Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter will already know that yesterday something very sad happened. My beloved bicycle was stolen. It’s an occupational havoc of living in Cambridge unfortunately (one year when I was a teenager I lost three I think) but still, that was a damn good bike, and I hadn’t got around to insuring it. Of course I have no other means of transportation so I had to get myself another. It’s nowhere near as good, but it’s still cute!
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I’m currently working on my Blogroll, which grows ever longer. If I’ve missed you off and you’d like to be on there then let me know:)
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Finally I’m guest posting over at The LadyBloggers Society again today.
All this cycling I have been doing has made me ever more mindful of the way my body works, what muscles I’m using, how I’m holding myself.
I do love my bike ride to and from work each day (although it wasn’t a whole heap of fun in the snow this morning), but I’m not sure it does an awful lot for my tight hamstrings and crooked back.
When I get home in the evening, if I don’t go to a yoga class on the way, I do some yoga at home. I’ve devised a little yoga sequence that’s particularly suitable for my bicycle weary bones that I thought I’d share. Sometimes I do more than this, but this is my minimum. I hope you like it! Once again I’ve done links to Yoga Journal pictures – don’t worry too much about looking like that. I don’t!
I begin with the centring and kneeling saluation practices described in this post.
Then a few rounds of a sun salutation of your choice if you like.
Hold the downward dogs for longer and longer to really stretch into the hamstrings and shoulders, both of which get tight on a bike. Try coming down onto forearms for downward dog, or bending the knees and drawing the chest nearer to the thighs.
Vrkasana followed by Garudasana (legs only, hands in prayer position) – at least 5 breaths in each pose on each side. This rotates the hips in both directions loosening them up from that bike ride!
Paddotanasana – 10 breaths, you can start with the knees slightly bent and then straighten them as you breath into posture.
Triknonasana – 5 breaths to each side
Uttanasana – bent or straight knees – 10 breaths
Return to kneeling
Utrasana – 3 x 5 breaths each. This really opens out the chest and shoulders – I often find my posture on the bike ride home isn’t that much better than my posture at my desk!
NB – people with back problems (like me) might want to try “baby camel”. Instead of trying to reach the heels just keep the hands on the small of the back, push the hips forward and open the chest by drawing the shoulderblades and elbows towards each other.
Child’s pose for as long as you need.
Janu Sirsasana – 5 breaths to each side
Pachiomottanasana - 5-10 breaths
Lie down on the back and hug the knees into the chest
Relaxation
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Later in the week I hope to do a sequence for all you runners and walkers out there!
If you read the comments to yesterday’s post you may have seen mention of the Guided Bus. This innovative method of public transport has become quite infamous in Cambridgeshire, mostly because of the fact that after years of planning it is still not up and running.
This Wiki article says that plans for this have been going on since 2001 but I first remember talk of the Guided Bus (or the Misguided Bus as the local press have “hilariously” nicknamed it) back in the days when the Brontosaurus roamed the earth, Kurt Cobain was still alive and I was doing my A Levels. I have people working for me who weren’t born then. Eighteen years later and it is still not built.
But what on earth is it? When I first heard of it I had visions of a bus travelling slowly down the middle of the road, guided by a man waving a flag like in the days of the early car. The Guided Bus however is basically a cross between a tram and a bus. It runs on special concrete tracks, allegedly zipping through the traffic most of the time. Then, when it needs to, it can also run on the road. It has two special sets of wheels for this purpose, which is a bit Inspector Gadget. The main point of all this is to connect areas of Cambridgeshire that have had no public transport for many years since our local railways were closed down. Currently many of the buses are just travelling around on the normal bus routes displaying signs that say “I’ll be on the Busway soon, will you?”. Surely, at this rate their “road wheels” will be worn away before they get on the busway.
The best thing about the Guided Bus is that cycle paths have been built along the sides of the tracks, which means that I can get to work without having to go on the road at all. However, I still don’t have a plan B for getting to work on rainy days, so for my part I hope it’s not much longer before the Guided Bus starts running.
The delays have been so great, and so many deadlines have come and gone that the Council is no longer even bothering to tell us a proposed opening date. Until then I guess I’ll just have to wear my sexy red waterproofs when it rains (which I’ve just noticed it is currently doing!).
