Blogs

Be Inspiredby award
winning writers

Join the new Revolution & Be Inspired

Since 2012, our writing team here at Pedalnorth have been creating award winning content, riding, racing and winning cycle races all over the globe. Their blogs are created in order to provide world leading informative content, about all manner of cycling subjects, and to inspire you on your own cycling journey. Here’s the full collection for you to browse through and read. If you have any suggestions for subjects, then simply click here and let us know.

We’ve been promoting and leading the way for ladies cycling since we began, and we continue to drive forward in empowering women to express themselves and to be able to ride as equals within the cycling world. That also means having the best information for women’s cycling kit, training tps, lifestyle and skincare tips too. As a former international triathlete and model, Nadezhda has all the tips you need to be the best possible  version of yourself, on 2-wheels.

Working closely with the leading brands within the world of cycling, our writers know what makes cyclists tick, what motivates you and what looks stylish to0. We’ll tell you the very places places for cycling travel and how to look after your bike along the way. Nadezhda and Robert have a wealth of experience and expertise to share with you, so why not take a look below and join the new cycling revolution – at Pedalnorth!

Performance Comfort & Style in Perfect Harmony

Lenzerheide to Arosa and Chur MTB Route

Lenzerheide and Arosa is the ultimate venue for mountainbikers. The two valley sides of Lenzerheide, 'Red Peak' and 'Western Summits', as well as the foothills to the north and south are the real trail paradise for mountainbikers to visit from all over the world.
July 31, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Furka Pass Cycling Route

Sean Connery took to these roads in the classic Bond Movie 'Goldfinger', and now you too can, as you ride through spectacular scenery and enjoy the breathtaking mountain roads of Switzerland.
July 29, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Trail building the ELECTRIC SNAKE for Val di Sole World Championships

 The UCI MTB 2021 World Championships will be held in Val di Sole from 25 to 29 August. But how is a world cup track created? Who is a trail builder and how does one become one? THOK E-Bikes asked a real guru (Italian but internationally renowned): Pippo Marani. He uses THOKs E-Bikes to move around the slopes.
July 28, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Summer Cycling in a Pandemic

It’s summer, but it’s not really summer. Yes, the sun is high and warm, but we simply can’t enjoy it in the way that we want to. Our writers were supposed to be competing in and writing about the legendary Trans Alp mountain bike race this year - but covid travel restrictions put paid to it.
July 26, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

New Ordnance Survey Mapping

We're changing how we share Ordnance Survey mapping of our routes. From August 2021 there'll be far more mapping options available to you, and the ability to do 'fly throughs'.

Read about the reaons and benefits here.
July 25, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Tuo – Summer Rescue

Summer cycling can hit and miss due to the unexpected weather. Thankfully Elite have developed interactive trainers like the TUO that aren't too concerned about the rain. Using the Elite 'My E-Training' app with the TUO, you can cycle around the world when heavy sorms and showers stop your outside fun.
July 14, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Triathlon Training – Brick Workouts

Training for 2 disciplines back to back - brick training. It'stough but worthwhile, and triathlon coach Nadezhda guides you through the process with this great article.
July 5, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

DS Pro Dainty Blue Bib Shorts for Women

The dainty cycling shorts from dynamic young brand DS Pro are designed just for women, like everything from this stylish company. They’re the newest and hottest trends in town and look fantastic.
July 5, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

DS Pro Nana Blue and Black Ladies Jersey

Looking good and feeling good on the bike is important - especially to women athletes.Thankfully, DS Pro know this and their latest jerseys are designed with performance and style at their heart. Time to take a look at this chic Nana jersey deisgn then...
July 5, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Bio Green Bottles

It gives me great pleasure to ride a bike in the forest, to hear the birds chirping, to enjoy the landscapes and to see other creatures which live in the wilderness.
Thankfully, we have lots of wild and remote and very beautiful paces here in Transylvania and Romania. It’s very important to treat nature as if it were our home; to keep it clean, to take care of it and not to exploit it.
June 28, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Summer Performance

As we reach the middle of the year, Larisa and Robert write about how their use of the Elite interactive trainers has prepared them and ensured that they've got early season smiles on the long cycling miles.
June 17, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Biehler Signature Ladies Bib Shorts

Stylish performance bib shorts from German brand Biehler ,tested in the South of France by Diane - are these shorts as good as they look - read on and find out 🙂
June 17, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Biehler Supreme Cycling Jersey

Biehler like to design modern cycle clothing that also perfroms at the highest level. Riding in the south of France is uncompromising, with steep hills and a hot sun, so kit needs to work well. And, as a women, it also needs to look good - so let's take a look 😉
June 17, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Schwalbe Aerothan Tube and 28mm Pro One Tyre

