Follow your heart

Cycle your heart out... and embrace change!

Sometimes things happen beyond our control that force us to embrace change. 
Changes can be a chance for a fresh start, a new perspective, and a new place to call home.
To help cope with the fear of the unknown I like to paint, write and cycle my heart out!
​All three of these help transport me to a meditative flow where worries leave my body with every paint stroke, every line, and every pedal I take. 

​How about you? What helps you embrace change?

​Keep reading to find out 9 highlights of the route, and download your FREE gift to help you ride inwards and embrace change!

Location

Castelldefels, Spain ( About 30 minutes to Barcelona by train)

Heart Route 

A nice easy flat 6.42km route that goes past many of my favorite landmarks in Castelldefels.  
Click here to view the map on Strava.

Cycle Your Heart Out

Maya loves to cycle! Every time she sees me unlocking my bike she attempts to climb into her comfy basket! As I cycled my heart out I realised just how much I'll miss living here, it's one of the most beautiful places I've been lucky enough to call home. I leave with my heart full of love, magical memories, ones that I'll cherish for lifetimes to come. 

My 9 Highlights!

💚In the winter the sun rises AND sets on the sea!

💚In the spring the entire coast is full of vibrant purple flowers.

💚In the summer you can enjoy the most incredible red moon-rise which lights up the entire sea!

💚It's perfectly normal to cycle in your swimming costume ;-)

💚You can paddle surf and spot fish & jellyfish as the water here is so clear!

💚It's surrounded by hiking routes that take you deep into the Garraf national park and Buddhist temple!

💚You can find delicious coffee at @banksgeneral_bcn which I discovered by accident when Maya decided to take ME for a walk one day! 

💚It's an easy train ride to the center of Barcelona, so you get the best of both worlds.

💚You can see wild bunnies running free along the coast and in the park next to the University! 

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I wanted to give a special mention to my superwoman neighbor Eugenia!
 
She always has a smile on her face, and her warm energy rubs off on everyone she meets! I've never met a woman so dedicated to her plants and flowers, her attention to detail brings a smile to my face each time I see her. She kindly watered my roses while I was on holiday, and when someone stole my bike, she even helped me get it back!

I'd also like to thank the lovely Katrin Beckmann for the wonderful photo shoot on the beach! Katrin has also been a great friend, mentor and a huge help in guiding me in my career over the last decade. 
​I wore this green dress as it's my favorite color, the heart chakra, very appropriate for this heart route ;-)​

Follow your heart 

After reading 'Light Is The New Black' by Rebecca Campbell, my heart led me to the forest to spend more time listening to the call from within. 

Cycle Your Heart Out for... your soul!

Location

Next to the Montseny National Park. Located in the quiet town of Sant Esteve de Palautordera, only a 1 hour train and cycle from Barcelona, so no car necessary! Perfect for me as I still can't drive! 
​
Heart Route

After picking up a map from tourist information, I sat down on the grass and started noticing all the beautiful paths that I'd hiked the previous 2 days. Within minutes my heart route had appeared, a great mix of the town, nature and forest! An easy 4.52km heart, all flat and mostly on bike paths.

Cycle Your Heart Out 

Highlights:

Accomodation: Hotel Somlom ECO & Wellness Lodge
Bike Hire: Fesbici
Coffee break: Bar LANAU
Kalart Co-living and Co-Working: A unique space for remote workers and digital nomads with yoga, meditations and other holistic events on the weekends 
Montseny National Park: A stunning natural park and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

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I stayed at the peaceful Hotel Somlom ECO & Wellness Lodge next to the Montseny National Park.
On my first night I danced my heart out in their belly dancing class, and they kindly lent me a yoga mat so I could practice in the comfort of my own room. I arrived with no clue of the area so I was really grateful for the kind staff who patiently showed me all the best cycling and hiking paths.

Thank you to Davinia and everyone who worked at Hotel Somlom! I gave the hotel a copy of my book so that anyone who visits can enjoy flicking through the pages while they wait for their yoga class or massage! 

