Pedal, Stretch, Pronto!

If you haven’t ridden Pronto Cycle Share, give it a try with me on March 22 as apart of the #Womenwhoride celebration. Pedal, Stretch, Pronto is a relaxing afternoon of…yoga and bike riding!

Meet us at the South Lake Union Park Station for a simple, yoga-inspired warm-up followed by a leisurely ride towards the University District and another round of stretching under the blooming cherry trees. No yoga mat needed! For more information or to RSVP, click here.

Picture from Seattle Bike Blog’s #ILookGoodonaPronto ride

 

This is my little ode to the walk/ Pronto combo:

I pack my bag lightly, no U-lock to weigh me down.
I take a casual stroll to the closest Pronto station, stopping to notice the freakishly early, but always lovely cherry blossoms on my walk.
I sip the last remaining drips of my morning coffee and stash my cup in my bag.
At Pronto station, I eye the bike with the lowest seat (and then lower it a little more), slip the key fob in and wait for the green light.
I snap my helmet into place and glide effortlessly down Capitol Hill.
I release the Pronto bike back into the corral and walk away.
Liberated, not worrying about my precious bike still being at the rack when I return.

Shifting Gears for Spring!

Spring winds sometimes push me and my bike in unexpected directions. That has been especially true this Spring. I am excited to announce that I have taken a position at Cascade Bicycle Club as the volunteer coordinator. It is an exciting shift for me. This also means I am taking a hiatus from teaching my weekly yoga classes. But this doesn’t mean that Pedal, Stretch, Breathe events are over!

Recently, I’ve been dedicating a lot of my time on the Bike Works Auction that is this Sunday March 23rd. There are still a few tickets for sale if you want to attend.  

I’d love to see you there.

Two of my favorite annual events Pedaler’s Fair and the Alley Cat Acres Streets & Beets ride have both moved to May. Pedaler’s Fair is a great market full of bicycle inspired businesses. You can find incredible handmade goods there.

Registration is now open for the fantastic fundraising ride for Alley Cat Acres. I’ve written about previous years here.

I’ll be at both events doing yoga for the every day bike rider workshops and answering people’s questions about what stretches help sore upper backs and tight legs. We will also go over how to integrate yoga into your commute.

At Pedaler’s Fair you will have the chance to buy my book and other goodies published by Taking the Lane.

Remember to Recover

Recently I have been really inspired to slow down both on the mat and on my bicycle. When you slow down you have greater awareness of your body and what is happening around you. Sometimes I feel like a nag when mutter from my bike, “slow down” to speedy passers by who aren’t paying much attention. In my classes I remind people to “take child’s pose” or “just rest” throughout class.

I remind you all to slow down as a method to remind myself.

We hurry a lot. I say this as a chronic over-scheduler who loves to take on multiple projects. This pattern of stress-out then burn-out is one I am trying hard to break. Taking time to relax, not be rushed and rest are important for breaking that cycle.

Working hard (physically and/ or mentally) is no doubt good for you, but it is important to balance out hard work with recovery time. The most basic way to recover is to take a nap or go to bed. Refresh your brain and your body with sleep.

Release the front of your body with supported bridge pose.

Or try gentle yoga poses. Some of my favorite poses are supported with the ground, wall, bolsters, even your bed.

Get comfortable & Stay put

If you want to focus on a gentler practice please join me for the Lullaby class over at The Grinning Yogi where we will slow down, stretch out and take time to breathe.

Lullaby Class @ The Grinning Yogi on Wednesdays  9pm – 10 pm.

Get Bike-y Books @ Maker’s Market Craft Fair 12/8 & 12/15

If you are strolling around Capitol Hill looking for that perfect gift for the bike + yoga loving somebody in your life, stop by Liberty on 15th Ave E  1-7pm. The Maker’s Market is a local market that will feature all kinds of beautiful made goods from local artists. I will be there peddling my books, as well as a bunch of goodies from Taking the Lane, including Bikenomics, by Elly Blue which just came out 12/1

Gift Bundles $15

~ Pedal, Stretch, Breathe
~ Blank Journal
~ Postcard
~ Stickers

If you mention my blog at the event I will give you a free sticker…and you better believe I have a great selection.

