The Bionic Woman

I entered the Corso Zone via the venue of Roslyn this Tuesday and it was just as daunting as it is in Woodbury.  I thought about what I wanted to say and what appeared were phrases like: Enter the Corso Zone at Your Own Risk and Terminator Corso. She as I have written is an extraordinary life specimen in terms of physique and talent.  What makes her preternatural in my eyes is her aloofness. She might not like that description but it is also what makes her so f***ing good too.  I know that underneath (to those that know her) lies a pulsing personality, but do we really get to know our spin instructors? I mean do we really know them? I love the limited notoriety I have achieved in KSC, spinning with Mr. Mayhem and The Blue Sapphire but I don’t have a personal relationship with any of these very distinct personalities. They have their own lives to live and any relationships with members has to be for the most part very limited. So if you can bypass the familiarity we enjoy some of the time and just take on the purest element of spinning, take Michelle Corso’s class. Someone said to me, that Corso’s class had two speeds: Fast and Faster. That is such a fallacious statement. If you listen to her instruction, you will find her technically superb.  And by God her music selection sent me on a trip to Mars, I loved it.  

There is something else that I am hesitant to say but I will say it anyway. The reason that her classes are not always filled is because members think they are much too difficult.  I hate to say it but it’s true.  I have had to dig so deep into my psyche of my past to muster the strength to get a passing grade in her 60 minute interval. One could lollygag like I saw some riders do in Roslyn today, but to be fully engaged and keep up with Michelle (if that is possible) requires not only a caliber of fitness that takes years but also carries a necessary deep concentration and focus that is simply not easy to do.  If you really want a challenge, enter the Corso Zone.  

Lady Penelope

I was a touch curious what two days of not spinning would do to my stamina, and as I suspected the rest did me good. A Sunday Blue Sapphire gave me a double shot of the diminutive wonder this week. She had the usual full house and Carolyn is never routine, predictable or boring. She changes the music, cadence and her repertoire is unfailingly dynamic in its’ scope and thoughtfulness to detail. For instance when she adds: “Take it up, take it down” it not only requires concentration but adds endurance to the rigorous pedal stroke as well. 

Toward the fourth quarter of our hour I got into oxygen deficit, more commonly known as  the anaerobic zone. After nearly 7 months of devoted spinning, the intervals of going anaerobic are fewer and fewer, signaling to me that I am improving.  But today watching the Mellace perpetual motion machine, I fell off the diving board into deep blue water. I felt like I was going down for the third time only to be bailed out by the end of the hour.  

Scanning the room I found a few scattered KSC riders and I was especially glad to see my lithesome friend Debbie who for some reason reminds me of Lady Penelope a character from the 1968 television show, The Thunderbirds. The blonde dulcet, looking even more fit than I can remember, always has a smile and a kind word whenever I see her in the CS. It also made me sad as the summer has disappeared yet again in two shakes of a lambs tail.  

Heartache

II discovered an idea that can help my recovery between sessions without missing a day in between. On Wednesday I took the Mike Borska 830 AM class and then The Blue Sapphire, Carolyn Mellace on Thursday night at 6 PM.  The 32 hours in between seemed to work and gave me the rest my body was clamoring for. In a previous class Mike said I looked a little tired and for me because I get wrapped in taking classes and then writing about them, I lose sight of the fact that each class is an all out effort for me.  It also feeds into my addictive personality which I have to be on guard for.  

Carolyn keeps us on our toes. She is always about having fun but she doesn’t “fool around” She has a singular devotion and it’s not just for the money. She’s shares the passion as we do to keep our bodies “in the pink.” An old expression dating back to Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet in 1597. A little history lesson but one that always reminds me that the peak condition is something that the athlete in all of us drive for. 

I love Thursdays  with Carolyn primarily because it sets up the weekend and always seems to propel me towards a sharper state of mind as the week winds down.  She is always sharing her personal touch whenever she twinkles one of her blue stars.  

Have you been aware of the changes in the club?  When I went for the shower I saw that half of them were sheet rocked up and just four were working. Not a problem for the evening but what about during the morning rush when the club is burgeoning with people?  I suspect that much less women shower at Equinox so it probably is not a real issue on their side of the continental divide. However, all in all I think the construction is going on well without nary an interruption for us members. The management must be nervous as I know Peter feels like this is his home away from home. He is unlike any manager I have seen at this club and I have seen them all. His devotion to Woodbury, membership and staff is unparalleled at least in my opinion.  

