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Zesty Adventures

Happiness/ Health Tips/ Nutrition for Sport/ Plant-Based/ Zesty Adventures

Food That Feeds Your Soul

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You are what you eat

You may know that eating a variety of nutrients is important for your health and wellness, but what you may not realize is how what you eat also influences your spiritual health and well-being.

Ayurvedic practitioners, ancient Greeks and buddhists alike have been aware for thousands of years that food has an energetic effect on the body, mind and spirit. The more nutritious and pure the foods, the more conscious and in sync your are with the world around you, the attuned you are with your heart, your intuition; and the more you can interpret your souls wisdom. Continue Reading…

Athletic Performance/ Mountain Biking/ MTB/ Zesty Adventures

Pilates: The Mountain Biker’s Secret to Strength, Balance & Recovery

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Crash with grace

Whether you pitch yourself over the bars, slip off a skinny or send yourself wayward on a wet root, if you ride a mountain bike you’re going to crash once in a while…but, I have a secret practice for landing on all fours.

I’ve had a number of crashes, close calls and tricky situations that I know Pilates has saved me from. Whether it’s addressing posture, breathing, strength, flexibility, coordination or awareness, for over 10 years Pilates has trained me to work with my body as whole to increase performance and resilience. If you think Pilates is only for women and ballerinas, you’re way wrong my friend. Continue Reading…

Happiness/ Health Tips/ Meaning & Passion/ Zesty Adventures

Hero Habits: The Secret to Crushing Your Goals

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Always be yourself, unless you can be batman

We all want to be better — fitter, healthier, more skilled, more successful, a more likeable person etc. The trouble is, we rarely stick to the habits it takes to get there.

Most people focus on outcome-based goals like “I want to lose weight” or “I want to run a marathon”. But these are superficial changes. The path to building lasting habits is actually changing your identity. Meaning, if you change the type of person that you believe that you are, then it’s easier to change your actions. Continue Reading…

Bravery/ Perseverance/ Wellness/ Zesty Adventures

Clean Line: The Trail to Recovery

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The trail to recovery

Deciding to ride the trail means you’re going to face many obstacles, and no matter how much you avert your gaze from the steep rock slab and slippery roots, they’re always there. Similarly, you can go through life trying to drown your pain in addictions, but it’s always there—floating around deep inside.

As in every path, you can only get to your destination by moving forward, one obstacle at a time. The fear of failure and facing the unknown stops many people from progressing, but your inner terrain must be traversed in the journey to recovery.

Continue Reading…

Bravery/ Love & Relationships/ MTB/ Zesty Adventures

FEAR: Face Everything And Ride

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Racing Heart. Shortness of Breath. Butterflies.

Peddling up Mt. Fromme on our twin Santa Cruz Bronson’s, my friend Craig is taking me to Upper Oil Can bike trail. He tells me I’m ready to tackle some technical woodwork. I’m so excited to face the severe danger looming on the horizon!…or maybe what I feel is anxiety and I shouldn’t do this today—it’s so hard to tell the difference between emotions sometimes. Anxiety and excitement are completely different emotions, one positive, one negative—but are they different, really? Continue Reading…

Flow/ Happiness/ Love & Relationships/ Zesty Adventures

Zesty Sidekick: Life lessons from my furry friend

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A girls best friend

I sat on the floor gazing out the window as a tear rolled down my cheek. Suddenly Kula perked up from her plushy pillow and wiggled across the hardwood to give me a slurpy lick; and then two, three, four, until I couldn’t help but smile.

I’m not sure how I got so lucky to have been graced by the presence of this extraordinary dog, but I’m grateful every day. Kula is two-and-a-half-years-old now, a red fox lab with an insatiable passion for mountain biking—kinda like me. Maybe it’s cliche, but my dog truly is my best friend. She’s my riding sidekick, snuggle buddy, sous chef, and she’s always there for me. I believe we can learn a lot from dogs, they teach us about gratitude, love, friendship, compassion, presence and joy. Continue Reading…