F ornication U nder C onsent of the K ing

What is going on?  Just this week I took 5 classes with Kristen and each one was more challenging than the next. Not only that but Saturday KSC had me burning more calories and a higher average watt count than the previous 4 sessions. I asked her about it at the end of class and she said simply that Saturday’s workout was different than all the rest. And then it dawned on me KJ tells us everyday she has a plan for that particular class and now I get it. Today she started to tell us that very thing and then stopped short thinking we really don’t care. After today though I do! I am so engrossed in the effort for each interval for each flat and hill but now I know there is a mosaic she fashions for those fleeting 45 minutes. Henceforth I will pay attention and I think my workouts will not only burn more fat but also I’ll be able to gauge my effort and finish on empty instead of on fumes as I often do. 

Have you noticed that the new digital sign up with only 5 open bikes instead of the usual 13 has made getting your favorite   just a tad more difficult? Some veterans have a faster hand to eye coordination than I but when I hit that + sign when the countdown hits Zero I more often than not end up in right or left field. Oh and what about signing in with just seconds to secure a bike? You cannot scroll down there simply isn’t time. But I think it was young Joshua that told me you could put your favorite on top when the countdown hits the 0 mark. I tried that Friday morning but to no avail. That front row is where I always wanna be. It just keeps me focused each second. 

Today was killer and I found myself muttering Fornication Under Consent of the King more times than I care to count. But that’s a good thing. Nowhere else except in the marathons from long ago can I get a workout like KSC. And I am almost a Beatle (64 on 1/126/15) but that doesn’t seem to keep me from leaving Jack the River under my bike every time I dismount. 

She's Still Evil but She's the Queen

She lived up to the expectation again! My friend Jae ejaculated spontaneously after class that she never disappoints and brings it every damn day.  Come to think of it we just take that part of KJ for granted. No matter what she’s going through the quality never wanes.  Imagine yourself having an off day. We all have them every one of us and we are well just not up to snuff.  With that James woman it matters not. There is never a falloff in quality ever.  Saturday KSC   was no exception. I felt like a sponge soaked and saturated but somehow someway at rides end she squeezed every droplet of effort from my frame.  

The Fire Within

Each class a new adventure. It’s never the same even though we don’t go anywhere. The plot between our ears is always in Technicolor and today it was in Cinerama as well.  In the ride I could see my inner persona turned out.  That man that who at times cannot hold back showed his face again and instead of wondering how much was left in my energy tank I kept the pedal stroke in the present moment and the flywheel became afire as my heart rose to the occasion and failed me not. 

Dana Mancini is one of our elite spin instructors and today even with child she terrorized us into a breathless state and drove our efforts beyond even our wildest expectations. As I looked at the floor at rides end I saw that Jack the River had returned. 

I spied some of my favorite members this morning Stacy Tucker. Josh, Andrew, Jaspreet and Xavier to name but a few. People like these float my heart and soul they anchor me yet let me fly about the studio always giving me a soft landing.   

Chapped

Chapped is what I was in my favorite spin class this Saturday morning. It takes a lot for me to get my Scottish up but it happened today. As I entered the studio for the second time I discovered that my water, spin shoes and towels were missing and someone had taken my bike. I was there in time but one of you decided to simply toss my belongings up against the side wall. Now a young woman on what was the bike next to me simply said that Bike 1 was missing and offered no explanation. I found a bike so my ire was abated but it just seemed something a kindergartener would do. I’ve heard of these things going on in the main studio never thinking that one of you would be doing the same here. 

As it turned out because of the holiday there were open bikes and I hopped on an open Schwinn still chapped but the Evil Woman Show was about to start and since I can’t hold onto resentment I was riding without my bottle of water but riding nonetheless. And as I write this it seems so trivial and I am a bit disturbed at myself for even being mad. 

A dreary day this morning but KJ had a wonderful discography and kept the tempo perfectly as usual. The studio as it is laid out now really is perfect because  getting to and out is easier than the old configuration. 

I just remembered that I have Bike 1 for tomorrow will the same thing happen again? Oh well this should be the worst thing that happens to me. 

