Back on the Bike

I remember the first time I saw a spinning class. It was a little room with an open garage door on one side and brick walls all the way around the rest of the room. The spindly little bikes were all being ridden by equally spindly people, and I was terrified. I had no idea what I was doing, and looking like an over-eager hamster for an hour did not sound like my idea of fun or sustainable fitness. After the soreness wore off, however, and as I started going regularly, I found that I loved spinning! I loved the rush of the music, and way that you could ride really hard for a particular amount of time that would eventually end. I loved that I could do it at my own pace, and if I needed to sit down and “recover” (the word spin instructors use that means drink something and calm down so you don’t pass out and fall off that thing), I could. There is very little coordination necessary to start, and I never feel like I used to when I would go to an aerobics class and be falling on and off some hot pink and teal-colored step like an epileptic hamster. And even if you do look a little wobbly, almost every instructor I have ever had has been so nice and encouraging.

Now that we are finally settling in, I decided that it was time to finally get back on the bike. So I signed up at the local spin studio that is only two blocks from my house (Pedal Spin Studio), and I couldn’t be happier. When life is up in the air, and you have trouble making sense of all the craziness, sometimes you need to ride until it all disappears. And even when you get home and the kitchen sink still isn’t draining, you feel better anyway.