Spin This!

A few days ago, I went to a Spinning Class at the Cycle Bar with my two daughters. Since I would have gone to my own gym, this class would substitute for my regular exercise. Neither my one daughter nor I had ever taken a Spin Class, so it was new to both of us. My youngest daughter takes a Spinning Class a few times a week and loves it. She is really good at it.

We paid, got our shoes, and our locker. One of the managers moved our seats to what should have been the correct height and then locked our shoes in place in the pedals. I sat on the tiniest seat imaginable. The seat seemed as tiny as a head of a pin. Just kidding but eventually it would feel like I was riding on the head of a pin! I wondered why our feet were locked in. My one daughter said you’ll see.

I tried to get comfortable and kept shifting my butt around but to be honest…nothing felt comfortable. I decided to start pedaling, despite that the class hadn’t begun. I am not a novice to the bike. I used to have one as a kid. Not anymore. Every time I'm at my gym, I ride the exercise bike for 6-8 miles. But it is the shorter bike and I can regulate my speed and time. The shorter bike is perfect for my knees.

By the time the class started and we were off…I had already logged 10 minutes and 2.5 miles. My daughter told me before the class started to stop. I should have listened. We were riding and moving a knob for the tension. I was terrified of moving my hand off of the handles. There was no way that I wanted to fall over. I actually was able to use a towel to wipe my face and I even managed to open my water bottle, except I did spill some water on the floor.

When it came time to stand up and pedal…that was when I knew that I hated this class. I kept smiling and the only reason I stood up was because my butt was in pain. I needed some of my blood to circulate down there. I also needed to relieve my tushy. I stood up to adjust myself and then slid back down into my seat. It still wasn’t comfortable!

Forget using an exercise weight. I just kept focusing on the time and how many miles I had ridden. I kept staring at the screen above the Spinning Instructor's head that kept showing our positions in the class and of course I was dead last. By the time the bloody class was over, which was 45 minutes…I had been riding for over 55 minutes. I logged 12 miles and came in dead last.

The only saving grace was that I didn’t have a heart attack or pass out. I smiled and expressed how much fun this class was and how I wanted to return. I felt euphoric and even better when I saw all the cool messages that the staff wrote on my locker. I thought about returning the next Sunday and taking this class. I even pointed out all the cool clothes that I liked that were on display.

Who knew that it would take days for my right knee to feel normal and not be stiff?  But it was my butt and bottom that paid the price. The hell with the next class and with the nice people in the class and with the great messages that appeared on my locker! I was finished with Spinning Classes. I happily turned over my next class to my daughter who came in #13.

All I can say is God Bless you Becca…you and the rest of the class are crazy!!!!