The Shit Show

The anticipation of the new studio took me somewhat by surprise and it dawned on me quite succinctly at 559 am yesterday morning.  As my eyes watched the circled 10-second countdown melt away my finger was just a bit shaky thinking just how many members were poised as I was. Of course I got in, as I wouldn’t be writing this entry if I hadn’t. And Bike 1 suits me just fine but more about that later. 

Well let’s see where do I begin?  Let’s get the negatives out of the way first because they can be alleviated soon enough. The studio is just too cramped in this configuration but on the other hand what’s more important having 55 bikes to ride or that we have some navigation challenges getting to our designated stationary conveyance? I’ll let you be the judge of that. 

Now let’s get to the good stuff because Saturday KSC is always a Shit Show no matter what time of year it is. Most of the core contingent continues to attend and those members you know who you are help make everyone including the new members feel the sense of camaraderie that has been built into Kristen’s spin class. It’s nigh on 5 years now since I joined this hot ticket show and it never ever disappoints. 

I love the idea that the front row numbers 11 bikes instead of the original 6 and the view from #1 lets me see just about all of you and I can now see the energy that’s generated not just feel it.  Kristen I think has a better view as well and those cheap seats in the back are not obstructed from her Evil Woman’s eyes anymore.  

And the Evil Woman has a new stage so appropriate for this talented group exercise physiologist. I didn’t have a ruler but it looks to be about 12 inches high an oval shaped pedestal lined with track lighting giving the platform fit for the performer she is. I loved it. And for the first time I got to see the Wagon Wheel Effect. That’s the phenomena where the flywheel although moving in one direction exhibits the effect that it’s moving in the exact opposite direction. Scientifically it’s called "temporal aliasing" and after reading about it theorists can’t seem to explain just why it occurs in real life although in film it’s easily explained.  In any case it had me mesmerized and just added another piece to the experiential nirvana of moving Zen, which is KSC. 

I am not usually a fan of what’s played in the studio, as my eclectic tastes don’t match the mainstream constituency but this morning I was totally enrolled. The play list was fresh and its syncopated rhythm had my pedal stroke moving just a wee bit quicker. Thank you KJ for a thoughtful compilation. 

Now about Bike 1 as I alluded to at the top. In back of me there’s enough space to get off the bike and jump in exultation just in case I say just in case I hear one of my favorite artists that strike my visceral chord and renders that adrenaline rush which is the only altered state available to me as a sober man. Thanks to the club for the spread downstairs those roasted peppers were out of this world.  And thanks KJ it was indeed a Shit Show.  

Just Musing

It’s a rarity that I don’t spin on a Saturday even though I had a bike I decided to cancel within the last hour. Not because I was tired or bored but well just because. Learning to follow what my body tells my mind is the path I am on these days and I trust it. Intuition never seems to fail me in fact when I don’t listen its trouble I find. 

Not going I may have saved myself an accident or a ticket or better yet increased my desire to spin tomorrow with the Blue Sapphire Carolyn Mellace. I will make a game time decision on that but I think a day’s reprieve is never a bad thing with my addictive personality. My mind says that perhaps a run might serve to break up my one-track obsession. I sometimes ask if I miss running? I have Michael and Constance Korol, Tripp Doherty and Heatherr Feather to keep me thinking about it whether they are in some ultra-marathon or Ironman competition. But those days are gone and I have no regrets.  I wish them well of course.

I had a short talk with Dana yesterday and I was relating to her about being seated or standing in session and although KJ hates when we sit I find that I work much harder in the saddle and my knee is the less for wear when the saddle is where my gluteus maximus finds itself. When I first started and I watched some of our female members pedaling in a blur I thought I could never move that quickly. Turns out much later that I could but it always seemed a balancing act. What I also found since we now have those confounded new monitors is that as soon as I would breakaway my watts would drop precipitously below 200. I don’t know why that bothers me but it seems to me that standing takes a more concentrated effort to stay above 200. Could it be that standing burns more calories? I don’t know and why am I even debating it is after all my ride.  

A Saturday without KSC is a day without sunshine but I’ll be back in the saddle soon enough. 

