By Skye Nacel
Many of you might know I lead and develop outdoor-based movement curriculum for all ages, stages and wages as Mocean365. Or maybe you didn’t know that? Well I do and I’ve been in it for around 15 years and it stems from a desire to see people be able to have more fun doing…well…fun stuff, like mountain biking. I have seen its power not just with the multitudes I’ve been blessed to work with but in my own life as I knock on the big 4-0’s door. Putting time into my body allows me to pursue multiple disciplines of movement and physicality without the constant resprisal of injuries and ailments.
Lately I’ve seen a rash of preventable injuries spring about. Hell, one local rider just posted on his Fakebook status, “Is it possible to hurt your back changing a tire?” Well if you JUST ride bikes during the season and just ski/board in the winter then yes, it’s very possible. Our bodies have slowly devolved due to our increasingly sedentary and automated lifestyles. Take the introduction of the blessed and cursed dropper seatposts for example.
MTBVT’s Ryan Thibault (who we like to call T-bo because the “b” and the “o” in the name look fat – like him) has been talking about wanting to fix his ever-ailing body wracked from years of shredding and of computer geeking. But working out, training, etc. isn’t cool and it isn’t usually seen as fun right? Well, I’ve been trying to get it across for years to lots of my shreddin’ buddies the importance of doing “a little pre-hab instead of lots of re-hab.”
And my partner Meg will be getting T-bo Rootswise as well – no more starving himself until “Beer Thirty.” And while bacon is amazing and we love it, she may even have him add some veggies into the mix. (The horror!) So first up he will undergo a cleanse for one week to get his body cleaned out and get him back on track using food as fuel. You know the whole, “You are what you eat” thing right?!
Well we want T-bo to get it. We need guys like him to be healthy and dialed. The kid is helping reshape the dynamic mountain biking community not just in Vermont but beyond, organizing cool events, advocating for new riding areas and countless other projects. To be held back by your own body in your 30’s is just not acceptable. So…it begins.
T-bo will be undergoing some changes. He will do the Rootswise cleanse. He will be in Mocean365 days a year and not just biking or boarding but a little training too. His total lack of core strength will improve. His hip and shoulders will open up and he will find new-found strength and power. Which could be scary cuz the kid has gotten pretty fast on his bike. He says he will make this his Best F-ing Year. We may just create a monster but WTF are you gonna do. We’ll take that chance.
Training starts tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for the whimpering to begin…
