Cycling LEJOG
"If you put too much emphasis on a prescriptive response - ie. lengthen your hamstrings or stretch your quads - you might miss something really important. What was relevant was exhaustion, you deal with the exhaustion".
I am talking to Wendy Norwood (senior Iyengar Yoga teacher) who has just returned from cycling the full length of the United Kingdom. The ride: Land's End to John o' Groats (LEJOG - an acronym - FYI it is definitely not a jog!)
This was Wendy's second long bike ride in the last few years - the first being Tour Aotearoa, spanning the length of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The two rides were vastly different, different beasts.
NZ was mainly on tracks with a mountain bike, not a lot of traffic, lots of opportunities to stop.
The UK was all on the road with a road bike with challenging weather, bad roads, long mileage each day. In reference to how yoga supported me through the rides; it was essential on the LEJOG.
The ride was brutal on the body, with the unrelenting weather constantly against you, it was a huge mental game. The effect that has on your ability to say "this is fun", because it's not fun. Certainly not fun in the usual sense, more of the type 2 fun variety – not fun at the time, but fun looking back.
From that perspective; support was crucial, there wasn't much else I could do to look after myself other than yoga (and a hot bath if I was lucky enough to have one in my room!).
It was making that connection back into my yoga practice: how do I look after myself, how can I stay focused when the conditions are so tough, what can I do to support myself?
What is required as a yoga practitioner to practice yoga daily is similar to what was required to cycle every day on this ride. And the fact that I had the yoga practice to support me.
Suzi - you can't buy that in a weetbix box..
Wendy - exactly!
That is what got me through those days when it was very difficult.
Giving up was a possibility every day; but at the same time this was never going to happen.
Quietly going within, that ability to dig into yourself and to stay with what comes up, even when it's difficult. I had lots of days like that.
One strategy was to choose to cycle on my own - 100 km on my own is a long way. But I loved it!
I enjoyed that time of just being me and going with it and being in myself. That meditative quality, on a bad day when I was really struggling, that's what I saught.
I just needed to look after myself, that's where you go - within - and find your own focus.
Its different for everyone.
The physical side is in your face - you can’t get away from that one, no matter which way you look. You don’t know what you don’t know until you do it.
Yoga practise wise, to balance out the cycling you might think, "I’m going to do this or I’m going to do that". But at the end of a tough day you realise any plans you had before you started your ride doesn’t work, its practitioner all the way, observe and respond simultaneously. I had to do what was required and I didn’t know that until the day.
If you put too much emphasis on a prescriptive response - lengthen your hamstrings or stretch your quads - you might miss something really important. What was relevant was exhaustion, responding to the exhaustion was my priority.
What did you do?
Viparita Karani (legs up the wall), long timings on my bed, pillow under my buttocks, with variations. Did a ton of swastikasana, it was the thing that was required most: releasing my tight legs and butt. Coming out through Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana.
In my mind, while I was riding, I was thinking about my bed and the wall - I couldn't wait! The body asked and I delivered.
The simpler the better.
I was making so many decisions throughout the ride my brain just needed to totally rest, I didn’t have much energy for anything else. Anything complicated was too much thinking. You don’t want to do the thinking.
Did you drink much coffee?
No, not because I didn’t want to but because there weren't generally any nice coffee shops that were convenient, a lot English coffee in hotels and b and bs is Cafetiere - filtered coffee, and weak.
It is the land of tea.
How far was it?
The ride was just under 3 weeks - riding everyday except one.
Shortest ride 70km
Longest 130km
Average 100km
1650 kms in total
The position I held on the bike was leaning forward, basically Utkatasana all day, with your legs going round.
I have my palms facing each other - like prone pincha mayurasana thumbs up - with the wind and the rain at you constantly I was being buffeted.
There is a fair bit of grip in the arms: deltoid, trapezius coming up into the neck.
I was braking a lot, and constantly changing gears, dealing with the weather – the rain and wind. The effect of that: through the arms and into your shoulders, neck and upper back was intense. It takes its toll day after day.
End of day:
First thing was legs up the wall, swastikasana (gets into your inner hamstring) same in baddha konasana, takes the strain off.
Backbend off the bed, upper back supported, head off with arm variations, to open the chest up, not garudasana arm variation - nothing closed.
No thinking involved - no sequence to follow - it was pure instinct.
This is what the body was telling me it needed and this is what I responded to.
Every morning I would wake up and do Jathara Parivartanasana resting. My sacral area was sore in the morning, Jathara eased out the tension.
From being in that forward bending position all day - I wanted to get out of that and into something different, everything felt so set, locked in.
You said it's quite abdominal.
Yes, particularly when you are riding in difficult conditions for long periods of time: uneven surfaces, potholes, wind and rain. There is an abdominal grip the whole time.
From a closed riding position to an opening up position, Viparita karani allowed me to just let go. I would do that first then go back over the bed. Never the other way round.
I got to the end and felt pretty good.
Never once did I feel like doing Trikonasana.
With more space and props I would have practiced Supta Virasana,
However I did practice Eka Pada Bhekasana, it helped release my tight quadriceps.
Any more long distance rides planned?
Not long long - Japan is next: Seto Inland Sea is on the agenda (Setonaikai)
What I found coming back to practice proper; It felt better – just a bit of tightness in the inner thighs and calves. I was so in my body during the ride it was amazing how good I felt. Having a bit of time off from my regular practice it was clear to me why I practice yoga, how much it was there behind the ride.
I’m often asked if I was on an e-bike.
As my 82 year old road cycling friend said, why would you ride an e-bike?
I'm far too young for that!
