Last Class

Our last Teacher Training class was Sunday. No more long afternoons doing yoga. I'm glad and sad at the same time. I'm excited to have free weekends to get into new things, but I know I'll miss my friends. For a while I was pretty insecure about teaching, but after Sunday I feel pretty good. We each had to teach for 10 minutes for our final exam. My teach went really well and I'm happy with where I am. Ally offered up a 300 HR for next year. I think I'll sign up and also sign up for assisting Charlie or Ally at the studio.

It's funny because a few weeks ago I was ready to not do yoga for about 2 weeks, but I don't think I'll be able to manage that. I kind of want to go to class already and it's only been 2 days. 

In other news I've signed up to teach for free at a Heal One World studio on Pico and Arlington. It's a charity that believes in natural healing. www.healoneworld.com It'll be a small class so I think it's a good start for a beginner like me. The hard part will be that they are really new to yoga, but this is what I wanted. Eventually I think all I want to do is teach beginners so that I can continually introduce people to yoga. 

It has been a really long 3 months. Glad to be moving on. 

Stress relief, Ashtanga, Yoga Wedge

The past week was gradually increasing in stress and worry, but for some magical reason after Yoga on Thursday I felt loads better. Well it probably wasn't magical. Haha. What I first loved about yoga was that the practice always helped me let go of things like stress and worry. Stress can manifest itself physically in parts of the body. Most people hold stress in their shoulders so when you stretch and relieve that stress it makes you feel better. Anyway I guess something opened up and I let go of a lot of stress and just remembered that I am where I want to be in life. Not gonna lie it was also a lot of talking to friends and having their support get me through the day, so I will say it was both.

Friday night we did a whole class on assisting in poses and hands on adjustments. It was a lot of fun as we worked out the adjustments on each other. There are some pretty funky things you can do for people.

The Saturday class was an Ashtanga Yoga class. I am a big fan of this variation of Yoga. The difference here is that there are only 4 series. In vinyasa flow a teacher can put together their own sequence so the variation in classes in infinite. In Ashtanga it is set. I think the idea is that once you memorize the series you can have your own practice without the help of a teacher. The series is created to improve strength, flexibility, and balance for all parts of the body. Unlike vinayasa which can focus classes in any one area: hip opening, forward folds, side stretching, etc. We did the Primary series which took us 3 hrs because our instructor gave a lot of detail. Usually it would take a single person 2 hours to go through the entire sequence once. It was awesome and nuts. I like it because I feel more balanced after the class. If you think regular vinyasa is a full body work out, then give Ashtanga a try.

What was also great this weekend was that I started jumping into my chaturangas. So rewind. Mid summer I developed carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands. I stopped doing Yoga to give it a break, but it wasn't quite 100% back to normal when I started the training. So my instructors told me to get a wedge. You use it for any pose where you lay your hands flat like down dog. It takes most of the weight off your wrists and strengthens your hands. The entire length of the training I have been using this, and modifying all my poses to put little to no stress on my wrists. I'm doing much better and for most of the Ashtanga class I was able to forego the wedge completely and jump into my chaturangas. It felt glorious. Imagine if you had surgery on your leg and had to play your favorite sport at 70% for 3 months. The day you get back and feel 100% is a glorious feeling.

Everything is glorious!

Life Update

These past 3 days I didn't have any teacher training sessions. Fortunately it was the same weekend as Thanksgiving so I had plenty of events to fill my time. It was a slew of hanging out with friends, family, and eating. So much eating. I definitely broke the vege code more than a few times and I'm surprised I don't feel more bloated than I do right now. I was also able to get some new clothes and such from the holiday sales.

But the yoga hiatus was much needed. I am not a person that can do something so often voluntarily. As much as I love cycling I usually take a few months off per year because I'm sick of doing it once or twice a week. Also I usually like to explore various teachers to keep my yoga intellectually stimulating, but I'm finding that it's harder to focus in Ally and Charlie's classes because I'm so used to their cues and nuances now. I can predict what I will hear and zone out for a few seconds here and there. Not good for my practice.

