Alongside testing the entry level Sugoi women’s cycle kit, I’ve been trying out the top of the range RSE women’s cycling shorts and jersey and as I mentioned in my earlier post, I’ve been delighted with both how they look and how they feel.

I prefer to wear shorts rather than bibs in the summer as I find the extra material of over shoulder bib shorts makes me rather hot – I’d rather just have the jersey against the skin of my torso. I also like my cycling shorts to be multipurpose; I often wear them under regular shorts for extra comfort on casual rides and I prefer not having to get totally undressed to go to the bathroom.

The Sugoi women’s RSE shorts are on the steep side at £104.76, but they’ve held up well over the summer months and as they’re such good quality, I kind of feel like they’re worth the big bucks. I really like the way they look and when paired with the Sugoi Women’s RSE jersey, you feel rather dapper.

The FXE chamois pad is seam free, comfortable and doesn’t feel at all bulky. It has little dimples in it which seem to help distribute pressure evenly and the gel padding hasn’t creased like some of the other shorts I’ve tried. All in all, it’s a very comfortable chamois.

The shorts are made from ten contoured panels that give a really good fit and though they come up high enough at the back, they’re not ridiculously high.

The material itself feels light and cool and the waistband is comfortable and doesn’t dig in at all. Flatlock stitching is soft and doesn’t chafe. Apparently the shorts use ‘Ultra Profi Fabric construction’ for a compression effect to encourage good circulation on endurance rides. I can’t say I particularly noticed this.

The wide, soft legbands are seams free and like the cuffs on the jersey grip gently without leaving marks on your skin. I much prefer this kind of cuff on cycle kits – the stitched kind with a thin strip of gummy rubber on the inside irritate my skin, feel uncomfortable and don’t look as good.

I’ll be posting reviews of Sugoi’s budget line for comparison and whilst I also liked it, for me the RSE wins despite it’s high price. The kit feels so cool and comfortable and looks pretty pro, so it’s an all round winner as far as I’m concerned. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about is those little t-shaped reinforcements.

GoPro lent me a camera this summer and whilst I had every intention of filming a shed load of clips, a fair amount of the time I’d get home and think, ‘damn, why the hell didn’t I film that?’

I wish I’d filmed my first fixed gear crit, my first road race, L’Eroica in Italy, more views from Dartmoor, some surfing, camping out etc, but I take it as a positive that I didn’t think to do so. Like many of my peers, too much of my time is spent sharing what I’m doing – via twitter and instagram, and too little is spent simply doing what I’m doing! Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy communicating with people via social media (not least as I’m fairly isolated where I live) but sometimes it’s better to remain switched off from the mainframe, to unplug and unwind.

Now summer is well and truly over and I enjoyed spending Sunday evening reviewing clips from the past few months and putting together a little edit. So here’s a small sampler of what I did during that glorious season. Hope you had a great summer too!

After several days filming with Met Helmets around Lake Como then a couple of nights in Florence, Mr Bikes-N-Stuff and I headed deep into wine country for the next stop in our Italian tour, L’Eroica!

Gaiole in Chianti is the home of L’Eroica, in essence an annual vintage bicycle sportive but in practice, oh so much more than that.

We were there as guests of Brooks and after two nights in a dreadful hotel in Florence we were somewhat stunned when we saw the beautiful castle that would be home for the next few days. Once in our suite, we actually leapt about in fits of excitement.

L’Eroica is more than a ride, it’s a whole weekend of wine fuelled, laughter filled fun so ignoring some rather heavy rain, we headed to the village to look around the vintage cycling market. There were so many kick ass vintage jerseys and I spotted the most brilliant looking embroidered woolen cycling tights, but decided it would be prudent to resist. And once back at Brooks HQ, I realised I’d made the right decision as they presented us all with new kits to wear for the ride.

Saturday evening, after a day of horrendous weather, we headed down to the L’Eroica dinner. As there was no vegetarian option I didn’t eat and instead got really drunk on red wine – it doesn’t take much to get me pissed up and the wine was plentiful! The atmosphere in the tent was fantastic, it was such a great prelude to the ride and one I hope is replicated at Eroica Britannia. I didn’t see a grumpy face the entire weekend actually!

