144 Blog

   A bad day on a mountain bike always beats a good day in the office If you have been riding and racing on the road for many seasons, there is a good chance you have plateaued your performance. Adding variety to your training with mountain biking could be just the change you need to bring your road racing to the next level. This could mean an occasional off-season mountain bike ride, or even taking an entire season away from the road to race in the dirt. Changing disciplines within a sport can keep things fresh and position you in the sweet spot of continual development as an athlete. Elite off-road cyclists possess physiological profiles that are similar to elite road cyclists. However, mountain biking is different enough to provide new stimulations for positive adaptation and performance development in road racers.

  “Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.” ~ Douglas Adams One of the more tiring aspects of hitchhiking is the need to be sociable and make conversation with whoever is driving you. It would be considered poor form to accept a ride, hop into the passenger seat, and then simply crash out until you reached your destination. How I longed to do just that, but instead I chatted merrily away, energy ebbing from me with each sentence, until Rakesh dropped me at the address of the lady who had offered me free Blenders Pride. One of the more tiring aspects of accepting an offer of free accommodation is the need to be sociable and make conversation with whoever had offered it to you. It would be considered poor form to turn up, dumb your bags, crawl into your bedroom and order an early morning alarm call. How I longed to do just that, but instead I chatted merrily away to Geeta, energy eb

Go where you feel most Alive. Have you ever felt called to a place? Like unexplainably pulled in a certain direction, grabbed by a memory or an emotion, by the physical feeling of sand or dirt, or an arm draped across your shoulders? Have you ever felt like you’re standing somewhere and your heart knows before your head that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be? That’s a beautiful feeling—to be pulled or to feel grounded, steady. To know, beyond a doubt that something important is happening, even if you can’t quite explain it. Mountains teach us humility  —   As humans, we take a lot of pride in our achievements, over things we make. Mountains remind us that the best part of the earth is not man-made, cannot be controlled by man, and for the large part unpredictable . Mountains teach us to be aware —  Through the nine days, there were many times it felt   like   I couldn’t do it anymore. I felt like I had taken on more than I could handle. The destination felt like a blurred dream.

  “Farming is a profession of hope” A lot has been said and written about agriculture since the dawn of human civilization. Some good, some bad, and a lot that isn’t worth repeating. I’m probably guilty of the last one. So I’m lucky that in this pandemic I got a chance to know farmers very closely. Even though I’m also from an agricultural background, my father is a farmer and I have seen that farming isn’t an easy profession. Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops, and raising livestock. It includes the preparation of plant and animal products for people to use and their distribution to markets. Agriculture provides most of the world’s food and fabrics. Cotton, wool, and leather are all agricultural products. Agriculture also provides wood for construction and paper products. These products, as well as the agricultural methods used, may vary from one part of the world to another. “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a tho