The Illustrated Man

One of my spin mates, David Cooper asked me to participate in one of his first forays at the top of the key.  He told me that he was teaching a spin class in Huntington at Break Away Indoor Cycling on 7B Green Street. The studio equipped with 25 Johnny Q. Spinner bikes also had a cadence meter and odometer, which answered one question I have always had when I spin. More on that later.  It was according to David an old trolley station and he pointed out some of the overhead stanchions that marked part of the history of the place as it gave the environs a historical feel if that is not outside the realm of conscious thought. The hardwood floor resonated with me primarily because it reflected a bright color and added to my mood as I hopped aboard. 

David atop a red Spinner bike didn’t seem the least bit nervous and you could hear parts of the Evil Woman in some of his sobriquets but Cooper has a strong presence all his own an almost quiet defiance that seems matter of fact at times yet what we all seem to be thinking but are hesitant to verbalize lest we be labeled not politically correct. I get that whenever he speaks. At the class there was his omnipresent spouse Nikole who always seems to be at his side supporting him. Amy (ice cubes) Gold Blau, Andrew and yours truly rounded out some of the EQ faithful there to support him in his new found vocation.  

The music ah the music what was that going to be like? I half expected pure rock but instead The Illustrated Man had an eclectic mix that had a backbeat, which was perfectly synched for the pedal stroke and gave fluidity to the ride I don’t often experience. The skinny is that Coop has the magic that’s needed to capture our imagination. He does it in what he doesn’t say which for this reporter is even more important than what lies in the spoken word. 

The Illustrated Man might be someone we see leading spin in the Lavender Palace one day if that is his wont. Thanks Coop I am glad I came.  

P.S.

I often wondered just how far in mileage I might log riding on a stationary bike and I found out. I was surprised.  

Jack the River Part II

Let’s start out by saying that if you are fool enough to get aboard your Schwinn in our Lavender Palace and you are in A-Fib* you will pay and pay for the rest of the day. What possesses me to play around with my irregular heartbeat when it’s behaving irregularly is only a piece for the Idiots Journal. To top it off I just couldn’t seem to get to CVS this week and pick up those beta-blockers, which I have a love-hate relationship with. 

For maybe the only the second time in all the classes I’ve taken here I never given up but along   about 30 minutes in to the Evil Woman’s call this Saturday I was ready to hop off. But my ego just wouldn’t let me and that was my big mistake as its now near 4 PM and I am still nursing the hangover I put my heart through. 

Otherwise Don still on lockdown was celebrating his birthday and far be it for me to reveal how many candles will be on his cake I mean grilled salmon tonight it's just not my place but I do know he became a sexagenarian last year so if you know what that term means you’ll know how many whacks he’ll be getting later on tonight. 

I just couldn’t break that hold my HR had on my whole body but nevertheless even in restrained effort “Jack the River” left his mark on the studio floor with an estuary that had my name on it.  Saturday KSC normally a fun time  was  not that today. 

My friend Heatherr told me she took Dana Mancini’s MET CON today and she exclaimed it was KILLER. I have to give that a go. Ritchie  (mountain man) told me it was in a word: SICK. And on another note my friend the Illustrated Man is teaching his first class tomorrow in Huntington I will give a detailed report and unfortunately miss The Blue Sapphire.  

Jack the River

Oft times the stellar instructors at EQ give me the titles of some of the entries I’ve posted here and there.  Yesterday was one of those days. One of the rising stars in the constellation Woodbury is Dana Mancini who has in my opinion started to shape hew own niche here at the club with her own inimitable style. She does it with grace and charm, which is one of the main reasons we spin with who we choose to spin with. 

With Tripp it’s pure energy laced with inspiration and with the Queen, KJ it’s her adroit hand in guiding us through a thematic ride with spirited Zen-like phrases, which we can feed off of in the other 23 hours of the day.  Dana I think has used this model and incorporated into her style, which is taking shape day by day. Her music is like no one else’s featuring the hits of today along with some of the classics that most would never consider as apropos for the CS.  Dana has figured out how to get more out of her students including yours truly.