Louder Than Words

We’ve (well most of us) have heard the cliché: Actions speak louder than words. And most times that’s true but there are times that actions need words too because like a tree falling in the woods does the descending tree make a sound?  The thought is that words backed up with action are the strongest message because after all we want both to reach to those intended. 

So often relationships are about reciprocity when they seem to fall out of balance we let the other tree fall when if we lent just a little more support stronger roots could take hold. Selfless acts require courage and never a scale. Measuring what we’ve done and brought to the table are but echoes in the dark. If we love someone really love someone whether it be romantic love, a dear friend or even a sibling there can be never enough action and never enough words of love we can express waiting for the other to respond. 

I listened quite intently to KJ today and being a friend of Bill Wilson I learned that we could never blame someone else for things they have done or what they have failed to do. That is judgment plain and simple. There’s no room for judgment in this world we all have our own lives to lead and no one can really know what we are going through unless we walk in the others shoes. I say keep-bringing love no matter if they hear the tree falling or not. 

Saturday KSC brought me a beautiful message courtesy of Kristen James. A beautiful relationship we have too. I’m not her buddy, I don’t text her nor do I have her phone number I only have this forum and for as long as these legs can pedal I’ll be grateful. And to all my friends in this class that I have learned to love; thank you. 

A Little Resistance

Maybe it’s because I can feel the beat of the music or maybe it’s just a learned response that I know when to put my hand on that red resistance dial. Probably a combination of the two but as I complete my 5th year in spin I ask what have I learned? And more importantly how have I changed?

I came in on a whim and what followed was a journey of the body, mind and ultimately it has been afflatus that engulfed my spirit. A loner most of my life for many psychological reasons I suspect and spin class brought me out of my hermit status that had me believing a social shut-in was the way to go. I started shy as a boy and teen but broke out of my shell on the dance floor, which ultimately had me opening my speech pattern unlike most men. Years later I was to return to the easier softer way of isolation.  

As I often digress the question I posed was what have I learned? I think the biggest gift came through my writing. At first it was the recognition (which I craved) then later much later I found friends that would change the course of my life. Those people have shown me who they really are once I allowed them to.  I’ve battled self-esteem issues probably stemming from my active alcoholism but group exercise spin class restored me to my real personality. Enigmatic to some and also to myself the joy of waking up motivated to return to my former athleticism, to my long distance runner roots was truly a gift bestowed. 

Lately though my exuberance has waned I still want to go but I find myself staying away when my normal ritual was to spin 6 sometimes 7 days a week. As with anything moderation is always advised and it is a watchword I rarely followed. Now in answer to what I’ve learned it’s to listen to my body and now I will gravitate to changing my routine. Not less exercise but just more diversity as the Evil Woman has always extolled. Obsession to spin has left me and it’s okay. And I sometimes find myself daydreaming in class. As long as it continues to be fun I will continue. 

Twist Up

Dawn Moore took the reigns of my favorite timeslot Saturday 8 am. Subbing for KJ is not an act I would sign up for but in Ms. Moore we have a woman that is so comfortable in her own ability and she never tries to emulate anyone else. She is herself.  I like that. And this girl can move she be on the beat with a percussion discography tailor made for spin class.

Musically my tastes don’t match Dawns but they except for an occasional tune never have with any of our talented instructors. My eclectic tastes are more suited for the dance floor where my whole body can contort to the rhythm. On the bike only one thing is important and that’s the cadence of the pedal stroke. It is here that Dawn has her science well crafted. Bottom-line a great workout! 

Equinox Woodbury members are a tough crowd make no mistake as I have often said here in my 800+ stories. Some times I think we have been unfair jumping to conclusions and not giving our instructors time to develop and well grow on us. That’s what Dawn has for me. She’s grown on me. She’s young but not an ingénue. She is well seasoned and has control of the class and guess what I don’t need anything else. We love personality and in case you haven’t noticed Dawn Moore is loaded with talent. And I am signing up on her dance card. I can dance but so can this girl!  Thanks for a great Saturday Dawn. 