Follow Your Heart
This is a pretty special month, not only is April 30 Days Of Biking, but it's also National Poetry Month! A beautiful combination and a lovely way to share with you some exciting news!

Over the last few years I've been working hard on creating something special, something I hope will inspire you to travel deeper into your inner world and follow your heart. Yesterday I cycled my 40th heart route to share with you my big news... I've written a book!

Location 
Barcelona

Heart Route
A flat 11.9km route

Cycle Your Heart Out
Highlights

- El Born
- Bogatell & Barceloneta beach
-Parc de la Ciutadella
- Arc de Triomf
- Sagrada Familia
- Poblenou

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For the whole of April I'll be cycling my heart out in Barcelona and sharing poems along the way, two of my favourite things all rolled into one! So if you also love bikes and poetry, why don’t you join in with me? 

Click here for my top heart making tips!

Follow your heart

Cycle your heart out ... offline

Location
Delta del Ebro, Spain
Accommodation: ​Camping Ampolla Playa

Heart route
5.16km, all flat
​
Cycle your heart out

Highlights:
Watching the sunrise at Platja de l'Arenal
Seeing Flamingos!
Sketching Maya and David sleeping like babies
Taking Maya Kayaking for the 1st time!
Delicious Paella for lunch at Lo Goleró
The sunset at  Mirador norte de la bassa de les Olles
Celebrating our 2 year anniversary at Restaurant La Barraca and seeing a blood moon!!

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If you would like to disconnect and create your own heart route, click here to learn my top 5 steps!

Follow your heart

Mindful Maya here! Sarah's let me take over her blog today and I'm super happy to share with you my first heart route! But first let me share a little bit about me... I was born on Valentine's day and my name means love in Nepali, my favourite snack is broccoli and I'm obsessed with chasing pigeons. People seem to think I'm a small bear or cat sometimes... but I'm sure I'm a Pomeranian dog.

Location
El Poblenou, Barcelona in Spain

Heart route
1.64km 

Cycle your heart out
​One minute I'm chasing pigeons, sniffing grass and finding a good spot to roll around in, the next minute Sarah picks me up and puts me in some sort of flying bed. It's strange but kind of cosy cause she's put my favourite blanket inside. Not sure why she's put me here...

Wow I'm super high up, I miss the floor let me outta here! Ok escape fail, she's harnessed me in...
​My fur feels sort of strange, it's like she's blow drying me after a shower,  except it's nice and cool.
So many humans keep staring at me, everything's moving around me so fast,

Hold on a minute... I recognise it all, its my favourite walking route in Parc Diagonal!

I recognise the smells and the trees, those purple flowers on the floor, this is the park full of dogs that always want to sniff me. Ok we’ve stopped, Sarah is giving me lots of hugs and doing that strange high pitch voice, the same as whenever I’ve peed on the grass or sit down.

I think I’ve done something she likes as she’s just given me my FAVOURITE BONE! Nothing else matters right now, just me and my bone, the cool blow dryer on my fur.

Sarah just told me we've rode a heart route, maybe that's why she called me Maya! I like this flying bed, I could get used to this. But for now I’ve got some serious chewing to do.

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Would you like to create a heart route with your favourite human?
I highly suggest checking out Sarah's top tips!

Location
Altea, close to Alicante in Spain
Accommodation: Hotel Tossal Altea 
Bike Rental: Ashe bikes

Heart Route
Several different bike maps, two helpful bike assistants, and dozens of attempted heart routes, not one seemed to want to emerge. I was close to accepting no route could be found, and just enjoy cycling mindfully along the sea, but that's the beauty of letting go, seconds later Cecilia at Ashe bikes pointed at the map, she'd found it! It got me thinking about all the times I've longed for something, and never came close to reaching it, until I finally let go.