Remember if you don’t make it to the Craft Fair, you can order my book online here and I will happily send you a copy snail mail style!

 

 

Bike Delivered Gifts ~ A Seattle Special

Happy spend today at work shopping online day!

In an effort to bring the virtual world back down to the real world I’d like to offer a special for my friends in Seattle: Bike Delivered Gifts.

If you order a copy of Pedal, Stretch, Breathe: The Yoga of Bicycling or better yet the NEW Gift Bundle I will bike it to your home or workplace all wrapped up in ribbon just for you! Offer is available if you order online before 12/18 and live or work in Seattle.

For my friends outside of the city I will happily mail you a copy.

Thank you for choosing to support independent artists and makers this holiday season.

Can you build community through buying stuff by bicycle?

Oh the juicy world of economics. I dabbled a bit in college by taking classes on feminist economics and Marxism. I am no expert, but I am fascinated by the economic impacts of bicycling. Recently I’ve been reading Elly Blue’s new book Bikenomics. I am more aware of how my bicycle lifestyle shapes my spending habits. But even more than that, I’ve been interested in how biking to businesses builds community.

Aside from the folks who totally live off the grid and dumpster dive for all the basic necessities, the rest of us buy stuff. The choices we make about where we buy stuff and who we buy it from carry all of these unintended consequences, that can be for better or worse. When we buy stuff at big box stores a large chunk of our money immediately leaves the city. However if you shop locally more of your money is recirculated in the city, enriching your neighbors.

I realized that know a lot of business owners around town. In many cases I’ve been connected through business owners because their business is bike related. Going to the Seattle Bicycle Expo a few years ago, I met Martina of Swift Industries. I fell totally in love with her bags and as it turns out we are actually neighbors. Not only do you have the chance to support people making great products you may end up making friends.

Bicycle Benefits is another great way to discover new business and get discounts to places just for riding your bike there. A few of my favorite bicycle benefit deals are the $2 Theo Chocolate Bar, the 2 for 1 tickets at Central Cinema and 50% off your drink when it is raining at Asgard. That is one sweet date night, all pedal powered.

Supporting local business is an important rejection of corporate chains and mass produced crap. Local business fuels people’s creativity and passion. You see that in folks who have recently started incredible business like Peddler’s Brewing or G & O Family Cyclery. These folks are inspired by the power of bicycling and they have created a space for community to develop. Every time I go to G & O I run into someone who I love seeing. Every time I am at Peddler’s I meet new people to swap bike stories with over a beer.

G&O will be closed this Thursday and Friday for Thnksgvng and Buy Nothing Day! We will reopen for Small Business Saturday. See you then!

— G&O Family Cyclery (@GoFamilyCyclery) November 26, 2013

As we enter the crazy holiday shopping season remember, you can skip Black Friday (like G & O is bravely doing). Instead grab your bicycle and head out for Small business Saturday. Also, remember to check out local craft fairs. I’ll be at the Hangover Flea Market/ ArtAche Market this Sunday 1-6pm at Chop Suey. I’ll be selling books, journals, cards and some sweet goodies from Taking The Lane. I even have some copies of Bikenomics, you can pick up a copy and then we can talk about how bicycles will save the economy over a cup of coffee at El Portal, a bike friendly local coffee shop!

Give Thanks by Giving Back

There are some really wonderful ways to have fun and give back in both the world of bicycles and yoga. I wanted to share with you two of my favorite events that help bring food and peace of mind to those in need. Please consider jumping on your bicycle and pulling out your yoga mat for a good cause.

