Bicycles, Yoga and You - Ladies Mountain Bike Clinic and More!!
Yoga is such an amazing tool of healing and strengthening for all types and levels of athletes. I have personally used it to overcome physical injuries and strengthen myself mentally for progressing my riding. This year when I heard Ryan Leech wasn't going to be teaching at Sea Otter I was a little bummed... And unfortunately I was not aware that Rita Leon of BY&Y was teaching... In fact I was not aware of Rita until I walked into my favorite Santa Cruz mountain bike shop a few weeks ago and saw her flyers for not only bike guiding and clinics but YOGA! In the ongoing effort to bring more like minded women in the bike industry together I picked up the phone and gave Rita a shout... which opened up into an incredibly uplifting conversation...
Rita explains that she has "found Yoga a pivotal part of [her] cycling race career... and [her] desire to provide yoga skills to other cyclists has grow out of personal experience." Rita grew up with "a childhood filled with yoga teachings and philosophy" and has been teaching yoga for cyclists professionally for the past 6 years, including leading yoga sessions for Trek Dirt Series, Sea Otter and OuterBike. I had been brainstorming just the day before about finding a yoga instructor to come to my events, and it was amazing to be on the phone with a women who seemed to be the perfect fit! Rita is expecting a baby later this year, but we are hoping and planning to bring her on next year to lead yoga at the annual Queen of the MTN women's freeride weekend at Mammoth Mountain, CA.
In addition to being certified in yoga instruction, Rita holds a Master’s degree in Education and a Bachelors in Human Development, is a certified Nutrition Educator (Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts) and holds a Level III cycling coach certificate through USA cycling.
Rita's main goal "is to help other people evaluate their lifestyles and eating habits so they can make specific improvements to increase energy, health and productivity of daily goals and duties." Rita further accentuates: “as an athlete I am aware of the stresses that are put on active people’s bodies. As a professional educator, I understand the significance of delivering encouragement and guidance to men and women at all levels of fitness, even beginners."
Rita and BY&Y also have strong ties to BOMBS - Babes on Mountain Bikes, a womens riding group created by Michelle Monroe in 2003 in the Monterey, CA area. Offering skills clinics and events for lady riders, BOMBS shares a common goal with the Womens Freeride Movement; "women getting together with a common goal would encourage greatness for all no matter the level of fitness and technical ability starting out." The next BOMBS event is June 23rd at Toro Park and will include a skills clinic, yoga, lunch and ride. If you live close enough to the Monterey area, I urge you to come check these ladies out. Be sure to sign up early, as participant levels will be limited to 20.
