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Meet Colette, we met back in 2013 working as British Cycling Breeze ride leaders. Ten years later I invited her on a heart-shaped route to help her ride inwards and get clarity on her 2023 intentions! Step 1: Follow your heart First we sat on a sun filled bench and took some gentle mindful breaths to help settle into our bodies. We then searched for any 'punctures' using my NEW wheel of life activity sheet (see below). This led to Colette realising her tyre was a little flat around community, and just how much she wanted to pump it up. Ironically I had the same sort of puncture! We then listened to my heartful ride meditation and had a pleasant conversation (in our heads) with our ideal self. It's a lovely way to start your ride as it really helps to reinforce your intention, or sometimes shed light on things you may have been previously unaware of. INNER RIDE QUESTION Looking at the wheel of life, can you notice any punctures in your life? What area needs pumping up the most? If you need some help getting clarity, listen to my Heartful Ride Meditation on Insight Timer or download it here. "I love what you are doing and how you're creating a greener and sustainable way of living. I enjoyed our day and found that creating my own affirmations really helped me to focus and move forward. I feel more able to make clearer decisions for myself now, thank you"! Step 2: Location Furzton lake in Milton Keynes, England. A beautiful lake surrounded by swans, ducks… and dinosaurs! It's also part of the route 51 cycle network that leads you all the way to Oxford. INNER RIDE QUESTION: Where would you like to cycle your heart out? Once you've chosen your country and place, take some time to collect physical maps / online maps. If your route is in the UK, try looking on the Sustrans website for advice on bicycle friendly paths in your chosen area. Step 3: Create your heart route I first made this 2.7 mile route when I started riding heart routes as part of my morning routine. I found it was a great way to start the day and help reinforce your intentions. After over 11 years in 10 countries of making heart routes, I can honestly say that the Milton Keynes redway maps are the best to use when it comes to finding heart routes! INNER RIDE QUESTION: Need help with your heart route? Here are my top 3 tip:
Remember your heart routes don't need to be perfect, because neither is life! Step 4: Cycle Your Heart Out Before we rode I suggested Colette write down a short affirmation about how she wishes her community to be. Repeating this to yourself before your route is such a powerful way to bring your intention to life. Always write it in the present as if it's already true, for example: "I have a loving supportive community and I feel like I belong" Once we had set off we then tuned into our 5 senses as it's such a simple way to ground yourself and enjoy the present moment. As we rode we soaked in the sounds of the chatty ducks, views of the sun bouncing off the lake, the cold sensation of the winter air on our cheeks, the smell of the half naked trees, and the taste of coffee on our lips. Here were some of the highlights along the route: Dinosaur Valley for scary crazy golf Sul Lago Restaurant one of the best places for pizza in Milton Keynes! Tattenhoe Valley for traffic free peaceful cycling and walking trails INNER RIDE QUESTION: How about you? Do you have an affirmation you'd like to write down and repeat along your route? Try practicing the 5 senses activity and see how it makes you feel, look for 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Step 5: Spread the love After the route we practiced my 'Heartful world' meditation (coming soon) which is based on the well known loving kindness meditation. This is one of my favourite practices as it's all about sending compassion to those you love, strangers, those you find difficult, and every living being. Sharing your route with loved ones and your community is a beautiful way to spread the loving energy that you created on your route, and a great way to bring your ride affirmation to life! Colette lives in Houghton Regis and is hoping to grow her community around here and central Bedfordshire in England. Here are 5 ways you can expand your community today:
INNER RIDE QUESTION: Have you created your heart route? Awesome! Now choose 3 loved ones or communities you'd like to share it with to inspire them too! Are you also wanting to grow your community? What 3 baby steps can you do today to help? Now available on Audible!
