Save gas money, reduce C02 emissions, burn calories, strengthen your muscles, BREATHE & BE HAPPY!
BICYCLING COMFORT
Far from being a foregone luxury, comfort on the bike is an achievable thing! A few simple adjustments and habits can make a big difference. And luckily, the time has come-- equipment and products designed specifically for women are ripe and available, so avail yourself and your bike will feel like a friend.
Wear a clean pair of bike shorts every ride... and nothing under ‘em (underwear adds painful friction...especially no thongs-- ouch!). Simply wash your shorts in the sink and hang them out the window to dry for the next day, like the pros do.
Seats-- get a good one. The new saddles designed with a strategically-located “hole” along the center-line are a wonderful invention. A good model will firmly support your weight on the “sit-bones” of your pelvis, leaving the sensitive areas pressure and friction-free. It will change your life on the bike.
Position on the Bike: Riding a bike that fits can make an enormous positive difference in your cycling experience. A qualified bike shop person can help you choose a bike that’s right for you, and there are further adjustments you can make to maximize comfort and efficiency:
A. Seat height: Your leg should have just a slight bend when your foot is on the pedal in the down position, with your heel slightly dropped. Have someone watch you pedal from behind-- if your hips rock from side-to-side, your seat is probably too high. Your seat should be relatively flat, rather than having the nose pointed up or down.
B. Reach: Seated comfortably on your saddle, your arms should have a little bend when your hands rest on the bars-- even when you place them out on the brake-hoods on drop-bars. Being too stretched-out is a common problem for women, and is not only uncomfortable-- it impairs the handling of your bike. A relaxed bend in your arms gives you some play and shock absorption, and allows you to put more weight on the front wheel, for greater traction in cornering, and it helps reduce neck and wrist aches. If your arms are stretched straight, you may need a shorter stem. Simply raising your existing stem often helps by shortening the reach, too.
C. Fighter pilot controls-- your brakes and shifters: These should be adjusted so you can reach them easily and automatically. If you have small hands, your levers can be adjusted to come closer to the bars. The more accessible you have your brakes, the greater comfort you will feel in letting your bike fly downhill.
Move around: Varying your position on the bike while riding helps keep you supple and shifts pressure points. Try different hand positions-- become comfortable resting your hands on the tops of the bars, or the brake-hoods, or the drops. On flat bars, try resting on your bar-ends now and then to relieve your wrists.
Stand up, sit down: Practice rising out of the saddle and standing up on the pedals occasionally, to stretch and vary your pedal stroke. Riding out of the saddle uses your muscles differently and keeps things from getting stagnant. It’s also a great technique for getting up steep climbs and short rises. Practice letting the bike move freely under you, letting it tilt from side to side as you use your weight to turn the pedals around-- a motion not unlike climbing stairs. Use your arms to leverage the bike back and forth, in rhythm with your pedal strokes. You can exaggerate the back-and-forth cant of your bike under you, just to get familiar with this dancing sensation.
LET’S ROLL!
Starting Out
Pump up your tires, make sure you have a full water bottle and stuff to fix a flat tire, and some treat-money just in case.
Start off riding very easily in low gears and relax your body to let it warm up to the cycling sensations-- be kind! You’ll feel better as the blood gets moving and the previous day’s kinks get worked out.
Shifting Gears: Your bikes gears are your allies to help you negotiate varying terrain in a comfortable, efficient way. Learn to use them to your advantage...practice will make this a nearly automatic function, as you tune into the feeling of spinning your legs smoothly, adjusting to the gradient and the amount of power you feel like putting out.
Here’s how it works:
Your Right Hand controls the shifting on the rear wheel cogs (the ensemble of these gears is called the “freewheel”). These are smaller, more subtle adjustments. You will change these gears often.
Operating the shifter to move the chain up the freewheel, to larger-sized cogs gives you an easier gear-- your legs will spin faster. Shifting the chain down on the freewheel gives you a bigger gear, you will feel more resistance, and apply more power to turn the pedals.
Your Left hand controls the shifting on the front chainring. These gears are fewer, but bigger adjustments. You will have either two or three chainrings--front gears. Generally you will use the middle front ring when climbing uphill, or rolling at a moderate pace. Shift into the big ring when you are rolling fast on a flat road, or descending a long hill.
Goals of Good Shifting:
To give you a smooth, comfortable spinning cadence on a variety of terrain. Work on choosing a gear that allows you to spin fluidly on most gradients-- not so fast as to make you bouncy on the saddle, nor so slow that you are grinding and pumping to turn the pedals. This often requires frequent adjustments, but the effort is worth it-- you will ride much more efficiently and comfortably. Note: there is no avoiding grinding up the steepest climbs-- shift down in advance, and stand up for extra leverage!
Anticipate grade changes so you can shift ahead of time and conserve momentum. For example, if you see you will be climbing uphill from the base of a descent, shift gently out of your big chainring into your middle ring to prepare. The combination of front and rear gears seems complex at first, with so many choices, but through thoughtful experimentation you will soon be shifting easily, by “feel”.
