GolfChick Rides Bikes

So I was lucky enough to travel to Whistler at the end of September for two weeks, to cut a long story short my best friend 'Buly' was planning to go and rather than go alone he invited me! It's not somewhere I'd ever really planned to go despite it being a mecca for biking, probably because I knew it was out of my reach to ever go and why hope/plan for the impossible!? I've done Les Arcs before in the French Alps but that was some years ago and I just remember concentrating on braking the whole time but I was fairly new to biking back then and I'm sure it'd be a different beast now! I'd of loved to do some other trips in the meantime but due to some circumstances, owning a dog mostly, I've not done another trip...until now! Hopefully this blog post will fill people in about some of the mistakes I made, as well as things I learnt along the way and also providing a general review of Whistler! I don't want to come across as knowing everything o...

I'll be the first to say I definitely err on the side of being a weight weenie. Anything I buy for the Bronson I check out the weight of and if it's a new part that I dont have a preference for, weight is a huge consideration. I know I could save weight by going for Shimano brakes over Hope but frankly I dont care, hope win it every time for me but when it comes to pedals I don't have a 'go to'. I've always highly rated the grip on DMR vaults and my nukeproof pedals have work faultlessly despite not really servicing them very often. When I built up my hardtail I decided I'd put the nukeproof pedals on to it and get something a bit flashier and maybe lighter for the Bronson. After destroying the axle on the superstar pedals I have been put off titanium axles so instead opted for something as lightweight as possible but still handle the battering I give parts and maybe something a bit slick looking. In step the Raceface Atlas, not cheap at £109 but not too bad...

So up for review today is one of Flare's women's jerseys, they first started as a women's only brand but now have started doing some mens clothing as well. I've had my eye on them for a while and during a recent sale I convinced my mum to buy me one for my birthday to finally give one a try. I find it extremely easy to find nice short sleeve jerseys but long sleeve is not so easy. My current fox jersey has been with me for at least seven years and is still my go to jersey despite it looking a little frayed in places. However, a girl that rides as much as me needs more than one jersey so enter the flare jersey! This is a downhill jersey so the idea is that you can wear body armour underneath it so I chose a small as I have no intention of doing this. I'm very happy with the fit of the jersey, something which is definitely missing from generic men's only jerseys. Its a fact that with our hips, shoulders and breasts our upper bodies are shaped differently so its ...

So I have to admit I have a soft spot for Scotland, I used to go every year as a child to varying places throughout Scotland and I'm currently applying for some jobs in Scotland so I can make the move permanent, I'd love to become a bike mechanic and based out of Scotland but that doesn't make enough money to sustain myself and Ziva. I've been biking to Scotland many times but its been a year or two now since my last visit so it was time to visit some new places as well as some already fond places! I booked a cottage staying in Errogie on the south side of Loch Ness, just outside of Inverness so it's still good for fuel and food etc. but outside of the city so a lot quieter, no neighbours for about half a mile just the way I like it! There were only the three of us staying, all bikers but they joined me as the week went on so not all three came to all the locations, at times it was just Ziva and myself! 1. Whinlatter - okay so its not technically Scotland but when...

Well it finally happened! While sitting trying to eat my tea I decided tonight was the night, mostly for my own benefit than other peoples, I decided I would get a few things off my chest. Maybe its true what some people say that once you write down (or in my case type) what you're thinking and whats bugging you that it gets better. Two years ago in April the inevitable happened and I fell off my bike, as I always say if you never fall off you're just not going fast enough or trying hard enough . Obviously I've fallen off before, this wasn't my first foray into scabs and scars, my legs are continually littered with them and its just something I've come to terms with, at the end of the day I can always wear trousers! It was a normal run of the mill day, my usual loop at about 3pm on a weekday the perfect time to ride the wyre, just Ziva and I against the world. Got to one of the fastest sections, I've clocked as high as 30mph using a bike computer, the fore...

Top 5 reasons why autumn is something  to celebrate not dread.   1. Wardrobe - if you're anything like me when it rained a tiny bit during summer you decided you couldn't possibly stand getting wet and it was too warm to wear anything other than some new waterproof shorts you would buy. The new  shorts haven't seen the light of day since the first wear as the rain vanished again. Now is the time to crack out that worthwhile investment, you may even discover like me that you're doing well with your weight loss and that the half a stone you lost is now noticeable! Autumn also means a decline in temperature, no more short sleeve jerseys and super light shorts, you need to rotate your wardrobe again so the base layers are at the top, your nice DH shorts can be worn again without passing out from heat and the one piece lycra tights are almost wearable again! 2. Tyres - after struggling for a lot of last winter using high roller 2's with indecision about which t...