Weather wise, we’d been expecting the worst so couldn’t believe our luck when we saw blue skies on Sunday morning. Dressed in our Brooks team issue kit, we set off on our 78km ride through the stunning Tuscan countryside. A feature I’ve written about L’Eroica will appear in the next issue of Coven, so I’ve intentionally kept this post brief, but in summary, all I need to say is ‘WOW.’

Our route was about 50% on the famous white gravel roads or ‘strade bianche’ and 50% on regular tarmac. The whole ride was filled with smiling faces, many like myself, atop wildly unsuitable death-machines wondering whether they’d make it the whole way around the loop! I don’t want to keep dishing out the superlatives, but goddam, Tuscany is a beautiful place; many roads wind along ridges through undulating hills and you see mile after mile of vineyards, clusters of terracotta villas and so many castles and monasteries!

In the end, my bike held up until the last 15km, after which I could only change between the front chainrings, a challenge on the hilly terrain, but I really didn’t care as I was in such a good mood. As we rolled back into town, the crowds cheered and a beer was thrust into my hand. What a great weekend, one of the best, actually THE best cycling event I’ve ever been to. Please, oh please, oh please can I go again next year?

Watch out for a full report on L’Eroica in the next issue of Coven Magazine.

I’ve always had the travel bug, probably inherited from my parents who have long loved exploring – from wandering through remote mountain passes and hiking along the Silk Route, to sunning themselves on the shores of the med or even working in places such as Russia and Iran. It’s certainly no surprise that just as soon as I could travel independently, I took off with my snowboard and explored the world.

I always like to have a trip to look forward to, whether it’s a weekend camping and surfing in Cornwall, or something slightly more exotic, and I often spend return plane journeys day-dreaming about my next adventure. Some of my trips are spur of the moment, I just hop on my bike with tent and some beers, but other times I delight in hours spent pouring over maps, cross referencing guide books, tripadviser, forums and hand-written lists from friends.

Pic by Dave Noakes

I’ve always wanted to go to Japan, and I’ve always wanted to spend more time cycle touring, and this past weekend myself and Mr Bikes-N-Stuff were house-bound due to a rather revolting cold we’d both caught. We spent the time finalising details of our trip for next year, and thanks to my new 0%APR credit card, the flights are now booked. I think that we’ve got our itinerary sorted – I’m meticulous (or anal) about such things, and have actually drawn up a spread sheet…but I’d still love to hear any Japan travel tips to add to those I’ve already amassed.

I’m so over-excited about exploring this new country by bicycle! We’ll both be riding the new Charge Plug 5 bikes, all decked out with panniers and whatnot, so the hunt is now on for a super lightweight tent and some other bits and pieces. Does anyone have any recommendations for tents? I’ve been looking at the Black Diamond ‘Mirage’ tent, has anyone used one?

Spanish Magazine, Neo 2 recently profiled several women behind the helm of print publications around the world. I was delighted to be included, and tell them all about my experiences self publishing a magazine. In case you don’t speak Spanish, perhaps I can summarise what I told them:

Self publishing is both brilliant and awful. Why? Well, as an independent, I have complete control over my output, and can pretty much put whatever I want in the mag. The downside, well  if you don’t have to answer to anyone, finances can be somewhat tricky to say the least. Publishing Coven was a huge leap of faith, and on those down, dark days alone in the office, you can sometimes wonder whether it’s all worth it. We’re still tiny, but people everywhere have noticed what we’re doing; it’s always gratifying to get feedback from women (and men) around the world, who love what myself and all the other awesome people involved in Coven have produced.

Viva la print? Well never say never. If you’d like to support us and see Coven in all it’s papery glory, head on over to our store and grab a copy.

Thanks for including us, Neo 2!

Today was beautiful. The trees wore their most vibrant autumn attire, a last display of colours before winter sets in. It was very nippy, but a perfect day for a ride up to the edge of Dartmoor on our fixed gear bikes. I’d changed the gearing slightly on mine, which didn’t totally work on some of the hills – just a bit on the heavy side for this part of the UK, but not to worry. I tried out my new bar/stem combo, which I really liked. Check back for more info on my set up later, but for now, here’s  Dave and his beloved Dodici Special SL. Click here for more info on his build.

