Wholistic Fitness

from the swayin Pappas Grass in my parent’s backyard (photo by ilg), to

the gut wrenching intensity of my Sandia Crest Hill Climb race,
this New Mexico Served and Delivered DL is gonna take you places…it is my honor to have Served this Sacred Sweat for you..

but first…

As reported in DL this week, my love affair and practicing baby stuff on Teddy has sparked a worldwide interest in the questions, “Who exactly IS this Teddy?” and “Where did he come from?” not to mention, “To whom does he belong?” Bending to the overwhelming public pressure, the crack DL Staff (me) is negotiating a DL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the mysterious and adorable Teddy of Two Tree Manor! Shown above, Teddy and Ananda share an early morning reading of DL to stay on top of what matters most; FAME!!!

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What Happened At The Sandia Crest HillClimb Road Race?

in the Gut Check moments before the start gun the 26-mile, 4,000′ hill climb road race. in lieu of my movie star Beloved to pin on my numbers, i reverted to putting my race number onto my Red Rock Racing jersey with the help of my steering wheel; an old Indian trick. nothing i hate worse than a schleppy race number.

as i wrote previously in DL, i knew damn well i was not going repeat my wire-to-wire victory here a year ago. this was a major gunfight of the southwest, and i was an asthmatic warrior wielding a butter knife. yet, i was here for the mental fortitude training. even if my endurance racing had entered a irreversible downward spiral for this lifetime, i was gonna go down fighting. excuse my French, but, Fuck It. born a Warrior, live a Warrior, die a Warrior. my plan was to stay as close to Dan Armijo’s or Lyle Amer’s wheels for as long as possible. These two, not unlike Ned Overend, were older than i (45) yet possessed National Class cycling fitness. i have been racing against these two for most of my life. of course, always on their playground; endurance sports. i was not in their league today, so i would be honored to sweat beside them for as long as possible. the first attack happened on the lower lead in slopes to the ski area. the pace started to put pressure on the 70-man peleton and pretty much put my wheezing lungs into my throat.

it’s strange. once you’ve been a champion and a leader of the peleton, your body/mind/spirit does not forget it. i found myself up in the front rotation of the big guns, just like the “old” days. the Chi had arrived and i felt aggressive, even leading the race for moments before picking a wheel to draft behind.

Armijo attacked at an unlikely place which, for him, was likely. he knows no pain, evidently, as he attacked into a head wind about a mile before the steep, tiny ski road that crept up to the 10,400′ Finish Line nearly at the top of Sandia Peak. he got 10 seconds on us and try as we could, we could not close the gap before the ski road.

once on the ski road, it was 14 miles of uphill utter hell…or heaven if you are feeling fit. we would race up and through 4 of the 7 known climate zones on Planet Earth and i knew i would have plaster my heart rate to keep my speed at about 9-10 mph. anything less than that and i would be gobbled up by those behind me faster than a hummingbird’s wingbeat.

i started to get pressured off the First Chase Group after two miles of the ski road. so were others. i felt i was still in the top ten and if i limited my damage by not letting other catch me, i could finish in the top ten, perhaps even the top five, since i did not how many 45+ racers were in front of me.

constantly bring Mula Bandha, which – as Cyclist and veteran WF Online Student Feather recently discovered – also invites a degree of Uddiyana Bandha. once a cyclist has made contact with Mula and Uddiyana, he or she is Graced two most important Gifts of Awakened Sports Performance; bodily lightness and an engaged Sushumna Factor. the first is undeniably valuable, as an improved strength-to-weight ratio is often the cause for victory, especially when cranking up massive mountains. the second is a trigger for the Cosmic Energy within Muladhara Chakra, the abode of the Kundalini energy. each of these two factors account for far, far more power than the decrepit by comparison Muscle And Oxygen System.

during the ascent of the middle section of the ski road, i was in a pocket of internal glee though the suffering was insanely high. i felt in control of my breath and i felt as though my legs were nearly back to the old ilg. i was standing on my pedals, then sitting and powering. relaxed upper body and the breath came easily. the pain – which i see only as spiritual purification and karmic empowerment – was as high as the alpine zone through which i was cycling.

