Archive for category: Health and Lifestyle

Cycle Store

December 2, 2019/in Cycle Clothing, Health and Lifestyle, Kit Reviews, Lifestyle /by Robert Thorpe

The Cycle Store

We don’t review many products here at Pedalnorth, choosing instead to bring you only the kit that we love to use ourselves. Having thought about it, we’ve decided to create an area of our website where you can easily click and link in to buy the products that we test and love.

Over time, the links and products will increase and hopefully we’ll be able to bring you some very special offers too. In the meantime, have fun kitting yourself out with the brands that we use ourselves at Pedalnorth.

ALÉ Cycling Clothing

Designed For Cycling

Browse the store

Florida based brand ‘Designed for Cycling’ produce the very best unique designs especially for ladies. This high performance and highly stylish kit is the ultimate in ladies cycle clothing and has been designed to ensure that ladies have something unique, stylish, feminine and functional when riding.

During 2019 we reviewed severalof their designs, but really liked the ‘Sweet Dreams’ kit. If you love the look of it too, then simply click below to add it to your own cycling kit locker.

Aero LS Jersey “Sweet Dreams”

Anatomical Race Cut Long Sleeve Aero Jersey

Stripe Lycra: Great stretch to embrace the muscle with unique structure!

Italian quick dry stretch fabric

Great for spring, summer and autumn.

SPF 50

The DS PRO Sweet Dreams Jersey has the requisite elite aerodynamics, leading edge fabrics and striking limited edition flower design. This women’s long-sleeved cycling jersey comes in a female-specific racing fit, the second-skin cut that is a signature for this high end brand.

Click Here to Buy

ALÉ ‘Race Nordik’ Jacket

A warm and protective garment, developed for most cold weather. The side ventilation openings, adjustable by a zipper, permit to improve the breathability during the toughest performances. The strategic Body Mapping technology alternates protective areas to more ventilated ones to up the evaporation of sweat

– Bonded technology
– Five back pockets including two with zipper
– Reflective details for safety
– Coated water-repellent zipper
– Thermal insert at the back of the neck
– Adjustable side ventilation openings
– Die-cut wrists
– Back pockets with draining gusset

Click Here to Buy

Our Top Recommendations

Aero Long Sleeve Jersey “Sweet Dreams”

GripGrab ‘Hi Vis Essentials’

Lake Shoes Sale

Triathlon – In The Swim

November 20, 2019/in Fitness, Health and Lifestyle, Lifestyle, Training, Triathlon, Uncategorized /by Robert Thorpe

There are always things to consider in each of the 3 triathlon elements. In this post we’ll deal with some simplebut effective tips to help make your swim more comfortable and more effective. Remember,marginal gains can count and feeling good makes you perform that much better.

Traithlon Training

November 20, 2019/in Fitness, Health and Lifestyle, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Training, Triathlon /by Robert Thorpe

Triathlon Training with Nadezhda Pavlova

Having Nadezhda on the team allows us to bring the very best traithlon training advice and tips to you, using her coaching skills and wealth of knowledge.

This page is full of useful articles, blogs and kit tips to help you on your triathlon journey.

The main goal of any training is to set the necessary level of physical fitness for a certain moment during the sports season. Easy passage of the race requires months of hard and painstaking work 😉 However, not many athletes reach their maximum form. Even fewer of them know how to achieve this.

When you find yourself on the verge of a true peak, you will experience a series of physical changes, the combined effect of which will lead to an amazing result. These changes are an increase in leg muscle power, a decrease in the amount of lactic acid produced, an increase in blood volume and red blood cell concentration, as well as a significant accumulation of energy reserves. In addition to physical changes, you will notice an improvement in mental skills, concentration, increased self-confidence and motivation. All this will mean that you have really reached the form necessary to participate in races and for this you will not need to take any illegal drugs at all.

Training can improve the level of physical fitness, but first you need to remove all unnecessary. After a stressful exercise with a high load, your form will be much worse than before the start of the lesson. This is easy to notice if you try to repeat it again immediately after completing the exercise. If the load level is acceptable, and the exercise is followed by rest, your body will recover in a few hours or a couple of days, and as a result, physical fitness will become a little better. This principle is called “overcompensation.” 😉 Let’s train together then, using the advice on our website and make sure that you don’t overtrain.

Repeated overcompensation, aimed at improving physical fitness, becomes effective only when you apply the right overload at the right time 🙂

Knowing what an optimal load is and when to apply it is one aspect of the art of training. Science can point the right way, but you must yourself, through trial and error, determine what exactly is acceptable to you.

