- Page 2 of 48 - Women Who Cycle - A blog and resource for women who love cycling

Tips for new female road cyclists – take my challenge and give it a go

May 1, 2020 Nicola Bicycle helmet, Bike fitting, Bike retail, Clip-in shoes, COVID-19, Cycling Club, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

One of the upsides of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increase in the number of people – women, men, and children taking up or returning to cycling but many need a bit of advice so here are my tips for new female road cyclists. If you’re a woman and you’ve been enjoying riding your kids or partner during this pandemic then I guarantee that you’ll like it even better if you ditch the kids and partner, take up road cycling and find some female (or male) companions. Many of my road riding pals are actually men but they have

Are you riding with kids during COVID-19? Read these tips……

April 23, 2020 Nicola Bike retail, Bike skills, Children riding, COVID-19, riding with kids

One upside of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increasing numbers of cyclists, and one thing I’ve noticed particularly is the swelling numbers of families riding together and riding with kids. I must admit that while I’ve loved seeing so many people out riding, I’ve had to start avoiding some of the more popular bike paths in my area because they are downright scary. Children and other inexperienced riders are a hazard to others so I thought it would be helpful to share a few tips on riding with kids. There are several stages for kids to ride bikes. The

Time to practice climbing – here’s WWC’s tips for hill climbing

April 16, 2020 Nicola Bike skills, Hill climbing, training, Women cycling

If like me, you’re still able to enjoy solo road riding during the COVID-19 pandemic it’s a perfect time to hone your skills so let’s start with tips for hill climbing. When I started riding a road bike, I had no idea there was a right way and a wrong way of climbing hills. I just rode up them and put up with the pain in my legs and lungs. In some cases, I even avoided the steeper ones by riding a different route. Over the years I’ve learned about the physical side of hill climbing but only recently have

Pay it forward and cycling during COVID-19

April 9, 2020 Nicola Bike retail, COVID-19, Indoor trainers, pay it forward, Women cycling, women's bikes

I first wrote about the wonderful concept of ‘paying it forward’ last year when I thought about how pay it forward and cycling go nicely together. The idea of paying it forward is a concept that’s been around forever but was popularised by the movie Pay It Forward, which had a lasting impact on me. In the movie and the book on which it is based, the idea is described as an obligation to do three good deeds for others in response to a good deed that one receives. The good deeds should accomplish things that the other person can’t accomplish

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 fascinating to see how bicycles are used all over the world to change lives

March 13, 2020 Nicola Bicycle charity, Women cycling

As an obsessed cyclist, one of the things I love to do when I’m on holidays is to observe how bicycles are used all over the world, so when I visited Rwanda in Africa a few years ago I was intrigued to see how the local people used bikes mainly to carry cargo. It, of course, made me think back to a blog post I wrote about the great work of World Bicycle Relief (WBR) which is an amazing charity providing rugged bicycles to people in developing nations. For people like me, a bicycle is for recreation, for exercise and

I’d like to share an inspiring women’s cycling story

March 5, 2020 Nicola Cycle tours, Life purpose, Women cycling

I’m a member of a number of social media women’s cycling groups and I really love regularly reading inspiring women’s cycling stories like the one I read last week. After reading this post from Kerrie I contacted her and said I’d like to write a longer post about her story. Here’s her social post……. This is encouragement for anyone who thinks they are too old, too unfit, too fat…In 2013 I was a sad and lonely woman and at 54 had NEVER ridden a bike, my mate Gail 😘 kept nagging me to come riding, eventually I gave in and it changed my

How to deal with anxiety caused by a cycling accident

February 27, 2020 Nicola Cycling accident, Women cycling

A recent close call with a car driver has made me reflect on how to cope with anxiety caused by a cycling accident. A couple of weeks ago I was riding home and had a very close call with a driver in the roundabout just near my home. Thankfully I was completely unharmed but very shaken. In fact, I couldn’t stop shaking and that’s because three years earlier I was actually hit by a car under very similar circumstances and the anxiety I felt came rushing back. And since that occurrence, I’ve been feeling a low level of anxiety every