Schwalbe are working hard to bring new developments to your cycling. We fitted their new Aerothan tubes to their latest Pro One tyres - and the bike danced with joy... find out why.
June 10, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast

Here’s the first of a series of healthy recipes from our Health & Fitness editor Nadezhda. It’ll get you firing on all cylinders and performing at your best all day long. Nutrition is a key element of any training plan, and these recipes from Nadezhda will help you to create your own nutrition routine.
June 8, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Richmond Park to Chichester Cycle Route

How about a cycling route that takes you from London, through the Surrey and Sussex hills, with the South Downs waiting for you,as you approach historic Chichester.
This is an excellent route for a two day trip into the hills, using Chichester as an overnight halt.
May 26, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

DS Pro Floral Bliss Skinsuit

It's time to look at skinsuits, with the new Floral Bliss design by ladies only brand, DS Pro. This high end performance brand from Florida design kit that makes you look as good as you feel. Read Nadezhda's thoughts on this body hugging cycling suit.
May 25, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Achieving Your Best Time Trail Race

A time trial is racing at its most basic level, with just you, your bike, and the time to contend with. It tests the cyclist’s and machine’s ability against the clock.

A time trial bicycle (TT bike) has a shorter wheelbase, more aerodynamic, places the rider nearer towards the front of the bike in aero position. Besides, it can have solid disk wheels. It comes with some complexity and you need to know the tricks to ride a faster time trial.
May 25, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

How to increase your FTP on the bike

I want to talk with you about performance - how to increase power and performance. Cycling performance depends on increasing the Functional Threshold Power, also known as FTP. If you are wondering what is FTP and how to increase it, read on to learn more. Nadezhda 🙂
May 23, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Around Fertainu Peak – Romania

Take a trip with Larisa Chinces, into the beautiful forested hills and mountains in the west of Romania and Transylvania. Romania is Europe's last great wilderness and has the best mtb trails in Europe to explore. You can find your own adventure in Transylvania - with Triada MTB
May 22, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Bottle Cages

There are some key areas that we all need to focus on when buying new bottle cages: Lightness & Performance, Great Grip and Access, and finally, Fitting & Aesthetic. In order to get the highest possible results in each of these areas, Elite put their considerable knowledge and expertise to good use, resulting in cages that the top riders in the world rely on.
May 15, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Mont Ventoux with Diane Vilarem

Mt Ventoux? The legendary climb. For whatever reason everyone kept talking about it. “Have you ridden Mt Ventoux yet? It’s awesome” If you google famous Col’s in France this one always pops up high up on the list. I had to find out why! Could it be even harder than the holy grail of the French Riviera - Col de la Bonette?
May 13, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Tour des Combins

Take on this classic bike packing tour in the Alps. If you're after a real adventure, then this could be for you. There's some bike hike along the way, but the rewards are epic.
May 9, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Walmer – Wide Drop Bars

Finding the correct size drop bar for a road bike has always been straightforward. Measure the distance between the acromial arches (the bony protrusions on the anterior shoulder) and that is your centre to centre bar width. Following the evolution of gravel and adventure bike geometry, the choice of bar shape and width is expanding with width and degree of flare being the most significant differences.
May 3, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Spring Into Action with Elite

It's spring and Larisa as making the most of the weeks since she started using the Elite Nero rollers and Direto XR interactive trainer. How has it benefited this multi sports athlete -let's find out 😉
May 2, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Cleat Wear

When was the last time you checked the state of your cleats or even fitted new cleats? What is your criteria for deciding to change your cleats or the pedals? With the forces being driven through the pedals and the constant movement from the lateral float, cleats and pedals are an area which are susceptible to significant wear depending on distances ridden, intensity and trail conditions.
May 2, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

The Jeroboam Franciacorta 300km

The Jeroboam Franciacorta 300km is Beauty and the Beast, gravel riding redefined between the shores of lake Iseo and Lake Garda. Spectacular riding and views awaited us, but not without earning them via some hefty climbing.
May 1, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Renew Not Replace – Bike Love

I’m going to take you down memory lane; to that time when you stood outside of the bike shop on the way to school and you looked at the shiny new bike, with your nose pressed to the window. I was reminded of this a few years ago at Velo Follies in Flanders, looking at a youngster eyeing up the new bike helmets on show. The truth is that we’re all kids at heart, and whatever the technical data or artistic sales description, the colour and look of the bike is still one of the key factors.
April 29, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Top 5 Traits of Thriving Endurance Athletes