Anyway this Saturday is an Ashtanga practice which should be fun and then only three more weeks of yoga left. Three more weeks. Change is good.

Reincarnation?

The other day in class James Bailey came to teach us about yoga philosophy. Part of the discussion turned to reincarnation. The idea is that your soul is an energy that moves onto the next life when your body passes. Your memories are not part of that energy, so they don't move with you but at the same time you carry with you a "wisdom", experience, and karma into the next life. I'm not sure how much of it I believe in, but it's interesting to think about.

It might explain why when you meet someone new, you feel as if you've known each other for a long time. It might explain dejavu and immature or mature personalities. If this is the case then I'm pretty sure I have an old soul. If you think about dating with this perspective then it's not about dating some your age, but dating someone whose soul is your soul's age. Right? So then it would pay off to be really aware and connected to yourself.

The idea is that as you pass through lives you should look for enlightenment. I think I believe it to some extent. I feel like as you grow older you naturally grow wiser. It may take one soul 1000 years and another soul 100 years. Either way they will supposedly find their way to enlightenment because I believe that there is only one answer to being enlightened: selflessness, inner contentment, and understanding. This might also explain why I have always had this urge to save the world. I don't know where it came from, but it has always been with me and I have always been aware of it. I've found that it's not a natural feeling for a majority of people. I've always had a good self awareness that others don't seem to have. Maybe I developed it in a past life. Maybe talent is something that you developed in a previous life. This could explain idiot savants or child prodigies. Then again the body you are born into is not of your choice. That might be random. Who knows?

I guess the point is that you can't know. You can only have faith in it. So what's the point of pushing these ideas on others? I think we should just let everyone figure it out for themselves and stop wasting energy trying to persuade someone to believe something you can't prove.

100th Post

One hundred posts ago I started writing about getting healthy. Exercising, eating right, and above all mental health. Since then I have studied nutrition (on my own and through school), become mostly vegetarian, cycled 4000 miles (more or less), run 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, and a marathon. I've tried I don't know how many sports: capoiera, swimming, snowboarding, hip hop, modern dance, swing, salsa, aerial, pole, etc. I'm going to be a yoga teacher.

Beyond the physical, I think I've become mentally stable. I used to walk into classes feeling self conscious and shy; I would worry more about what others thought of me than how I was doing. I would always compare myself to the better people. Today it doesn't matter how good or bad I am because I've fully realized that it doesn't matter. I'm focused on doing what I can do in that moment, good or bad. No one actually cares how bad I look. I am my worst critic, so why should I keep beating myself up. I've accepted that it's okay to not progress sometimes. I've accepted that I will want to stop doing something I love, but I can come back to it later with just as much love. Most of all I've stopped feeling like I should be the best. Learning to let go of all the negativity in my mind has been the healthiest thing I've ever done. 

It's hard to imagine the old me, but refreshing to realize that I've accomplished a good deal in the last four years. I'm glad I'm here, and I hope it only keeps getting better. 

First Crash

Yea. I crashed. Like a serious jarring downfall. This isn't like I just stopped and fell or slid and fell. I was going at probably 16 mph, we started going downhill and I hit a crack in the road, one that only fits 700c x 23 road tires and then lots happened to where I felt like I was flipping and falling. I would describe it like catching your edge on your snowboard and tumbling. Not just falling on your ass, but you do a roll or two and get disoriented. I was on the ground for about a minute or two thinking "Oh Sh!t I broke something." and not wanting to move. When I finally got my self together I felt OK except for a giant pain in my chin, but I looked left and suddenly realized that my friend was on the ground too. But she wasn't moving. That "Oh Sh!t" was worse.

I called 911 and she started to come to. We got her out of the road and it took her about 15 minutes before she remembered crashing. She refused to go to the ER, but the ambulance gave us a ride to the nearest train and she arranged with a friend to drive us home. After a shower, some water, ibuprofen, and the 5th Element she felt better and we felt like her brain was out of the danger zone. I still gave her a call a few hours later to make sure she was really OK. She was. =)

Luckily her bike was unscathed. Mine however, did not fare so well. Both shifters are out of alignment, stem and bars are too. I need new tape and my bars are scratched. My brake shifter is broke but still works. I think duct tape will be the solution for now. I think my rear wheel is out of tru but I haven't assessed. Everything else seems fine. I need to do a crack inspection too. =(

I have various cuts and bruises all of which are making my shower experience not fun. My sun sleeves are done, but luckily my clothes and phone were saved from damage. 

