Man, I love C&C Music Factory. Talk about booty bouncin’ beats!
This would be me, except girl version.
Today’s post is about spin class. Now, I am an avid lover of spin – regardless of if you consider yourself a cyclist or not, spin class is a grueling hour of sweat and perseverence that will burn enough calories to burn off the guilt of that donut you ate at the office.
One of my mid-20′s desires was to become a spin instructor. I would fantasize about having a military themed spin class, in which I wore a cycling uniform with a military edge, and walk around and yell at people to go FASTER, HARDER, COME ON MOVE MOVE MOVE!
For those that are new to spin, or are intimidated by it, I have here a brief interview with craftster Kate from Kate & Oli about her cherry popping spin class experience:
Spin Class Perception - Please wear more than a bra if you go to spin
Me: What was preventing you from going to spin class?
Kate: I thought that everyone would be at the same level and that I would drag the class down/not be able to keep up. Also, the cycle classes are always filled with very intense looking people with wiry bodies and 0% body fat, so I was bit intimidated because I didn’t fit the “type”.
Me: What made you finally decide to go? Peer pressure from a friend?
Kate: Well, you! You assured me that I could go at my own pace and there wouldn’t be a neon sign above me that screamed n00b! Also, you are so into cycling that your passion was just infectious. I thought it can’t be THAT bad. 
Me: What were your thoughts during the class?
Kate: Ok, during the class, I was super pumped and I was really digging the music selections.
I thought, “hey, I could do this again, I could be a cyclist!”. About halfway through, my girl parts began to ache. Then, they began to scream. Then, we climbed a neverending hill and I was dangerously close to thinking, “never again!” then it was over.
Me: Post-class resolution thoughts?
Kate: When it was over, I felt great! I felt accomplished, and worked out and sore and proud of myself for trying a new class. most importantly, over the next few days, I still felt the workout. I would definitely do it again.
ROCK on to Ms. Katie of Kate & Oli for braving AND surviving spin class!!
A, B & C are all adjustable
A few tips to make spin class easier for you:
If you haven’t been to a spin class, go try it out, don’t be afraid to ask the instructor to help fit your bike to you. Also, music can make the difference – if the instructor plays slow crappy music, it’s not as much fun. Don’t give up – try a different class/instructor!
Now I want to go spin!!
OK, as much as I hate the stereotype, I love shoes. and purses. I rarely actually BUY either of them, but I sure do like to window shop.
I’ve owned a pair of SIDI carbon cycling shoes since 2002 and loved them. But when I hit around 40-50 miles into a ride, my toes started going numb! Talk about gahhhh!!!
So I went back to PV Bike where I got my bike fitting ( A MUST for anyone, I’ll post seperately about that), and brought it up.
Turns out the toes of my shoes are too narrow – if you look at any of the SIDIs, especially the higher end, they have a really narrow, pointy toe. What the heck? Do European men have narrow pointy feet? Do I have giant square feet like The Witches by Roahl Dahl?
ooooooo shiny!
I was kind of bummed out because PV Bike had these super awesome SIDI chick shoes for 30% off that were all pearly and incandescent. It’s hard to tell but the white part is the incadescent area – it’s so cool. But I know me – I’m a dirt magnet on the bike; these shoes would become filthy in no time.
So I was trying on a pair of Specialized shoes, which have a rounder toe. While trying on a nice pair, I saw some guy come in and pick up his super-mega-1337 (that is ‘elite’ in hax0r) pair. I was like ‘I MUST TRY THOSE ON’. They didn’t have my size in the 2010 model, but had a pair of the 2009 model for 30% off in my size. SCORE. They were much lighter than the other pair I was going to buy, and much more hardcore.
WHY are they more hardcore? Because these shoes have a knob that you turn to tighten the shoe, versus the ‘ratchet’. Note the round dial - you push the dial down, and turn, and it tightens the shoe. Kind of like really nice snowboarding boots.
There IS a big difference between the ’09 and ’10 model – the ’10 model has TWO dials that control upper and lower shoe tightening:
 One knob |
 Two knobs |
Pretty considerable difference, but I couldn’t afford the 2010 model and needed new shoes for a century coming up in a week.
It’s hard to tell the difference in the toe but here is a comparison of my new shoes versus my old ones:
S-work on the left, my SIDI on the right
New shoes performed amazingly, and I’m super happy with them. Now what to do with my old shoes? (I already have a cheaper pair of SIDIs that have SPD cleats, versus LOOK cleats, that I use for spin class).
As a side note, I got the men’s size. I don’t think there is any major difference between the woman’s and men’s shoes (versus lame ass names for the chick shoes, and goofier color schemes). I’m a size 10 shoe, so I already have large feet. I think that came to a size 41 or 42 in the Euro sizes.
Loading ...