My sponsor Charge Bikes just sent over the new Charge Plug 5 for me to try. It’s a steel framed road bike with hydraulic disc brakes, just perfect for winter training, touring and even cyclocross if I switch the tyres to some knobblies. I’ll be putting the rack mounts to good use when I kit this out for some cycle touring adventures that I have planned.

The black range prestige frame is lighter than it’s predecessor, the Filter that I was riding in this video, and the disc brakes have been upgraded to Sram Hydro R with 160mm rotors, giving me plenty of stopping power when bombing down hills in Devon.

Alex ATD-490 rims are laced to Sram Via Gt hubs, and it’s rolling on 28mm Kenda Kwick Roller Tendril tyres.

The handlebars, stem and seat post are all Charge, and it’s topped off with one of the new Charge ‘Scoop’ saddles.

Having spent a couple of winters working as a bike messenger in London, I know what gear works and what doesn’t. Whilst I don’t fully subscribe to the view ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing,’ I do know how wearing the correct clothing on the bike can make your day bearable, or uncomfortable. I’ve spent hundreds of hours riding in pretty terrible English weather and found out where it makes sense to spend your pennies. Obviously comfort and performance are important, but for me a big priority is clothing that will last. And seeing as people are always asking me, I thought I’d share what’s turned out to be my favourite clothing for winter riding, what keeps me smiling throughout the cold months.

First up, feet. Though not winter specific, I swear by my SIDI EAGLES- yep, they cost a bomb, but they’ve taken such a beating and still perform like the day I bought them. They’re a little breezy in winter, but that’s when I layer them up with socks and overshoes. Check out my review here.

If you’re spending a lot of time on the bike, your feet are often the first part of your body to feel the cold. I absolutely detest the way they look, but these ENDURA neoprene overshoes work incredibly well, keeping your feet warm and dry. The only downside is, the underside gets shredded if you walk in them but I found that they still functioned just fine, staying in place despite eventually looking a bit shoddy. If you don’t plan on walking about in them like I used to, they’ll probably last a little longer.

If the weather is truly abominable, and you still need to go out on your bike for prolonged periods of time, get some SEALSKIN SOCKS. Though these claim to be waterproof, I found that they’re not entirely, however they’re a hell of a lot better than cotton or wool socks in the rain.

If it’s not wet, but it is stupidly cold, you’ll be wanting some good socks. I’ve tried a lot, and whilst these RAPHA merino socks are really expensive, they’re super warm and last a really long time so they’re worth every penny. They are the best socks for cycling in cold weather and my absolute favourites.

So that’s your feet, now on to your hands. When I was working as a bike messenger, I tried on so many pairs of gloves before finding some that kept me warm, but didn’t hamper movement. My favourites turned out to be the GORE BIKE WEAR ladies ‘Windstopper’ gloves, but unfortunately I lost one, and they’ve changed the gloves since then, removing the  velcro fastening around the wrist for some reason.  So my new favourites are now my PEARL IZUMI women’s ‘cyclone’ gloves, which are comfortable, lightweight, look nice and have lasted well.

When it’s really, really, rotten weather, freezing cold and rainy, or you get very cold fingers like me, the best gloves are the FOX ‘Antifreeze.’ These are fairly bulky, but not uncomfortably so, and I absolutely promise that you won’t get cold hands with these. But be warned, if your hands don’t get that cold, these will make them sweat!

Moving away from hands and feet, my next essential piece of kit is my DHB Vaeon Roubaix leg warmers. Leg warmers can be the most irritating thing wear, having to yank the up all the times drives me absolutely crazy, plus no one wants wrinkly old ‘Nora Batty’ style leg wear. These leg warmers are soft and fleecy on the inside, don’t dig in around the top and most importably, don’t fall down. They’re also really cheap. Win!

