30 Days of Biking Days #10 - 14

Yeah, it rained this week.  A lot.  Torrential rain.  Record-breaking thunder and lightening.  And I opted to ride the rollers every day it rained.  For someone who's not actually "training" that sounds a lot like training, doesn't it?

I actually really like the rollers.  They're entertaining.  They're great for core and balance and bike handling.  I like doing intervals on the rollers.  I like riding no-handed and standing and doing all the things that are challenging.  I like watching "Weeds" while I ride the rollers.

But the rollers aren't all that interesting to blog about so I let this blog slide this week.

Thankfully, I awoke to a gorgeous, sunny, but cool day.  Today I coached two Savvy Bike clinics:  Bike Skills 101 (fundamental handling skills) in the morning and Bike Skills 201 (climbing + descending) in the afternoon.  It's a long day but always fills me with an incredible energy.  There's really nothing I enjoy more in life than coaching clinics.  There's an awesome synergy in the group setting that really allows each participant to excel.  I love shifting paradigms and unravelling the mystery of the bike.  Yes, the bike really is a mystery to a lot of riders, even those who have been riding for many years.  It's always fun to watch participants progress throughout the day and finish with a really solid understanding of the physics behind our sport -- learning how their bikes "really" work, how to interact with the bike, and building confidence and skills.  I'm a lucky girl that I get to do something that I love for my job.

As I've continued to lose weight, it's been really exciting for me to see how much my climbing has improved from month to month during these clinics.  I'm still not at skinny climber-girl weight, but my speed has increased significantly and I'm starting to feel like my old self again. This makes me very happy.

I want to thank everyone who's been reading my blog and sending emails and comments.  I appreciate your support and interest in my 30 Days of Biking Challenge.  Many of you have asked about my weight loss.  It's been a long process (215 pounds in July 2009 to 164 pounds today).  I've still got about 20 pounds to go but I've been very disciplined with my nutrition and should hit that goal by my birthday in July -- hopefully a bit sooner.  It's been challenging to find the right balance of caloric deficit (for weight loss) and fuel (for energy) but I'm still making steady progress and feel really positive about it.

Anyways, no photos today (I was too busy coaching).  But you can find my rides here:

http://www.plus3network.com/people/profile/2242

Thanks for reading and I hope your weekend is filled with sunny bike rides, too!