I’m delighted to be on the cover of Stoked On Fixed Bikes, the magazine run by my good friend and photographer extraordinaire, Greg Falski. Check out the entire issue here.

SOFB has been running for a while now, and every issue looks better and better. I’m so pleased that Greg is doing so well; congrats on putting together such a great mag dude, looks like you’ve been having a fun time doing it too!

Inside you’ll a short interview with me and some more shots of me out and about on my Charge Ti Plug taken by Dave Noakes. Take a look!

I’m wearing my new Coven kit too, which I’n rather proud of – if you’d like one too, get in quick as we’re reordering these in both mens’ and womens’ sizes.  Jersey here and don’t forget the bibs!

British Cycling organise races and events for all level of rider, in pretty much every kind of discipline. Recently, there have (thankfully!) been more events catering specifically for women but due to a multitude of reasons, uptake of these events isn’t always as high as it could be.

Ladies, we need to change this! It’s not often that I feel genuinely disappointed that I’m a woman, but when talking to a British Cycling coach on Sunday, that’s exactly how I felt. We were at a women’s regional road race training session and our coach was asking us how we felt about the fact we’re just lumped in as an afterthought with all the Cat 4 men, and speaking about the lack of opportunities for women to race against each other.

The problem is, there are so few women racing, that if you want to give it a go, you’ll most probably find yourself riding with women of every ability; from the super fast, to extremely green riders, well, that’s if you can find a women’s race at all.

Maybe that’s why women don’t sign up to many races and why it’s proving hard to encourage us to do so? If you’re a novice male racer, you can have a go with other novices, there are bazillions of opportunities for you! But if you’re a woman, you may well find yourself on the start line with elite female racers you’ve actually heard of. So basically if I was a guy, getting into racing bikes would be so much easier, and just generally more appealing. Gutted.

Anyway, back to what I was originally writing about – regional road race training and what to expect. In an effort to reassure other women that these sessions are both manageable and enjoyable and perhaps encourage more women to give racing a try, I thought it would be useful to share exactly what might happen in a session.

Our session on Sunday was held at Westpoint, near Exeter, a big closed road circuit which is kind of like an airfield. We were a mixed bunch; differing in age, ability and confidence, and all on rather different bikes – me on a cyclocross bike with road tyres, another lady on a steel machine, and some on higher end carbon cycles.

We began by riding in a line around the circuit, the aim being to stay as close to the rear wheel of the person in front as you could; if you tuck yourself in close (about a wheel’s length away) you’ll save a lot of energy and be able to ride for longer, or sprint when you need to.

Once we’d settled into things a little, we began a few exercises to get comfortable riding in close proximity to each other. First of all, we rode in pairs with a hand on each other’s shoulder, then we rode next to each other and tried to keep our elbows touching our partner’s. We did this all the way round the circuit, up and down the straights (easy) and around the corners (more difficult and prone to make you giggle).

Next we got back in a straight line and practiced taking the lead then pulling away to the side before rejoining the group at the back after they’d passed you, the idea being that in a race you take your turn at the front for a bit whilst giving your team mates the opportunity to draft you and save energy, before you drop back to do the same.

The next bit was the most enjoyable for me, as we got to go as fast as we could – the person at the front of the bunch had to sprint for 20 seconds then return to the original pace, at which point the next person has to sprint to catch them. This is repeated by each person in the bunch until everyone has caught the leader.

We also went through the theory of cornering at speed, were given tips on riding on the drops, selecting the right gear and all sorts of other stuff to make things easier for ourselves.

I bloody loved it! And I really want to try a race now. But more than that, I want other women to try it and love it. I know there are heaps of women out there who are interested, but perhaps nervous or unsure what to expect and the thing is, you’re not alone in feeling like that, but actually there’s very little to be frightened of. Also, the more you do something, the less scary it gets, so why not give it a crack, get that first, initial nerve racking experience out of the way, then you’ll be fine! Go on, I dare ya!

Those of you who’ve read my blog before probably know that I come from a ‘freestyle’ background, that is, I’ve always been keen on learning tricks, riding jumps, that kinda thing.