Every once in awhile I hear a phrase  and I said  "Twist Up" resonated with me.   

My Heart's In It

How I miss writing about KSC and I was wondering if I might be able to say something after so many hundreds of episodes. I am always inspired that will never change and the feelings I have for many of you is something you just can’t buy. It comes over time and my affection is genuine. I have no agenda with anyone, which makes the friendships even more meaningful to me.  

On Wednesday this week I will have a second heart ablation and I will be thinking about all of you especially those that have given me strength. You know who you are.   

Ball of Fire

I’ve written about her several times now and our precocious star although diminutive in stature is loaded with so much dynamite she’s level a city block.  I am still trying to put the words together that can do justice to what I am seeing. My hypothesis is that Charlotte is a sensate being. My reasoning is thus: it’s simply because she uses all her senses to reach ours. Some of us are visual some are auditory and many of the female gender are kinesthetic. She speaks to all those modalities and gets her adroit message across. She elegantly promotes herself, the gym and even the health bar. She is offering her services without any canned tomato sauce. It’s authentic as near as I can tell. 

How about the ride Jack the ride? Oh it’s really good. She’s saucy without exploiting her feminine charms (which are abundant) and she mixes in the fundamentals and has a plan. Just like KJ, Dana or Carolyn she has her lesson well orchestrated with the music to match. Not since K2 have I found myself smiling as much as I do with Charlotte Ricci. And just so you don’t think I’m hallucinating my friend Roy was using the muscles in his face cracking smile after smile. And of course as is my wont I had to take the temperature of some of the boys in the locker room and the compliments were flying. She’s cute, she’s got energy and she’s different. The last accolade she probably will appreciate the most. 

She’s what I will refer to her now as: Ball of Fire. She has an eternal flame quality about her and when she’s off the bike she’s shaking her physiology, imitating the pedal stroke and working the room like a professional beyond her years.  

Say Goodbye

It’s that day again Saturday. The only way I can for the foreseeable future is to start my favorite day in the Lavender Palace with Kristen James and 54 of my friends. KJ says she loves all of us in different ways and I thought that was particularly poignant because we really do. Love is a strong word but when you spend day after day and year after year love just happens. It’s a beautiful thing. 

Okay so let’s speak plainly in the vernacular WTF is this thing about hitting 30 mph? I was silently bitching about this ever since I heard it being bandied about a few weeks ago. First off let me say that hitting 30 is just not possible standing up for this sexagenarian. I didn’t say I can’t do it but right now it’s just outside of my breathless zone. However today I hit 31.6 sitting down so I guess I exploded one self-induced myth and I gotta tell you it was exhilarating. And leave it to the Evil Woman to put something in our heads and we find a way to get it done. 

I wanted to make sure that I give a big shout to one of my new young friends, Josh Goodelman. I rarely lose focus but today I was spacing out and Josh spotted it in me and coaxed me: Come on Jack! Woke me right out of it and back on track I was. Thanks Josh. 

It moved me so much that I was able to break that 30 mph barrier later in the session. Reminds me of the 4-minute mile because if you believe it you will see it. 

Thanks for an inspiring session KJ and when you were talking about saying goodbye it struck an emotional chord in me that shook me to my core. I need to say goodbye.  

That Saturday Feeling

I keep saying that I have nothing left to give. There are no more stories about spin class in me. I was talking to Nancy Kaplan while she was coloring some Easter Eggs this morning and she agreed it was time for a rest.  After 800 plus entries: Enough Jack! Every TV show has a final episode. It’s been fun for me. My harshest critic says why don’t you write some serious stuff instead of you kissing ass? I still don’t think I “kiss ass” because what do I gain from this? Sure everyone knows my name but other than that it’s my satisfaction that I put words in a sentence together better than many a scribbler. And that I touch people emotionally and have made many friends that I would never have made had it not been for the words I lay to these keys. Writing lets people know who I am and they can see inside my soul. It’s truly a gift. 

