Yet another exercise in patience.

   Obviously I would much rather be riding bikes on my day off, but I'm being forced to take it easy again, so I'm blundering around in computer land trying to fix up the blog a little bit and attempt to update social media. I was celebrating having been injury-free for over 6 months, enjoying time on the mountain bike, and finding my way around a new job and town. And then, BAM! I hurt myself again. Thankfully my brain isn't the victim this time, but my left hip; a deep aching in the front around the iliopsoas muscle which eerily brought flashbacks of the same feeling from 7 years ago at almost exactly the same time in May. One of those insidious overuse injuries from too much riding too soon without letting my body adjust gradually, and now I've gone and done the same thing all over again. You'd think I would have learned!
   I can't help but imagine that work had a little to do with this psoas malfunction, however; since my first choice of summer work with El Dorado Vector Control didn't pan out I scrambled to find something else besides a kayak shop job. I wound up as the "water educator" for South Tahoe Public Utility District, which I found out required an awful lot of driving through neighborhoods. Scratch that--I'm going to ride my bike, I thought. Great idea until I realized I was riding 20-25 miles in a day. And then sometimes going for mountain bike rides after work. I don't think my body really expected that kind of mileage only a couple of months after getting back to normal activities... 
   I'm now scrambling to get the moped going that a friend generously donated to my cause, getting a few last minute parts replaced and taking the written test to get my permit for starters. I had no idea until I tried the number of hoops one has to jump through in this state to legally ride basically a bicycle with a 49cc motor...but of course, it's California. The DMV here couldn't even tell me how much it cost and I had dig around on the internet for hours to find the fees, and of course wrote a check for the wrong amount and sent it off! In the meantime my truck is squealing obnoxiously at low speeds and protesting at being put into first gear, and I'm trying my best to avoid the neighborhoods with too many stop signs (don't tell my boss). 

   The last time I injured my hip in 2007 I proceeded to completely ignore it and push through the pain for about a month before finally giving up and letting it heal. Somehow I made the best of it and did pull ups, kayaked, eventually went surfing and came out stronger than ever. It took until September to be able to get on a bike, and then was only shuttling downhill trails, but I raced a full season of collegiate DH including nationals that fall. This time I really hope that acknowledging it immediately and trying to let it rest is going to help it heal slightly quicker, so aside from not riding I'm doing everything I can to try and get back to being functional with a little outside help. 

   I had the good fortune to meet Crissy, the owner of The Studio Lake Tahoe down the street from my house in Meyers, just showing up for a yoga class. She is such a kind and generous soul in addition to being a highly educated yoga and Pilates instructor and brilliant body "engineer." Jessica is a physical therapist starting to build her own practice at The Studio  (meyersphysicaltherapy.com), and she was a participant in the South Lake Tahoe mountain bike clinic that I just coached. Her whole-body approach to healing injuries addresses any underlying imbalances, which are a large part of the problem I'm having. Between both of these amazing women I'm excited for the help to rebuild my body the way it needs to be to handle the stresses of training and racing again.
   In addition my teammate Gretchen recommended MLS Laser Therapy to reduce inflammation, so I went out on a limb to try it...and it seems to be working so far.  I've become so much more functional after 4 visits and feeling hopeful! Though my bike fund is all but gone now, fixing myself once and for all seems like a much better use of money--who needs a bike when they can't even ride? 
   It will take some discipline to keep from diving back into long rides right away, but when my new hand built frame from Lichen Bikes in Indianola, WA comes in I'll be distracted for a little while with putting it together, and then hopefully be ready for some shuttle laps.  In the meantime I'm spending a lot of time puttering around the garden while drinking tea and talking to my plants. I'm really hoping to get out fishing soon with Kit when I have a conducive work schedule; it changes every 3 weeks and currently is about as opposite as we can get. 
   In other awesome news, Vanderkitten approached me about representing them as an athlete in the Tahoe area, looking for broader exposure on the gravity racing end of the bike industry. Vanderkitten currently supports a very successful road racing team, and their mission of promoting global equality for women athletes in male-dominated sports like cycling is one that I can really get behind. I'm really honored to be chosen for this opportunity and hope that I can help inspire more women to live healthy, active, adventurous lives as well as advance my own athletic career.