shebikeshebikes

Shebikeshebikes is an initiative devised by Steve and Carol Goodlass. We’re a husband and wife team seeking to transform our lives through cycling. At the heart of it, this is all very simple – it is about a bit of exercise and a lot of fun, squeezed into careers and family.

We both are graduates of the School of Physical Education – Otago University. Carol majored in Sport Psychology, went on and completed her teaching Diploma and taught secondary school physical education before embarking on a new career as a programme manager with the Sports Institute of Otago Polytechnic. While there she continued studying towards a Masters in Sport Psychology. Carol now contracts to the New Zealand Academy of Sport. Steve majored in Biomechanics and graduated with first class honours.  While doing some post graduate study towards a PhD, he then completely switched fields and became a software developer with a startup company called siliconcoach who develop software for video analysis of athletes. Steve now works full time for shebikeshebikes. So, we’re both trained in the theory and practice of physical education, however given our careers and young family we’ve also experienced the “time trap” and getting out of the exercise habit.

The reason we’ve built a website is that we want to spread the word about cycling and detail ways that you and your partner can use it to change your life. We’re fortunate enough to live very close to the Otago Central Rail Trail and run an accommodation business called Solandra Lodge. While hosting guests we have met a lot of people who have changed their lives by deciding to get out there and ride the trail. So, a primary focus of this site will be about how  you can use the Central Otago Rail Trail as a catalyst for a new exercise and fun filled future… together, because shared experience is the best type of experience. I think one of our guests summed in up really nicely when I asked why they’d decided to cycle the trail with their children. His response was “… a family that plays together stays together”.

You’ll find information here about simple things that will make your journey very pleasurable and get you to your destination in good shape. Don’t get us wrong, riding the rail trail isn’t an expedition requiring the same planning as climbing Everest, but a bit of preparation means you can spend all your time soaking up the experience rather than wondering if you should knock your cycling buddy off their bike so you can guzzle the rest of their water bottle to slake your thirst. Some of the things we’ll talk about and provide advice on are :

If you’re riding over the summer period and early autumn, you can expect the temperature to get up to 30 deg C at times. Hydration becomes really important and you need to a) have enough fluid with you for the section you’re biking and b) drink it (we’re not kidding, plenty of seasoned athletes doing events like the coast to coast can forget to take a drink and hit the dehydration wall).

Snacks are a good thing, particularly in the afternoon if you’ve ridden in the morning and in the afternoon. The practicalities of the environment and the fact that you’re riding a bike need to be considered when choosing a snack. For example, how do you think that chocolate bar will fare in your bag by 3:00 pm on a hot central otago day?  We’ll provide good low cost choices for you here.

Do you chafe or are you wondering if it could happen? It can and it does!  Prevention is always better than cure. So buy some Vaseline or similar budget branded stuff from the supermarket and then liberally apply to the area where you’d typically chafe. Also take some Lammersil (or similar) anti fungal creme with you in case you do chafe, as it works wonders for clearing it up.

What’s important about the bike that you’re thinking of using or the one that you’re thinking of hiring? Depending on the itinerary you’ve chosen, you can be on the bike for four or more hours and if you’re not used to that… then it can get quite uncomfortable if your setup is not right.  Make sure that the bike is setup for you and that you try it out and that if it is not working that you contact the railtrail bike provider for some help.