 I feel compelled however   that the new lot of stars like Charlotte Ricci, Dawn Moore Jen Tsiolis would secretly love for me to continue these silly chronicles not just because they like reading about themselves but rather a knowing that if I see their talent then the membership will too. After all we never talk about how many bikes are taken in class but you know these instructors know! It’s a measure of success for them. Don’t think for one moment that the Queen the Evil Woman doesn’t adore the fact that her class sells out in a nanosecond. I hear the whispers between instructors how one is   getting better numbers or she’s not hitting her mark. It’s a talent show after all. They are on stage even before the music starts. 

Today and I know KJ I say this all the time this morning was the hardest class I have ever been in. When you were asking us to hit 30 mph on the monitor I said: AYFKM? And then to be embarrassed when you came over to look at my monitor and as you moved the towel hiding my numbers it revealed I was only in the mid 20s. 

You are the only instructor I will keep my mouth shut for but truth be told I’m sucking wind so badly I couldn’t get a word out anyway. I can always try pantomime. Right Robert?

Spinning My Wheels Part 1 & 2

Shall I continue to write my spin blogs? I am asking myself more of me than any of you because once it becomes work I will not do it anymore. After a combined 826 entries is there more to say? I guess I feel strongly both ways. If KJ, Dana, John and Carolyn et all have more then maybe I have too. Conversely I could also say that I need to change my approach than use the old tried and true, which has been my wont, these past 4 years. Do I get a little more risqué? Would that be entertaining or just sensationalism? God knows I can go a little prurient here but to do so is a fine line because inevitably someone will take umbrage to anything but vanilla. 

The energy I feel in the Lavender Palace seems forever waxing and my enthusiasm never seems to wane. I still can’t figure out why or how pedaling in the same motions for several thousand rides continues to draw me to the saddle.  

Oh one thing I have learned and although I have heard it from Kristen countless times I have finally found out how I can increase my RPM’s standing up. Four years and I could never figure out how some of you could get to 100 out of the saddle. I heard Johnny on Sunday and I guess I was just ready to learn it’s keeping my butt just an inch above the saddle. In this way my knees get a break and the power comes from my legs in a much more efficient way. Thanks John. A word about Kocaj he is totally underrated his science is sound and understandable and it works. 

Spin is Zen for me and I may not write about it much more but it will continue to inspire me as long as my wheels turn.  

I wrote this piece 4 years ago and it still holds true.  Since it had only 1 hit you might find it new.  

About midway through our stationary trek I start to notice the accumulating puddle on the floor and the colorless stains around the skeleton of my bike. Kristen asks: “Are you sweating yet?” My silent answer is; are you kidding me, quite some time ago. I don’t mind the sweat in fact I kind of like it and I am not anxious to wipe it from my face and brow because it tells me I am working hard and it goes rather well with my soaking wet T. 

This class is a lot about passion but it is also about commitment. Passion can be lost in a day but commitment cannot be gained in one. 

What drives me to come here?  I have thought about that these past 3 months. I know that initially it was about Kristen’s talent, passion and theatrical brilliance. But now I think it has evolved into her providing me with the training wheels that have rekindled my deep desire to remain active and remain active in a meaningful and purposeful way.

I Love Saturday Mornings

 My exuberance often gets me in hot water however if I channel it there’s little mischief I can get in to. It’s been a long absence from the Lavender Palace and my overfilled reservoir of joules must escape and Saturday’s with Kristen drains my cardio battery just perfectly. I thought Friday was my favorite day of the week but no it’s Saturday and Saturday Mornings in particular.  I love when my alarm goes of at 6:45. I get to see my friends again. The first person I spy is Stacy Tucker and as she flashes a smile my way that feeling of ‘I belong’ overwhelms me. As I scan the 50 plus there’s Janet on my left and the HBIC Nancy Kaplan (she’s not Jewish remember, I still like her though) and there’s my new friend Josh that rounds out the 1st row. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Ferne, Howard and my stalwart friend Ivan. To think for the first 7 years here I worked out alone. The last 4 make me forget those days. 

