Recovery and rescue riding

This morning it took my legs awhile to loosen up, as I stretched in the sun. If you practice yoga, you would call this a "sun salutation". I've been cheating on the strict doctrine of this lately, however, by drinking lots of coffee while I stretch, This would send a hard core practitioner into fits. They consider it too "pita", which means "fire" in Sanscrit. Too much pita in your blood takes away your mellow.

But it gets me going.

It's funny how your body feels in winter. Your metabolism slows down, and you will gain weight. This is a primordial survival mechanism, involving the synthesis of various hormones. So fighting this process by training too hard can cause problems. Injuries, colds, etc. are common.

I thought it was interesting to hear about the Tour De France riders, how a rest day can cause them to actually spin out of balance. after riding 130 mile days for 5 days straight, their bodies react in strange ways to the inactivity. The commentator said: "It's like the body doesn't know what to do with itself". The riders actually start the Tour a bit on the heavy side, because they know they'll lose weight, even though they will eat every meal until completely full.

I went on a "recovery ride" yesterday. you just spin lightly, to get the blood flowing, and try to flush all the junk out. Hill climbing, if any, is done carefully. It felt really good. It was a beautiful day, and the fresh mountain air was a blessing.

I restore old vintage bikes. Especially old Nottingham Raleighs, but I have been dabbling in french bikes as well. These bikes hit our shores during the "bike invasion' of the 1970's.

I finally picked up a 26 X 1 3/8" cruiser wheel I had stashed behind a tree. I had found some junk by the curb down by the river. I strapped it to my back and continued on.

In the woods behind this road, that goes through a sprawling office complex, there is an old abandoned tobacco farmhouse, the roof is caving in. Probably been that way since the 1950's.
I need to take a picture of it in the angular afternoon light, it's just so "Boo-Radley".

This area is full of those icons, still peeking through. If you have kids, there's a wonderful petting zoo and hiking trail in Windsor, just below Rainbow Reservoir. It's on old tobacco land, with huge barns. Northwest Park. Check it out for an early season walk in the sun. I think they also make food there, great place for some mindless cross-country skiing.

Another Project I love is Project Rwanda. Again, I think this blog site I'm using here has blocked the publishing of links, so just Google "Project Rwanda". They are building cargo bikes to bring their coffee to market faster. They are colorful "coffee bikes", Made by Tom Ritchie.

The interesting thing is, the farmers have to purchase the bikes, so they take equity in them, and learn how to maintain them. Past bike charity endeavors have shown that when you just give someone a bike, it usually ends up being abused and neglected. But in the mountains of Rwanda, where Diane Fossey studied the Mountain Gorillas, these bikes are revolutionizing the coffee trade. The farmers are staring to turn a profit, working their way out of starvation.

I have a picture of a Project Rwanda guy wearing a "Mountain Gorilla Vetrinarians" T- shirt. I totally want one! I also want a Team Rwanda jersey. Probably the only jersey I'll wear with stuff written on it.

The natives turned heads when they started building bikes out of wood. You can see them on the site as well, they're totally Fred Flintstone. No chain, they just have to coast downhill! You can actually purchase one too. The brake is a piece of wood that rubs on the front wheel.

I wouldn't mind somehow pooling just three hundred bucks to purchase a "coffee bike" for one of these farmers. If you've forgotten what happened in Rwanda, see the movie "Hotel Rwanda".
It's about the horrifying genocide in 1994. The US decided not to intervene, and backed out right before the major onslaught.

Many of the Team Rwanda riders still bear machete scars. I hope someday these guys race in the Tour De France. There's a link to Team Rwanda on the site, follow the project and the team on Facebook if you want.

I think in this day and age, this a chance to make a difference in a place that has been ignored by US corporate interests. We probably won't invade there, as there's no oil, or anything else really worth altering. But some of us can sneak in and make a difference.

It's stunning country, check out the videos and the pics.

The coffee ain't too bad either, it has a wonderfully sweet aroma and taste. Perfect for that morning stretch in Anywhere, USA.

Peace out