The group we were riding with was great. They were super helpful and supportive while we were deciding what to do with ourselves. I'm glad my first crash didn't lead to the hospital. Two visits in two months would have been horrible. 

All the Sides of Yoga

In class we are working more towards defining the different sides of Yoga. Asana is the sanskrit word for poses and postures. Pranayama is the breath. These two pillars of yoga form the modern yoga we see in most studios. Technically there are 8 pillars. The others are Yama or ethical discipline, Niyama or individual discipline, Pratyahara or withdrawl of the senses, Dharana or concentration, Dhyana or meditation, and Samadhi or enlightenment. In the path of Yoga you start with Yama and build your practice upon each pillar sequentially with Asana and Pranayama coming after Niyama. As you build upon each pillar, the others strengthen as a result.

In my case I learned and practiced the social and individual ethics and morals already. I had kind of reached a plateau and tabled my spiritual practice. When I started doing yoga I didn't feel more spiritual per say, but it helped me work on related disciplines like self awareness and focus. Most of all it helped me let go of my inner critic. I mean she still pops up ever now and then. I can't help it, but the voice is quieter and less frequent. Letting go of self criticisms helped me stay true to myself. If you don't judge yourself then you also worry less about what others think of you. As a result you can really learn about yourself and figure out what you need. 

That's what I really love about yoga. Each person is urged to focus on their own path. There isn't a collective group moving together but instead individuals who share the same ideals but walk their own paths. There is no judgement but mostly understanding and respect because everyone is unique. 

For me, being able to let go of judgement has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Growing up in a world full of comparing, judging and high expectations was wildly stressful and unhappy. Today I hardly think about it because I just let it go. It was what it was, but today is today. My past does not weigh me down and I walk forward each day. 

With this personal movement I think I'll naturally move onto the next pillars (concentration and meditation). Not really because I want to reach enlightenment but because I want to find focus and peacefulness without having to perform the physical practice of yoga. Yoga is very much a positive escape or mini vacation from the pressures of the world. If I can do it in my own room I will be happier. 

Do I believe in enlightenment? I don't know. To me it sounds too idealistic. I don't want to be so drawn within myself that I am shutting out the rest of the world. There is too much going on for me to want to become secluded. I think that is almost selfish. It would be such a waste if I decided to become a monk or yogi and only work on my path to enlightenment 24/7. 

Besides I don't think I will ever reach a point where I am so perfect or free of fault. I will always make mistakes, and I will always be connected to my emotions. I am only human. 

Teaching is great

Today in class we group taught a 90 minute yoga practice. So the instructors wrote out a whole sequence and we drew numbers to see who would teach which pose. We spent the whole time rotating in and out of teaching and taking the class. It was interesting because we all had to be mentally engaged as well as physically engaged the whole time, listening for our number and thinking about how we were going to teach our pose. It was the funnest yoga class I've ever been to. Personalities came out, we all said weird and funny things and it was a good time.

I drew the number to teach the inverted portion of the class and basically all I had to do with give some cues and let everyone do their thing. I helped one of my classmates try out a inversion prepping pose, and it reminded me of what it felt like to teach. I hadn't really been in a formal teaching position since university and it made me really glad. There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone become better than they are.

Class on Friday and Saturday were particularly exhausting. I was beginning to wonder when we were going to do more teaching and sequence learning, but today was all about both.

On another note, Saturday's class was all about back bends and I found my way into a new pose, Kapotasana. I'm pretty stoked.

Frankenbike

I have a new friend! If you don't know, I volunteer at a bike co-op called Bikerowave. So I had been keeping my eye out for a frame that would be my size so I could build a beater bike. In August a 1980s Bridgestone walked in and I claimed it!