I’ve tried loads of arm warmers too, and plenty of these are annoying to wear as well! I’m not going to bother listing all the ones I don’t like, but I’ve found the VELOBICI VB Ella arm warmers to be adequate; you can just put them on and forget about them. They’re pretty light, so in winter I wear them underneath a long sleeve jersey – at the moment, I wear a base layer, a short sleeve jersey and the arm warmers, then the long sleeve jersey over the top.

My next favourite bit of kit is a little pricey, but you know what, I don’t buy high heels, get manicures or blow drys, have crazy nights out etc, so if I want to spend a bit of money on cycling kit, well I’m gonna! My Rapha winter bib shorts/tights are so warm and snuggly, fit really well, look nice and have held up over several winters. I love them. Mine are the men’s version – I’ve had my Rapha stuff since before the women’s line was launched so I have no idea what the women’s bib shorts or tights are like.

Along with the Rapha bib tights, I adore my tatty old pair of NIKE thermal women’s running tights. These have lasted over five years, including a couple of years as a messenger, and they still perform well. They’re very soft, don’t have a seam under the crotch, come up high enough but not too high and they dry very quickly when they get wet.

Next up, is another piece of RAPHA, my women’s rain jacket. I have to confess that I didn’t actually pay for this little beauty – I was reviewing it for Coven Magazine and the kind people at Rapha let me hold on to her. The jacket is £190, so pretty astronomical in price, but it does look swish, fits really well and holy crap, it keeps the water out well. I wore this in Tuscany earlier this year when we were caught in a torrential downpour – it was raining so heavily that we couldn’t even see, but when I got back to the hotel and took this jacket off, I was dry as a bone underneath.

So that’s my fancy pants jacket, but I can’t leave out my other favourite; my Gore-Tex KARRIMOR ’phantom’  jacket, a totally battered hand-me-down. This is the jacket that I wore over two winter working as a messenger and it never let me down. It’s totally waterproof and has a hood with a strip of wire in it so you can bend it how you want it. When it was pissing it down at work, I’d wear a baseball cap underneath the hood – the hat kept the water out of my eyes and the hood stopped water dripping down my neck. It’s men’s jacket so I can fit a lot of layers underneath.

Finally, a buff! My Dad got me one of these for Christmas – it’s basically a tube of material to wear around your neck, head or both. It’s really soft, packs down to a tiny size and stops a draft blowing down your neck.

And that’s it! My choice of jersey depends on what mood I’m in, that’s about all there is to it. And bib shorts, well, I’ve a few pairs I like, but this post is about kit that’s stood the test of time and I’m still not sure which bib shorts would be my ultimate favourites.

As for base layers, well I’m yet to find one that can stand the amount of abuse I put them through. Does anyone even make a base layer that doesn’t fall apart after multiple wears and washes, they all seem so weedy and get holes in immediately. I’d love to hear any recommendations. And how about winter hats you can wear under your helmet. Are there any good ones?

I was recently profiled by LSN Global for part of their Future Lab series. For this feature, they selected people who represent what they’ve dubbed the ‘athena tribe,’ entrepreneurial women exuding a positive ‘alpha’ spirit which is empowering rather than aggressive, and collaborative rather than competitive.

The other women they’ve included are pretty badass, so I’m delighted to be included!

Italian fashion label, Sportmax just posted an interview with me as part of their Way Of Women series. They’ve some pretty interesting characters on there, so have a look at some of the other ladies they’ve profiled too. Thanks for including me, Sportmax! Go check it here

One of the (many) favourite parts of my job is reviewing bikes:

‘oh, you want me to ride about 500 miles on this carbon machine and share my thoughts? Well if I must….”

Most recently, I reviewed women’s road bike, the Specialized Amira Sport for Total Women’s Cycling and now that the furore over the roubaix trademark has calmed down, I can actually tell you about it without fear of being harpooned.

Beginning at £1300, the Specialized Amira range offers good value, comfort and performance for women seeking lightweight, responsive, race-ready bikes. The highest spec Amira at £3000, is the race bike of choice for Team Specialized-Lululemon, so clearly Specialized know a thing or two about producing top-notch gear for ladies.