Just a word about the new membership counselor Louis. He is a ubiquitous fellow isn’t he? I see him all over the club, not just in his glass cubicle behind his computer and phone. He is enthusiastic and takes his vocation way beyond anyone that I have seen before in that position which unfortunately has a huge turnover. He seems to be taking in the pulse of the club and I wish him well and I hope he remains a long time. I recommended a new member and he treated her with deep concern and continues to do so long after the sale.  

Okay, so the question is will I be able to make the Saturday edition of KSC? For those of you who read me I am a little under the weather with my atrial fibrillation today and I so wanted to be with you this morning. Hello Evil Woman. Do you miss me, just a little?

Caution: Double Black Diamond

I came to the stark realization that spinning with Michelle Corso  feels like that first time I got up on the high diving board at Slate Lane pool. You know the fear I’m talking about? I could feel it in my solar plexus. Or that time skiing when I edged off the chair lift and saw those double black diamonds indicating the most difficult downhill the mountain offered.  I would peer over and see that steep drop which seemed like it was 90 degrees. It always struck  abject fear in my heart. I felt nearly paralyzed thinking that I was not going to be able navigate the Corso Zone. 

It was within 8 minutes and the sweat was dripping profusely off my brow, faster than at any time during my 7 months on these Schwinn bikes. I finally started to overcome my fear and settled albeit uncomfortably into the ride.  Michelle said she wanted us to “dig deeper” I thought to myself that if I went any deeper I would be pulling up my socks. And as she petitioned us to add turn after turn I was thinking about using the bike next to me.  Of course a little exaggeration but I did have to exaggerate the effort with this supernatural talent. She is technically superb and I can say unabashedly a extraordinary motivator.  I have waxed endlessly about her physiology, and  how I could just see a classroom of kinesiologists having a ball identifying each muscle on the torso of Corso.  

Just as I was looking around the room wondering if I was alone, I could see even the veterans wondering where the next pedal stroke was coming from.  Michelle then launched Pat Benatar’s “Promises in the Dark” and that gave me a fourth wind but by songs end I was hopelessly in the anaerobic zone and gasping for air.  

It was the 830 hour and I wondered why the CS was not filled to capacity and it has to be that members are scared to take this class as I was. I know the element of the personal touch of having your name called out is conspicuously absent and there isn’t the social component that I feel is present in most of the other classes. This is not Michelle Corso’s style from what I can determine. It’s all business with her and that's perfectly fine because she has another fan in me.  It’s double black diamond: Proceed With Caution.  

All Lambs Go To Heaven

Even ones that take us to Hell and back.  

Let me tell you that our trip to hell and back was in it’s way, pure torture. However, being led down the path to Hades by the Blue Sapphire was like enjoying fire and brimstone.

 While I am always quite absorbed in the adroit call of this talented instructor, I am also taken by the visual Sapphire.  It is true that her lithesome physiology has been acquired part by genes but mostly (I suspect) by a dedication and work ethic that are beyond my comprehension. This coming from a man who for several years ran a hundred miles a week, so the admiration does not come without some allusion to how much dedication to hard work it takes.  

There is an ethereal part of Carolyn, a sense of delicacy despite the ferociousness of her spirt that one can almost see in the shadows that live just outside her furious athleticism. Almost beyond description, this jewel shines with a flawlessness that is even beyond viewing to the naked eye. 

This Sunday session I had resolved myself to take it just a little easier after spinning with the Evil Woman on Saturday and a planned session with the Corso Zone on Monday. The thought was only a fleeting one because as usual I got taken in by the two blue stars and a comet.  There was a moment when those two blue stars blinked only to be followed by the white comet of her smile. And just like the other 39 I left nothing in the studio except for the salty pool beneath my bike.  

I hope my spin mates that I have not waxed too poetic about all the instructors I write about, but they are all  so very talented and each singular in their talented natures.  This week between Kristen, Carolyn, Cathy and Mike I had the most  fun and I thank them all.  

Heart of Stone Part II

I always like to do something at least twice to see if my first impressions were correct. I am here to answer, indeed they were and are. Kathy Munzer, reacquaint yourself with the Heart of Stone. Can’t get into the Queen of Spin? Come here. I was motivated, the music was great and I sweated up my usual three pool triad under my bike. 