I spent the last two months at Bikerowave building up this bike. First I needed a narrow hub, for the rear dropouts so I had to build a wheel that had such hub. This took about 1.5 months because I did it all wrong about 5 times. Never build a wheel. There is a reason why these things are done by machines these days. I'm not going relive the frustration that was wheel building, but I'm glad I got it done. The rest of the month was just spent digging through used parts bins around the shop and finding time outside of my regular shift to work on it. Luckily things have been slow so I was able to get some stand time in on Mondays when I volunteer.

Nothing matches. If you look closely, the cranks are different colors. My brake shifters are both left shifters and the pedals don't match. My brakes are different. So I have named my bike Frankenstein. In honor of the month it was born and the way I put it together. The initial strategy was to just get it functional so I wouldn't have to pay for gas anymore, and later I could change and improve stuff. But I kind of like it this way. I think I'll just leave everything as is except maybe make stuff more comfortable.

Meatless Continued

It's week 6 of my teacher training and things are going really well. I thought 12+ hrs of yoga per week would be way too much and I would get frustrated without any variety in activity. Actually it's been pretty great. I'm learning about poses, how to teach with cues, a little bit of sequencing, and adjusting bodies, but mostly I'm practicing yoga. I am getting stronger, more flexible, and more balanced. Advanced poses are in the near future right after I am done rehabbing my carpal tunnel hand.

Anyway after the last post I made a more honest effort to cut meat out of my diet. I even went to Costco to search for those B12 pills in bulk. When I said that those things were 120% of your daily value, boy was I wrong. That sh*t is 41,667% of your daily value. Truth is on the label.

So I put that crap back down and bought 3lbs of almonds instead and a 6 inch wheel of Brie cheese. I also went to Trader Joe's and bought some hemp protein power to mix with milk and yogurt. Between all that, tofu and eggs I have my meat cravings down to almost never.

The past few days I was kind of surprised to find that I haven't missed meat at all. That thought made me feel pretty empowered. One less thing I have to rely on in life. I won't say there aren't times I want to eat it cause it smells good, but there have been just as many times where I don't want to eat meat because I know it will be hard for me to digest. The deeper I get into this process the less I will want to eat meat because it'll make me feel less healthy and more sluggish. Now I see why my teachers asked us to go vegetarian. It's a trap! A downward spiral into becoming hippy and I totally fell for it. Oh well too late now.

I also got a vegetarian coach. Her name is Heather and she sits about 5 cubes away. She's been giving me advice and brings some delicious food to share during lunch. This week I'm giving kale and Tofurkey a go. Steamed kale with sesame oil and tofurkey sausage with pasta is on the menu. I have to say that tofurkey is pretty good. Of course you can't expect it to taste like meat, but if you expect it to taste like tofu you'll be pleasantly surprised cause it's got a good flavor. Also on the menu is tomato soup with yogurt. The vege saga continues.

Going Vegetarian?

Before starting teacher training we got an email recommending that we all get rid of our coffee addictions and take up vegetarianism. The idea behind getting off caffeine was that a lot of poses and meditation we do will require that we be of a calm state of mind so having a stimulant in our system would hinder our ability to gain the full benefits of certain aspects of Yoga. That was fine because I don't drink coffee (thanks momma). The purpose for asking us to give up meat was in respect for all things living. We are what we eat and if we are consuming the energy of another living being it can convolute our own.

Whether I believe that or not is to be determined. Out of respect for the teachers I am trying to cut meat out of my diet. Those of you that have known me for a long time remember that vegetarianism is not unfamiliar to me, but it was only for 40 days a year. I always knew the commitment would end. But since then I've also developed really healthy habits, so I didn't doubt that this would be easy.

How wrong I was. Lol. Even though I'd been vegetarian before I was not working out as much as I do now, so the diet change has been tough. After going two or 3 days without  meat I get this weird headache and feel awkward or off kilter. Eating some sort of meat (chicken, fish, pork) cures it within 5 hours and I feel myself again. I'm aware of the typical B12 deficiency but I tried to anticipate that with a daily egg. Seems that one egg is not enough. According to the NIH I should  be eating 4 eggs a day to get the adequate amount of B12. This is my problem with vegetarianism. You have to up your intake of food/protein by almost 4 times to compensate because meat is such a dense source of nutrients. If you work out, you are eating often and a lot. So this is quite the experience with trying to find balance in the food I eat and finding time to go to the grocery store in between yoga classes. I have failed or cheated more than once (maybe >8 times >_< ) in the past 3 weeks.