Cycle your heart out 

The route represented the challenges along my teaching course, the doubts, the confusion.
With the final part along the sea, peaceful, calm and full of joy. It will always remind me of the life changing course, the people I met, and all those I hope to  help ride inwards.

Highlights:

-Parròquia de Nostra Senyora del Consol​
-Mirador Paseo Maritimo

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I couldn't have completed this course had it not been for my teacher Kathy. Her years of experience and wisdom was truly inspiring to learn from. Grateful to my beautiful international group, it was such a joy to support and learn from one another.

My top mindful tips for you:

Meditation doesn't mean you always have to sit still, next time you ride your bike notice the following...
​
How do your hands feel on the handlebars? 
How about your bum on the seat? 
Your feet as they rotate the pedals? 
How does the wind feel on your face?

Try paying attention to the present instead of worrying about your to do list today, or your conversation with whoever yesterday. 

My thoughts won't stop,
I can't sit cross legged,
I don't have time,
I'm too busy,
I'll start tomorrow,
I'm doing it all wrong!

Sound familiar? The beauty of mindfulness is to practice kindness and compassion to ourselves, and that all those thoughts above are perfectly ok to feel.

Thoughts won't stop? It's normal just observe them
Can't cross your legs? Use a chair
No time? Try 2 minutes
Too busy? Take 3 deep breaths,
Starting tomorrow? How about now
Doing it wrong? No, you're not

Click below for more tips on how to ride inwards heartfully!

​

Follow your heart
​On June 2013 I sat on Rambla del Poblenou with my good friend drinking wine. As I complained about my bad luck with men, my friend decided it would be a great idea for me to sketch my dream man, so I did.

I drew his thick dark wavy hair, big beard, tall muscular body, wearing a green T-shirt. I sketched him as if he was sitting in my friends chair drinking the wine, I then closed the book and never looked at it again, until now. Fast forward 5 years...

Location 
Barcelona, Spain

Heart route
11.90km

Cycle your heart out
I’m cycling my heart out on my 31st heart route with my boyfriend, and for the first time in my life, I’m in love. We're cycling a heart route which he created himself, and is randomly almost identical to my 2013 one. As we cycled along Rambla del Poblenou, I realise my sketch has came to life, he was real. There he sat, his thick dark wavy hair, his beard, sipping his red wine, on the same street as 5 years ago.

It turns out he was along the heart route the whole time, I’d cycled past his flat on my 2013 heart route, but before we could meet, I guess I had a few lessons I needed to learn.

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Would you like to create your own heart route and cycle your heart out with a loved one?
Click here for my top tips!

Follow your heart
Do you ever notice how little we sometimes look into people's eyes? All our information seems to be at our fingertips. But can our smartphones smile back at us, or hold a gaze enough to lift our mood? I've been wanting to create a new heart-route in Barcelona since 2013. At the end of October, my heart finally spoke...

The World's Biggest Eye Contact Experiment took place on Saturday 29th October around the world, a beautiful annual event run by The Liberators & Good Vibrations Barcelona. The idea is simple, share 1 minutes eye contact with a total stranger to help regain human connection. I grew up extremely shy, always avoiding eye contact... which is why I went last year to the event. I was a bit nervous at having to stare into a stranger's eyes for 1 whole minute, but the more I did it, the more my confidence increased, convincing me to return again this year. The event was back again in Gracia, one of my favorite neighbourhoods in Barcelona, the perfect place to cycle my heart out!

Cycle your heart out... and share 1 minute!

Location
Gracia, Barcleona 
If you live in Barcelona you can use their local bike hire scheme called Bicing. I love how much freedom it gives me, and has saved me from going crazy without a bike these last 2 months. If you’re visiting Barcelona there are also plenty of good bike rental shops to choose from.