The Queen was all business today not as much playful banter yet nonetheless no one is as charismatic as The Evil Woman. She says she’s anal but it matters little I am here because she handles the spotlight like no other. She is the shepherdess and we are her flock except we are hardly sheep. Lead us is what she does above and beyond what we think we are capable of. Often I feel as if I am training for a race that never arrives and when I think about it for the life of me I don’t know how I do it. Yet it still happens and for that I am grateful. Some of my friends warn me about my malfunctioning heart and there will come a time soon when I will submit to that ablation once more. 

KJ had yet another pair of sneakers lying next to her bike and I thought I would love to see the floor of her closet. Just how many workout shoes does she have? (forget the Scarpe donna) and I thought the only one that might have her dwarfed would be Chris Melillo but after all he’s a head honcho at Nike. I was wondering too if that EQ sparkled sleeveless was available in the shop. And I wish that those anniversary T-shirts would be made available to member’s not just staff. The 11th  comes up next month I have been here for every one. I am so glad I stayed. 

She Is Precocious

Kristen and Dana were suffering from upper respiratory challenges today and Dana’s more severe needed a sub for her 6 and 830 this morning.  In stepped the young Charlotte Ricci a newly groomed spin instructor from the halls of Kristen’s Spin School. Now we are all no doubt aware that this “school” is starting to churn out one diamond after another. The talent is deep in Woodbury and it just got deeper.  One of the boys remarked to me that we have the best instructors in the franchise. I think he’s right. 

 Charlotte Ricci. Some of you may have read my story about her when she did an EQ fit for me several months ago. I was skeptical of her then but walked away duly impressed not only by her intelligence but her infectious charm as well. I had heard she was recently installed in the 6 am on Wednesdays and now she had her chance in the coveted 830-time slot and if she was nervous it never showed. The “kid” nailed it! From launch point she was giving props to Dana never presupposing anyone was there for her and in a delightful self-effacing way she had me smiling ear to ear.  She has a style all her own and just like K2 I found myself being drawn in with every little nuance she dished out. I say “kid” with all the respect in the world but to me they are kids but they have the talent of seasoned veterans. 

No Kristen, No Dana? No problem

The Perfect Moment

When in our lives does something happen in the Perfect Moment? Rarely I suspect but then there are times when you least expect it they just appear.  Often it’s not something we “orchestrate” rather it’s  when we keep out of our own way do miracles occur. Nature plays the right music just in time like melting snow after an April snowstorm.  

K2 set the mood this night in her 6 pm slot in the Lavender Palace. This unusually long piece sang by Mary Griffin and remixed by Johnny Vicious was magnificent. The 11 minute “Perfect Moment” took me on a sojourn of the mind I will not forget. I never heard this masterpiece heretofore and my ears are still ringing like a chorus oh hand bells only a musician could render. 

Leave it to this young woman who is so gifted musically to render a prosaic package like this on a dark rainy winter night. I love spin and every once in awhile the Perfect Moment arrives.  

Here's the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7DVV0s2gDE

Caped Crusaders

Are we supermen and superwomen? I don’t know honestly but we are Caped Crusaders. Maybe not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound but we certainly have risen to a fitness even Clark Kent would marvel at. After all the comic book Caped Crusader had super powers and although we are mere mortals our gifts of power and speed rival anything the planet Krypton bestowed on Superman. 

What is it that drives us? Donning my cycling shoes 6 days a week I don’t even ask myself anymore.  It’s not just a habit it’s way more than that for me it is a way of life. I feel such a strong kinship with so many of you. These past 4 years have taught me so many lessons about life I either didn’t know or just didn’t pay attention to. Where can you get the gift of health, real friendship and a new life that makes Father time standstill? The Lavender Palace is that place. 

Caped Crusaders should stick together and everyday you’ll find us upstairs minding our bodies and opening our hearts. 

Crocker!

It was about time I visited with our resident scientist again John Kocaj. He was in my view a man who never concerned himself with how popular he was because he was always deferring to the resident stars like Kristen, Dana and Carolyn. He too was never afraid to use some of the techniques by the aforementioned women of spin either. That to me was true humility. When he saw value he incorporated it into his repertoire. And also to his credit he knew who he was and that was a talented group exercise and fitness expert never advertising his innate prowess always seemingly in the background although his workouts never were. I took one of his classes in the main studio many months ago and sadly it was my last because I just wasn’t up to the challenge. He in response would have dismissed that notion as ludicrous but to say his classes are challenging is pure understatement.  