For some weird reason that I’ve still not figured out yet, I recently decided that I’d try a few races as well. Now bear in mind that when I was a pro snowboarder you certainly didn’t ‘train,’ and then after that I toured in a metal band, so that meant that I was just really good at drinking. Post metal band I lived in London and though I loved riding my bike, I also loved drinking and smoking.

These days, I still love beer but smoking is no longer on the menu and I have developed a love of fitness for fitness’ sake. So alongside chucking myself erratically off dirt jumps, pegging it down hillsides on my mountain bike and thrashing out a few miles on the road, I actively seek out exercise for the fun of it. Basically the point I’m slowly getting to is that I actually enjoy working out. So maybe that’s why I decided I wanted to race; because it would give me something to work towards?

Anyway, I entered my first cyclocross race about six months ago, then next up was my first track bike crit. This week, I tried my hand at road racing on the Wilier ‘Stella’ I’m reviewing for Total Womens’ Cycling.

I initially entered the race as it was one of only a handful of women’s races taking place this summer down here in Devon where I live. I thought that racing against women would be somehow less intimidating, I don’t know exactly why, but if you’re a woman you’ll probably get it. Unfortunately, due to some issues with timing, at the last minute the organisers decided to run us ladies in the same race as the Cat 3 and 4 men. Why the hell is it always the ladies races that get pushed to one side?

Anyway, us ladies decided to have our own race within a race so we let kind of let the men go at the start and then the eight of us raced together. As everyone (except two of us –  myself and Nik) was a regular racer, the other ladies pretty much immediately partnered up with their buddies and took it in turns to draft each the whole race. I wasn’t quite quick enough to tag along with any of them so rode the whole race on my own, which was exhausting and basically not as fun as if I’d been riding in a group either.  A couple of times during the 40 minute race, I was lapped by the male field and I’d tuck myself into their group, riding with them for a lap or so. I couldn’t keep up with their pace for too long, but it really reinforced how much more enjoyable racing is if you can stay with the bunch. It’s not even just about saving energy by drafting, it’s just really exciting navigating the turns of the course in such close proximity to so many people.

In the end, I was pretty happy with how I did. Yes, it would be preferable to ride with the other ladies, but that will come, and for now I’m just happy that for the entire 40 minutes, I rode hell for leather, and I didn’t allow myself even a moment’s break, I honestly didn’t slack off for a single second. I’m really glad I didn’t just give up to be honest, and I’m definitely fitter than I was. I mean, there’s plenty of room for improvement, but still!

It was great to meet some of the other ladies, hope to see you again soon girls! And thanks to Exeter Wheelers for putting on the race.

I’ve been having fun playing around with the Red Bull Flow app. It’s a neat little way of sharing your BMX and skating clips; you can set up a rider and/or filmer profile then you upload mini clips and tag them by trick, rider, spot or session. If you click on one of the tags, you can watch all the clips in the sequence, or flow, geddit?

Red Bull asked a few of us to create mini edits using the app, so I headed down my local trails, Decoy to film Kye Forte for mine. So far, so easy; all I had to do was upload the clips in the opposite order to how I’d filmed them and tag them with ‘julietelliottphoneedit,’ –  when I watched them back, the flow would start with the last clip I’d uploaded, the first clip of the edit.

I decided to play around with adding a soundtrack, stitching bits together, chopping bits in and out and added the sound of a freewheel, carefully timed to end when Kye went off the jumps… Totally unnecessary but I wanted to see if it would work, and it does, kind of! Have a look:

http://redbullflow.com/bmx/tricks/julietelliottphoneedit

The whole app is super fun to use, just for documenting your trick attempts, or for getting a bit creative. Some of the other phone edits are pretty awesome too, go take a look. Now that I’ve down Kye’s little vid, I want to do one of my own, though I think I’ll stick to the small line rather than the behemoths Kye’s getting busy on!

The 5th issue of Coven Magazine has just been released, both in print and online. The online version is available to view right here, right now, and the lovely printed copies should be arriving at our stockists nationwide today. Read Issue 5 here.