Heart route
On the morning of the event I was looking at my map of Barcelona and the route just jumped out at me, it was probably the fastest route I've ever made. I cycle frequently up Passeig de Gracia and Gran Via which I think helped in creating the route. These 2 streets are super wide and I love how bicycle friendly they are.
View Heart Route Map
Length: 8.22km 

Cycle your heart out
I really love this new route, you get to cycle past all the popular spots of Barcelona, while still making use of the wide bicycle paths. Highlights include Passeig de Gracia, Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Gracia, Placa Del Sol (where the event was) and the Sagrada Família. 

I love eating in Gracia, one of my favourite spots to eat is Sol Soler in Placa del sol, the same place the Eye experiment was in. I love their Bravas and being able to sit and relax on the terrace.
I discovered this rooftop at Royal Hotel with a friend last winter and instantly fell in love with its views. It's the perfect spot to sketch as the heaters keep you nice and warm, while the views of the sea keep you in a state of pure bliss.

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Thank you to Emma Bradford, one of the Co-organisers of Good Vibrations for taking the time to share her thoughts on the event in my video (see below). Emma is also a NLP coach and runs an online Facebook community which offers free guidance and support, to find out more you can visit her website here.

I am also grateful to all the people I shared 1 minutes connection with at the event. I really admired one lady who told me she has trouble looking into people's eyes, which was why she came to the event. A big thanks also to my friend Guiu for sharing the event with me for the 2nd year in a row!

The song in the video below is called Pillow Talk by Guh, it's been part of my morning playlist for over a year now.

Would you like to create your own heart route? Click here for my top tips!

Follow your heart
This Valentines day Nic decided to cycle her heart out to follow her artistic dreams!

Cycle your heart out... and dream!
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Location
Barcelona, Spain
Bike rental: Mondo rent, Barceloneta

Heart Route
11km, view heart route 

Cycle Your Heart Out 
Highlights:
Crying with laughter watching Nic chase her heart (watch the video below to find out more).
Riding past many of Barcelona’s main highlights, including Arc de Triomf, Barceloneta Beach and Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia. Sketching our hearts out at the rooftop of the Barcelona history museum at the 1881 Sagardi terrace. Ending the ride at the TedX event all about following your dreams!

​Watch the video below to find out what Nic ended up sketching!

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Feeling inspire to create a heart route with your friend? Click here to see my top heart making tips!

Follow your heart

"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”  - Dalai Lama

I was having coffee the other week in Barcelona with Positive Psychologist Miriam Akhtar. As we discussed the huge topic of happiness and wellness, she mentioned a fantastic UK Wellbeing Organisation called ‘Action for Happiness’. With the inspiring Dalai Lama  as their patron, they promote positive social change, bringing together people who want to play a part in creating greater happiness. The more I learnt that only we have the power to control our own happiness, the more I knew a heart shaped route was the answer!

Cycle your heart out ... and flourish
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Location
Madrid, Spain
Bike rental: Rent and roll (next to Puerta de Alcalá)

Heart Route
An easy 6.13km traffic free route, view my map on Wikiloc

Cycle your heart out
Highlights
- Cycling through the beautiful Retiro park, past Monumento Alfonso XII , Palacio de Velázquez, Palacio de Cristal, La rosaleda del Retiro, Real Jardín Botánico
- Museo Nacional del Prado (walked my bike along Calle de Alcala to avoid traffic!) 
- Ending the ride at Puerta de Alcalá to drop off my bike & enjoy some tasty carrot cake next door at Vailima cafe

- After my heart route I rode along the River to Casa de Campo and enjoyed a nice cold beer with olives at La Bicicleta Restaurant overlooking the lake
- I also highly recommend drinks in the centre of Madrid at La Bicicleta cycling cafe, they have the best chai Late!

Scroll down to view my photos and watch my video of the route.

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Grateful to:
- Miguel at Rent & Roll & Lucas for pointing out all the best cycle paths & sights to see!
- Positive Psychologist Miriam Akhtar for telling me about the beautiful Action For Happiness initiative! 

​If you have been inspired by this post and fancy having a go at creating your own heart shaped bicycle route, check out my 5 step video guide here!​