 When I thanked her at the end of class I pointed to my ‘pool’ of work on the studio floor and as it started to stream forward she called it “Jack the River” and hence the title today.  I know that we in Woodbury have it so good and like I’ve said before we are spoiled and if you don’t think so try a spin class somewhere else you’ll find out. 

Septuagenarian? No Problem

Beverly one of my southern exposure spin instructors unabashedly told me that her 74th birthday was due this September. Now if I try to think back to my youth when my Grandmother was 74 years old would she have been able to get aboard a spin bike let alone give a riveting performance in front of 30 people all younger than her? As they say in the Urban Dictionary: NFW.  And yet there she was as fit as someone 30 years younger. 

And then there’s her discography, which was smoking hot. You could reflect in   stereotypic fashion what does this woman know of popular music? She knows it backwards and forwards and how to put it together to make it a pleasing timber to the ear and with a rhythm that had me on my pedal stroke like The March of the Wooden Soldiers.  

Bring it Bev I will be there tomorrow.  

Jack 

Cadence Queen

I felt like shouting 867-Jenny but I kept my NY mouth shut this session. It was to say the least another one of my singular experiences in the saddle. I am not enamored with the Johnny Q. Spinner bikes but it mattered little with the triathlete Jenny pushing my buttons.  Allison 'the rabbit' to my right was pumping old school and this woman is indefatigable. 

Next to the definition in Webster’s for dynamo is her image. She moves me and for the first time in recall spin history my legs were fatigued as well as my lungs. Not an easy task but I firmly resolved that there’d be no let up for the full hour. And this perpetual motion machine was working that splendiferous body on and off the bike. She had to have been an orchestra conductor in a past life because her gesticulations mimicked Catherine Connor*.  

Her choreography included homage to Adam  “MCA” Yauch of Beastie Boys fame that just died after a long battle with cancer at the tender age of 47. Jenny dances to a different beat and the music was heavy mystery Rock n’ Roll as there was nothing I could viscerally connect with but the workout this woman put me through could have featured Mary had a little Lamb and it would have made no difference she is flat out freaking perfect.  She is now dubbed the Cadence Queen because her rapid-fire call of 1-2-1-2 had me pedaling to her Gene Krupa beat.  

Usually these studios are quiet but the ‘Flame-On’ Jenny had several of her devotees engaged in active banter with her and it made for an entertaining repartee for someone like me who is used to providing most of the extracurricular voice to my classes. 

Jenny: 867-5309!  

*Catherine Connor: Top Ten Woman Conductors.  

P.S. Allison suggested Goo Brew as an alternative to Gatorade

http://goobrew.com/

Parade Rest

No popcorn, peanuts or cotton candy in this the center ring of Equinox. No jugglers, clowns, or high wire aerialists either. And no one would complain that the ringmaster, Kristen Gagne uses a holistic whip in this spinning circus. In fact when she makes the call for the next act we all head dutifully for the breathless zone. And today as ever it was no exception.  When we took off at 9:15 this morning the tough get going and the rest of the circus beyond the lavender palace walls are at parade rest* by comparison.  

Saturday KSC is fast becoming an iconic part of my week because there’s just something about being with her on the weekend. She seems more fanciful and maybe it’s just because it might be her favorite day and time for a brief respite after a long arduous  week.  For me it gives me a sense that I can go into Saturday in caloric deficit and that extra piece of salmon won’t find itself on my mid section. Yeah Jack who are you kidding salmon?  

Kristen has shared that each class has its own personality. Today however she said that different sections had their own synchronicity.  But  the back row, which in my opinion is a bunch of miscreants who skylark every chance they get, are almost a class unto themselves. I am not sure if it’s Harold or Don that lead the charge and  I used to think it was Don but even though Harold wasn’t there today I am beginning to think he needs to have his bike facing the window at least for a class or two.  

It ain’t Ringling Brothers and in this circus there is only one ring in this Big Top. 

A note to Kristen’s mom: She was naughty today. I think everybody caught it too. But she’s at the age of majority and there’s not much we can do.

  

* Parade Rest:  Standing at ease.