I always love the covers of Coven Magazine; I’m so glad I decided right at the beginning to use illustrators rather than photographs and we’ve been lucky to have some brilliant artists involved. This issues cover is adorned with a beautiful piece by Isabel Greenberg, who I discovered after browsing the prints in Exeter store No Guts, No Glory. There’s more about her debut graphic novel, ‘The Encyclopaedia Of Early Earth’ inside the mag.

We’ve a couple of great articles from Hannah Bailey, who chatted to Nora Vasconcellos at the X Games in Barcelona and braved her nerves to quiz the legendary Elissa Steamer. Thanks for your contributions, Hannah, much appreciated!

Alongside these pieces, you can read interviews with surfer Lakey Peterson, humanitarian Shannon Galpin and her work with the Afghan National Women’s Cycling Team and find our more about illustrator Sam Dunn, who recently collaborated with our pals at Fifth Floor. There’s also a piece about my first trip to an Olympic velodrome.

We’ve also one of the most beautiful shoots to ever grace our pages, ‘Nocturnal Pursuits,’ which is photographed by Nathan Gallagher, styled by Mireia Roelas and features a very beautiful lady, my friend Maisie Hill. Be sure to check that out.

Thank you so much to all who’ve helped me out with this issue and thank you to Vans and Knog for supporting a magazine that I hope people will find entertaining, informative and inspiring. If any other brands would like to get onboard and reach our audience, I’d be delighted as every issue is a labour of love, a struggle, a leap of faith and an attack on my personal bank account thanks to my belief in doing something for us ladies!

As a female involved in sports such as BMX, snowboarding, mountain biking and the like, one of the questions you’re asked the most is how you overcome your fear. It seems to be one of the main things other women want to know about; maybe they’re hoping there’s some magical technique, some wizardry of sorts. There isn’t!

I feel like it’s a common misconception amongst my friends that I’m somehow fearless, and whilst it’s kinda nice that so many people think I’m like, totally badass, I do feel that it’s worth dispelling the myth that all things come easily to me and women similar to myself. The thing is, some of the stuff I do is pretty scary, sometimes I can panic, and I frequently completely psych myself out of doing things at all! But you battle on through, you take the giant petrifying leap, and after you’ve terrified yourself several times over whatever it is you’re doing becomes less scary.

Anyway, I wrote an article for the latest issue on Coven Magazine about frightening myself at the velodrome. Perhaps you might find it interesting! Read the full article here.

Met filmed a bunch of stuff last time they were over here in my neck of the woods. This video shows me pottering about on the Charge Plug Prestige and attempting to look/sound natural whilst telling people about the features of Met Helmet’s Estro helmet.

Quite a few people have asked me where I got the backpatch I’m wearing in this photo of me at the Nocturne, so I thought I’d share the secret.

It’s made by my friends the London Necropolis And Hellride Corporation. Alongside creating awesome shit, these fellas also happen to work at Kinoko Custom Cycles in Soho Square. But you can’t get one instore, and there aren’t very many of these little beauties, so if you want one you’d better swoop quickly! Here’s where you may be able to find one.

The women’s specific version of the popular Ghost Bikes ‘All Mountain AMR 5700’, the Miss AMR 5700 is an all mountain dream – stiff, responsive, with well thought out geometry and a heap of quality components that will keep you pedalling over any terrain.

As it’s designed for all mountain riding, where better to test it than the Alps? I took it to The Mountain Bike Chalet in Les Arcs, France to put it through its paces and the resulting review is up on Total Women’s Cycling . Head on over to read it in it’s entirety and keep an eye out for more pictures and a write up of my trip.

Image By Joel Benjamin For Coven Magazine

I spend plenty of time failing. I’m sometimes the slowest, I might jump the lowest or I may be panting away at the back. Generally, it doesn’t bother me, I know I’m not useless; I might be racing against men or riding with pros who’ve been airing ten foot out of a quarter pipe since the age of three. I’ll ride with whoever’s heading out and if I want to race, I’ll race, why not? Coming last isn’t great, but not taking part is worse.

