Zenlike

Is this trip really necessary?  For me it is because I want to make an account of the phenomenon that Kristen’s spin class has created.  So for me it’s not just about the exercise or the experience. It is also about journaling a Zen like fantasy that happens between our ears.  Why we are here is not unlike waiting to see a performance artist at a nightclub. If the act is really hot you don’t mind waiting because we all want to be entertained.  And to be entertained while we take our physiology to the limit makes it truly a singular experience.  When we are entertained we are usually in a relaxed atmosphere sitting back with a refreshment in hand and our attention is riveted as to what is unfolding before our eyes.  When we are truly engaged in an activity our minds are not someplace else.  So often as we go through our lives in a routine like zombie state we are never fully associated with what we are doing. 

Here spinning takes over all the space in our head and there is no room for the clutter of yesterday’s events or what lies before us projecting how we would like our day to go.  So in a very real sense we can practice being in the now and take this parcel of time and sprinkle it throughout the rest of our day.  Imagine how productive we can be in our lives focused on what we are doing 100% of the time. Can you imagine forgetting about trying to control people places or things and just being an active participant how effective our lives can become?  Jack have you gone off the deep end here?  I might be but it sure gives me something to think about.  I hope it does for you. 

Okay I am ready to go upstairs to the studio to be entertained and to take myself to the limit that exists only in my imagination. 

Since only two of you read this when I first published it over 3 years ago I thought I would open it again 

Arcane Magic

                                                                               


I think I get it now. There has been in my mind an arcane magic as to why Dana Mancini was able to get more effort out of me than I could ever conceive of in spin class. I shook it off at first as just being attributed to her personality, which is charismatic and humble which almost seems anachronistic. I mused that’s why I kept coming back. Her music is eclectic which I love because she reaches back in time before her time to play selections that stir my memory banks. But this morning I pinpointed with specificity what it is about her that does it for me.

 Whenever she guides us during an interval I always know I am giving my maximum effort and with her patented “close your eyes” she then breaks down the interval in to two parts. The first part has us stepping up the resistance and speed. And that by its lonesome works fantastic.  However she takes it one step further. With eyes closed she goes to work on the power of our mind over the pedal stroke. With say 15 seconds left she asks for more effort, harder, faster and magically that arcane magic I break through to some other level I never knew was there.  Seemingly so esoteric but that’s what encapsulates it as to why Mancini draws the crowd she does now. Okay we like her a lot too. And I know we are saying our prayers for her Grand as she goes through her health challenges

When I looked at the “Book a Bike” icon on my EQ app Tuesday night it was the tandem of Kristen and Dana that had the dreaded: No Bikes Left. I hate to admit it but it’s the women that provide the biggest draw at EQ. Whether it be the Evil Woman; KJ, Dana, K2; Kristen Finello or The Blue Sapphire; Carolyn Mellace they all  bring their singular talents and that is why we show up.

Arcane Magic it’s the phrase that best describes this lithesome young woman Dana Mancini.  And that Secret 730 ain’t a secret anymore.

Kristen Unplugged

Once in a Wolf’s Moon we’ve lost power at EQ. Yesterday was one of those days. Although the high priestess of false security; electricity was restored the after affects left the Lavender Palace’s sound system imitating an Ocean Liner sounding its fog signal.  

The net of this technological snafu left us without one of the key components for Saturday KSC no music. No mike and no music. There’s no doubt spinning to music is key but its really about the instructor who can pull off a great class without accompaniment. 

Kristen may not realize that this was no greater inconvenience than running out of milk with our sleeve of Oreo’s.  No big deal and we wish this was our worst challenge of the week. And BTW KJ does not need a mike she has a clear channel voice with no need of amplification. 

In fact without the sound of music we heard what we never hear in the CS and that is the flywheel a heavy metallic sound that made its own music especially when KJ called for a breakaway or sprint. 

At rides end I still had the same pool of water underneath my bike and I was breathless and in the anaerobic state just as much as if Robin Thicke or Katy Perry were belting out the number 1 and 2 songs on Billboard’s hot 100. Don’t get me wrong I love spinning to KJ’s playlist but today was a reminder why we come and that’s to workout with the Queen of Spin: Kristen James. 

Happy Birthday to Cindy and all I can say is: WOW!

