Initiation to Outdoor Cycling

We actually have a picture to commemorate our first outdoor cycling road trip...yeah...it's free advertising for D'Italiano. Okay, not completely free--we got a pulled-pork sandwich each for posing in front of their truck. Geez...what some people do for freebies. :)

But what about the ride itself? It may have been the most humid day we've had up to that point this year. Let's see what else I can think of to make our first ride more adventurous than it really was. It had rained the day before, I think, and there were puddles on the trails. We did 31.5 kilometers with some near wipe-outs to boast of...hmm...I don't think cyclists boast about that. I was on a mountain bike pedaling twice as hard as the hybrid and road bike riders.

The highlight of our trip was the food. The D'Italiano sandwich was unexpected, but was a welcomed treat. It hit the spot at the right time. However, we had our sights set on Sunset Grill, so, great pulled-pork sandwich or not, we trooped inside for our 1 p.m. breakfast--waffles with fresh strawberries and, humid weather notwithstanding, coffee of the hot kind.

The ride back was easier, maybe because I had a full stomach or maybe the single-trip experience I'd gained by then was starting to pay off. I thought I was this hotshot six-year spinning veteran, and would be able to handle outdoor cycling easily. Well, let me tell you that there's a humongous difference between the two. Although I was no worse for our outdoor tryst, other than a few patches of sun-burn, I must point out that cycling outside is no stroll in the park. The outside elements, learning to change gears so no one hears the cranking sound you're not supposed to make, other cyclists--some who are crazy enough to careen into you, a moving bike versus a stationary one...challenges not for the faint of heart.

Really, cycling isn't quite this dramatic...only the rider is.

A Spinning Tale

What happens when you unleash raw energy in a room full of avid cyclists? They reciprocate and give it right back. It’s indoor stationary cycling at its most stimulating. Yup, that’s why I love leading a spinning class, and here are ten more reasons that pull me back over and over again.

1.    No other workout gets my heart pumping faster than when I’m coaxing the participants to go as hard as or harder than me. There’s something about being at the front that makes me push myself to the extreme.

2.    The energy in the room is palpable. You feel it in your blood, in the adrenalin, in every nerve, and in the collective sigh at the end of a song.

3.    What other low impact workout can burn as much calories as spinning—700 to 1,000 calories in an hour—and have a low injury rate?

4.    Stress relief goes hand in hand with the class. It melts away with every drop of sweat.

5.    Gotta love that group cool-down. It’s the “We made it together” feeling. You can’t get that when you go solo on the treadmill or elliptical.

6.    The endorphin kick lasts long after the class is over, maybe burning some more calories…just kidding.

7.    I suspect the participants’ positive feed-backs probably crank up the production of endorphins.

8.    Relax, breathe, tighten up the core muscles, good posture—all the good stuff that you forget to do when you’re working out by yourself…I belt these out loud to the class every time I need to remind myself to focus on my own techniques.

9.    Creating a playlist and choreographing a routine give me almost as much pleasure as when I write. Just as I pick and choose my words, adding and trimming, so I select my songs, listening, cutting and rearranging.

10.    Last and certainly the most fabulous side benefit is the social aspect. New friendships beyond the cycle fit studio, Sunday breakfast after a class—not always the healthy kind…what the heck, we’ve earned it.