I have two passions in my ife; yoga and riding a bike. I know, it seems weird as it really is the two most different things in the world; yoga is calm and feminine and riding a 250 kilo bike is powerful and masculine.
And funnily enough it is also there I am having the most of my work right now, finding the balance between femininity and masculinity.
So this year when we were discussing what to do over the holidays I took it as a sign that the idea of a trip on the bikes was mentioned; from southern Germany to Scotland and around England and Wales, that meant I could work on my biking skills and combining the power and the calmness in it... and myself!
I didn't pack a stadard mat; I packed a yoga towel! I needed to be economical with things to bring as you don't have a lot of space. And I didn't pack as I usually pack! To my big surprise I was hard-core in all decisions concerning packing. It was good for me as I am always having extra shoes, jackets, a couple of bottles of wine or anything I could think of as important...... but here I was more "How many days are we away.... and what is my minium requirements of clothing?
It meant I came home with stuff I didn't even use!! Big note ro self! And this month I'll be going back to Denmark to celebrate my birthday I will definately be remembering this feeling of necessity-packing.
We were riding between 200 and 600 kilometres a day. Some days were easier, but the feeling was always that I felt calm on my bike even going 140 km/h on different motorways. I tried to find this peace, the middle of myself for safe movement on the bike. I tried to get the bike to feel as a part of me, so I would know my limitations and not put myself in any dangerous situations. And long rides, where there seems no end to the kilometres we have to ride before we were safe at a pub or a b&b are also a patience-killer!
Of course I was stressed! And tired, and crancky...... riding in a hard downpour over the mountain trail from Garve to Inverness scared me! But I did it - and now I know I can ride in the rain! Riding in a country where you have to get use to "left lane" drivers - also a challenge that made my inner old grumpy biker surface!
I used the yoga to stretch out. To make sure that my static movement throughout the day were equalised with opposite movements. I did stretching of the entire front of my body and made lunges supported by our bikes (or Klingon Callisthenics as my husband lovingly called it!).... but I heard no complaints when his body needed some tender attention!
So - what have I learnt? I'm quite proud that I've done it! When we returned the counter on the Tiger was 4100,1 kilometres (around 2560 miles), and I had done long trips as well. I now have a better idea of what you can actually achieve on a bike, and my "wanderlust"* on my bike has been sparked! I've got new plans for my next solo trip!
.... now I just need my bum to recover!
*; wanderlust Has German Roots. ... The etymology of wanderlust is a very simple one that you can probably figure out yourself. "Wanderlust" is lust (or "desire") for wandering. The word comes from German, in which wandern means "to wander," and Lust means "desire."