Leave it on the Bike

I have been thinking a lot about space lately;  not "outer" space, but our spaces through which we walk every day.  The spaces we consider "ours": our personal space, our work space, our home space, our sacred space.  More accurately, I have lately had a heightened awareness around the points in time our individual spaces intersect.  These may be the times we invite someone new into our space, or these may be the times we feel someone is infringing on our space.  And, then, I am forced to question, is it really "my" space, or is it just an illusion of ownership? Whether invited in or not, when our spaces intersect, it can leave us feeling a bit vulnerable.  Not surprisingly, during this time, I was handed the following passage by Joseph Campbell in "The Power of Myth," in which he speaks of having a sacred place: "This is an absolute necessity for anybody today.  You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don't know w...

I am a huge U2 fan.  I even met them when I was a teenager.  They walked into the tiny "greasy spoon" diner where I was working, only a few days after I had seen the Joshua Tree tour. I served Bono a bagel with cream cheese, was invited to join them at their table and we had a nice chat.  Over the past few weeks, I have heard increasing buzz about the new album being released during the first week of March.  So, I thought, in honor of that and St. Patrick's day, I'd do an hour ride to just U2 music...in March. I've been going through volumes of music, trying to decide which ones to include. There could be numerous playlists. Problem is, I'm so psyched about it, now I can't wait to ride it.  So, it will be on sometime this week...and again in March with, hopefully, some brand new stuff....until then.... 1.  City of Blinding Lights (2005 Live from Milan) Let's warm it up... 2.  One (Achtung Baby) Getting up and over one big hill, right away.  STC the who...

So, here we are, my friends, at the end of another year.  We've passed the Winter Solstice, the darkest time, the time when the days are shortest.  It's the time for going into the cave, the time for introspection, the time to stop DOING and start BEING.  It's the time for re-assessing and deciding what seeds we want to plant for the coming year.  Think about it.  What do you want to manifest this year?  What do you want to accomplish? Better health?  Increased fitness?  Completing that race you always wanted to try?  Taking that really tough class?  Teaching that really tough class? Moving above and beyond your comfort zone? Maybe it's simplifying, maybe it's just BEing present with yourself, for once.  Maybe it's moving to the front of the room... This is often a difficult time of year for people, as it can be challenging to take away the distractions and really go inward.  However, as we cross over the Solstice, the light begins to return, little by little, e...

This is one of my all time favorites so, in looking back over the archives, it's hard to believe I haven't posted it.  Maybe it's because I vary the music on it so much.  It's one of the easiest rides to change up...to throw in something new at the last minute.   We ride 2 good-sized hills, on which I vary positions and movements depending on the tempo of the music.  In between those 2 climbs is a set of 6 flat-road intervals:  1 minute seated flat (recovery), 1 minute seated flat at a quicker cadence, 30 seconds of jumps/lifts to a standing flat for 5 second counts (you'll get in 3 in 30 seconds) and a 30 second standing flat to finish it up.  Do it right and your quads will be on fire.  This is the playlist for this week, and some of the Thanksgiving music was so good, it made its way in.  But, especially for the flat road intervals, you could throw in any quick, "let it fly" songs.  Yeah. 1.  Sunrise (Here I Am) [Instrumental]/Ratty (warm-up) 2.  Snow ...

The title of this post is one of the five Reiki principles, speaking to the concept of gratitude.  It might be a bit early, but as we come into this week of Thanksgiving, I know life is going to be more hectic than usual, and I wanted to make sure I used this space to share some thoughts on gratitude.   And, equally important :), to post the music for my 90-minute "Burn (off) the Turkey" rides I'll be teaching this week..so a sneak peak to those who are riding with us.   I have never been a fan of Thanksgiving.  It's a combination of things I won't even try to explain, as I recently did to a friend who came away from the conversation thinking of me as insane (even more so than usual).  I even remember a time during my moody teenage years where I boycotted dinner in protest of the overindulgence.  While I've clearly come out of those extremes, it is still not on my list of favorite days.   However, I am a big fan of gratitude and, as I've gotten older, pref...

Last week, I was feeling a bit nostalgic and in the mood for a fast road ride, so I dug into 2006 for this one (only updated warm-up and cool-down).  I had to dig even farther back for the pictures, but that was an accident.  I was scanning in some old kids' photos and came across these from 2002.  I can't remember the name of the race, but it was on the streets of lower Manhattan, 9/11 was still very fresh in our consciousness (less that a year had passed and there was evidence everywhere), Lance had just won #4 and there was amazing energy there that day.  "Sigh."  But..back to the ride...cadence is quick and we only settle in for 1 heavy climb.  It's the kind of ride where you just hang on and, then, let go........ 1.  Certainty (Mark Otten Dub) [feat. Cathy Burton]/Julian Vincent 2.  Smiley Faces/Gnarls Barkley 3.  Pump It/Black Eyed Peas 4.  Faster Kill Pussycat (Club Mix)/Oakenfold feat. Brittany Murphy 5.  Suddenly I See/KT Tunstall 6.  Funky Kingston/Toots...

After a warm-up and a 5 minute flat, it's a climb until the last 5 minutes.  The road peaks twice and, in between, it's varied climbing positions and some jumps on a hill. We "celebrate" at the top with a little "Elevation," and down the other side to the line... 1.  Bodyrock/Moby (warm-up) 2.  Ready To Go (U.S. Mix)/Republica (SF) 3.  Read My Mind/The Killers (climb begins) 4.  Over My Head (Cable Car)/The Fray 5.  They/Jem 6.  Blood is Pumping 2005/Voodoo & Serano 7.  Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)/The Killers 8.  Superstylin' (GA Radio Edit)/Groove Armada 9.  Drops of Jupiter/Train 10. Breathe (2 AM)/Anna Nalick 11. Elevation/U2 12. Phatt Bass/Warp Brothers Vs. Aquagen (SF to finish) 13. A&E (Maps Remix)/Goldfrapp (cool-down) 14. Down to Earth/Peter Gabriel