But sometimes it does get to me; there are those bleak moments where I’m puffing and panting my way up a hill, chasing a gang of silky limbed, lycra clad men atop Carbon machines, and I just feel rubbish. ‘Why am I bothering,’ I ponder, ‘why do I put myself in situations where I know full well I’ll struggle?’

This is an article I wrote for Coven Magazine. If you’d like to continue reading, check out the full feature online, or grab one a paper copy from one of the stockists.

Modeled on the top selling Izoard XP men’s road bike, the ‘Stella’ is Wilier’s lastest foray into women’s cycling since the Mimosa XP in 2011, and it looks absolutely lovely.

Considering the frequent debate over whether us ladies need female specific geometry for our bikes, it’s interesting to note that the Stella’s frame and fork are identical to those on Wilier’s Izoard, having been proportionally sized down on this women’s road bike. So in essence, the Stella is a small Izoard equipped with well thought out female specific parts and a really nice ladies paint job.

I put the Stella through it’s paces for Total Women’s Cycling and in the end I had mixed feelings about it, largely due to the choice of components. You can read the review here, and check out how it fared in my first road race here.

One of my sponsors, Met Helmets came over earlier this year with Jeremie Reuiller to shoot a few pictures for their 2014 catalogue.

Myself and Dave Noakes showed them a few of our favourite spots on a few different bikes – I ended up riding the Charge ti Plug, the Charge Filter Apex cyclocross bike and my BMX. I wasn’t that keen on being snapped on the BMX to be honest – I always question my ability and get a little shy, but we went up Decoy bowl to shoot and it was blissfully quiet so I couldn’t resist having a roll.

Met Helmets 2014 Catalogue 

Bluegrass Eagle 2014 Catalogue

I’m excited to participate in a panel discussion on women and cycling next week at the Yorkshire Bike Show in Leeds.

I’ll be joined by Alice Marsh, Emily Chappel, Jenny Gwiazdowski and Elena Corchero to discuss how things have changed for women in cycling over recent years. We’ll also be discussing what we can do to encourage more women to jump on their bikes and how building a sense of community and sisterhood can foster an environment where ladies feel comfortable learning new skills.

Please come along and and give us your thoughts on all of the above, we’ll be speaking on Sunday 22nd September at 1pm.

About the Yorkshire Bike Show:

“Yorkshire is a rich tapestry of cycling success. Its sleepy vales provide a haven for Sunday club runs, tea-stops and cake; its hills have trained the legs of Olympic medallists and its local industries are forged from frame-builders and renowned retailers. On 20-22 September, The Yorkshire Bicycle Show will celebrate this heritage and all of you, bicycle lovers, cyclists, new converts and hardened veterans, are invited.”

An unsanctioned track bike race with it’s origins in Brooklyn, the Red Hook Crit is a fast and furious mass start sprint with a reputation for white knuckle, red hot action. My interest was piqued not only by some of the incredible tales I’d heard, but also by the new international locations, Milan and Barcelona and I gave a lot of thought as to whether I should attend this spirited, a action packed event. In theory, it ticks all the boxes – set in rather cool places, attended by a whole host of really interesting people I’d like to meet, and that’s before we even get to the fact that I’ve always enjoyed racing around cities on my track bike; not for nothing did I spend eighteen months as a courier!

Marie Truong by Virginia Del Rio for Itchy

But like so, so, so many of the events that interest me, there’s no women’s category in the Red Hook Crit. So I decided against flying across the channel to have my arse handed to me by the lads ; it seemed a waste of money to travel all the way and fail to qualify for the main event. For I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – men and women are physically different, that’s why in most sporting events, we compete separately. And that’s before you even begin on the psychological aspect of being thrown in at the deep end with all the men, most of whom have ridden in these races on multiple occasions.

So let’s back track. You know how when men started competing in BMX contests way back when, the standard wasn’t as high as it is now? Well those humble beginnings fuelled progression – the boys continued to compete, more people became involved, tricks developed and the bar was raised, totally naturally and organically.

