the Get Rolling Orbit

Our instructor described the day’s route as though we would really be out riding the local greening hills: so many minutes of climbing, jogging and even sprinting to a finish line. Installed on a decent bike, I was ready to attack the course as she called it out.

I believe my body is finally beginning to adapt to this new physical challenge. Spinning along with the group, I checked my heart rate frequently, and was gratified to notice that as I worked the bike’s tension according to Erin’s directions, it remained in reasonable ranges. My legs were feeling better doing the work, with less burning. As we got near the “top” of a long, steep climb, I was able to keep my momentum and rhythm but began gasping for air. (Good thing the music is so darned loud!)

Visions of summit day on Kilimanjaro … With so little oxygen at 19,000 feet up, I accomplished that long climb with a rhythmic breathing strategy. A variation of that plus the pounding beat coming out of the classroom speakers motivated me to keep my spinning momentum. Remembering how I felt as I saw the first glimmers of daylight as we approached the top if Kili helped too!

On the final long hill, I was surprised to find myself “dropped by the pack.” For some reason–possibly not pacing myself properly–I lost my steam near the end of the effort and had to “walk” my bike as I imagined everybody elses’ backsides disappearing over the imaginary crest. Just wait until I get my new clip-in biking shoes!

My competitive nature was satisfied by watching my form in the mirror. I try not to bob up and down or side to side, keep my thighs parallel to the bike, my hands light on the handlebars, my ab muscles engaged, and my rear back over the seat when standing. We are constantly reminded of these points. When I compare my mirror image with that of others in the room, I recognize the character flaw that causes me to feel superior to my fellow bikers.

I still have lots to learn, and it’s not all related to Spinning!

Well, I may know what comfort items to bring to the Spinning class now, but that is only half the preparation necessary. I learned the hard way that there are many equipment-related things that determine my ability to spin aggressively.

Arriving 5 minutes before start time for my most recent class, I saw that 25 people were already mounted and rolling, with only a few bicycle choices left to me. The first available bike was in my favorite spot but missing toe straps, and I still don’t have clip-in shoes. I lugged that one away and moved in another that had a toe strap on just one pedal, better than none! I adjusted the seat to my body and installed my gel cover.  But it turns out that besides the missing strap it had a wobbly base and two bottle holders that couldn’t hold my water. D’oh! I thought I could deal with those issues but when I climbed up on the seat it was tipped too low in front and my rear kept sliding forward. Arrrrgh! I was getting more and more embarrassed at my frantic antics in front of all the others spinning happily away.

I went to the back of the room and sat on a third bike to check the seat. OK. Again, I installed the gel cover and my water bottle. I strapped my heart rate monitor on to the handlebars and my training zones chart onto that, put on my sweat band, and draped my hand towel on the bars. It was now 10 minutes into the class. Since this bike had absolutely no toe straps, I struggled for 45 minutes to keep my feet centered in loose cages that are too large for my shoes. Obviously there was no opportunity to work on my pulling up portion of the stroke. Meanwhile the handlebars screw kept loosening and I had to deal with the wobbling throughout class.

Sheesh. Now I know I need to get to class before the rest of the crowd to check for seat tilt, loose handlebars, and base wobble along with the existence of foot straps. And then spend 5 minutes installing my comfort aids on the bike I finally choose!