The articles and information that we’ll provide you with, will allow you to properly structure your own training plans, as we est out our triathlon limits together 🙂

Nadezhda

TRAINING FOR TRI – THE BASICS

Useful tips to get you started on your own triathlon journey, from triathlon coach Nadezhda Pavlova

Click here

MINDFULNESS & SELF DISCLIPLINE

Time to tackle the mental aspects of tri, as Nadezhda shares her knowledge and experience

Click here

DEALING WITH HYDRATION

Hydration is critical – if you get it wrong, you’ll suffer, so getting it right is the most important aspect of training. Time for some tips then

Click here

GETTING IN THE SWIM

T1 is a critical element of triathlon, and so coach Nadezhda passes on some useful tips to get you started well.

Click here

Designed For Cycling Sweet Dreams Kit

November 17, 2019/in Bib Shorts, Cycle Clothing, Cycle Jerseys and Jackets, Cycling Socks, Health and Lifestyle, Ladies Bib Shorts, Ladies Cycling, Ladies Cycling Jerseys, Lifestyle, Uncategorized /by Robert Thorpe

Cycling gear that looks as good as it feels Finding great cycling gear is always a challenge, especially for women. The industry seems to have decided that if you want performance clothing that helps keep you comfortable on the bike, you also want to appear as if you are a professional cyclist too. Most of […]

Beeline Navigation Device

November 17, 2019/in Cycle Tourism, Health and Lifestyle, Kit Reviews, Lifestyle, Technical Kit, Training, Travel Kit /by Robert Thorpe

Trying a Beeline

Everybody in cycling seems to talk devices these days. Strava has become a pain, yes a pain, Garmin is a close run second and there are a plephora of other devices that cyclists seem lost … literally without. I’m no technophobe, but I do believe that you should first learn to use a map and compass, and in truth, with great devices like Quad Lock which allows you to pop you mobile phone onto the handlebars, Google Maps simply can’t be beaten – or can it;)

What if we had something like a big compass, something very simple but very effective…

When I first saw the Beeline, what impressed me was the simplicity and design. It reminded me of an old fashion prismatic compass in modern form and essentially this is how it operates. You fasten it across your handlebars with the tough rubber case and strapping, set up the app on your phone and you’re away. You can set yourself a route very quickly, tapping away on the app and mapping it out, then watch as the large illuminated pointer directs you.

As you progress your ride the arrow moves as you approach corners – big wow here, as it really helped on the winding roads of the Yorkshire Dales – and it moves either left or right as you approach junctions! You simply cannot get lost with the Beeline. Several times on a ride I would delete the route and then simply set it again and test it for accuracy and it never let me down.

Wondering how well the Beeline would perform with a mountain bike, I took it into the hills and simply set a ‘beeline’, which allows you the freedom to roam at will, simply pointing to your ultimate direction and telling you how far away it is. Once again this awesome device acted like a compass needle, giving me ultimate confidence to ride freely.

The Beeline is also super tough and rugged, being made of so few parts and being stylishly well made. it’s actually a very beautiful item of kit, simple and stylish – definitely a classic design. The only thing left for me was to hand it overto the I.T. crowd – yes! Having a couple of geek friends who work in I.T. and cycle seemed the ideal test. These guys know tech and would certainly know if the Beeline has merit, so it was off to Sheldon and Co. for this interesting device.

Confessions of a Technophobe

Despite working in IT, I am not easily swung or won over by gadgets as I find many create a hassle to my life, instead of making thinks easier. When you threw me the Beeline to try I was a little excited but also a tad sceptical. Its tiny!

1. The App.

This is so easy and user friendly to use and navigate around. Once downloaded onto my iPhone, the App is clear, bright and engaging, with simple steps to either find a location or to download a route via GPX. This in the past has proved to be a bit of a nightmare with some applications but Beeline handled this with ease. With this being the bulk of my riding, I shall be testing this method. The event is the Tour De Aky. A 106.6 mile group ride from Scarborough to Leeds in memory of a popular fallen colleague who sadly took his own life whilst suffering from Mental Health issues. The route uses major and minor roads across Yorkshire and will factor in several publicity stops. Should be a cracking test.

2. The device

At first glance it seems almost impossible that something so small can be effective. I have shied away from other GPS devices other than my IPhone because every time we go out in a group, someone always has issues. Be it a late call at a junction or a delayed signal. Perhaps I am also a little old school too. I like to know my route in my head and I confess to using a map to do this. I need to get out more.

