The Red Mailbox

Kristen uses visualizations a lot during spin and it’s always a great tool for our imagination as she has us overtaking riders who have colorful personalities that we can identify with in our own lives. Today she was using a point-to-point reference that again took me back to the boardwalk in Long Beach where I would train for my marathons in the 70’s. Her soliloquy this Labor Day had us spinning to that little red mailbox. It was our target and the pedal stroke as the utensil to get us there. In Long Beach each block on the boardwalk was .15 mile and that little red mailbox was the perfect visual as my effort today defied even my imagination.  

After 7 spin classes in 7 days with a double on Tuesday for the unplugged version of Tripp’s class and coming off a tough road with the Blue Sapphire on Sunday I wondered if I had anything left in the tank for Kristen’s opening salvo for the week on Monday. Once in the saddle though there was no turning back and having taken over 300 classes with her never did I give up even once and today I was not going to break that string no matter what. The Evil Woman brings out the best in me and I am indefatigable when she is at the helm.

The last day of summer did have some melancholy because I just didn’t want it to end.  For me this was the best summer since I was a teenager. Kristen talked about the two things she will most remember and that was changing her last name to James and changing her hairdresser. The latter might seem a bit fanciful to a bald man but with her coiffure it probably was a big step. For me there were big changes in my life this past summer and if you read any of my other dozen blogs you may have caught some of the details, which I will not recount here. However, it was one that included the best tan I have ever had maybe since 1968 and for me to take off my shirt in mixed company hasn’t happened since I had a ripped torso some fifteen years ago. 

The summer of 2011 was a most memorable one and one that essentially changed my life for the better (I hope) and spinning in KSC was the link to it all.