The success of endurance athletes is not measured by how fast they achieve something. It is about the commitment of doing something that they set their minds to do. This definition of their success is encapsulated in the say-do gap, which refers to the space between what athletes say they will do and its potential result.
April 28, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Mandy Marquardt Interview

As part of her series on inspiring women athletes, Nadezhda interviewed Mandy Marquardt,from the USA Track Team. Mandy Marquardt is a professional track sprint cyclist racing for Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team and for the USA Cycling National Team. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 16.
April 27, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Looking After Your Female Body

Enjoy the strength and beauty of your youth. As long as life is not pleasant to us, it passes. In 20 years, you will look at your photos with a feeling that you do not understand now. How many possibilities were open to you and how amazing you really looked.
Nadezhda Pavlova
April 12, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

DS Pro Chasing The Stars Cycling Kit

This dynamic brand produce stylish performance gear for women... yes, not ladies - women -  allowing you to express who you are and to wear the very best performance fabrics, designed by athletes and yet remain totally feminine. Let's take a look at their latest kit, 'Chasing The Stars' and its modern and chic design.
April 10, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Benefits of Indoor Cycling

We’re into month 4 of our Elite indoor training project and it’s the perfect time to examine the initial benefits and how it all fits in to the reasoning behind using an indoor trainer.

Let’s get this out of the way early then: indoor cycle training is not about avoiding cycling outdoors - quite the opposite. I’m happy to evidence this viewpoint for you.
April 10, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elterwater Independent Hostel

We want to help you to get back to what riding is all about -adventure. In the first of a new series of blogs, we're visiting Elterwater Independent Hostel in the English Lake District, to show you some amazing mountain bike routes from the door.
April 2, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Winter Miles On Skis

Our team of writers are multisport athletes, and so we thought that we'd tell you what we've been doing over winter. Scott lives in beautiful Chamonix, where the snow means that he skis more that cycling during winter.
April 1, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

TRANSFĂGĂRĂȘAN CHALLENGE

“ I can’t describe the feeling when I’m cycling on this road, it’s something special and unique. When you are there you get amazed by the landscape and the more you climb, the tougher it gets, but it’s worth every pedal! The effort to pedal this road is really a challenge, more like a challenge with yourself."
April 1, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Marcus Smith Marathon Man

Some people are just inspirational. Marcus Smith is one such person. This amazing athlete ran 30 marathons in 30 days, came back from near death and still competes. Being a good friend of Marcus, Diane  decided to have a chat with Marcus and to find out more...
March 30, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

ALÉ Bullet WR Bib Tights

These bib tights are designed to go well with the Ale´ winter and cold weather jersey range. Thankfully, they also go well with many other jerseys and jackets from across their ranges. They’re form fitting, which means that you look great in them, and they also have good compression where needed, showing off your body and your style and allowing you to perform to your best.
March 24, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

DS Pro Floweral Outlines One Piece Suit

Cyclists wants to look stylish and to be confident while riding, and DS PRO has really captured this into their selection of outfits. And, as women we want and deserve to be stylish. Having examined the new DS Pro Floweral Outlines one-piece TriSuit when it arrived, it was soon time to actually put it on and get out riding into the French Maritime Alps.
March 22, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Jet Water Bottle

Looking across the water bottle range at Elite, we previously wrote about their award winning super lite Fly water bottle. This time we’re going to be telling you all about their Jet bottle, which takes a few of the advancements from the Fly and puts it into a more robust biodegrable bottle that’s suited for tougher riding environments.
March 12, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Bike TransAlp 2021

During the Covid pandemic, sales of bikes have risen exponentially, with more and more people seeking the freedom and adventure that cycling brings. Riding our bikes takes us back to days of childhood, gives us the opportunity to explore new challenges and new places. And, if you’re looking for real adventure in spectacular surroundings in the future, then there’s only 1 Trans Alp race.
March 9, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Tuo Interactive Turbo Trainer

I've been  using Elite Cycling's interactive home trainer 'Tuo' now for several weeks. I have to say, now that I’m further into the experience, it’s most definitely providing the levels of performance and interactivity that I had anticipated from the marketing information on the Elite Cycling website.
March 8, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

ALÉ Bullet DWR Jersey

If you’re looking for the ideal winter jersey, that also comes in useful in late autumn and early spring, then this is definitely the jersey for you. In a short space of time, it’s become one of the jerseys that I instinctively go for as a favourite.
March 4, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Alé Ladies Switch DWR Combi Jacket

New Year, new style and more fun!