Cranksgiving is Saturday November 23rd

Meet at Gasworks at 10:30

Here are the details from Seattle Bike Blog:

A food drive scavenger hunt by bike, Cranksgiving is a fun way to tour some of Seattle’s most unique grocery stores and food stands, gathering food for Rainier Valley Food Bank.

We give you a list of food and grocers, and you gather as much as you can before time runs out. You get points for each item and each grocer, plus points for other bonus challenges. All the food will be donated immediately at the finish line.

Meet at 10:30 a.m. in Gas Works Park. The ride ends in Columbia City with an after-party at Ark Lodge Cinemas.

Grab Your Mat and Pedal to one of the many Gratitude in Motion Yoga Classes!

Every year hundreds of yogis (you!) and more than 20 yoga studios around the Puget Sound dedicate their practice to Yoga Behind Bars on or around Thanksgiving Day. The goal: to raise critical funds for our programs for young people and adults in prisons.

Our financial goal
Our goal this year is to raise $13,500 to support our yoga and meditation classes at places such as Echo Glen Children’s Center and new ones at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women.

Yoga Behind Bars is one of my favorite Non-Profit Organizations in Seattle because the work they do is so important for all of the incarcerated people. It is no secret that our current rates of incarceration are completely unacceptable. People need the practices of yoga and meditation to help them relax in an incredibly tense and stressful environment. Yoga is a powerful tool of transformation, as many of you know from your personal practice. Please go to your mats to give back! It is easy. You will feel better and so will someone else!

Namaste

An Ode to Spooky Bike Rides: Ghost Flats

As the nights grow longer here in Seattle riding in the dark is something you have to get used to. Lights and reflective accessories aside, I like the dark. I love pedaling near Lake Washington and seeing this vast dark space of the water and the glittering bridges that cross it. I like taking the dark roads, the ones with few street lights and good chances for owl encounters.

That being said there are those spooky moments, when you hear a startling sound. The tell-tale rumblings of an impending flat tire on a dark moonless night. Here is my ode to those moment from Pedal, Stretch, Breathe. Happy Halloween!

The other day I was biking home and decided, like I most often do, that I would prefer the slightly longer, windy road that leads up the backside of the hill. I am drawn to the winding curves of the switchback road instead of a beeline straight up. It is also home to one of my favorite spots in Seattle proper, the Louisa Boren Denny memorial stone on Interlaken Blvd.

In the 1890’s City Engineer George F. Cotterill was scouting out good routes for bikes and buggies. Interlaken was established as the primary route between Capitol Hill and Lake Washington. This road was specifically designed with cycling in mind, as well as to capture splendid views. It was these bike routes that laid the foundation for the city’s Boulevards. In 1913 the adjacent park was named after Louisa Boren Denny, the last remaining pioneer from the Denny Party, the white folks who “founded” Seattle.

About midway up the hill there is a memorial stone placed to honor Louisa by the Washington Women’s Pioneering Organization. I’ve always been drawn to the that stone and not only because it is a great place to stop for a water break. This admirable pioneer woman was interested in a variety of subjects including philosophy, chemistry and botany.
Legend has it that she brought her beloved sweetbriar rose bush all the way from Illinois to Seattle. The lovely and aromatic rose can be found growing along the shores of the Puget Sound today.

Riding a bicycle on these historic routes connects to me to the history of this place and the Pacific Northwest plants surrounded the streets. And in summer I love to nibble on the blackberries fighting to claim road space. They are not the native variety, but I guess me, Louisa and the Blackberry and all have that in common. Part of what makes riding a bike so wonderful is I can take the most beautiful routes around town. Instead of fighting through the traffic downtown and taking the (albeit very nice) buffered bike line across the bridge to run errands, I can cut through the park and take the bike path.

In the dark moonless nights riding on the crumbling road stirs sound of an impending flat tire. You stop to check, but alas your wheels are fully inflated. So you ride on, but the sound of ghost flats will haunt you until you reach the top of the hill. It is like riding in the tracks of all the people who have biked here before you.

