Midsummer Musings from Coach Lorri

Whoever created my schedule this summer was crazy!  What's that you say?  I put together my own schedule?  Well that explains everything.  Indeed, I'm crazy.

Since mid-June, I've spent more time away from home than at home.  My life has been a constant go-go-go.  And, of course, the bike has been an integral part of that action.

In June, I spent two weeks in beautiful Markleeville, CA, home of the Death Ride.  I held my 5th Annual Alpine Altitude Adventure camp with a great group of riders and also rode the Alta Alpina Challenge on one of the hottest days of the year.  I rode my favorite mountain passes, practiced yoga at studios in Carson City, Truckee, and South Lake Tahoe, visited the farmer's markets, hiked with my dog, and did some advance work for The Specialized Women Sports Camp where I'd be coaching in August.  I even went stand-up paddleboarding on Lake Tahoe for the 1st (and 2nd) time ever!

Lorri and Annie at the Death Ride

July was non-stop action, with another week in Markleeville, capped off by my fastest Death Ride ever!  I somehow slipped in a bunch of Savvy Bike clinics, bike fits, and on-the-bike coaching sessions, as well as prep for the 8th Annual Menlo Park Grand Prix presented by Kit Order.

Janelle Kellman of Kit Order with Lorri at the Menlo Park Grand Prix

The day after the race, I spent my 48th birthday with off-load and then hopped on the redeye for New York to spend an amazing week visiting long-lost family and friends and attending my 30th High School Reunion.  I rode my bike 6 days in 6 different places, including a group ride and a ride with a high school buddy.  I met with cycling and fitness friends to work on plans to bring coaching programs to NY next summer.  This was the first real vacation I've taken in a long time, and I even completely ignored work and email for a few days.

Lorri and her nieces riding in upstate NY

When I returned from NY, I had one day at home before heading up to Truckee to coach the road cycling programs at The Specialized Women Sports Camp.  What a fabulous weekend of clinics, riding, yoga, SUP, and seminars in a stunning setting.

Lorri and her athletes climb Donner Pass

And now I'm back and ready to settle in for a while, with awesome Bike Skills clinics, AIDS LifeCycle Training Ride Leader Certification clinics, bike fits, on-the-bike clients, and even some road and mountain bike racing to finish off the summer.  I've loved every minute of my crazy summer, but I'm thrilled to be back home in Northern CA -- the most perfect place on earth to ride a bike!

Life is short.  Live each day fully.  Enjoy summer.  Make memories!

30 Days of Biking Day #5

I'm tired.  I was so wired after last night's Midweek Madness ride that I couldn't sleep.  I had to set the alarm this morning (something I almost never do) so I could go to an early-morning appointment.  I don't think I realized just how tired I was until I got on the bike today.  I just didn't have any get-up-and-go.  I also didn't have any dirt mojo.  I felt clumsy and tentative.  And then I did something stupid and fell over, twisting my ankle really good.  So, I'm sitting here with an ice bag on my elevated ankle typing today's entry for the 30 Days of Biking Challenge.

In retrospect, it really was a good day, though.  My morning YIN practice was outstanding.  My body feels very balanced and healthy right now.  Then I did some bike maintenance (bleeding my mountain bike brakes for the very first time -- success!).  I headed out early and met a new friend for a loop at Arastradero Open Space Preserve.  She's a very interesting woman (retired pro motorcycle racer) and we've known of each other, chatted a bit online,  and met at a race but never had the opportunity to really talk before today.  That's one of the things I like about a mountain bike rides -- you really do get to know the folks you ride with.  After our loop, I headed out with our club ride -- the Dirty Velo Girls.  It was freezing and I'd worked up a good sweat on the first half of my ride so I felt stiff and cranky and just wanted to finish.  Everybody else was really chatty tonight.  That's one difference I've noticed between co-ed (mostly male rides) and rides with women.  Women TALK!  A lot.  It was really fun catching up with friends I haven't ridden with in a while.  I was especially impressed with one rider who was dealing with health issues last season.  She's back on track health-wise and just killing it on the bike!

Is anyone else tired of this freezing, windy weather?  Riding during the daytime isn't too bad, but I've had night rides the past two days and I'm really ready for sunny + 70.  However, the one really cool thing about tonight's ride was the full moon rising (you don't get to see that in the afternoon).  It was HUGE and clear over the preserve.  I snapped a few photos I'll post over on Facebook.

I plan to get a good sleep tonight and will take an easy day on the bike tomorrow.  I'm still debating whether or not I'll race single speed mountain bike at Toro Park on Saturday.  I haven't raced that course in five years and I HATED it.  I've been dreading the race and that tells me it might be best just to opt out of this one.

http://www.plus3network.com/activity/Arastradero-a-Couple-of-Ways/1745855

tonight's crazy crew on the Dirty Velo Girls ride

put a little bang in your yin yang

energy. it's an amazing thing, right? we've got it, we don't have it, we want more of it, we have too much of it.

I have observed that the more energy I expend, the more energy I have. funny, isn't it? when I'm active, riding my bicycle, I feel energized and alive and ready to conquer the world. I'm on a roll and there's no stopping me. when I'm inactive, not riding my bicycle, I feel tired and sluggish and depressed. yeah, there's something to this energy thing.

so, I've returned to practicing yoga. my objective is to balance my physical being -- all the years of high-volume riding coupled with poor posture and bad ergonomics in my office, as well as a couple of serious past injuries. what I didn't expect was to balance my emotional being as well.

in the past, I've practiced Bikram yoga, an intense, athletic form of yoga that's practiced in a heated room. Bikram is Yang.* Bicycle riding is Yang. participating in both has created some interesting imbalances in both my physical and mental self. Bikram is physically challenging for me. there's no half-way for me in Bikram. being a wee bit competitive in nature, I push too hard, I stretch too far, and I end up sore, tired and potentially injured. and then I quit.

my favorite yoga studio, Being Yoga in Burlingame, offers 40+ classes a week. most of these classes are Bikram, but a handful are other styles of yoga. so I've decided to check out some other styles. interestingly enough, these non-Bikram classes are offered in the middle of the day, a time when my energy starts to flag and I find I need some activity to push me through the afternoon.

enter Yin yoga. wow! it's a form of deep yoga with poses that are held for a long time (some of them 10-15 minutes in duration). instead of focusing on our muscles, Yin goes deep into the connective tissue -- ligaments and tendons -- exactly where my broken + abused body really needs some focus. let's see, Yin yoga + Yang cycling = balance. that makes sense to me.

the other interesting concept behind Yin yoga is that it's very meditative. being a wired, ADD, hyper personality, I've never felt comfortable with meditation. yeah, I think a lot on the bike, but mostly my mind is pinging and ponging between a gazillion ideas at the same time. so for me to actually shut off my mind and focus on just one thought, one mantra, for an extended period of time seemed challenging. but I found that it was actually quite easy to be in the moment. and I also found that it helped my mental focus at other times, too.

balance. it's a funny thing. oil + vinegar. sonny + cher. yin + yang. it's all starting to make sense to me now.



*If you want to learn more about Yin + Yang and the theory of contrary but interdependent forces, start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang