Wholistic Fitness

Coach:

It looks like your retreat was refreshing. I just got back from

spending some days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I like being in places

where there are others that are equal or higher on the food chain.

Bernadette is wanting to get me a bike for my birthday. I have been looking

at Treks and Moots. I have been trying to find something I can use on and

off road. My off road is pretty serious logging roads. I saw that your new

bike is all terrain. What does that mean? Would you take it off road? The

cyclo bikes look too weak that I have seen. Any advice from the confused.

Pat

Noble Student Pat –

indeed i take �Nalanda� my ATB (All Terrain Bicycle) off road. please understand however, that many years of high level mountain bike racing in the Rocky Mountains helps deliver me the bike handling skills required to ride what is essentially a road bike on mountain bike trails and logging or fire roads.

“Nalanda” recovering between bouts of commuting and training. Coach Ilg’s living room.

I am absolutely inhabiting a Heavenly Realm whenever i ride Nalanda. I can stay with the front group of a club road training ride and then wave goodbye to the road-tethered peleton as i turn off onto some Santa Monica ridge top single track or fire road and dice it up with mountain bikers.

With Nalanda�s versatility, i can combine unique segments of pavement and dirt which keeps my training scintillatingly vicious and beautifully poised above the smog of LA. i can ride the road with my road bike friends to pre-fatigue my legs and then go off road and climb some gnarly mountain to push my fitness ever higher.

while traveling, Nalanda makes the ideal cardio companion; She is tough and can be knocked around in the car yet is super adaptable to both road and mountain bike terrain.

Nalanda makes an IDEAL commute bike; sturdy as a ponderosa yet swift and nimble as a glacier wind. She looks forward to taking a pounding and coming back for more. She is supple under duress and elegant on pavement.

Nalanda’s primary suspension: large carbon fork, cross style wheelsets, and knobby 700cc tires.

Nalanda�s �suspension� however, only comes the impeccable Winwood Carbon Fiber Cross Fork, the astonishingly light yet indomitable Mavic Krysrium Elite Wheelset and the 33c knobby Conti Twister Pro Cross tires I chose. of course, consistent High Performance Yoga practice helps me breathe consciously and thus float over the rough terrain while my Wholistic Fitness strength training mitigates the concussion on my bones. No way around it though, riding a road frame on dirt ain�t the most comfortable thang in the world, but OH how many beautiful places you can get to and enjoy! Compared to mountain bikes, even if i manage to keep Nalanda�s wheels going around, then i am at least going 5-6 mph even up the steep dirt climbs such as Paseo Miramar or Calabasas Peak. I�ve shattered nearly all my mountain bike loops around here thanks to Nalanda�s incredible capacity to generate speed on dirt.

The epitome of Nalanda’s grace. Able to average 13mph on this gut busting 7% gravel, washboard road section was key to recording my fastest ascent and roundtrip time for Sandia Peak. The 22.5 mile ascent covers both pavement and dirt, beginning at 5,000′ and summiting at over 11,000′ in 2 hours 32 minutes. Round trip: 3 hours, 53 minutes.

I cannot say enough how much fun Nalanda is…it is hard to stay off of Her! The training effect is fantastic and an ATB like Nalanda would be a welcome relief to beginning or intermediate road riders who want a super smooth ride on the road, yet also enjoy nontechnical dirt.

Wanna build one? Call SchwabCycles at: 800-343-5347.

you can check out the 3lb alu Torelli frame still on sale for about $500 (limited sizes…usually about $800) at:

http://www.schwabcycles.com/cgi/wc.dll?SCHWAB2~catalog~DETAIL~1455

…here are the components that i chose to give birth to my more treasured Nalanda:

Ultegra Crankset Triple 30/42/52: $154.99

Ultegra STI Flight Deck 9spd: $191.99

Ultegra Triple Bottom Bracket: $45.99

Ultegra HG92 9 spd: $23.99

Ritchey Pro Bar 26.0: $64.99

Crank Brothers Egg Beater Candy pedals: $139.99

Ultegra Triple Front Deraileur: $38.99

Ultegra Triple Rear Deraileur: $67.99

Ritchey Pro Road Seatpost: $49.99

Selle Italia Flite Gel Saddle: $109.99

Ritchey Scuzzy Headset: $65.99

Neo Ritchey Cross Brake: $173.98

Winwood Carbon Cross Fork: $249.99

Mavic Krysrium Elite Wheelset: $549.99

Conti Twister Pro Cross: $79.98

Michelin Cross Tube 700cc: $41.94

I had to build Nalanda without a lot of money. the only difference I would make if I was going to upgrade these choices would be a move from Ultegra components to DuraAce. Nalanda, in the end cost about $3,000…a tiny price to pay considering the Herculean body, mind, and spiritual joy and health and fun She has already gifted me.

If I did not already have Sudhamani (my Trek road bike) and Grunt (my Kona mountain bike), I would definitely invest in building Nalanda as my one and only bicycle. Like a Wholistic Fitness Master Student, Nalanda can dance across the fitness requirements without addiction to specialization. That, to me, is the definition of Noble Fun!

May this input help move more people out of cars and onto their legs and into their Higher Self!

i bow to you,

steve ilg, ryt/cpt

United States Cycling Federation Coach

Coach-

I send you good thoughts and wishes from warm and sunny NYC. �I was psyched to see the prop workout will be available for home consumption – sign me up! �I also would like to order a WF cycling jersey – make mine a medium.

Took on the cardio dragons with a full frontal assault today. �Sunday is my “sleep day”, where my wife takes the early shift with the kids (I reciprocate on Saturdays). �This morning, instead of rolling over and going back to sleep when she got up, I arose, did a Neti wash and quick pranayama, downed an Ilg Supreme and a banana, and headed out the door on “Old Faithful” (Specialized hybrid bike that has taken everything NYC has to offer for 10 years and is still kickin’. �It doesn’t ride fast or smooth, but it does the job). �I rode the full NYC Greenway, a (mostly) car-free bike path following the circumference of Manhattan island (mostly) along the water. �Being NYC, the ride ain’t always green or smooth, but is was a glorious morning and the chi was upon me. �Got off the bike once, at the southern tip of the island, and ate a Sunbar while gazing out upon the Statue of Liberty, then pedaled up to my place at the northern end of the island. �Coming on the heels of a Frugal Realm Yang Lower Body workout a couple of days ago, it left my legs feeling exceedingly well trained, and my soul at ease. �Thank you.

Namaste

– Student L