The model I tested, the Amira Sport CL comes in at £1600 – slightly higher than the entry-level model with its Shimano SORA groupset. For the extra pennies, you get Shimano 105 levers and shifters, a 105 rear mech and Tiagra front mech and cassette.

The Amira Sport wears a glossy white paint job and green bar tape giving a clean, fresh look without appearing overly flashy. The green Specialized S-Wrap tape is a nice touch as it adds a pinch of extra colour into the mix and it’s comfortable with or without gloves (oh summer where are you?). External cable routing wouldn’t be my first choice for a bike like this, and I’d have to immediately remove the horrid plastic chain guard on the back wheel.

For more, check the whole review over at Total Womens Cycling. Next up, the Cannondale Supersix Evo!

I had to have a little chortle when I saw this interview with me posted on the Spanish Glamour Magazine website. I may not speak Spanish, but I can read enough to tell that they’ve called me a hipster. Bloody cheek! Ok, I haven’t a leg to stand on when it comes to defending myself – after all, I do ride a fixed gear bike, have tattoos and write a blog. Oh, and did I mention that I own a flat in the hipster epicentre – Dalston?

If you’d like to have a go at translating the interview, head on over to the Glamour site for a read.

Some women’s mags suck. Coven Magazine doesn’t. And I’m not just saying that as I’m the Editor – it’s chock full of amazing tales of female focused adventure. Go take a peek now!

Inside you’ll find tails of mental and physical prowess from the coolest women in the world, plus stories of epic adventures from the steppes of Mongolia to the hills of Yorkshire and Tuscany. From 70-year-old triathlete and ‘Ironwoman,’ Eddie Brocklesby, to Vera Janssen and Danyale Patterson’s snowboarding adventures, this issue celebrates the women doing things their way. Find out more about Yeah Zine’s summer BMX vacation, mountain biker Annie Last’s first Olympics and what snowboarder Aimee Fuller just can’t live without. Hear more about Kim Woozy, the founder of MAHFIA TV, and how she felt about delivering a TED talk to inspire ladies like ourselves.

Plus, we’ve my trip of the year, L’Eroica, not one, but two fashion editorials, we get behind the lens with photographer Laura Austin, find out more about fell running and squeeze in a chat with skier Emily Sarsfield. So go take look at our online edition, packed with goodness and free to view. Tell me what you think, I’d love to hear from you!

Come on ladies, enough already! Can we call time on the demonization of each other’s bodies?

It seems to me that we’re slowly and belatedly moving towards acceptance of curvier, bigger, bodies. Granted, we’re not quite there yet, but in 2013, I regularly come across columns applauding women’s decisions not to give in to pressures to diet, and it’s (thankfully) not acceptable to openly criticize fuller figured women in a way it used to be.

But now that everyone has finally united in their disgust at Heat Magazine et al’s ‘circle of shame,’ that truly rotten game of encircling a funny looking ankle to say ‘ew,’ it seems that there is a new object of hatred; ‘fitspo,’ and athletic looking women.

‘Fitspo,’ short for ‘fitspiration,’ a (not very) genius play on words, generally involves incredibly toned women posting photographs of their abs on Instagram and marking them with the fitso hashtag. It’s one part showing off, and yes, fine, maybe you think these people are a bit annoying, but recently there has been a whole wash of hate-filled articles about them, but more specifically, about their bodies.

The problem almost certainly comes from some women’s use of the fitspo tag to question whether other ladies are doing enough to keep their bodies in a similar condition. Questions such as ‘what’s your excuse?’ undoubtedly get some people’s backs up, for quite often the ‘excuse,’ can be genetics, too much other shit to do, or a complete disinterest in spending hours down the gym.

I get all that, but I really dislike the way that that the critics have so broadly condemned these women for projecting a negative image of women, one that’s harmful to children who may perhaps feels that they can’t live up to that ideal. In penning so many of these pieces, they’re just opening up the female body to criticism once again, and that’s what is harmful to children, the constant, never-ending discussion about what’s wrong and right.