The Ale´ Women’s winter jacket Switch DWR Combi looks lovely, like most of Ale’s wonderful collections, always full of bright and vivid colors, with unique designs. The one I have on test is a shade of light blue or celeste color, one of my favorites of course!
March 3, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Indoor Cycling in Winter

Winter can be beautiful. The snow falls deep and lies like a blanket. It’s super for skiing, which I love, but it means that I cannot ride outside so much. I still need to train though and I now have Elite to help me.
March 2, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Sigr Gotlandsleden Jacket

Winter is not a particularly nice time to be out on the roads and trails riding a bike. Riding in winter conditions is all about wearing the right clothes. There's an old Scandinavian phrase - 'there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing', and Sigr have developed their clothing range around this mantra.
February 25, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Selle Italia SLR Boost Lady Superflow

Saddles are important, especially to me. I don’t like it when I have to use a strange bike and the saddle is uncomfortable. I want to be comfortable on my bike, so that I can give my best performance. That means not worrying about being on a bad saddle.
February 22, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Indoor Cycling – Training Through Injury

One understated benefit of interactive indoor cycle trainers, is how useful that they are when you're training through imjury. You need to ensure that you stay within performance parameters, and the data that you get from the 'My E-Training' app allows you to focus and to work at the right level. Robert writes about how Elite are helping him through such a period of injury.
February 20, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Cherie Pridham Interview – Talking with friends

From being a pro cyclist to the first-ever female director in the men’s WorldTour with Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN), Cherie Pridham is here to make history.

It is only right to have female sports directors at Women's WorldTour, but this is the first time a woman leads a male-dominated peloton. Because of this, Cherie has been receiving lots of attention from the people in the cycling world.
February 18, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Col de Turini from Nice

The Col de Turini is a classic route in the hills close to Nice. It's featured on the Tour de France and is a favourite formany locals riders. Read Diane's account,as she chooses this as her first ever mountain col cycle route.
February 17, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Fly Water Bottles

Elite Cycling from Italy don’t just make great indoor cycle trainers. They also make the most technologically researched water bottles for cyclists. We thought that we’d take a look at this critical item of cycling kit.
February 7, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

GripGrab Race Thermo X Overshoes

The weather has been so awful this winter that the roads have been constantly filled with mud and debris fom the fields. When it came to reviewing these Grip Grab MTB/XC overshoes, we decided then to do something different - how would they stack up on these debris laden roads as a general pair, suitable for both mountain bike and road and saving you some money.
February 7, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Art From Bike Parts

What do you do with old bikes and old bike parts? Keith fromthe north of England uses them to create awesome pieces of art, personalised for his growing customers. We loved his work so much, that we thought you'd love it too. Take a look at what can be achieved in an environmentally way to recycle metal.
February 6, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Atlas Mountain Race Part 3

It's the final stages of the Atlas Mountain Race in the heat of Morocco. Scott and Mitch have adjusted well, but the riding is tough, thankfully through epic scenery. Follow their riding as they complete one of the toughest bikepacking adventures.
February 4, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Atlas Mountain Race Part 2

The Cascade de Tizgui sounded idyllic for an early morning food stop, but the river was a trickle and the café not yet open! A few of us had come together by this point, all looking forward to the momentary pause. The way out was a steep hike-a-bike up the access steps, arms feeling almost useless at lugging the loaded bike after days on the trail.
February 4, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Atlas Mountain Race

From mountain passes to the sea, following a route far from the tourist trail, discovering the more remote parts of Morocco’s backcountry. The Atlas Mountain Race resonates all the creativity of the minds behind the now infamous Silk Road Mountain Race. As with the SRMR, wise planning and a sense of being able to deal with remote riding would count just as much as physical ability, although the temperatures turned out to be warmer than predicted - a nice bonus.
January 27, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elite Nero Rollers Introduction

Larisa is currently testing the Elite Nero interactive rollers and by all accounts they're awesome. Read her first thoughts on riding these high end technology packed rollers from this leading Italian brand.
January 24, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Elastic Interface Ladies Chamois Pad

Did you know that women have a greater spectrum of bottom shapes and structures than men, it’s true. Elastic Interface have researched this, partnering with the Department of Biomedical Science at the University of Padua, Italy. After developing their First Ladies specific pads, Elastic Interface listened to the feedback and wanted to improve things, and so looked towards the scientists in order to better understand female cyclists bottoms.
January 16, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Rudy Von Berg Triathlete Interview

Rudy Von Berg is one of the best triathletes in the world. Triathletes know that adding something special to training can you give you an edge, and so Diane takes Rudy on a Yoga journey and interviews him about his triathlon life.
January 16, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

Indoor Cycling – Not Hibernating

Indoor cycling isn't about hibernation. Instead, it's all about developing your performance to be better equipped to tackle those hills outside, bringing you more smiles when the snow and ice thaws. Elite provide the very products and apps to help you to make the most of indoor cycling.
January 14, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

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