I went to my first spin class last night, and it’s safe to say it was the longest hour of my life. At one point, I actually had a visual image of the last two miles in Death Valley. (And we all know how hard those two miles were.)
I showed up with my older than dirt vintage Fuji and my used trainer with the missing rubber piece on the end. I glanced around the room and noticed everyone’s high-dollar bikes with fancy and shiny new trainers. I immediately felt out of place, but if there’s one gift (and I truly think it’s the only gift) turning 30 has given me, it’s perspective. My thoughts went from intimidated to determined almost immediately. Who cares what I’m riding or what I’m physically capable of handling? I’m here, and I have to start somewhere.
I hooked up my bike and climbed on. As hard as the next hour was going to be, I knew it would make me better. It would make the hills in Nashville easier come September. It would help me keep up with Ross and Jeff. About 15 minutes into the “ride” the instructor said, “OK, now that you’re warmed up you should be starting to break a sweat.” I laughed out loud. He was about 10 minutes behind me on that one.
As we increased the resistance and stood to “climb” the hills, my thighs burned so intensely I think I actually saw smoke. It was rough. By the time we reached the last “climb”, there was no standing for me, nor was there increased resistance. At one point, I’m certain I heard the triathlete next to me chuckle when she looked over and saw I was in the lowest gear possible.
For a split second, I considered stopping. But then that old-lady, curmudgeon thing kicked in and I kept pedaling. I was back to my original motto from last year — just keep pedaling. It doesn’t matter how fast or how much resistance, just keep pedaling. At some point, those things will matter. For now, I just need to keep moving.
And that’s what I did. For 60 minutes, I simply pedaled. My CGM gave up on me halfway through the ride and my blood sugar spiked about 40 minutes in, but I bolused and kept moving my feet. At some point, I know this will get easier. With each class I will improve. Until then, I’m just going to keep pedaling.
For anyone in Huntsville interested in joining me, you can get all the information here. My bike guru offers the class for a minimal cost twice a week. You bring your own bike, and he has trainers if you need one. Join me next Thursday. I’ll be the one in the corner with the antique bike in the lowest gear.
I love spin! I don’t do it often and haven’t in a while but I do love it. It is hard stuff. But to me, I have never done any other kind of exercise that is a work out like that. It’s incredible. And what I like about it too is that everyone can go at their own pace. Can’t do climbs? Just run it out. Can’t do jumps? Just run it out. Can’t keep up? Turn the resistance or cadence down. I’ve only gone to classes that use stationary spin bikes but using your own sounds kind of cool. I’m actually thinking of getting a cheaper one for home.
There is also a new “fad” here in NY called SoulCycle. It’s spin with a twist – spinning while doing other intervals with hand weights. Craziness!
Love this post. My feeling is that people usually don’t notice how you’re doing or what gear you’re in after the first five minutes. Keep up the great cycling!
You go! Spinning classes are HARD.
And I bet those uber-athletes forgot about where THEY started out. With that in mind, I like your strategy – just keep going.