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The Reunion Scrabble Night Time Golden milk by my side Loved ones competing to win Reminiscing, laughing Silence outside Just the odd passing car Content, cosy, happy Surrounded by family Soaked in love Follow your heart: A heart route to celebrate my long awaited family reunion! Location: Loughton, a cute ancient village in Milton Keynes England, and the city where I first gave birth to Cycle Your Heart Out over a decade ago! It's also one of my favourite areas in the city to find some peace and walk the dog. Heart Route: It was thanks to my amazing sister's that we managed to come up with this short but beautiful 4.78km ride in Loughton! The route is also part of the 12km Millennium cycle route around Milton Keynes, a quiet picturesque ride that takes you past the river Ouzel, the Grand Union Canal, ancient villages and the famous concrete cows! Cycle Your Heart Out: Meet my mum, she hadn't rode a bike in ages, and had pretty much lost all confidence. She would stop and walk the bike to cross a small road, avoid adjusting the seat to the correct height in case she fell off, and rode the same speed as someone walking. But little by little with the help of me and my sister, her confidence bloomed as we rode along peaceful paths, canals and lakes. No rush, nowhere to be, just us and our bikes. We stopped to pick freshly fallen plums, pick juicy blackberries, and to simply admire the horses. The more we rode, the more her fear faded and her smile grew! We celebrated our ride with some delicious Victoria sponge cake and tea at the Grumpy Cook. If you have someone you love who is a little hesitant to get back on their bike, here are 2 tips from my mum that helped her get over her fear of cycling: 1. Walk and cycle... Like when you start running, you walk/jog/build up a few mins at a time... 2. Avoid cycling on hills or in bad weather until more confident Spread the love: To help spread the love around Milton Keynes I gifted a copy of my new book to the wonderful Alchemise Yoga Studio in Newport Pagnell. Ran by the lovely Wendy, it was thanks to her amazing classes that I first fell in love with yoga over a decade ago. Thanks Nicole for reading my poems in your relaxing cello classes. "Building community, bringing art from the heart, a perfect offering. Thank you so much for bringing your wonderful poetry into the world and sharing your book with us!" - Wendy Loughlan - Founder of Alchemise Yoga Studio Follow your heart I was recently contacted by the Milton Keynes Council to help create a fun Valentines heart shaped cycled route. I'd just moved to Barcelona so although I wasn't able to join them, I was more than happy to plan the route! Location Milton Keynes, England Heart route A nice and easy 3.56 mile ride for all the family, riding around Willen Lake and Campbell Park Check out the map here! Cycle Your Heart Out Over 30 cyclists joined in to cycle their hearts out with loved ones, and make use of the fantastic bike paths that Milton Keynes has to offer! The amazing Breeze and Sky ride leaders Ana, Karen Colette and Kevin did a fantastic job in organising and leading the ride, and made sure everyone had a great time!  Spread the love Thanks to the Milton Keynes Council, British Cycling, The Parks Trust and Roy Pinks cycles for making the event possible! Deputy Mayor Brian White was there to help draw the prize winners, and collect the British Cycling jersey on behalf of Mayor Cllr Catriona Morris, who couldn't be there on the day. Congratulations Maurice Barnes for winning the gold bike service from Roy Pinks, and runners up Adam Coleburt and Karen Kodish for winning my handmade Cycle Your Heart Out Pendant. Creative Breeze champion Ana also brought along her handmade Breeze Bear to donate to the Mayor. Would you like to create your own heart route? Click below to find out more! 18/12/2012 0 Comments Cycle Your Heart Out this Christmas!Follow your heart This Christmas me and fellow Breeze leader Ana Jojic decided to celebrate the festive season with a sunny Breeze ride around Milton Keynes, followed by some cake at the Chain Reaction bicycle festival. Location Milton Keynes, England Heart route 4 miles click here for route Cycle your heart out The heart route took us from the Theatre district to sheep filled Campbell Park, past the canal and on to Willen Lake for some fantastic views of the Milton Keynes skyline. The surprisingly warm weather made it feel almost like autumn! Homemade cake and coffee at the Chain Reaction bicycle festival was the perfect place to finish our ride. A cool under cover market of locally hand made goods, sold from bicycles, hosted by MK Festival Fringe! Spread the love Thanks so much to all the ladies that joined the ride, and to Ana for helping to it with me! Congratulations to Maja Dunn for winning the prize draw for my handmade Cycle Your Heart Out 'Freedom' Pendant! Ana also makes these cute personalised bear's on bikes, check them out below!  Follow your heart Sisters Davina (10yrs) and Damaris (7yrs) decided they wanted to cycle their hearts out and help raise money for their favourite children's charity, World Vision. Location Great Linford, Milton Keynes in England Cycle your heart out After sticking their heart map to their bike, they were off! Highlights of the route: "When we met mum, dad, our aunt and uncle at the rocks, smelling BBQS, overtaking our friend Nell, and being showered in the rain." Spread the love To Donate £10 text CYHO50 to 70070 or visit their Just Giving page "If you want to make your own heart route it's easy, fun and you'll enjoy yourselves! "- Davina Click here for my tips of creating your own heart route! Follow your heart Happy good Friday everyone! Following the same heart route as the snowy Breeze ride in February, we celebrated this Easter with a fun heart route around the lakes of Milton Keynes! Location Furzton Lake, Milton Keynes in England Heart route 5.5 mile Cycle your heart out Starting at Furzton Lake this gentle route took us through the parks of Shenley Brook End into Loughton and passed the fields of beautiful horses. We then cruised past Teardrop lake and followed parts of the great Millennium cycle route alongside the National Bowl. Spread the love At the end we had a little Easter egg hunt at Furzton Lake around the Triple Starhead Sculpture! Congratulations to Lauren for finding all the eggs in the fastest time and winning the tasty Golden Chocolate bunny! Click below to watch the video! Create your own heart route by clicking here for my top tips! If you live in England you can find a ride in your area organised by British Cycling's great Breeze initiative! Click here to find a ride in your area. |
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