The warm-up

Launceston

The promise of being warm, proper all-the-way-through warm, in mid-winter Tassie is the stuff dreams are made of. The catch? Bikram Yoga Launceston and an early class who emerged in front of us looking like they’d just been shipwrecked - and had subsequently had to swim for their lives.

But once the layers came off and the class began, we quickly learned it had more in common with a bunch ride than we’d realised. The same skills that serve us well on the bike – concentration, perseverance, and determination - saw us push our bodies out of their comfort zones and feel all the better for it. And warm as toast.

Speed plating

Melbourne

Other than a passion for bicycles, if there’s one thing our local Liv community shares, it’s a serious love of food (perhaps third only to coffee). So it’s lucky we were here at The Deck to make some scrumptious energy balls! The take-home recipe cards disappeared in a flash, and we’re looking forward to swapping homemade treats on our next ride.

Next up, Dietician Jess Rothwell talked food choice, gut health and fuelling the body for an active lifestyle, helping us realise there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition. The night was a wonderful chance to connect with other passionate cyclists and organise rides - kind of like speed dating, but without the awkwardness (so not really like speed dating at all).

Taking it up a notch

Cairns

Everyone’s favourite decade, the 80s, had a lot going for it. The blue eyeshadow, our go-to hairspray beehive - and in this case, the music. Nothing gets the motivation pumping like sweating it out to some banging tunes. So we got the crew together at Your Fitness Cairns, mixtapes in hand, for an indoor cycling class with a seriously good soundtrack.

Soon it was time to stop chatting and get serious, with lights off, air con on and the first sing-a-long anthem blaring. We didn’t have breath to sing for long though, as the instructor took us up and down climbs, sprints and flats. Girls just wanted to have fun, though, and the 45 minutes went by in a flash (dance).

Wild ideas

Sydney

Armed with a glass of wine, pen, and paper, we were posed a simple question to kick off our indoor fitness goals workshop; ‘What’s your Wild Idea?’. Guided by coach Jen Brown from Sparta Chicks we were encouraged to shout our answers out - quickly filling the board with some pretty wild (and impressive) ideas including, but not limited to, solo mountain biking the Munda Biddi or heading on an ice plateau trek.

We weren’t quite finished yet though, the next step was building ourselves a framework to achieve it. We learned to watch out for when our nagging inner critic and imposter syndrome pop-up, and some tricks for getting rid of them. Next was creating some interim goals, and asking for the help we need. Before we knew it, we had a plan to put our wild idea into action!

Sinking the boot in

Albury

How do you get a bunch of wary female cyclists to take part in a brutal indoor boot camp circuit? Bribe them! With our trainer Sophie (from Iron Vice Athletics) putting a $100 voucher on the line, we turned on each other, jumping on the nearest rowing machine as the pain train left the station.

Sophie kept us moving from the ropes, to Liv bikes on trainers, to ball throws, something called crab crawls and extended planks. It was surprisingly fun, laughing and sweating together, although our spirit animal quickly moved from crawling crustaceans to starfish lying on the floor by the end.

Each event in our In Good Company series offers a different experience, with the aim to connect and grow the female cycling community. You can find out more here. Join us at our next event, the Spring Revival Ride on Saturday 20 October in good company.