It's all about The Dirt:

Gu and gels make me hungry and jittery. Fancy sports drinks make me feel sick. Bars (unless homemade) taste like candy and have too much crap in them.

Here are 3 creative ideas to refuel and replenish burned nutrients as we roll away:

Sport Tea

This award winning tea is nutritious, tasty and energizing. It’s a daily replenishment of vitamin C, electrolytes and an energy boost with Siberian Eleuthero root, which is a potent superfood used by Olympic athletes. It has a blend of black and green teas, along with ginger, maté, vitamin C and natural flavorings. It is a decaf equivalent, so if you’re sensitive to caffeine like me, your heart rate isn’t 10 beats higher from it. It has a great citrus flavor with no sugar or artificial sweeteners, and replenishes potassium and trace minerals that are depleted during physical and mental stress. It sustains me through a short or long ride, and prevents dehydration after an intensely, hot ride. The best part about the brewing is that I just put the individual tea bag with water in my bottle and if I refill it, the tea bag makes more!

Black Mission Figs

Long known in the Mediterranean for their healing properties, figs are delicious fresh or as dried storehouses of nutrition. A fruit particularly rich in minerals, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper and manganese, figs are a great source of energy. High levels of potassium in figs can help control blood pressure, and figs are also a particularly alkaline food, steering the body away from an acidic pH level. Foods like meat, dairy and processed foods are acidic and must be offset by alkaline foods such as figs.*

Curry Cashews

Lower in fat and higher in protein than most nuts, cashews have a slightly sweet flavor. Plentiful in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that has protective effects against heart disease and cancer, cashews contain many minerals including copper, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc. They also are a good source of biotin and the amino acid tryptophan, the primary building block of serotonin—the feel-good neurotransmitter.* This is a bonus on top of the endorphins! Then you add the antioxidants in curry to them, and it reduces joint inflammation and protects against cancer and tumor formation. Some people think nuts give you “gut rot” on the bike because of the fat and protein, but they do contain carbs as well. Experiment and try them on a ride to see how they feel. You can buy curry cashews in the bulk section of some natural foods stores.

Ride and replenish…

Part II coming soon.

*Info taken from “An A-Z Guide to Healing Foods: A Shopper’s Companion” by Elise Marie Collins

(Bike plate photo)
(Fig photo)
(Curry cashews photo)

A wise chunk taken from “Working Within, Working Without” by Jerry Lynch and Chungliang Al Huang:

“In sports, exercise and life, negative thought patterns create mental and physical resistance that greatly hinder performance. Try the following test: Hold your arm out straight, while a friend tries to push it down. Resist the pressure as you say out loud, “I love my sport” over and over. Now change the phrase to “I hate my sport” and compare the strength you experience. Notice how much stronger you are, and how much better your performance is, when you vocalize “I love” – a positive thought pattern. How many of us, consciously or not, have a love-hate relationship with sports or exercise. You love the outcome of working out but hate the process. Hate running hills and you’ll create greater struggle, making it more difficult to get to the top. Better to say “I love running up hills; they get me in better shape on my way to becoming a better competitor.” In this way, you will experience rising up the hill rather than forcing your way there.

Affirmations are very important in the cultivation of inner talent; they are crucial in helping you to awaken to the Tao and living with its influence. Unlike visualization, which controls what you “see,” affirmations are the control over what you say. They are strong, positive statements about something that is already true or has the realistic potential for being so. To affirm means “to make firm” by using conscious, planned, positive words and expressions that help to keep you on track with your potential. Without them, the possibility of desirable outcomes diminishes. Affirmations are direct attempts to change patterns of negativity that, like a broken record, continue to repeat themselves. They are words that truly transform the quality of your life, opening you up to the natural way of sports and exercise, the way it was meant to be.”

A few of my affirmations:
- On climbing, my bond with the outdoors is crucial. I savor the view, soak in the sun’s rays, and breathe. If I fight it, then my breathing gets erratic. External scenery affirming.
- “I am worthwhile and competent, I have much to offer.”
- “I am feeling the flow of energy, and it builds inside of me with each breath.”
- “I can, and I get stronger.”
- “I’m in a position to strike and win on the bike.”

Go get it…

(dice photo credit)
(rock photo credit)

As a follow-up to a request, Chris Furer, Durango massage therapist specializing in bodywork, demonstrates the Silly Walk as described in Get your butt in gear.

Sorry for the obsessive qualities I have about cycling right now, but that’s what my mind is focused on… bear with me.

I recently did a workout on my bike that consisted of 4 grinding climbs in a gear that put me in quicksand. Every muscle in my body was trying to work together and create a dance of movement. I figured out that I can pull on the bars, use my glutes, scrape my foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke, push down AND pull up, and put my core into action. It was an all-out effort that put other workouts to shame. Every pedal stroke counted because it propelled me that much further so I didn’t fall over. I scrounged to make each one count.

By the time I got to the 3rd climb, it had gotten easier. I was able to shift to a harder gear and dial in my pedal stroke even deeper. My legs finally realized that they couldn’t cheat anymore, and the time had come to put the parts of the pedal dance together to create a fluid motion. The beautiful circle of dance. My mind turned on, my muscles firing, my music blaring in my ears… intensely trying to make it fun.

The 4th climb was my quantum leap. Straight out of the gate, I stood up and hammered the beginning of the climb. It felt easier again, so I shifted one more gear. Bigger gear, bigger confidence. My momentum “leaped” out of my legs, to the pedals, onto the pavement and it felt like there was a magic magnet pulling me up to the top. I got there 30 seconds faster… it was a euphoric moment in time. My reward was solitude, a great song and a vast view of a personally sacred spot. I victory danced; I literally danced by myself, sang out loud and savored the moment. No one could take that away from me, no matter how crazy I looked.

Another one? Maybe not. I still had a fierce head wind to deal with all the way home, so I still had to save some fuel in the tank.

On the way home, no wind, gust or climb could get in my way. I was in a zone like no other. Solid, strong and smooth movements that danced me all the way home. My quantum leap climb gave me legs of steel that couldn’t be stopped. I didn’t think for once that I would come up empty.

With these workouts, I learn that each climb is a stage of positivity, pondering and pain. I talk to myself and send love to my muscles to make it happen. I center myself within my thoughts to believe that good will come. I have a balance between power and inner reflection that create a successful workout, and I walk away with knowing that I can do it again and again.

A parallel to life?

Well, it’s so interconnected. Quantum leaps in life include positivity, pondering and pain too. Turning to movement instead of stagnant. Pushing big gears and knowing you can create the motion. Believing that leaps let you look back and say “Big risk, but… wow, amazing results!” Your power within allows you to arrive at places you never thought were possible. To accept change and embrace it, feel it and allow it. Love it.

Are you there? At the bottom of a monster climb that looks menacing? Don’t be afraid, just take it like I try to: In stages or parts.

And at the top, you’ll be able to do your victory dance.

(climber photo credit)
(vintage photo credit)