I'm trying not to submit to the supplementary pill popping, but that just might happen. I don't like multivitamins because I don't need all those extra things. This is America, and I have a job. I am not malnourished so I don't need to take a pill that is 120% of all the vitamins and minerals I need. And I don't believe that I should need to take a pill when I can find some sort of delicious food to eat that has those nutrients.

The first new food I've tried is quinoa (pronounced "keenwa"). It's pretty good actually. It's supposedly a new "Super Food" that carries antioxidants and nutrients. It absorbs flavor really well too. [Picture is quinoa with onions, tomatoes, basil and vegetable broth.]

Is this vegetarianism thing gonna pan out? Probably not. I don't feel like killing animals is a bad thing and would be fine if I owned a farm and had to kill a chicken a day. But I'm trying to face this as a challenge and hopefully learn a lot more about nutrition and food along the way.

Why Yoga?

Over the past 4 years I've tried my hand at a lot of different sports: cycling, running, dance (social, modern, hip hop), Capoeira, Karate, swimming, weight lifting, etc. All of which are great workouts; you gain a skill and get strong in the process. You sweat out your stress, escape your day to day responsibilities, and return refreshed. So why am I choosing to teach Yoga over strengthening my skills any of the other sports?

Yoga is about loving yourself. Not in the stereotypical LA superficial way, but in the kind, considerate, take care of yourself before you take care of others way. I started doing this before Yoga. Catholicism challenged me to practice most of the same values: love others, treat your body as a temple, and avoid the vices (greed, envy, etc). Having a difficult person in my life helped me practice some of those virtues, like turning my anger into kindness or trying to approach a bad situation in a calm and understanding way. Since I left the religion I've held onto the same fundamental beliefs but I have missed the community. I found that community in Yoga. There is nothing like joining a group of like-minded people. What's more is that Yoga introduces and cultivates these positive moral and social habits in its practitioners without the overarching umbrella of religion. A yogi can choose to incorporate as much or as little of the beliefs as they want, but either way they will gain the benefits of strength, stability, flexibility, and calm through practice. The elongated breath, the heat you build, and the focus you work on in class translates to a calmer personality off the mat. Strength and stability build confidence and self-worth just like any other sport. I believe that anyone who practices Yoga will feel better as a person in areas of their life other than in the studio. These are a few reasons why I want to teach Yoga. 

I think the idea I love most about the philosophy is that you should pay attention to only your practice. Avoid comparing yourself to others because you will always be different and you will change from day to day. Listening to your body and your needs is the best way to getting better at Yoga. If you feel you can push yourself, then push yourself. If you feel that you need to rest, then rest. There is no judging and no right or wrong. I think once people truly accept this concept in their daily lives they can finally be comfortable in their own skin and will find some contentment or peace. Don't conform to society; find out what is good for you not what people tell you what is good for you. Ally did a talk last year about this idea and she explains it pretty well. I've included the link below and I agree with everything she said. I'm glad she's my teacher because she is definitely someone I can look up to. (I am finding inspirational teachers too, AJ! ;-D )

TEDx - Ally Hamilton

Yoga Journey

This is really becoming a journey. At the first class Ally and Charlie (the instructors) talked about how they wanted this experience to become a transformation for us. Transformation. When I first thought about that I was kind of skeptical. How would I become transformed? I'm already in a good place with who I am and what values I cherish. I know myself pretty well and take care of myself (food, exercise, lifestyle). I've spent a lot of time self reflecting, because that's who I am. I spend copious amounts of time in my head just thinking. I could sit and think for hours and not know how long it had been.