That Mancini Woman

Sporting a ponytail our lithesome superstar put us through her own brand of delicious torture in the coveted Thursday 830 slot vacated by the Originator and Innovator Kristen James. Tough shoes to fill indeed but Dana represents and fills those Specialized shoes admirably.

  For the life of me I can’t seem to figure out if I am getting in better shape or falling off because I am in oxygen deficit for virtually the whole ride. Even breathing through the nose doesn’t get enough O2 in my system and it was lightheaded I was in ¾ session. DVM tells me it’s the former and that I am bringing it. I remain somewhat skeptical but who’s to say.  My only guide is the pool and river or sweat beneath my bike that seems to increase in volume week to week. I only have to look a row ahead to my friend Stacy who sweats more than anyone I know man or woman that Mancini has taken her game to a new level since her inaugural days some 18 months ago.  

At one point Dana had an emotional moment when describing how proud she was of our collective effort. It’s a good thing sweat hides tears because she might have had some raindrops fall from those Italian cheeks. It’s nice to know we affect her as she does us. 

  From her vantage what does she see I often ask myself? KJ says she can feel the energy of the whole room as it’s literally in her face. As a rider I can only glean from the periphery just how the electromagnetic force lights up the room. There are times the energy is palpable right from the start and others where the crescendo builds throughout the hour.  Like I said I can’t see I am just part of the séance and get absorbed by the group hypnosis and follow along in trance induction.  

Have you seen her? She’s been gone a long time. I’ve noticed and after an arduous rehabilitation Mary McCann is back in our midst. I have often joked MM is an angel because I have never heard her say a crossword or utter scuttlebutt about any member. If she ever gets angry I know she must hide it well. All I know is that I am glad she’s back and she’s brought along that infectious smile of hers too.  

The Nutcracker

Who says that the music in the Lavender Palace has to be AT 40 or Rock ‘n Roll? Apparently our new spin instructor K2 doesn’t think so. She has shaken things up a bit and mixed into the discography Opera yes you heard it Opera. And there couldn’t be a more innovative approach in my opinion. It would hardly be in our province to question her selections being a music teacher and a virtuoso violinist to boot.  

Now I know very little about Opera except maybe Peter Rabbit and The Nutcracker and I could have sworn she played the latter this morning at 6 am but in fact it was: In the Hall of the Mountain King. Sounded familiar but far be it for me to actually know the title. This selection was perfectly designed for a climb and speed interval with a fresh auditory. She’s on to something and I want more. 

That 6 am slot is for the hard-core spin enthusiast and not well attended but Finello as I looked around garnered a respectable showing when most of us myself included are still in the somnolent state. However I have to tell you that there’s a great feeling to be finished with exercise before 7 am when most of the membership is either on the road, still in bed or just sauntering into the club. Now that most classes are but 45 minutes it’s a flash and you’re done. The 4% solution now has become the 3% solution. Three per cent of our day could not be spent better and if I can find that old discipline maybe I make it in to the 6 am more often. Uh yeah no.  

Well maybe it wasn’t The Nutcracker but I did feel a little nuts and definitely cracked. 

Daffodils

There’s an AT 40 song on the charts talking about flowers and my immediate thought while hitting light speed during a Dana Drill was me lying prone with my eyes closed holding a small bouquet of flowers but here’s the thing they were daffodils. Does that mean I am headed for a NDE? * I don’t think so cause I’m not ready just yet for the hereafter but one never knows do one?  And if I were to go Luce Fuori the Lavender Palace it would be a great resting place. I am jesting of course but we do feel that catching our breath after an interval is no easy task especially in Dana Mancini’s class. 

I am falling deeply in like with that 730 Wednesday. Because we are out on the streets before the 9 o’clock magic hour when the whole day is still ahead and after a Dana session I feel like I can conquer Madagascar.  Where is Madagascar anyway? 

It’s so strange how quickly we have adapted to the new 45-minute schedule isn’t it?  I don’t think other than Saturday morning that any class is longer than ¾ of an hour.  And that suits me just fine because I don’t feel like we are getting short changed and knowing that the time is shortened seems to ramp up the effort and I am finding that I burn just as much or more calories in 45 minutes as I did in 60. How is that possible I am not sure? 

I might feel like I am dying but after a shower and shave I couldn’t feel more alive than the day I was born.  

P.S.

NDE- Near Death Experience

Juliet Mills 1972 "Avanti" with Jack Lemmon