Paris in the French Alps. I was keen to watch it to see the women’s pro peloton race in front of such a huge audience but also for the pure enjoyment of seeing them race. Unfortunately for the

Read more

Will cycling make my thighs bigger?

Cycle racing, Nutrition, Professional cycling, Track cycling, Women cycling

I’ve had a few women comment about their fear that cycling could make their thighs bigger so I thought I’d do a bit of research and clear this one up. In short, cycling will not make your thighs larger. In fact in my own case I’ve slimmed down in my thigh and bottom area since I took up cycling, even though I actually weigh more than I previously did. Here’s a few reasons why your legs are not going to expand: Muscle is leaner than fat Muscle weighs a lot more than fat. Cycling will change the shape of your

Read more