Shifting Tips:
Shift gently: ease up momentarily on the pedals as you shift gears, letting the chain make its transition freely.
Avoid riding in the combination of Big Front Chainring and the Big Cog in the rear-- this is called “cross-chaining” and the stress it causes can break your chain. Instead, shift into the middle chainring.
Fine-tune your gear shifter so your derailleur (the device that moves the chain for you) isn’t rubbing on the chain, creating noise. Sometimes simply shifting up or down a gear-- then back to where you want to be, will quiet the ruckus.
To learn more techniques,
including safety and techniques for downhill stretchs,
and climbing and riding in groups,
join us on a Women’s Quest retreat.
Roll your way to new friendships and new balance in your life!
Olive Oil – A Magical Ingredient
Olive Oil -- Learn how this wonderful ingredient is the secret to a more beautiful you!
Olive oil has been more than mere food to the peoples of the Mediterranean: it has been medicinal, magical, an endless source of fascination and wonder and the fountain of great wealth and power. Homer called it "liquid gold." (We call it SEMELI!)
Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive (Olea europaea; family Oleaceae along with lilacs, jasmine and ash trees), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps.
Olive oil from several areas of Greece, but mainly from Crete, is internationally recognized and has received many awards. Its low acidity, wonderful taste and excellent aroma are mainly due to the excellent growing climate (sunny and dry). Olive oil’s basic ingredients such as oleic, palmitic, stearic and linoleic acids, squalene, tocopherol, phytosterols, vitamins (mainly A, E & K), proteins, minerals, etc., make it a valuable nutrient for the body and its tissues.
Today the use of olives and olive oil is worldwide because of the high nutritional value and its extremely beneficial ingredients for the human body.
Some of the internal benefits of Olive Oil include: a powerful antioxidant, it helps prevent cardiovascular diseases, reduces bad cholesterol (LDL) and increases good cholesterol (HDL), helps with osteoporosis, reduces high blood pressure, and reinforces the immune system.
External benefits include: a powerful moisturizer that is anti-aging, hydrates and reinforces the natural functions of the skin, retaining moisture for long periods, a strong antioxidant (binds free radicals), nourishes, invigorates & firms the skin while supporting the skin’s elasticity, heals (injuries and burns) and helps cell renewal, helps hair grow giving exceptional shine, is a natural preservative, relieves distressed muscles, helps with eye, ear and gum infections, strengthens weak nails and helps with arthritis.
We know the power of Olive Oil and it is the sole purpose behind the creation of Semeli Natural Products. The secret ancient wisdom of our ancestors handed down on a whisper from generation to generation. Semeli is Ageless & Timeless Beauty.
To learn about all the Semeli products visit: www.semeli.net ~ 888.473.635
Recharge and Renew in the Rocky Mountains
“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole
cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh
Come get healthy this summer at the
Colorado Women’s Quest Adventure Retreat July 14-19th!
Women's Quest in Colorado is a complete adventure for all athletic abilities that will reinvigorate your mind, body and spirit. Inspirational and talented instructors lead fun filled activities, such as mountain biking on beautiful single track trails, trail running among the wildflowers, hiking on the Continental Divide plus yoga and dance. Exhilarating and rejuvenating talks with a sprinkling of creativity and merriment will refresh your spirit. Massage and spa services available to melt away any stress that dare linger after a day of play and laughter. Come fill up your energy tank with the magic of the Rocky Mountains in July.
This is a Women’s Quest favorite retreat – and books up quickly. Register to hold your place NOW! See you at Summer Camp!
Andiamo! Let’s Roll in Italy!
Athleta Exclusive Tuscany Tour,June 7-14, 2009, has a few remaining openings. Air fares are down, the weather will be spectacular and you’ll experience Italy like you never imagined. Let yourself roll!
La Dolce Vita Tuscany Tour, June 14-21, 2009, tour is very close to capacity. Register NOW if you are ready to roll!
*Both Italy tours are the same
Ride among the golden Aspen Trees
September 28-October 2nd at Devil's Thumb Ranch and Spa
Get outdoors with other women and come to a majestic Colorado retreat to learn about horses, nature and yourself. We’ll begin each day finding serenity in yoga and continue the day with horseback riding past pristine waterfalls, blankets of wildflowers and trout-filled streams. We’ll end the day pampering you by soaking in hot tubs, getting massage, or swimming in the pool. This horse retreat will take place at the 5 star Devil's Thumb Ranch and Spa. You don’t need to know how to ride – we’ll teach you and provide the gear you need. Yee Haw! Click here to learn more.
Women Wheels and Wine
July 12, 2009 at Devil's Thumb Ranch
Join us for an AMAZING women's mountain bike day. Learn how to ride single track with instruction from the experts Devil's Thumb Ranch staff and Women's Quest. To round out the day, enjoy an included gourmet-spa lunch, opportunities for more bike riding, a "Yoga for Cyclists" class and a relaxing soak in the resort's luxurious heated outdoor pool and hot tub. Click here to learn more.
