Women's health Archives -

Here are 12 compelling reasons every woman should take up road cycling

May 15, 2020 Nicola Anti-ageing, Brain health, Cycling while pregnant, Heart health, Life purpose, Mental health, Women cycling, Women's health

Following on from my blog post a couple of weeks ago challenging women to take up road cycling, here are my 12 very compelling reasons every woman should take up road cycling. In truth, the posts should have been published the other way around, but better late than never. Here’s the motivation and you’ll have to skip back two weeks to read the practical stuff. Look younger Scientists at Stanford University have found that regular cycling protects your skin against the harmful effects of UV radiation and reduces the signs of ageing. Dermatologist Dr Christopher Rowland Payne explains: “Increased circulation

10 things I hope we will do after COVID-19 leaves us

April 3, 2020 Nicola COVID-19, Women cycling, Women's health

This week I’m deviating a bit from my usual women’s cycling topics and sharing my list of things I hope we will do after COVID-19. Some of it can actually be applied to my favourite topic but sometimes you’ve just gotta write what works for you. Today this is what works for me, so please indulge me. It’s taken me a couple of weeks to ‘process’ what is going on in our world and to find some level of acceptance. One of the things that has really helped me deal with it is seeing the great things that are happening

A budget guide to indoor riding during COVID-19

March 27, 2020 Nicola Indoor trainers, Women cycling, Women's health

Like so many other devoted road cyclists around the world, I’m now focused on indoor riding during COVID-19, so I thought I’d share my tips on how to do this on a budget. Indoor trainers have evolved in the last few years to become very sophisticated with price tags to match, but you don’t have to fork out thousands. My preference is to ride outdoors but right now I’ve decided to stay home as much as possible to protect the community and to do my bit to stop the spread of COVID-19. One major benefit of indoor trainers is time

Don’t stop riding because of COVID-19 – ride your bike

March 19, 2020 Nicola Mental health, Women cycling, Women's health

I’m not here to repeat the advice of our authorities on COVID-19, on what the rules of road cycling should be during this crisis, but I am here to encourage all riders to keep riding their bikes during this time – Don’t stop riding because of COVID-19. We need to keep riding for our mental and physical health. I’d rather tell you how I feel about this situation rather than prescribe the rules. If you want some great advice and commentary I recommend you visit the Bicycling Australia website, and while you’re there, make sure you complete the survey. For

It’s smoking hot in the land of OZ – Here’s your Summer riding tips

January 17, 2020 Nicola Riding in the heat, Women cycling, Women's health

I often write a few Summer riding tips at this time of year because like many female road riders I’m spending a fair bit of time out on my bike. The thing that has been most obvious for many Aussie bike riders in the past few months is not sun exposure, but smoke exposure. After a number of years of drought we’ve experienced a horrible bushfire season so far this summer and it’s blanketed much of the east coast of Australia in smoke. So I thought it was important to address the ‘elephant in the room’ as well as my

What’s the best food to eat during a bike ride?

December 12, 2019 Nicola Nutrition, training, Women cycling, Women's health

A couple of weeks ago I tackled the question – what is the best pre-ride food for cycling and this week I’m focusing on the best food to eat during a bike ride. Like the previous post, this one is a contribution from sports dietician Rebecca Hay from The Athlete’s Kitchen. Over to you Rebecca…. The length and intensity of a ride dictate how much and what you might decide to take with you on a bike ride. There is a lot of information in magazines and the internet about how to meet needs. Many cyclists choose to consume water only

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

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

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