Sunday spin class
Sunday spin class at Fitcorp Boston is worth the drive provided you spend more time on the bike than you do in the car. Class is only an hour so I get there an hour early to choose my spot, my bike, and warm up.
As I walk into the empty studio an hour before class, there are already towels draped over handlebars and drinks in bottle cages staking claims. Many people have reserved spots in the front row. I see a bike in the front row with the seat up high, the handlebars down low and a bottle of Coke on the left bottle cage.
I know this customer, so I take a position in the back row, one bike behind him and to the left. I set up my bike perfectly, place my two water bottles in the cages, tune into the ipod with the new play list Dave Gardiner made for me, and get ready.
The spinning coach shows up and starts chatting people up. This class draws at least five certified MaddDogg spinning instructors, and of course, the magnificent Olivier who makes the dramatic entrance one minute before class starts.
He's around 5' 5", 125 pounds, with the silky smooth pedal stroke and the European accent that implies he was born on a bicycle.
For the first 30 minutes, Olivier follows the instructor, and I do as well. Then when it's good and hot and the music is blaring, Olivier stands up on the pedals and just goes and I go with him.
There are 25 other people in the class, but in that moment, they all disappear and all I can see is Olivier knocking out a cadence like a crazed metronome.
Through the blur of sweat, I look down and see my heart rate pinned at 190, and I hold onto Olivier for dear life, knowing in the real world he could pop me like a balloon, but indoors, on the bicycle that goes nowhere, I can hang with him just fine.
For a good fifteen minutes after class, I'm high on endorphins and adrenaline, my preferred junk. A turkey sandwich at a local restaurant helps with the return to earth.
As I walk into the empty studio an hour before class, there are already towels draped over handlebars and drinks in bottle cages staking claims. Many people have reserved spots in the front row. I see a bike in the front row with the seat up high, the handlebars down low and a bottle of Coke on the left bottle cage.
I know this customer, so I take a position in the back row, one bike behind him and to the left. I set up my bike perfectly, place my two water bottles in the cages, tune into the ipod with the new play list Dave Gardiner made for me, and get ready.
The spinning coach shows up and starts chatting people up. This class draws at least five certified MaddDogg spinning instructors, and of course, the magnificent Olivier who makes the dramatic entrance one minute before class starts.
He's around 5' 5", 125 pounds, with the silky smooth pedal stroke and the European accent that implies he was born on a bicycle.
For the first 30 minutes, Olivier follows the instructor, and I do as well. Then when it's good and hot and the music is blaring, Olivier stands up on the pedals and just goes and I go with him.
There are 25 other people in the class, but in that moment, they all disappear and all I can see is Olivier knocking out a cadence like a crazed metronome.
Through the blur of sweat, I look down and see my heart rate pinned at 190, and I hold onto Olivier for dear life, knowing in the real world he could pop me like a balloon, but indoors, on the bicycle that goes nowhere, I can hang with him just fine.
For a good fifteen minutes after class, I'm high on endorphins and adrenaline, my preferred junk. A turkey sandwich at a local restaurant helps with the return to earth.
posted by joe berkeley at 5:41 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home