turn, turn, turn

Yesterday I had my first ever spin class (or "Studio Ride", in the parlance of our swanky gym). I was greeted as I entered by Zo, a five foot, 90 pound streak of energy. She set up the bike for me (5J6, I must remember that) and then off we went. Lights down, blowers on, some Euro bike race on the big screens, techno blasting out of every corner - not exactly a pleasant country ride.

I'd imagined that spin class would be a great place to practise cycling skills but it wasn't at all. Zo had us out of the saddle for extended periods, which you really don't want to do out on the road. This made it hard to keep a good cadence or to work the pedals all the way through the stroke. In fact the class is less about cycling than it is about aerobic fitness. That's obviously important for cyclists, but you could get it other ways too. Anyway, I'll probably stick with the class as it's a good mid-week workout, sandwiched between longer weekend rides.

I got back to the changing room and ran into Doug, a BHP colleague and long-time MS150 rider. He had been in the same class (sorry, ride), and complained that it had finished before the end of the bike race - obviously a hard-core spinner if he had been paying that much attention to the TVs!

Another lesson - I need to bring a spare shirt to class. I had to ride home from the gym in a very damp shirt - fortunately it's only a mile or so.