Cycling travel tips, resources and product reviews
Is Tour de France security enough to ensure the Tour de France is still safe? Is a terrorist attack a real and probable risk at the Tour de France? It’s a shocking thought, but it demands your attention, because complacency is not an option. Look at what is happening in the world right now. Things […]
In this Etape Australia review, I’ll answer the question “Should I do Etape Australia?” It’s a fair question, and one I’ll answer with ruthless honesty as always. (OK, to be technically accurate, this is a pre-review of the event. Etape Australia carries the imprimatur of the ASO and the heavy weight L’Etape du Tour. That, […]
Want to avoid excess fees when flying with your bike? Look no further! When traveling with your bicycle it’s important to know what the spiel is with excess baggage, but many airlines like to make it as difficult as possible for you to find out what the additional luggage charges are. Many of you who […]
I’ve been using Strava Live Segments for about a week now on a Garmin 520. Whilst there is a bit to like about the functionality, I get the feeling that one of the following occured with respect to integration between Garmin and Strava. Garmin has only reluctantly provided access to its platform to Strava; Strava […]
What an exciting time of year for cyclists! Not only is it summer for the grizzled, cold Melbournites; it is the start of indoor ergo season for our northern hemisphere readers…woooot! (can I get a little woot-woot? No? Anyone?) Oh, and also, the parcours 24th edition of L’Etape du Tour—Etape 2016— has been announced in […]
Wow! Has the World Health Organisation, or more precisely, it’s International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC) thrown a cat amongst the salami and sausage fanciers with their recent findings that processed meat and red meat cause cancer. The press release is here and Q and A (interesting reading) here. Precisely, this is what they […]
The ASO is bringing L’Etape du Tour to Australia, with the surprisingly named L’Etape Australia. Not much detail is to hand at this stage except it will be held in December 2016 over 3 days in the Snowy Mountains. (I don’t know what the 3 days could possibly entail since Etape is ostensibly a 1 […]
Well it’s magpie season1 (or should that be Australian Airborne Death From Above Squad) so now’s the time people want to know How to stop magpies swooping. It’s at this time of year that cyclists of all persuasions take on a slightly unhealthy pallour, and get a bit wild around the eyes at the prospect […]
SRAMs new wireless group, SRAM Red eTap, is here: but is it for you? For an indepth wrap up of SRAMs new group, check out Cycling Weekly (link at bottom of page). New innovations are great, but always suit early uptakers (tech mavens) and those with deep pockets (in this case, very, very deep) who […]
Reader Chihiro-san, kindly sent me his 2015 La Marmotte report. I was finish LA MARMOTTE. Thank you for your advice. [Ed: Velonomad sportive training] The following is a movie of my travel, see it.
If you’re looking for ideas on where to watch the 2015 Tour de France Mountain Stages, you’re in the right spot. I get a lot of questions from VeloNomad readers about the ins and outs of watching a Tour de France stage and whilst the basic tenets of watching a stage irrespective of the year […]
“EAT MORE PROTEIN” is the catch-cry. Hmm, you think, protein is good for me. I must guzzle ALL THE SHAKES! (Right?) Not so fast, buster. People are addicted to the idea that protein (animal protein in particular) makes you lose weight and is a generally healthy thing to do. Nothing can be further from the […]
So, SRAM has done something interesting and put out a 1 chainring group set for the road market in their Force and Rival lines. (Not to say SRAM don’t do interesting things, it just seemed an appropriate intro). Called 1x henceforth, and specifically available as Force 1 and Rival 1, it’s aimed at road, CX, […]
Disclaimer: Velonomad uses and recommends Scicon Bike Bags, most particularly the Aerocomfort 2.0 TSA. Here’s my Scicon Aerocomfort 2 TSA review. Here’s a breakdown on how the Scicon-sponsored Tour of California teams manage their logistics and why they love the Aerocomfort 2 TSA bike bags. *** California: a place that conjures up images of glamour, […]
CONTROVERSY ALERT! Whenever I talk about diet, nutrition and supplements, I’m mindful of not appearing to be proselytising. You guys know I just care about you, right? And for those who haven’t been following Velonomad for a while, my diet is mostly vegan for both health and ethical reasons. You can read more about my […]
Since originally writing this in July 2013, I subsequently have ridden and owned a Tarmac SWorks SL3 and Colnago C59 Italia and am now on a BH Ultralight RC. Each has their pros and cons but there are numerous reasons for such a ridiculous array of bikes in such a short period of time which […]
Although VeloNomad is all about self-touring holidays and teaching you how to plan a cycling trip in France yourself, sometimes it’s easier to join a tour and let someone else take care of the small stuff so you can just turn up and ride. Let’s dive into my 2015 trip case study into how to […]
The 2015 Etape du Tour route has been announced; and boy, what a doozy. Whilst reader Paul conveyed his disappointment that the Etape won’t be the Modane-Alpe D’Huez TdF stage (Stage 20)—saying “How much of a crush to morale is a long downhill stretch with Telegraphe/Glandon next up”—this route will still be a moral crusher. (And, […]
Some of the very awesome Velonomad readers wrote in with amazing 2014 Etape reports and photos from their epic completions of Etape 2014. Without further ado, we have reports from Paul T, Mario, Darren, Andrew, Bayne and Matt A. Paul T, UK Hi Tim Hope you are very well – wanted to send you a […]
Lots of cyclists just love the latest tech. Mostly our focus is on group sets, computers and power meters. But something rather large and game changing happened last week. Apple released its Apple Watch. Whilst you’ll find incredible reviews by watch nerds and tech nerds (John Gruber’s EXCELLENT summary, if you like tech reads) none […]
These are my favourite Tour de France Spectator Tips. These help ensure you don’t waste time on the day arguing with gendarmes, getting there late, or forgetting things you’ll need.where’s And hopefully they stop you looking like an idiot on international television. You can read these Tour de France Spectator tips in more detail in […]
“Mont Ventoux training: is it necessary?”, you ask. Ah, Mont Ventoux. My favourite climb in the world (by a mile). Many cyclists have seen Le Geant on TV or read about it. Its eerie moonscape-like upper slopes beckon with a challenge. But you’ll find the Mont’s slopes littered with the broken dreams of thousands of […]
Are wider rims better? I think so, but to get a professional take on this, I asked local wheelbuilder extraordinaire Josh Beck of XLR8 wheels why wider rims are better on the road. Josh has been building bikes and wheels for 25 years and puts my developing mechanical skills to utter shame. TM: What is […]
Quite a number of months ago, my friend Chris became a Vegan Cyclist (the mirth I need to supress when expressing things in these terms is quite considerable). Chris did this as he’d tried everything to lose weight. And no, not one of those “I’ve tried everything” people who are still munging down on doughnuts […]