But today's class was about the philosophy of Yoga. The origins, teachings, and spirituality involved. Yoga-Sutra or yogic teachings are based upon the idea that everyone and everything is composed of energy. You are energy, I am energy, trees are energy, the stars have energy, and so on. Our energies are different depending on our emotions and actions, but energies nonetheless. I believe this because to put it simply, you feel it. You feel more energized after a good meal or a great workout. When you meet someone you feel their energy; sometimes you click well immediately and sometimes your energies create a repelling force.

Yoga is all about cleansing that energy and making it pure so that you can find a "higher self" or inner peace. In order to really find that purity you need to practice the Yoga-Sutras of which some are: compassion, truthfulness, kindness, discipline, contentment, and study. A majority of which I already practice to some extent. I have a great self awareness that helps me catch negative energy so that I can try to redirect it into positive energy. For example when get jealous over another person's beauty I can catch it and consciously stop myself and try to turn it into admiration. I am not perfect. There are definitely some areas that could use work, but having these things spelled out for me helped me identify where I could start to delve a little deeper. For instance I've been going on dates, but if someone wants to keep seeing me when I don't feel the same way I'm not always truthful in my responses. I make excuses like "I'm sorry I have plans that night" When I should just tell them that I don't think it would work out instead of leaving it open ended or just letting the silence be the answer. Silence is rude. I'm rude.

Anyway my point is that this is starting to become a journey for me. Expect more blogging in the near future. This blog might end up becoming a book like "Yoga and the Quest for the True Self". Who knows. P.S. I hear that is a really good book.

Teacher Training

So last Friday I started a 200 HR Yoga Teacher Training at Yogi's Anonymous. The teachers there are really great so I'm confident that I picked a great studio to learn from. This is their first teacher training, so you can feel them working out the kinks and trying to provide great support while being flexible. But despite that I think I'll learn a lot. I'm excited to become part of another community of like-minded people and to learn to teach something I believe in. I think I will always be teaching something in my life.

I'm hoping the community will help me break through the initial LA plastic film and get to know some great people. We have already talked about compassion and love in class so I have a good feeling about it.

So far I've had 12 hours of instruction, classroom and practice mixed together, and I'm pretty tired. Haha. I will be busier than I've been all year because on top of the training time I have to add another 4.5 hours of practice during the week plus homework. This on top of Bikerowave and regular cooking/cleaning chores will take up 90% of my free time. Finding time to work on my beater bike will be hard.

In any case I'm really happy to be doing it. 11 more weeks, here I come!

Cycle Oregon

Cycle Oregon was so many feelings: fear, excitement, calm, frustration, content, defensive, unsure, anxious, joyful, relaxing, sad and a little bit angry. Usually I blog about the physical challenges, times, conditions and compare myself to a previous me, but when I think of Cycle Oregon I don't think of any of that.

I think of the memories. I recount on what I was thinking and who I was with. What we said to each other and how it made me feel because this whole year, maybe even longer, I've been so consumed with the negative in my life. Eventually I did what I always do and push it down away from my center, which also pushes down my sources of compassion, caring, kindness, openness, friendliness, etc. I became cold, unfriendly, and always thinking of myself. Getting away and seeing familiar (and new) faces was exactly what I needed to remind me of who I am.

On the first day I thought Ku was gonna be one of those guys who just mashes his gears and goes really fast leaving everyone behind. I'm glad I was wrong. I was sad that I couldn't ride more with my friends so I promised myself that the next ride I would be just as strong as they are. I remember getting mad at KChang for not using his 28 gear on the first day. I remember laughing every night with Pattie in the tent about some funny story about Thi or Bosco. I remember every gasp and every breath I held at the sight of Oregon's beauty. I remember John, the 78 year old friendly guy on the SAG from Portland. He told me to watch Giant, with James Dean and Liz Taylor because it was a wonderful movie. John said that if he could he would reset his life and live it all over again exactly the way it was. I hope when I'm his age I will have the same feelings.

There are too many memories to list, and I don't think I laughed as hard or felt as warm as I did in a long time. Thanks for being a part of my life Kevin, Kevin, and Pattie.

Falling into place

Things are falling into place. I'm hurriedly preparing for Cycle Oregon which is in 3 weeks. I ship my bike out next Friday, so that needs to be in order and my legs need to mostly be in order in...1 week. lol.