The endless tearing apart of other women’s bodies has to stop. Where’s the solidarity here? Why does this continue to happen? The next generation of children shouldn’t need to justify what kind of body they have; they shouldn’t need to give it a thought. A woman’s body is hers, and hers alone. There is no ‘wrong’ body, there are just bodies; not wrong, not to be hated, in fact, ideally, not even to be discussed.

One of the highlights of my year, L’Eroica is a vintage bike ride through the glorious Tuscan countryside, one I’d like to repeat every single year of my life. Head over to Coven Magazine to see some pictures from the trip and to read my write up.

Fixed gear magazine, Cykeln  just released their new issue and it features an interview with your truly. I think they’re experiencing some issues with their upload (something I can totally relate too after Coven Magazine shenanigans) so if you’d like to check out the magazine, Right Click (PC) or Control Click (MAC) and choose to download the linked file over on their website.

Ah, the thrill of the open road! Nothing but you, your bike and the wind in your hair. Well, that and a couple of panniers stuffed with essentials!

Travelling by bike, you’re immersed in the scenery, an extension of the landscape as you feel the earth’s undulations underfoot, or under wheel. The journey is the reason for your trip, rather than a means to an end.

Emily Chappel, via Brooks England

For me, cycle touring is the ultimate bicycle based adventure; the pinnacle of free and easy living where the simple pleasure of riding a bike is amplified ten-fold. It’s the only way to explore – slow enough to inhale your surroundings with gusto, but sufficiently fast that you can cover large swathes of your chosen country. Cycle touring offers freedom and flexibility; pull over and stop whenever and wherever you please, linger over campfire cuppas or gourmet lunches. Why not sleep out in the wildnerness, hang your hammock in an orchard or check into a boutique hotel? There’s so much pleasure in giving in to the whims of the weather, your body (and your bike!) and just ‘going’ with it.

But that’s not to say that a little bit of planning would be amiss, and anyway, day-dreaming and plotting your trip is half the fun. Though there’s a lot to be said for booking a return flight with no itinerary to bridge the gap, in my experience a bit of research and even the vaguest of plans ensure you’ll draw the maximum pleasure from your time on the road. If you’d like to find out more about planning your first cycle based adventure, head over to Total Women’s Cycling to read my piece on just that.

www.totalwomenscycling.com

I recently wrote an eight-page feature for Urban Cyclist magazine on Artcrank‘s ‘poster parties for bike people.’

It came out super nice, so go grab a copy to find out more about this genius combination of beer, bikes, arts and design, see some of the best posters and find out more about my favourite posters.

I was tinkering around with my phone in bed this morning as I had a huge pot of tea and not one, but two cats on my lap. Normally I don’t use my phone in bed but I couldn’t reach my book thanks to the cats, and I am the kind of person who can’t just sit there and ‘be.’

So I started playing around with an app that lets you edit your phone photos into a short video, selecting pics from 2013 to make an overview of my year. I wasn’t planning on selecting quite so many; I thought that I’d reach some kind of limit imposed by the app, but it never came so I kept on clicking, selecting and adding photos – there were just too many good moments from 2013 that I wanted to include.

Looking at the video now, I can see that I missed out billions of things! Morocco, the minidrome, numerous skateparks, stunt doubling on a feature film….. No wonder 2013 went so quickly, it’s like my feet barely touched the ground!

When it came to exporting the video, I realised that 300 images for a 30 second video were perhaps a little too many – so please don’t have a fit watching my 2013 flash by your eyes! The quality isn’t great – it’s made in ten minutes on an phone, and yeah, I could have made a better, higher quality video using my proper editing software, but sometimes simple, quick and easy is what I’m after.

Looking back over 2013 really made me smile. 2012 was not without it’s (significant) problems for me, so I’m extra grateful for all the good times I had – not least the fantastic weather over the summer. May 2014 be equally as good!

Lauren Jenkins recently interviewed me for Wideopen Magazine’s Women’s Wednesdays and took the chance to ask me several questions about women in action sports and how we can grow participation. It’s an interesting question, and a subject that’s close to my heart, so go take a look at what I had to say and let me know your thoughts on the matter.

Go take a peek at my interview here.