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2020 Women’s Tour Down Under – a ride not to be missed

January 24, 2020 Nicola Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I’m just home from Adelaide after following the 2020 Women’s Tour Down Under (TDU) professional women’s road race, and I’ve pleased to say it just gets better and better. I also attended the 2019 race and I’m happy to report that this year’s was even better. In fact, last year and every other year I’ve attended the Men’s TDU, but this year I went just to watch the women and came home before the men’s race even began. So if you live in Australia or even overseas I encourage you to attend the 2021 Women’s TDU, but if that is

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

Get ready for the Tour Down Under – tips for packing your bike to fly

January 10, 2020 Nicola Bike travel, women in sport

In January, road cyclists all around Australia get ready to travel to Adelaide for the annual Tour Down Under and for many riders that involves packing your bike to fly. If you’re not really confident about packing your own bike then make a quick call to your local bike shop and ask them to assist. They’ll probably charge you a modest fee so check that when you make the call to them, and make sure you allow plenty of time before your trip. If you want to give it a go yourself then keep reading. My partner and I have

You should commit to some 2020 Cycling New Year’s resolutions

January 1, 2020 Nicola Cycle groups, Cycling Club, Cycling Club racing, New Year's resolutions, Women cycling

Happy New Year to all the wonderful female cyclists who read my blog regularly, this post is all about committing to 2020 cycling New Year’s resolutions. New Year’s resolutions are often criticised for being a waste of time because they are hard to achieve, but I’m a keen supporter of goal setting and to me, it’s just an annual way to test your self-discipline. My own 2019 New Year’s resolution was to ride more than 5,000 km in total which I achieved, with a total of 5,481 km, so for 2020, I’m aiming for 6,000 km. Some of you might

What you should eat after a bike ride

December 26, 2019 Nicola Nutrition, Women cycling

This is the third post in the series about riding nutrition and focuses on what you should eat after a bike ride, and follows up on the best pre-ride food for cycling and the best food to eat during a bike ride. Like the previous posts, this one is a contribution from sports dietician Rebecca Hay from The Athlete’s Kitchen. Over to you Rebecca…. How do you recover after a ride? There is a lot of information around how best to recover …but how do you know if it is correct? Despite what you often read carbohydrate should make up the bulk

Women Who Cycle’s 2019 Last minute Christmas gift ideas for female road cyclists

December 19, 2019 Nicola Bike retail, Christmas, Christmas gift, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

I find that men are particularly prone to last-minute Christmas shopping so if you’re still looking, here are my last-minute Christmas gift ideas for female road cyclists. I guarantee she’ll like any of these much better than diamond earrings. I’m actually only joking about that. Buy her the earrings and something from this list. Voucher from her favourite bike shop If you buy her a voucher from her favourite local bike shop she’ll be able to select something she really wants like a new bike (or at least the deposit), new shoes, helmet or this summer’s most fashionable kit. You’ll

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

Women Who Cycle’s 2019 Christmas Gift ideas for female road cyclists

December 5, 2019 Nicola Bike retail, Christmas, Christmas gift, Women cycling, women's bikes

I always have a bit of fun compiling my annual Christmas gift ideas for female road cyclists. Here’s my list for 2019. I’ll also run a last minute Christmas gift idea closer to Christmas for all those peeps who shop at the last minute like my beloved partner. Specialized Tarmac Disc Comp I always include a bike in my Christmas shopping list and this year I’ve chosen the Specialized Tarmac Disc Comp. Last year someone told me that my choice of a $12K bike was ridiculous so I’ve paired it back this year with this $4,500 model. This a really

Anything is possible with the talented Sarah Gigante

November 28, 2019 Nicola Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

It’s always an honour to interview Australia’s best female cyclists and Sarah Gigante is no exception. She upset the field in the National Road Nationals at the beginning of 2019 to take her biggest victory and she’s got a great future head of her, both on and off the bike. Q: You started this year with a fantastic victory at the Road Nationals in your home state of Victoria, was that the highlight of your year? A: Winning the Road Race Nationals in Buninyong in my first year racing against the elite women was definitely the highlight of 2019 for

What is the best pre-ride food for cycling?

November 21, 2019 Nicola Nutrition, training, Women cycling

A few times recently I’ve found myself in a conversation with other riders about what is the best pre-ride food for cycling. For me, I actually don’t eat before a short ride like my regular Wednesday ride of 30 km because it’s not high intensity and I feel like my meal from the night before provides me with enough fuel. On my longer more intense rides usually on the weekend I eat a banana before I ride which gives me enough fuel to get started. But every woman (and man) is different so you need to experiment and decide what