Cycle tours Archives -

Women riding the Tour de France route for equality – a huge feat

August 7, 2019 Nicola Bike travel, Cycle tours, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I’m totally in awe of a group of female cyclists who just finished the most amazing undertaking by riding the Tour de France route a day ahead of the men’s professional race. There were two groups of these amazing women – the Donnons des Elles au Velo (a group of French women who I wrote about last year) who were tackling the route for the fifth time, and a new group call the InternationElles. This InternationElles group of ten women and their French sisters undertook the ride to highlight the lack of equality in men’s and women’s cycling. Riding each

enjoy a cycling adventure in new zealand

February 19, 2019 Nicola Cycle tours, Mountain bike riding, Women cycling

When Rachel from Adventurers Travel Company made contact with me a couple of weeks ago I must admit I thought why would a road cyclist be interested in a cycling adventure in New Zealand, especially a mountain bike adventure. But then I read a bit more and realised that Rachel’s tours are a great adventure for anyone who likes riding. So I asked Rachel to share her very own adventure with us…. Adventurer – A person who seeks or enjoys adventure. How my Biking Adventures started My biking journey started when I moved from Wales to New Zealand to live

Come with me on the Wheel Women Japanese Cycling tour

October 9, 2018 Nicola Bike travel, Blogging, Cycle groups, Cycle tours, Women cycling

I am super excited about heading off next week for the Wheel Women Japanese Cycling tour which will see me riding in southern Japan. Our fabulous tour leader Tina McCarthy describes the tour as a full immersion in another world, with the boundaries of the old and the new criss-crossing at every turn. “From sublime temples to the dazzling orchestra of neon signs in the cities, our Wheel Women Japan Tour takes you on a journey across the sea, over bridges and among friends,” Tina says. Wheel Women’s Tina McCarthy, who has been travelling to Japan since 1986 when her

Been looking for the ideal cycling holiday in the south of France?

October 2, 2018 Nicola Cycle tours, Women cycling

Women’s cycling enthusiast Diane Best contacted me recently to tell me about her cycling tour company DBest Cycling that specialises in a cycling holiday in the south of France. I wondered how a Scottish native ends up running her own cycling tour company in France, especially when she got there via the long way – a stint in the TV industry in New York. So I asked Diane to share her story with us. Q: How did you get into cycling? I had been an avid squash player but about 10 years ago, after a series of injuries, I got

Cycling Mums Australia – encouraging mums to ride their bikes

October 24, 2017 Nicola Cycle groups, Cycle tours, Women cycling

I read an article a couple of weeks ago about a group of women who are mums and have founded a group called Cycling Mums Australia to encourage mums around the country to return to riding. So I looked them up via Facebook and talked via email with one of the group’s founders Natalia de Clercq. Over to Natalia…. Q: Why did you start the group Cycling Mums Australia (CMA)? Well, what happened when I became a mum, my priorities changed, we have so many competing priorities that the bike got pushed down the list, ignored , forgotten about. I

What to pack for a cycling tour in Europe

October 17, 2017 Nicola Bike travel, Blogging, Cycle tours, Women cycling

I’ve always been intrigued about bike touring, and can’t say I have any experience of what to pack for a cycling tour. So when I read a recent post from fellow blogger Laura Rigby on her great blog Follow My Wheel, I asked Laura if I could reproduce it here. Laura and her husband Phil undertook an ambitious four week cycling tour that started in Nice and ended in Milan. They cycled 1,377 kms and climbed 26,900 vertical metres over 21 ride days carrying all of their luggage in panniers on touring bikes. Laura was good enough to share, and explain

Great fun riding around Dubbo Zoo

June 13, 2017 Nicola Cycle tours, Women cycling

My partner and some of my family members are just back from a great long weekend away where we found ourselves riding around Dubbo Zoo. It was a great way to see the zoo because you could ride right up to all the enclosures. But it got me thinking that tourist attractions like the zoo in western NSW is doing a great job of normalising bike riding. This is because most of the people riding bikes around the zoo are not regular riders so it’s promoting riding to them. I expect that some of them return home and start riding

Be inspired to take your bike on holidays

April 18, 2017 Nicola Bike travel, Cycle tours, Women cycling

It’s always great to find a fellow cycling blogger who is as keen about sharing her love of riding with others as me, and in her case she’s focused on how you can take your bike on holidays. Laura Rigby and I connected a few months ago and I was so taken with her blog – Follow My Wheel that I asked her if I could publish one of her posts here. Over to Laura…. Lake Iseo is one of the lesser known lakes in northern Italy. Most crowds flock to Lake Como, Garda & Maggiore which are all

Ten great reasons for women to take up road cycling

July 25, 2016 Nicola Bike skills, Cycle tours, Women cycling

I took up road cycling nearly eight years ago, and it has changed my life in many ways. There’s so many amazing things about riding a road bike and here’s my top ten great reasons for women to take up road cycling. 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 of them have become great friends. Cycling creates a

The amazing life of ultra-endurance cyclist Juliana Buhring

September 8, 2015 Nicola Aggressive birds, Cycle tours, Women cycling

I’m not sure how this amazing story has passed my notice, but I’m glad I’ve finally stumbled upon it. Juliana Buhring is clearly an extraordinary person. Wikipedia describes her as a British-German ultra-endurance cyclist and writer. Having read a little background about her I think she could only be described as an internationalist. I didn’t interview her for this blog post, instead I’ve compiled this from a few articles I found about Juliana from the past few years. It all began in December 2012, when she set the first Guinness World Record as the Fastest Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe by Bike,