She has been teaching spin for 20 years and longevity in this sport does not happen by accident. She must be doing something right.  Duh.  Here is what I learned for the first time in my second go round with her. I have never had anyone tell me outright that I had the exact amount of resistance on the red dial. No one. I had been suffering from the delusion that I never have enough resistance on. I had this sense of relief and satisfaction.   Next, we tried something I never have done and that is freezing the upper half of the body and have the pedal stroke come entirely from my lower half. I loved that road.  It not only focused the power my legs have, but it also took my concentration to another level. It was like getting 20/20 vision again. 

What did deeply  disappoint me was not enough of you realize what we have here. I am here to beat the drum, the Heart of Stone is another bankable Equinox star. You all know that I am very objective and if I don’t have something stellar to say about someone I will keep my mouth shut. Wake up fellow spin mates.  

Kathy told me that she had a baby not long ago, and I said to myself AYKM? A baby, with that physiology? It must be in her genes because that was almost too hard to believe. 

SWLABR

Take it to the limit. That’s what I have been doing in earnest this past month. I know that like life insurance the dividends take awhile before you feel their affect. My workout regimen has been off the charts. Not your chart necessarily, but the one I am mapping does.  I started out gingerly and now although I have a long way to go my efforts have produced noticeable results. 

Another Borska event this morning. I kept ribbing him that we wanted more hip-hop and more Usher but he flatly refused me. Of course I am so glad he did. The second selection was SWLABR by Cream.  A little known hit on the B side of a record (what’s that?) Called Sunshine of Your Love. Mike has great choreography, and unlike anyone I have taken a spin class with, he uses mostly rock. He is not stuck in any one decade either as  the music travels from the 60’s right through the present day with groups like The Killers. Mike carries specificity in his sessions as he pays close attention to detail and just like the other elite instructors, he lets us know exactly where he wants us in terms of resistance and speed. And that’s what you want, at least I think so. He like Kristen adds that personal touch of coming face to face with his riders checking on their individual progress.  I love that. 

 I have told Kristen that I hate her music but when the call is a great one, it matters little what type of music is being played. However, I would still like her to play more Erasure and New Order and I do hope Oh My God makes it to the dust bin soon.  

The Corso Zone

A spinning session with Michelle Corso, gave me a reality jolt that told me I am in no way shape or form ready to mirror the athleticism that this young woman exhibits. She is Lance Armstrongesque  in her level of fitness. I know I should never compare myself to someone that makes her living at fitness  versus my part time efforts, but any thought that I could keep up with her were dashed about half way through the session. This woman is for the elite, the cream of the crop. She is better suited for the likes of my young friend Debbie than myself. In truth, Ms. Corso would be my pick, as the conditioning trainer for fitness experts. She is truly a physical marvel from another universe.  She is also more about the results than the experiential aspects of what spin and fitness are for this senior senator. 

I was falling in love with both the social and fitness aspects of spin and I am not ready to give either one up just yet. Probably I never will because if it’s not fun at this stage in my life I am not doing it.  I jokingly told Michelle at the end of the session that I might be ready for her brand of expertise in about two years. However, the Corso zone is a class I will take again when I am ready to challenge myself to the extreme. I thought I was doing that already, but after yesterday, I realize I am still a neophyte.  I cannot race full throttle every day. I was convinced over the last month or so that I was starting to enter a new zone, but I am not ready for the Corso zone.  It harkens back to my racing days when I would run a race every week. Michele Corso is a perpetual motion machine, and I am awe struck looking at her physiology.I have said it before that I can see every muscle on this woman’s physique as if her skin was just painted on her magnificent body.  It’s business, not fun and I can live with that, but not right now. See you in about a month Michelle. This should be an invitation to those fit enough to take on her level of competence and expertise. I know a challenge when I see it, and she is it.  She is AMAZING. 

My Golden Compass

The abbreviated version of Hello Sunday,  was hardly discernible from the full version. The Blue Sapphire was splendorific this morning.  Those two blue stars had a deeper brilliance this early morning. As if a star can have it’s own exclamation point. 

Spinning as I have recounted has taken on a larger than life aspect to my own.  I never in a million summers would have guessed that I would rediscover the passion I used to claim when I ran long distance.  Those days however, were fraught with a distinct lack of symmetry and were abundant in an egocentric lifestyle that left wreckage at every turn. Those days are long gone but having entered back into the fray of extreme effort as spinning demands of me, I have a deeper appreciation of the lives I touch and a commitment to myself to keep my head right size, while I pare my body down to the athlete that lies within. I had let complacency overrun my existence but no longer.  I have found that working to correct character defects was important but I needed to focus on my shortcomings as well. 