Now look at women’s BMX. In the few years since women have been given their own categories in (some) events, more and more women have begun to ride, more of them are entering contests, and without a shadow of a doubt, the standard has rocketed – you can’t get away with doing a few roll-backs these days! Ditto snowboarding; when I started you just had to actually hit the kicker to win the girl’s comp, whereas these days you need to be pulling double underflips to be in with a chance.

Photo by Virginia Del Rio for Itchy

So why no women’s category at the Red Hook Crit? Well the word on the grapevine is that David Trimble said we need to guarantee a certain number of ladies to secure ourselves our own qualification times or our own race. It’s a shame, as I really think that by pledging to support women’s racing from the get go, we could already be enjoying the fruits of that decision – say there had always been a women’s category, by now it would be much bigger, right? I mean, I for one would definitely have gone to Milan, and I know a handful of other Brits who would have joined me.

Anyway, Claudia Weiss was one of the few (five) women who went to the Red Hook Crit in Barcelona; we’ve been in touch over the last few months and a big part of me is really sad that I didn’t go to; if only to meet her and the other women who made the effort, but realistically, I just couldn’t afford it – if it had been in the UK it would have been a different matter.

Itchy have just posted a great write up of the event from a female perspective and these photographs, so go take a peek. Of the five women, only one qualified for the main race, so  massive congrats to her and big up to the others who gave it their all.

I’d be really interested to hear what other people think. Should we have separate women’s events? Should we turn up and give it a go just to show we exist and we’re keen, even though we might not qualify in this physically demanding race? Who fancies the Red Hook Crit Milan?

Coven contributor, Joel Benjamin added my face to his ‘Riders’ series of portraits. Go and have a gander, there’s some bangers on his site including some sweet pics of Cardiel and Dill. Thanks for the pic Joel!

After spending several days riding and filming around Lake Como with our good friends Jean-Pierre and Gian Luca, Dave and I jumped on a train back to Milan where we made the connection to Florence.

I adore travelling by train, and as the only seats available were business class, we enjoyed roomy, comfortable seats and free snacks as we sped through the countryside. Once in Florence, we hauled our bags and bikes a couple of kilometres through the narrow city streets to our hotel for the next couple of nights.

Hotel Benvenuti was horrid; our room smelled of sewage and the walls were covered in water stains. To make matters worse, the night porter was a total asshole, and Dave and him spent over an hour arguing about the crappy internet connection – Mr. Night Porter simply refused to give us a new access code after the first one didn’t work. The day time staff were lovely, but still, what a dump.

To make up for fact our room smelled of actual poo, we spent a lot of time exploring Florence and even more time eating really lovely focaccia, pizza, paninis and cake. I’m a carb addict and was more than happy to indulge my habit and Florence  is a dream to walk around – everything is very close. Although I’d planned to, I didn’t make it to the Uffizi or any of the other museums on my list as the queues were horrendous at all times of the day (even weekdays) but a stroll around Florence is pretty much like a stroll around a museum anyway – the buildings and piazzas are stunning in their own right.

The next day, we assembled our bikes and headed off for a ride. We entirely randomly picked a direction then just rode wherever we felt like going, one of my favourite things to do. After crossing the river Arno, we climbed a hill and were rewarded with an incredible view of the entire city – what luck!

After taking some snaps, we headed out of the city and into the hills of Chianti wine country. The scenery in Tuscany is so familiar to me from books, films and photographs yet I’d never actually ridden there. There was something about it that seems almost unreal – it’s so damn perfect and so ‘Italian’ that it almost feels like a stage set.

Despite my tattooed exterior I’m actually quite soppy and the beauty of the ride brought tears to my eyes – I could barely believe our fortune at pedaling our way through this exquisite golden hued landscape, past vineyards, castles, rivers and forests.

Not everyone’s heart was soaring like mine: we saw so many cyclists out enjoying the brilliant weather and made a point of waving at them all but none of them wanted to wave back. What a grumpy bunch! In the end we got two waves backs in the entire ride!

