Two Very Good Things
This project is born from the combination of my two primary areas of study and work in this life:
Namely– in case it’s not obvious– they are Yoga and Bike Tour.
Yoga in that I have spent years in and out of studying Eastern spiritual traditions to varying degrees. And while I may not be living in an ashram anymore, I continue to experience life as a largely spiritual experience. Yoga also in that I’ve studied Asana to the RYT500 level, and teach classes.
I am coming to see essentially everything as yoga.
The “Yoke”ing.
The joining of our physical bodies to the greater of creation. How we move on and off the mat being a reflection inwardly and outwardly of how we are experiencing the world.
As such, I can’t help but equate bike tour with yoga–The way we experience our bodies on the bike, what emotions come up when we see a dreaded hill in the distance, how we choose to approach an impending difficulty, the divine wind-blown sweetness of a well-earned descent–this is the same as where we focus our energy when things get challenging on our mat… And the same as how we manage ourselves through the ever present challenges of daily human life.
It’s all the same. Hills are hills, no matter where you are. And your experience summiting hills successfully on a bike can turn tackling the hills of daily life into a more joyful adventure as well. That bike tour, like much of life, is a rather spiritual and growth-inducing experience has been my most powerful take-away from years of leading long distance bike tours professionally.
Yet the tours I was leading and those I see offered elsewhere have no language with which to talk about this fact. It’s all about the route, the scenery, the accommodations– which to be sure are very important aspects of any tour. But with only that to bind a group, lacking any other camaraderie or this absolutely critical component of acknowledging the journey of self-discovery we experience on the bike was conspicuously absent from the itinerary.
And while inevitably full of gorgeous scenery, many trips felt dry and lacking heart.
Yoga of Bike Tour was born out of a knowledge we can tour better!
In life I’ve found the company you keep is as important as the activities you. undertake. It’s all about community. This is one reason I’m creating trips for women. I find there’s an ease in relating amongst women, and feeling close to your fellow journeyers is one of the best parts of bike tour. Making new friends, sharing experiences, witnessing and feeling seen. This is where that heart is.
We can have trips where we’re all there to ride bikes through gorgeous scenery, eat excellent snacks, make new friends, AND hold space to support each other in our growth towards our highest Selves, It’s possible!
This is a natural pairing with yoga, of course, which is ALL about Self Discovery. We’ll get to integrate what our bodies teach us on the road with two classes daily, and have classical themes to contemplate during our rides.
I explain more about this brand new way we’ll be combining the magic of bike tour with the mindfulness of yoga into something even greater than either alone on the tours page.
The other reason I’m doing women’s tours is that I want to create a safe container for any woman who’s ever wanted to go on bike tour but has been too intimidated to plan a trip herself or ride in the company of competitive men.
This is the place! And it’s going to be so fun.
Check out the Tours Page to see how you can join the next adventure!