 I owe much to the instructors at Equinox who have helped point my compass back to magnetic north. My life had so much deviation, and I filled it with variation hoping that I would resemble the man I was created to be, whomever he was. I am still not sure what path I am on, but one foot in front of the other along with my daily pedal stroke is all I need be concerned with in the present moment. 

What was that all about Jack?  Just that stream of consciousness that seems to take over my fingers as I pound out these daily stories. 

The Blue Sapphire has made Sunday much more meaningful in that I am motivated afterward to read and write with a deeper clarity due to the energy exchange I receive each time I get a strong dose of her infectious kineticism that seems to be more abundant than the stars I can count.  As I took my after spin stroll I saw moving like a perpetual motion machine the Blue Sapphire leading her cardio group session. Someone asked me if I was going to do a double. AYKM? Well, maybe someday, just not today.  

Hercules Unchained

We take no chances on a Saturday version of KSC. In some ways it’s like hen’s teeth. In case you’re unfamiliar with that idiom it means, rare.  Rolling out of bed on the weekend carries a different edge something like a butter knife versus the steak knife of the weekday. In any case I am here a full 90 minutes before the talk of the town class.

Next to me a very disgruntled class mate told me her story of how she couldn’t understand how certain people get the same bike every time. She thinks the system is rigged and favors certain members of KSC. How could it be she lamented,  that when she tries electronic entry, she never gets the bike she picks and gets rerouted to one that is available if she does get picked by the computer.  I acknowledged and tried to validate her feelings. Even if some or all of her claims are true I have no kick. I tend to take the 1,000 foot view of KSC. It has done so many things for me that I refuse to get caught up in any politics it might generate. What I feel bad about is that there are some members that have just given up because they say they can’t get in.  Simply that is not true. What is true is that the computer entry is pure chance as I see it but the 10 available bikes before class are something you can control.  Some may not have the time I do to spend waiting.  I never feel cheated,  because I write and I get more ideas in my third space which is Equinox than if I sat home staring at the four walls and six felines. All of this may become a moot point when the class size gets expanded to 56 bikes. I am not so sure that this will alleviate the problem but I do think there will be more cancellations at least at first.  

She was on today wasn’t she?  The fact that she gave up her bike surprised me, but she did just as I expected she would. I had the image that she was Hercules Unchained. Not tied to the bike, she was free to wander the CS and get up close and dole out that individual attention she is so damn good at. Clear tones as she vocalizes her instruction as she plays her voice inflection like a finely tuned instrument. We not only hear the words but feel them as well. Zen at it’s best today. Kristen is quite intuitive dontcha know? She caught me in a wandering thought and instinctively brought me back, and I thought, how observant of her.  

 Sunday, it’s The Blue Sapphire in a different time slot and Rich says he has clients then but I said bag them and you can even have #1 if you want. Love isn’t it grand?

Hands Across the Table

It’s not often that I am in the first row, so close to the scrutiny of our leader but this morning that is where I found myself after jumping off a malfunctioning #13. And maybe because of my age Evil Woman didn’t seem to ask me for more resistance on the red dial but I made sure I kicked my ass just to be safe. Today throughout the rest of the day my legs felt heavy and quite frankly they ached. And just before I posted this edition,  this old man nearly fell asleep on the couch. 

This morning’s session was one of the toughest, well maybe in the top 5. However, I’ve said that about 50 times already.  God do I love spinning. As I was telling Kristen yesterday outside of running marathons I do not think of anything else in the CS, except for where I am. When she says: Right Here, Right Now.  I am in that space and the rest of the world just has to wait. 

There is a science to spinning of that I have no doubt.  With all the terms I have learned since that first day in February, I do feel like I am at that intermediate stage whereby my experience has helped me with some of the subtleties of the sport.  Little things like remembering to keep the cadence of right, left, right, left after a steep hill climb has made my effort all the more efficient each morning.  I am blessed with very strong legs and I can call on the inner resolve of my marathon days to extract that something extra each time the QOS* asks for just a little bit more. 