then it happened. that which all endurance athletes fear most; the Big Crack.

as i was climbing side by side with two other racers, trading pulls, averaging a monster 9 mph up the steeps and staying within a few minutes of the leaders, i cracked.

i cracked so hard i nearly broke my bottom bracket.

i mean, it has been a WHILE since i cracked that hard.

in the flicker of a moment, i went from a charging contender motoring like a, well, motorcycle up this steep mountain at 9 mph, to a broken winged titmouse flailing my bicyle at a measley 6 mph. oooooooooooooooooooooooooof.

dat ain’t fun.

what was worse was that i still had another mile and a half to go to the Finish Line.

you wanna develop Spirit?
you wanna develop Mind?
you wanna develop Body?

you wanna know true YOGA; the Union of Body,Mind, and Spirit?

well,
then do the largest, steepest, nastiest hillclimb you can; on feet, ski, or bike. it has to be a Race. if it is not, you will not push yourself as hard as is needed to secure the spiritual underpinnings.

and go out with the Leaders. like i did.
just throw the dice, and say, Fuck It. i’m either gonna hang with the Leaders or blow up but no chicken shit tactics of holding back.

like i did.

what you may experience is a stunning Victory the caliber of which will endlessly fuel the Enlightenment Kindling for us Warrior Breeded.

or,
you’ll lose.

like i did.

that last mile or so was one of the toughest, most painful, most endless miles i have ridden in a looooong time.

i even got passed in the last 800 meters by my former Motorola teammate, lead out man, and great friend; Richard “Gram Man” Verderame. Of course you veteran DL’ers will recall that it was Gram Man that anchored our Bike Leg for one of my three consecutive Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon championships. as “Grammage” passed me, my tired heart was so happy for him. i feebly cheered him as he passed me,
“Go Grammage!”

at the Finish Line, he was one of the first to greet me as a trace of rain began to sputter upon the altitude-dwarfed pines,
“Well, that’s a first,” he smiled as he hugged me.

“Yeah,” i smiled back, “congratulations!…and don’t think that is ever gonna happen again, my friend!”

after several minutes of hugging Warrior Brotherhood among the select Warrior Clan, some of whom were puking from their effort, i became slowly hypothermic; a training effect from my years as a mountaineer. i told Gram Man i had to start cycling down the mountain and i did, convulsing spasmodically on my bike. the Talking Head’s lyric,
“Same as it ever was, same as it ever was…”
spilled through my oxygen deprived brain as i teetered my way down the mountain desperate to get to lower climate zones to relieve my epileptic motions and chattering teeth.

on my shivering descent, i saw fellow Flag Monster Man, Mark Aasmundstad, flying up the mountain, swords engaged with Ryan Blickem in the Men’s Pros/1/2 Race…i tried to cheer him yet nothing came out of my mouth. i gave him some Tribal Love on yesterday’s Club Ride here in Flag though. incredible story is his: a former pro truck driver; chain smoker and unfamiliar with bicycles up until 5 year ago. now, at 6’3″ he is a soft spoken, yoga practicing Cat 2 that is the Big Boss of Arizona Cycling. he did this race, inspired in part by my participation in it, and cranked to a 5th Place finish…only 6 minutes behind overall winner; Drew Miller. Drew, also of Flagstaff, is a nationally known Hill Climber of the highest degree.

anyway, i finished 15th out of 30 in my Age Group, having lost 7 places in the final mile and a quarter.

upside?

i still burned enough calories and was Brave enough to reward myself with a tacopilla at Abuelitos in ‘downtown’ Bernalillo, NM. lemme tell you; there are two things in life that you should not miss and both, ironically, can be found in this little hamlet on the banks of the Rio Grande; Anil’s Iyengar Yoga class at his studio; AtmaBodh.

the second? yup, the tacopilla at Abuelitos…oh my Gawd!

oh yeah, and be sure to toe the Start Line of the race dedicated my friend and former teammate: Bill McLain. all proceeds go to his family. you can find the race at:

until then,
keep your Nadi’s clean and your Mula engaged…

om so ti,
the mountain yogi