Wholistic Fitness

Hey WF Sangha!
came into today’s crit (short for ‘criterium’) in 20th place. not bad for being a ‘domestique’…a member of a racing team whose duty is to help out the Team Leader and the Team at large. my goals are to 1) help the Team, and 2) get my feet wet in this race so next year, when i race this race in the 45+ category, well…you know…SEE YA!!!!!! i am having a ton of fun, meeting my new Brotherhood of Sweat and Pedals and just suffering to honor the Real Warriors during this Memorial Day Weekend.

i chose to set my morning’s crit effort to the words of the Buddha, the Grand Spiritual Athlete of All Time.

special thanks to Ananda for riding out to the crit and taking these GREAT pics!

enjoy!

***

“Learn what is right; then teach others, as the wise do.” – 158

This is Pete Traylor in the Leader’s yellow jersey. He is winning our race heading into Day 3. He is about 8 minutes ahead of me. Pete is a good guy. You triathletes probably recognize his name. He is a professional triathlete who placed high in the Triathlon World Championships. Bike Racing has high standards.

“Before trying to guide others, be your own guide first.” – 159

Here i am, far right, way in the back. Yup. Basically in the gutter. This, Noble Students, is NOT the place to start a wickedly fast crit race. See how much i Love and Care for you? i willingly took last place to start just to SHOW YOU where NOT to line up! okay, maybe not. maybe i took ONE LOUSY WARM UP LAP, and by the time i arrived at the Start, i found myself in last place. Rookie move, ilgster! From the start, i was behind and behind is NOT the place to start a crit. the very MOMENT the Start Gun goes off…guys like Traylor reach speeds of 25 mph while you are still trying to clip into your pedals!

“Your own self is your master; who else could be? With yourself well controlled, you gain a master very hard to find.” – 160

i am latched onto the wheels in front of me around this corner before i hammer around them on the short uphill section about 400 meters from this corner. i still have some vestigal crittin’ skills and plenty o punch still left in me legs. i got a “bad luck” start and paid dearly for it as i attempted to bridge up to the Traylor group about 10 seconds in front. We covered the half-mile course over and over again at speeds reaching 28 mph into this corner. Two Wheeled Yoga, baby; “Your own self is your master; who else could be?”

“Therefore, Ananda, live having self for an island, self for refuge and no other; having dharma for an island, dharma for refuge and no other.” – (Samyutta Nikaya 5, 162)

Suffering “separation anxiety” as i attempted a bold solo bridge from the group that did not/could not work with me up to the leaders. it did not work. i found myself to be an Anaerobic Island of Pain…and losing…the latter being far worse than the pain.

“It is hard to guide oneself.” – 129

Teammate Ian and i co-miserate after being yanked from the race with 13 minutes to go. My group was the last to get pulled. i did my Best.

“It is hard to leave the world and hard to live in it, painful to live with the worldly and painful to be a wanderer. Reach the goal; you will wander and suffer no more.” – 302

our suffering is no more. the crit is over; the hurt is gone, the doubt is gone, only the Lactic Acid remains. here at “Bala”, we, the support crew, pointing to our man of the day, Jeremy… who was the only one of our Team to finish the crit. out of 50+ racers at the Start, only a handful finished. bike racing ain’t no chicken shit sport. and crittin’ is ALL about Power and Endurance, baby. i bow to Jeremy. i will race my bike tomorrow nearly 60 miles and do whatever is required to deliver either Jeremy or Steve to the finish line with the freshest legs. i am only Server here.

from L-R; Aaron, myself, Steve Sanchez, and Warrior of the Day; Jeremy! bro’hood. you learn more about a person who bike races with you over one weekend than most people learn about sedentary friends over the course of a lifetime, i swear.

“Sitting alone, sleeping alone, going about alone, vanquish the ego by yourself alone. Abiding joy will be yours when all selfish desires end.” – 305

Here is where the last day of racing ends; Marshall Lake outside of Flagstaff. After today’s crit, Ananda and i drove up the 1.5 mile finishing climb so i could visualize things tonight. we hung out up here for a bit; just observing the wind, water, tree swallows, mallards, elk, cow, and hawks. that is the Sacred Peak in the background, once a 16,000+ mountain until She climaxed…after Her volcanic orgasm, She was 3,000’+ shorter. having spoke to you about Brahmacharya in past DL’s, i will trust my metaphysical metaphor to your own intuition.

on the drive back from Marshall Lake, Ananda and i picked up litter from Memorial Day Weekend tourists. Mostly beer cans. May all Beings perform Inner Work and become freed from their Ignorance.

Most Noble Yogis,
Remember that you are a beautiful Being
and
i will update you after tomorrow’s last Stage.

i bow to the Buddha for His Everlasting Light and Strength and Wisdom.
i bow to the Dharma for the inspiration of the Way.
i bow to the Sangha for who are wide-awake, vigilant, and their thoughts focused on sense-training.

namaste,

coach ilg