So 3 weeks ago I bought a new saddle and have been trying to get used to it. My first 60 mile ride on it didn't go great. It was bearable, but at the end I felt like I had bruises on my bones. Then two days later I rode and still had major bruises. Today I felt much better and mostly forgot about saddle pain which is awesome! That means I didn't have any pain. Albeit I was climbing at times so I probably only spent about 70% of the 2 hr ride in my saddle, but I'll take that. Saddle, check.

New cassette! Kevin and all his preparedness convinced me to get a new cassette. So I bought a SRAM PG-1070 11-28. Compared to my 12-26 it felt really good, especially on these hills. Luckily my shifting and chain seemed OK with the new cassette. I didn't have time to make adjustments to the derailleurs but it felt just fine. I'll check chain length later. Cassette, shifting at 90%.

I still need to play with my seat height and cleat position. My right knee was hurting, so I moved the cleat back a few millimeters and that helped a lot. No pain now, but my knee doesn't always click back into the kneecap. I'm thinking that my seat a smidge too high or too low. Seat height, cleats, at 70% complete.
Shoulders are alright but towards the end of my 25 miler today I was starting to feel pain in the middle of shoulders. I had to consciously lift myself up and that helped, so I'm not sure if that was due to poor form or being too crunched on my bike. Stretch, reach, 50%.

I think one more good long ride and a few more short ones will definitely help me get my adjustments close to good enough. I was contemplating bike fit, but I think I'll be alright without it. The hills here have made me stronger and mentally ready for what lies ahead.

Strava. I finally joined Strava. After about 2 years riding without a computer I think I was ready to see how I have been doing. Mostly I wanted to understand how certain hills feel and compare them to the grade. This way I will also be mentally prepared for the climbs on Cycle Oregon. Note: 4% grades are fine. 6% is slow but doable. 8% not fun and slower. >10% sucks balls.

Now the question remains, how will I train after my bike gets shipped off? I'll have a whole two weeks without my baby. So two plans. Plan A: Finish building that beater bike and use that for training. Plan B: Lots of Yoga. I'm gonna try for plan A but really it might not happen cause this bike is bare bones. The plus to doing lots of yoga means that I will be more prepared for yoga teacher training which starts the weekend after my ride. But really I would like to have my beater bike up and running so I can use that to get to yoga class which is gonna be 4 miles away.

I love bikes.

Climb up Latigo Cyn

Last Saturday I joined my new friends Steven and Walter at Cynergy Cycles to ride up Latigo Cyn Rd with a bunch of AIDS Life Cycle participants. Latigo Cyn is a 9.5 mile climb with an average of 8% grade. I didn't know I could spend that long going uphill. After a mile I was breathing at a steady pace and on my lowest gear. I couldn't have talked most of the way and my concentration was in an out as I tried to just make it around each turn. As I got higher and closer to the sun I got hotter and developed a headache. Maybe it was the altitude. I ran out of water 6 miles away from the next rest stop, but at least the descent was a cool one.

Parts of the ride felt like I was on a route professionals might do. Like those roads in the mountains that you see on the TdF. There was a small descent in the mountain and I was going so fast I had to break on the turns. They were steep and sharp. I didn't know what was coming next so I had to play it safe and go slower than I really wanted. I felt a little pro. Even though I was going really slowly. Lol.

Mountains are great.

LA

Well friends I have moved to LA. And it is amazing.

The city is so dense and the weather is so nice that the best minds, skills, and entertainers flock out here. I found a yoga studio that teaches inversions beyond my comprehension. The yogis are so strong I don't know how I will ever get to that level.

The coaches are abundant. I've already been solicited to join a triathlon club and obtain coaching to complete my first tri.

I've already met a flock of aspiring actors and musicians. Humble in that they hope to make it big but are conscientious of life so that they don't forget to enjoy it.

If you love people. Come here. They are so diverse in mind, body and soul because half of the people that live here are from somewhere else. They are all taking life step by step and the directions are so varied that you find a new opinion around every corner.

Anyway back to bikes. I've decided that once I find time I'm going to build my fixie.