Have any of you seen Isabelle? I have just noticed her lately and maybe she is in classes I don’t frequent as much but she finds herself  in the back of the studio, she is dark with a  sweet smile and a knockout Rubenesque shape similar to Pam Polestino only more so.  And my point is? No point she is just an eye popper. Well, maybe to us men anyway.  

*Queen of Spin 

Heart of Stone

Kathy Munzer, a bit  on the diminutive side but nonetheless a powerhouse with a plan and an excellent (yes you heard me) an excellent spin instructor. Let me tell you why. First of all her music selection was perfect on the ears because it  was not loud. It played second billing to Ms. Stone or is it Ms. Munzer? She had it all going on. I heard her every word. There was no canceling out of her voice by too much volume on the victrola.  What was also noteworthy was her specificity in the lesson. We knew exactly where we were, how long we were going to be there and we also got challenged individually to produce more of an effort. When she told me she wanted more resistance on my red knob I said: Me? Yes you Jack. Even my olympian friend Debbie with the drop dead body  was asked for “more."  Debbie?  Yes. It  made me take notice that KMS was not only fully associated but she also  has a sense of when to ask for more effort.  All around up there in the elite status in my opinion. In fact, I wondered why there were just 24 bikes taken. If you have taken her class in the past but not lately, jump on because  here is  yet another priceless piece  in the Equinox  jewelry box. And she told me I took her class two years ago. She is The Heart of Stone. 

I don’t know how Munzer has escaped me but put on another star up on constellation Kristen. This woman has hand picked talent worthy of an All Star Team.  I mean really.  

I sat down with the Queen of Spin today for quite a long chat and I told her  how she has changed my life and virtually turned back my biological clock. I also got first hand how difficult her position is. No, I am not shining an apple for the teacher and I have to wait on line just like the rest of you, but KG is a master motivator and an excellent judge of talent. No easy task for this membership because we are very tempermental and I think we were born complainers. 

Vital Signs

How has my reporting been?  I know many have lauded me about my coverage about spinning and in particular, Kristen’s Spin Class.  I don’t know what possessed me to begin this rigorous exercise activity, but it has become both addictive and therapeutic as I have alluded to, numerous time during my 7 months since I started this blog. It never has been anything else but a desire to have readers like you, read me. I have no other real agenda, maybe it helps me get published with some of the 6 books I have in manuscript but if that happens it was meant to be. Oh and please feel free to check out the other 11 blogs I have which are at the bottom of this page, including two that are invisible. 

My personal thanks go out to Kristen in particular because my GP noted my resting pulse is 58 and my BP is down to 100/70 and I have lost a modest 13 pounds without paying much heed to my diet, which is next on my agenda. I have never had my vital signs that low since my marathon days a half lifetime ago my young motivator. 

The only thing I lament is not hearing from all of you, but that has been mitigated by my recognition in class. I love having all of you to talk to, especially the eye catching women of spin, you have been especially hospitable to this WMABM.  As I write you I am on the LIRR headed to the hot city and wishing that I was leaving my swimming pool underneath #16 in KSC. Tomorrow I try Kathy Munzer Stone to see what style she implores to motivate her devotees.

 I am so happy for Carolyn and I hope that my young trainer and she are headed for dating bliss. She is such a sparkling instructor, but you know this from my blog about her.  Of course Mr. Recess, Tripp Doherty is back from his Iron Man and I got to sit down with him yesterday and this man of mystery has a story I want to pen. I may have to add Mr. Motivation to the various nicknames I have for him.   

It’s almost laughable, because if you told me that I would be so enchanted with riding a stationary bike a year ago I would have thought you were daffy. I know because all the years using the equipment in the main room was never fun for me and I did it just to  keep moving and burn some calories. Now I spin like a banchee, go nowhere, and when the hour is done, I think I have taken the best trip of my life. Thank you KSC.  

Page 6

Well, it’s happened I have missed the TMW. Non coincidentally, I had the intuitive hit as I approached the doors that I had just waited too long leaving my house. No worries (gulp) I am now #11 and I am trying to keep my finger on the magic button on my droid hoping for a cancellation. I am relaxed because I do have a gym, duh. 

Remember fans that on a Monday the guilt factor carries a deeper impression on our psyche. At least for some, because when one over indulges on the weekend, the compulsion to purge as Kristen puts it, weighs heavily.  I am okay I tell myself I have been in the CS 8 out of the last 9 days. No, I want in, next time I will bring my tent. 

