Velosure has just announced a new Travel and Gran Fondo Insurance product in conjunction with Cycling Australia. What’s good about this insurance is that you can add cover for events like Etape du Tour, La Marmotte and other sportives. Note: whilst in this article I’ll mostly talk about insurance for Aussies, the basic tenets are applicable […]
Have you thought of everything? And I mean everything? With European Gran Fondo season soon upon us, it’s now a good time to start making sure you’ve covered off everything. Gran Fondo Tips list Your last minute Gran Fondo tips list includes: Training (commence, now)* Clean bike and Mechanical checks Nutrition Gearing Equipment housekeeping Plan of […]
You have to admit it. Riding faster with less effort: it sounds awesome, right? *Nod* Turns out this is easy and cheap. Simple equipment change, that won’t break the bank. (Or require dipping into that secret slush fund. “What secret slush fund?” Of course, of course, there isn’t any secret slush fund. *wink wink*) But […]
The Almost Complete Lowdown on Road Disc Brakes: cycling has a proud history of innovation and technical advancement: mountain bike disc brakes, power meters and electronic shifting are good examples. Some advancements are quite substantial—disc brakes on mountain bikes for example—and some are incremental, but still worthy, improvements (shifting, brake calipers etc). At their core […]
Interesting question from reader Allie. “What snacks for long haul flights should I pack?” Let’s be honest: long haul flights are pretty fun. Free drinks (to clarify: I mean free gin, Jack Daniels and Bacardi…not OJ), free food and movies. Initially, some people might think: “Awesome. I can’t wait to get stuck into those long […]
Have you ever been riding down a fast hill and needed to brake hard and fast? But the brakes weren’t there. Your beloved receives a call from the local constabulary as they sit drinking their Saturday morning orange juice, waiting for you to get back from your Saturday ride. “Mrs Finnigan, you’ll need to get […]
Ever thought of Cycling in Maui, Hawai’i? Until February 2010, I certainly hadn’t. In February 2010, Kate and I headed over to Hawai’i for a quick holiday. It was mainly for a proper relaxing type of holiday as we’d never had one plus we’d snaffled 2-for-1 flights from Jetstar. I’d never given much thought to […]
Regular readers of VeloNomad know I’m a big advocate of doing sportifs like Etape du Tour. They’re a great way to challenge oneself as well as explore new areas. And not only do I advocate overseas adventures: local cycling adventures can be just as fun. Since I moved to the Northern Rivers of NSW, one […]
In this very first ever VeloNomad podcast I chat with Mike Cotty. Mike is a serious bike rider. He tells me he does 450 miles per week (over 700km) and recently rode 666km non stop through the Alps. The route took him from Evian to Nice, took him 36 hours or so, and covered 16,000km […]
Is a Self Tour or Tour Group for Cycling Holidays better? This is the question a lot of people start with for their overseas cycling trip. And it’s a fair question, especially if you’ve never organised a cycling trip before or are heading to an overseas country that is not English speaking (which is a […]
In this Best overseas prepaid SIM for mobile internet comparison, you’ll find out the best deals for overseas prepaid mobile internet, as well as where and how to get them. First, you’ll be able to compare the best deals for getting prepaid mobile internet, with pros and cons for each. Then, you’ll find out where […]
Day 7 Moss Vale-> Sydney: 168km, 1763m, 6h Ride Director Tim made a very insightful point at the last night’s speeches where he said that after an event like this it was easy to feel down upon returning to the real world. Whilst I’m sure everyone was excited to be with family and in their […]
2013 Chain Reaction Charity Ride Day 6 Canberra -> Moss Vale: 183km, 1468m ascent, 6h40m. Wow. What a day. Canberra is collllld on departure (a common theme on this trip. Cold. Not Canberra). One thing I am really enjoying about this trip is learning a lot about the country we live in. Below is a […]
Ahhhh-brrrrrrrr. What a cold morning! And hectic! We are late, again, despite us arising at 5.30am. We head off into bracing high-plains air with my Strava KOM from the night before safe (always wait for the group to go through before uploading it! ;p ), and roll through endless hills until we reach the Monaro […]
Day 4 – Corryong to Adaminaby WOW. Central Vic and the Snowy Mountains truly are (probably) God’s country. Forget “The Shire”, this is -real-. There is no plasticity, no materialism. It is man, and nature. (Best personified in The Man from Snowy River.) Man’s footprint is minimal. What footprint there is is one of almost […]
2013 Chain Reaction Charity Ride Day 3 arrives with some quietly ominous looking clouds. And it is BRISK. Best breakfast of the trip, with croissants close to being as good as French ones (maybe with 70%, which is about as good as it gets in Australia). The riders head off from Milawa toward delightful Beechworth. […]