Life lessons from the wife of a cyclist

 On June 3, 2007, I had the honor of volunteering at the Ken Herrod Memorial Road Race in Harvard. I am a member of the Minuteman Road Club, who along with the Harvard Firefighters, hosted the race. It was a beautiful day. I was psyched to see so many females in the race. I am in awe of how fit these athletes are, and how tenacious they are at going after their goals.

MRC Cat 4-5 Women at the start

My husband, Bill, is an avid cyclist. He trains through the winter, when it rains, on the road, in the woods, on a fat bike, road bike, mountain bike....and a dirt bike. If it has 2 wheels he is happy. I don't really consider myself a cyclist although I do enjoy riding and try to get out on my road bike at least weekly when the weather is nice.

Bill, 1st on the podium, Mt Snow.

A few years back we were at a mountain bike 24 hour race. I joined a women's beginner group and the lead rider really helped me to appreciate the joy in riding. This past weekend as I was out on my (very late in the season) first ride, I found myself fully enjoying the process and truly appreciate how the events of the road can translate into everyday life.

The following are my "life lessons" that while observed on my bike, can be carried over into any aspect of health, wellness, and fitness.

Great Sacandaga Lake, Northville, NY

1. Be present. While riding your bike or performing any task, pay attention to what you're doing. Observe the scenery. Listen to the birds. Smell the fresh air. Feel the breeze between the heat. I worked with a woman in my PT practice last week who was doing her exercises. I asked how many reps she had done, expecting 10-12. Her response was "I don't know. I just kept going. I was doing my shopping list, and figuring out my kids schedule while doing the exercise." If we can't focus on the task at hand, how can we be expected to make progress? If we can't take the time to focus on ourselves for just 5 minutes, how can we expect to improve our pain or mobility? Riding my bike teaches me that. I have to pay attention to the cars, the potholes, and especially the nature that is around me. Riding my bike gives me time to actually 'be present' in my life. I frequently stop to take in the beautiful views along the way. It doesn't matter how far or how fast you go, only that you go. Start today. Whatever your goal, take action. Show up and truly enjoy the process. 
2. Breathe. When I struggle to ride up a hill I hold my breath. The same happens when I struggle at work or with my daily life. Taking the time to focus on your breathing can not only save you from passing out, but it will engage your core and give you better stability while making your way through tough times. I cue my patients to breathe through their nose and in for 3 out for 6. I try to Crocodile breathe whenever I am stressed because it helps to quiet my nervous system down. Less stress equals better output on the bike AND my life.

   

   Crocodile breathing: breathe way down to your lower back and let your sides expand

3. Change positions frequently. Sometimes I get tingling in my hands as I'm riding. It's common. It goes away. When I change positions I can decrease it. This is true in every day life as well. We get caught up at our desks, on the computer, in a meeting, or watching TV. If we can do a little movement through the day it will save us some stiffness and pain later. Simply fidgeting your whole body can help dramatically. Cogs-like the cogs of a chain ring- can be done in any position and are a great exercise to restore normal movement. In the video below I demo a way that could easily translate to riding.  I learned to call them Cogs from Gary Ward of Anatomy in Motion and the author of "What the Foot?"which you can find here.  

   

   Quadruped Cogs: easy to do while on the bike

4. Warm up/Cool Down. We do it when we lift. Why don't we do it when we ride? Or even when we wake up? I was 3 minutes into my ride when my hips started to talk to me. Luckily they were just squawking at the new activity and chilled out after 10 minutes.  After I got off the bike I realized how tight everything was. This is a quick and easy active warm up which targets the muscles used during bike riding and will prep you for the ride. They also work as a cool down but the first thing I like to do after a ride is to lie on my stomach, get out of a flexed position and catch my breath...so my go to is the Crocodile breathing shown above.
   

   

   Hip flexor/Hamstring active mobility followed by single leg bridge glue activation.

5. Downshift and up shift. It has taken me 6 years to start to understand how to effectively use my gears. I tend to grind it out and then fatigue at the top too spent to go any further. I was taught in a workshop that I should pay attention to how my legs are feeling vs what the hills look like ahead. On this ride I finally felt it. I didn't look and stress about what gear I was in. I paid attention to how I was feeling and when it was difficult I downshifted. When it was easy I up shifted. Imagine if we did this in our life. Sometimes we're going to have major hill climbs. We can stress about it, struggle and fight our way to get to the top. OR we can allow ourselves to down shift a bit, dig in, keep pedaling and breathing and know that the struggle will only last for a bit. When we come over the top, we can coast for a bit, but if we keep the steady pace we can handle anything that comes up. 

Life can be a struggle at times. Finding an outlet like biking to help you let go of the struggle can do wonders at restoring health and balance. Finding the joy in exercise as well as life and learning to ride those rolling hills makes it so much more enjoyable.