So do I have a story to write? Indeed I do. The love bug has hit one of our instructors and although I was blind to it, Cindy our Sherlock Holmes  whispered the secret. Do I dare reveal my Page 6 information? No wonder the class on Sunday was well let’s say just a little bit off it’s usual intensity. I am glad for her and him. Have you guessed? Not rocket science,  the answer is right here in this paragraph. Someone’s blue eyes are sparkling just a little bit brighter.

P.S. I got in. And I found out who the lucky guy is. 


P.P.S. I am thinking about writing an inside edition to KSC. It will be frank and provocative. However, one caveat will be that I will need you to e mail me for the link. 

More Powerful Than a Locomotive

It’s 925 on a Sunday and I wait on the TMW* for the Blue Sapphire’s edition of Hello Sunday.  As I love to write about it, and this gemstone in particular, it never seems a bother to sit and wait for the 30 minute sign in. 

The Blue Sapphire is beyond superlatives, but I will do my level best. Some have accused me of having a “thing” for the Blue Sapphire the way I wax poetic about her. I am not sure where that comes from but she is a fantastic motivator and I just flat out admire her. 

Another packed house, and Hello Sunday is fast becoming one of my favorite classes here at Equinox. One of the ingredients that make Carolyn so unique is her gesticulations. I really took the time today to watch her hands and arm movements. Like coupling rods to locomotive wheels, she moves piston like as she directs us toward speed and effort. It is a pure art form in itself.  When the Blue Sapphire beckons we all follow in UNISON. The appeal she exudes is irresistible. Whether it’s her smile, voice or just innate talent, I can’t miss Sundays with Carolyn Mellace. 

That was the week that was wherein I found myself spinning 7 days in a row. Just two months ago I would have cringed at that prospect. I made a concerned effort to sample more of the instructor base than ever before and the talent is very deep at Equinox, very deep. 

Louis, a  recent addition as membership advisor, refers to this club as our “Third Space.” Home then work and then Equinox. An interesting premise that is literally very true because we don’t arrive, workout, shower and leave.It is this sense of belonging and having virtually every staff member knowing your name that makes entering and leaving like a second home.  I have belonged to so many clubs in the past including Bally’s where my deepest concern was spending only the briefest intervals and always being concerned about locking my belongings,  and just how sanitary the environs were. Never have I been concerned about  cleanliness or  possessions here, and when I leave something here like shoes, they appear on my very next visit.  Equinox has this  three pronged approach of Greet, Train and Maintain which is why it will remain the premier club at least in my mind. 

Gee I sound like a P.R. man. Only speaking what my heart tells my mouth what to say.

*TMW Ten Most Wanted.  

A New Star Has Appeared On the Equinox Sky

  

His name is Damian Vella. A young man groomed with all the rudimentary skills and then more some.  I was impressed how I could hear every word of his call and how he had the music working for him as his  supporting cast instead of it trying to take the starring role.   The selections were recognizable and  diversified. And when an instructor plays Billy Idol and Dead or Alive, he gets the check mark in my column.  I thought he was a diamond in the rough on my first ride with him several weeks ago, apparently his karat is shining brighter now. There is tremendous clarity in his style and with this kind of start his online bookings will be filled in moments. 

Extremely fit and with a shining countenance he is on his way to capturing his own devotees and will (I predict) admirably take his place among the talented staff that Kristen has assembled. 

What impressed me too was how he worked the room. He had the presence of mind to get off his bike and make eye contact with everyone in the CS, no easy task when all eyes are on you. Yes I think another star will be taking his place among my favorites. Good luck Damian, I don’t think you’ll need it. 

This week had me spinning 7 days in a row. Am I crazy?  3 KSC, 1 Mr. Mayhem, 1 Blue Sapphire, 1 Borska and finishing with...Now I need a nickname for him.....

Open Rebellion

My fears have been confirmed. The KSC line is assembling earlier and earlier. A full 75 minutes before and I am 4th on the TMW*.  Stacy with no e and laser like green eyes was off to kickboxing as she just could not find it in herself to ‘wait’. Let’s face it unless you have found  a constructive use of the time before, it becomes a difficult rationalization than if you just sit here and ‘stew’ and you have no potatoes. 