The case is robust and cleverly designed to wrap back on itself and feels tough to the touch. I would think this will last for a while. The Beeline sits snuggly within the case and can only go in one way so you’ll never have it sat off centre. The screen is simple and old school with its display. The light works very well too. Pairing initially didn’t work as I tried to pair directly to the iPhone. The second attempt worked as I did it via the app first. This checked the firmware etc before connecting.

My Route has been downloaded onto the App and is clear and easy to read. I have followed the instructions to join with my Strava account which again was a breeze compared to my Garmin. A quick test of the route start sees the Beeline fire into life and sync straight away. Bodes well for its first outing.

Ride day.

No issues fitting the device to the bike and I use aero bars too. Started the route via the app and the Beeline easily fired into life with a clear arrow to point the way. Scrolling across gave me the speed data and the light shined brightly, lighting up the display. The weather was horrendous with cold rain lashing down but the Beeline took it on the chin and kept pointing the way.

The first 6 miles I simply followed the arrow and watched for the marker to count down to the next turn. It seems weird not having a map and I’m generally untrusting of these sort of devices but it really is simple and very easy. Unfortunately that’s where the fun stopped. We had to change route slightly because of a diversion near Filey. It was only a couple of street and we were back on course, however where a normal navigation system would re-route, the Beeline just wanted me to turn back around and complete the course as per gpx. This meant for the next 45 miles it just pointed me backwards. Frustrating as it was going well. At the first major stop off at York I decided to stop the route, clear it down and start again from this point. It fired back up and worked perfectly again. I am a happy cyclist again. As we were biking with 80 others it gave me the chance to show off the Beeline and check out what the competition is. The size and clarity did seem to impress others, as does the price.

The thing is that the Beeline does require you to stop, go to the app and press your destination in again from your current location, unless of course you’re riding with it in simple ‘beeline’ mode, where the arrow will always point to final destination. Lots of devices can be like this, but it would improve things if the Beeline was able to auto re-route.

ALÉ Autumn Winter Collections 2019/2020

November 15, 2019/in Cycle Clothing, Cycle Jerseys and Jackets, Health and Lifestyle, Kit Reviews, Ladies Bib Tights, Ladies Cycling Jackets, Ladies Cycling Jerseys, Lifestyle, Mens Bib Tights, Mens Cycling Jackets, Mens Cycling Jerseys /by Robert Thorpe

Those very clever and extremely stylish people at Italian brand ALÉ have come up with something extra special this winter. We thought that yu deserved a look and so here’s a preview and a link to their own site, so that you can pop along and write out your favourites for Christmas 😉 Anyway, lets […]

Nadezhda Pavlova Interview

November 14, 2019/in Fitness, Health and Lifestyle, Interviews, Lifestyle, Triathlon, Uncategorized /by Robert Thorpe

We’re very proud of our team here at Pedalnorth and none more so than triathlon editor and lifestyle blogger, Nadezhda Pavlova. It’s unique for anyone to have such a wide range of world class talents, but thankfully for us, Nadezhda is a unique person: artist, designer, topclass triathlete and triathlon coach. It only seems right […]

Designed For Cycling – Cosmic Girl Kit

November 13, 2019/in Cycle Clothing, Fitness, Health and Lifestyle, Kit Reviews, Ladies Bib Tights, Ladies Cycling Jerseys, Lifestyle, Triathlon, Triathlon Kit /by Robert Thorpe

Style meets performance yet again, with this amazing kit from Designed For Cycling, making your triathlon life just a little bit more chic.

Designed For Cycling – Flower Tattoo Kit

October 5, 2019/in Cycle Clothing, Fitness, Health and Lifestyle, Kit Reviews, Ladies Bib Tights, Ladies Cycling Jerseys, Lifestyle, Triathlon, Triathlon Kit /by Robert Thorpe

Flower Tattoo Triathlon Suit

Triathlon requires specific kit, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Designed for Cycling have produced this amazingly stylish Tri Suit just for the ladies. Read more

Designed For Cycling – Flower Tattoo Kit

October 5, 2019/in Cycle Clothing, Fitness, Health and Lifestyle, Kit Reviews, Ladies Bib Tights, Ladies Cycling Jerseys, Lifestyle, Triathlon, Triathlon Kit /by Robert Thorpe

Triathlon requires specific kit, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Designed for Cycling have produced this amazingly stylish Tri Suit just for the ladies.

Cycle Store

The Cycle Store