 

 

Cycling the Seasons: Fall

Autumn – Early Winter (Vata):

The blustery winds of fall bring change. As nights grow longer it is important to prepared for the unexpected. Just as squirrels tuck away treats for Winter, cyclists need to start storing more “Just-in-case” gear in your bag.

On your bike: It is a good time to get a tune-up. Prepare your bike for winter with fenders, bike lights and pack extra layers as the evenings get chilly.  I am a huge fan of always having extra socks, gloves and sometimes, a change of clothes. Bike lights become essential. I am a terrible bike light owner, I lose them, I drop them or forget to charge the batteries, etc. So if you can afford it I highly recommend a Dynamo hub for the front wheel. The hub converts the energy of your wheel and powers your bike lights. I also like that the lights are bolted on.

It is also important to have enough food to energize you on bike rides. Nothing is worse than realizing your are totally exhausted, starving and five miles away from your destination. Bring snacks, even if you end up not eating it, there will be those moments when you are incredibly thankful for them.

On the mat: Fall is this great time to re-establish a routine. In my weekly classes I start to see the studio fill up with people returning back to the mat. Yoga is an incredibly grounding practice and can help you find a little bit more balanced in all elements of your life. In Fall, especially around the equinox I like to focus on balance. Balance is more like a dance with breath. We are always moving, always breathing, balance is not statue still. To have good balance is to dance with pose. Accept the shaking ankle muscles getting stronger as you hold Dancer. To have good balance means sometimes you fall down, but you get up and try again.

To learn about how to cycle through the rest of the seasons grab a copy of my book Pedal, Stretch, Breathe: The Yoga of Bicycling

Enjoy the Journey: Pretty Pictures From Bike Tour

Traveling by bicycle is a wonderful way to enjoy the process of getting somewhere, in fact that is half the fun. On the course of tour it was enchanting to explore the places in between our destinations.

When you are traveling at the speed of a bicycle you can catch better views of blue herons wading in wet lands and check out some of the scenic treasures of back roads.

Albany Park in Corvallis, OR

During the workshop at Eco Fusion Fitness we rode over to Avery Park. It is a wonderful spot that even has dinosaur bones to play on, featured in the background of this picture. You can bet after doing a little bit of yoga we ran over to play!

Corvallis has bike lanes on almost all of the streets and it was very easy to navigate around town. I enjoyed biking along the waterfront and the rural road that led us to town from the Albany Train Station. When

From Bellingham to B.C.

One of the most epic days of tour began just South of Bellingham at the Lookout Arts Quarry (photo on the right). Tom and I woke up in a teepee, one of the many creative dwellings at the Quarry. I took a morning dip in the clear and cool water and then we set off to Canada.

This day was some of my favorite riding in part because we got to see a diversity of landscapes from green filled forests, farmland and beaches.

This pier between Fairhaven and Bellingham was meant for moving slow and taking in the views.

Below is a road in Surrey, B.C. right after crossing the border before we headed up the hills to White Rock, where we caught transit into the city of Vancouver. I love the epic vistas of coast lines with islands in the distance. As someone who hails from a land locked state, Islands and large bodies of water still enchant me.

Vancouver Island, B.C.

For the majority of the route from the Ferry Terminal at Swartz Bay to Victoria Tom and I were able to take the Lochside Trail. It was a good trail that again really highlighted the terrain of the island. We biked by waterfront parks, farms with really big pigs and even this hidden spot that was made for people named Kelli and had adorable recycled art that I of course totally loved.

Port Angeles to Port Townsend

I can’t totally remember exactly where we were along the Olympic Discovery Trail when Tom took this one. All I know is we went over a lot of really epic bridges on this trip! This ride challenging yet worth it. The Olympic Peninsula does not hold back on her hills, but her views and forests are lovely.

I am very inspired to go back and spend more time bike camping on the Olympic Peninsula, but I have to admit, this time I would leave the books at home!