Going for a Spin



Wednesday, 5:30 AM. February 1, 2012. Maybe I made a bad deal. I told Jason I'd meet him at a spin class at the gym, instead of riding outside in the rain. The trade off was an extra hour of sleep, and dry socks and shorts.


This bike feels foreign to me, and nothing like my Trek. At 5:45, the instructor dimmed the lights, and started the music. My first ever spin class is starting. What am I in for here??

Two songs into the class, this isn't so bad. I watch the pedals next to me, and the instructor to keep the same pace. The music is loud, so the instructions coming from the front of the room are muffled. She smiles, I smile, she looks concerned, I look concerned. This exchange where I have little clue what is being said reminds me of classes in school. Whispers, and background noise have never been a friend to me.

Fifteen minutes in, sweaty, and out of breath, I realize this is the real deal. We stand in the pedals and climb, we "jump" and I'm still not sure what that means. It's a kind of rocking forward and backward on the pedals, while standing up. We adjust the tension, and I'm sure I'm in the wrong "gear" even though there are really no gears at all.

Thirty minutes in, I have used up half my water. This is a tough workout, and I am enjoying it alot. We do a series of Jumps, climbs, and sprints.

Forty five minutes in, she announces that now we will warm down. So as quickly as it started, it ended. We got off the bikes. Several long stretches, which I found to be more difficult than the peddaling, and we were done.

Same time Friday. I think I'll be there. Maybe I'll take an extra minute and adjust the seat up, and get the pedal straps more comfortable. This could be a good deal after all.