Somehow, we managed to sniff out a really enjoyable circular route with a few climbs and some fantastic descents. And we re entered Florence at Porta Romana right by the best ice-cream shop ever which we’d also visited the day before. I had another rice pudding flavoured ice cream.  D E L I C I O U S!

I’ve written in the past about being disappointed that there was no women’s category in the super challenging Red Hook fixed gear criterium series, so I’m delighted to hear from my digital pen pals that from next year there will be!

I don’t have any more details at present, and as the series has only just taken place I’m unsure of next year’s dates… so all I’m saying is, if you want to enter, you’d better get training and hard! Well at least if I want to enter, I’d better get training hard as I’m not yet very strong or fast .I did decide I was going to train this year, and I did for oh, at least a whole month, but it didn’t work out for me. I’m gonna tell you why in another post which I haven’t yet written.

Earlier this summer, Mr Bikes-N-Stuff and I spent a sunny afternoon being photographed for the new Met Helmets 2014 catalogue by Jeremie Reuiller. Every time people visit Teinbridge, I enjoy showing off the area I live in like some sort of proud parent! Funny really, it’s not as if Devon being beautiful has anything to do with me.. I just happened to move here!

Anyway, we shot some pics on the BMX up at Decoy, heading over to Teigngrace on the cyclocross bike and then headed out to Shaldon on road bikes. I’m actually riding the Scott Contessa CR1 in some of these pics as I was reviewing it for Total Women’s Cycling at the time, and Dave got some snaps on his eye-catching Dodici.

Up until last year, I was working as a bike messenger in London alongside my other endeavours. More often than not, I found people intrigued by my mysterious career and was frequently asked what it entailed (delivering packages, duh!), whether they’d be able to do it (yes, probably), whether the pay is really as bad as they say (yup) and whether you still have to work in a downpour (most definitely). As intrigued as my pals, Total Women’s Cycling asked me to take them through a day in the life of a bike messenger and tell them more about what to expect.

Now based in Devon, when I head back up to the big smoke with my bike, I’m always overcome with a strong sense of nostalgia for my old job, mainly because I really, really love cycling in London. For me, it’s the ultimate place to ride fixed gear and the job was pretty damn awesome. But then some days , when it’s truly revolting weather –  bone chilling, torrential rain for instance, I feel really happy that I can just stay indoors!

If you’d like to read more about what to expect as a bike courier, head over to Total Womens Cycling.

I’ve been putting some of the Sugoi women’s cycling clothing through it’s paces this summer and the women’s RSE jersey and shorts have turned out to be one of my favourite road cycling outfits.

Constructed from REVO fabric, the white short-sleeved jersey feels silky to the touch and pleasantly cool in hot weather or high intensity situations. The blend of nylon and spandex is very stretchy, comfortable and breathable thanks to a micro-filament linear knit which wicks moisture away from the skin. A mesh back and deep mesh panels under the arms provide increased airflow.

The cut is good – I found the slim, race fit and ergonomic panels very flattering and the overall look is pretty snazzy – I felt really smart in this kit! I like dressing up to go riding; I definitely pay more attention to what I’m wearing riding than what I’m wearing on a night out.

I’m 5ft7ish and a size 8-10 with fairly wide shoulders and a small waist, kind of like an inverted triangle. I found the size small fitted well at the top but there was a little bit of sag around my waist. People smaller than myself might be out of luck as the jersey doesn’t come in Extra Small.

Though I normally hate pink, the white and pink full length front zip and back pocket closure look really nice and the 3M reflective detailing on the front is functional and attractive. Reflective logos along the back of the shoulders add greater visibility in gloomy conditions.

One of my favourite parts of the jersey is the wide, unstitched cuffs, which like the rest of the top look and feel good and function well. The friction free band around the sleeves gently grips to keep your sleeves in place without cutting into your arms. They look smart and feel even better. Soft seams throughout the rest of the garment further add to your comfort.

Sugoi means ‘incredible’ in Japanese, and in the case of the RSE kit, I’d have to say it’s a fitting moniker.