Oops I was asleep at the switch and  Sharon with the ‘o’ casually absorbed in her crossword and a hair like trigger finger got in to 830 with a cancellation. Ouch! It’s okay I have my computer and since I have now an even dozen blogs there is plenty to do. However getting in would seem like winning at “Take Five”, but a little bit o luck is probably not in the offing this morning. And while I was playing that option the 745 minute passed me by and left me out of tomorrows class as well.  My wife is getting suspicious asking what “woman of spin” was I meeting this morning?  Yikes and ikes. I do have plenty of witnesses but she would be horribly mortified if I had one of them call her but I will have to work this bit of TMI (too much information) by myself. So what’s a middle aged bald man to do?  My Jack the lad past has come back to haunt me and so far off from Halloween too.  

*Ten Most Wanted

The Anaerobic Lounge Chair

For the first time I heard Kristen talking about entering the forbidden zone. No not the quarantined area in the Planet of the Apes, It’s the anaerobic zone. Now entering my 7th month of my rebirth I have been living in the anaerobic zone since I started. In fact I was wondering if anyone would show up here, ever.  I was sure I was alone in my lounge chair getting comfortable being out of breath. Now to be true, I have made advancements in breathing on a conscious level but for the most part I still lose control and resort to mouth breathing when the going gets really tough. And I am in KSC not in lollipop land. Since lollygagging is strictly taboo, I pant rather than trying to catch up on my reading as some of our members beyond the glass doors do. 

In any case I am curious as to where our Queen leader is going with this new premise. She talks about the hard zone, and breathless but never did she  even whisper the word anaerobic. I know that world well especially since I was a sprinter back in High School and later in life  when those long distance races were nearing the finish line not only had I gone anaerobic but I was retching as well.  I don’t think reverse peristalsis is part of this equation. 

The anaerobic lounge chair, open yours and tell me how it feels because I still can’t catch my breath.  

Drop Everything, It's Mike Borska

Why did I wait so long?  That’s a question that might haunt me as I enter my 7th month of spinning.  A man near in age I suspect to my own and with a musical taste to match. When he played Strange Brew by Cream, I thought to myself that it must have been 40 years since I heard that tune. I am sure I was a teenager and that’s when music was played on vinyl with a needle.  

The selections were  conspicuously minus hip-hop but did include some present day music like Coldplay so it wasn’t entirely musty.  Mike has a little Bob Fosse in him as well because I noticed he had the spinning choreography down just like Kristen and Carolyn do.  Added to the mix was him coming up to each rider checking their form and tightening of the screws when the handlebars seem to be rocking. 

I noticed something else singular to the session with Mike and that was riders mouthing the words to the songs. Sharon in particular over to my left was perfectly in lip synch with a Crosby Stills and Nash cut from the 1970’s.  There were several other would be singers as I glanced around the studio and by rides end a spontaneous applause broke out and I for one was sad this hour had concluded so quickly.  

A rubenesque woman to my immediate left might have left me in the anaerobic zone had I stolen more glances in her direction. She was a Borska devotee and so much told me so as her smiles throughout the session accentuated her eye candy like form.  I can’t help but notice God’s creations after all I am still a man.  

Mike Borska is definitely in my future, and with a playlist like his I can luxuriate and kick my ass as well. 

The Blue Ferrari With the Lavender Interior

That was the image that descended on me as I started my climb with the Blue Sapphire.      

The sports car to end all sports cars is Carolyn . She’s sleek, compact, powerful and with the design right out of the  Fountain Head.  Fine architecture is what God had in mind when he designed this woman’s physiology. A work of art. 

Never one to quibble as to  what we are in her class to do, she  had us  negotiating  the steepest of mountain climbs today. And for minutes at a time I might add.  A full house which tells me the phenomenon of Mellace increases by the week. We have our own little cult with the Blue Sapphire. It’s an exclusive club too because she’s only here two days a week. So there is a limited amount of tickets available to this inspirational hour complete with smiles and torture.  

This blue Ferrari has two pistons that almost whirr when you watch them fly through the pedal stroke.  Just a marvel of biometrics and  when you watch her move, she leaves her DNA all over you.  I couldn’t help but notice how her tendrils became her windshield wipers and helped her keep a clear view of each and every one of us and our efforts. We put out for the Blue Sapphire and the boys are included. 

Post Script 

The population is very animated this morning. As I sit here,  75 full minutes before class,  with the Ten Most Wanted there is civil unrest. I think that the membership is asking for change in how the bookings are processed. I put some suggestions in the black box and maybe if you want to have your voice heard and not just complain add your comments too.