My friends Stacy suggested that I take his 830 class this Tuesday morning and I am so glad that I did because it felt very Thomas Dolby like. He blinded me with science! Well maybe I wasn’t so much blinded rather I was marveled. John had so many permutations in his lesson plan but what was astonishing about his complexity is his ability to unravel differential equations and make it like simple arithmetic. Kocaj is the thinking mans spin instructor. At least I think so. 

He nearly made me blush this morning but suffice it to say it was nice to know that the written word can be powerful and can carry inspiration and you never know it. I have been inspired countless times in class as I have said many times and if I can offer anything in return then the gift I have been blessed with suits me in the most sublime way.  

John always reminds me of Telly Savalas whom I loved as Kojak and when he used to Yell: Crocker! It made me smile and that’s what John did today. 

10 Feet Tall

It’s how I feel after every KSC. That Evil Woman takes me to the threshold of maximum effort and like today I was on the verge of reverse peristalsis. That’s because I didn’t follow one of her credo’s and that is to eat something at least an hour before class. Nonetheless and I know I have gone on about her ad nauseam but she is the best. Evil? Oh most definitely but results? You be the judge. 

Later after class I met Lauren and her lovely teenage daughter in Stop n Shop and she admitted the same experience because of an empty stomach. I promised not to mention that in her green basket were not one nor two but three half gallons of ice cream. Not the bogus no added sugar or half the fat nonsense but REAL ice cream the kind that we all SCREAM for. I will rat myself out as I had stashed some ice cream sandwiches in my cart as well. 

Lauren feels similarly about that blonde atop the pedestal and she agrees that the new bikes with Watts added make KJ’s evil mischief even easier to dispense. It’s as if she has a wand merely to wave it and we march to her drumbeat. I have to say that getting my watts higher is easier in the saddle than standing and I am not sure why maybe I am not positioned correctly and it’s not always the highest resistance that can yield the highest power output. I guess that makes sense because with too much resistance we are defeating the purpose. 

I love KSC on Saturday. The weekend seems to begin at that first pedal stroke. 10 Feet Tall is the perfect metaphor to take away with me today. Hell we are taller than Howard now. 

I am starting a new entry in JacBook today and I am calling it The Story of My Life. It will be a circular creation and “The Once Upon a Time” will begin about midlife. Should I admit that I was a male stripper once back in my 30’s? No I better not. I have a few stories that might shock you who knows.  

The Inner Sanctum

 Have you noticed how much spin class has changed? The new monitors adding Watts to the equation makes the ride quantifiable instead of just experiential. What does that mean though? Well if you’re like most of us in Woodbury you know we take our sessions very seriously. That’s not to say we don’t have fun because God knows that we do but now we have added results into our efforts and can measure our progress from day to day.

 I’ve tried to tell myself in vain not to look but inevitably I find my eyes pushing the light button and when I see my Watts go over the 300 mark it makes me feel almost Herculean and the satisfaction of my own inner sanctum makes me glad I did. Although the downside is we can get obsessed with the numbers and lose sight that we are there to have fun and just like no two snowflakes are alike neither is one class just like another. So there will be days we feel better than the day before and we can’t let ourselves get disappointed because our “numbers” were off. 

We have had some changes in personnel at EQ but Kristen maintains a top-notch staff even if some of our favorite personalities have left for down the street. If you are an EQ member a true EQ member there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home. And with the likes of Dana Mancini, Kristen (K2) Finello, Carolyn Mellace, Damian Vella and yes David Cooper there will never be a dearth of talent at our club. Ride on! 

Figure It Out!

I have decided that this simple phrase from the dearly departed would theme my writings this day. I will start with KSC because those were the words from Kristen that she echoed from her father in her 8 am session.   It was easy to tell from her countenance they continue to inspire her every day of her life. And now they will mine.  

When I heard them this morning in my favorite spin class, I couldn’t help but think of adopting this is as my new mantra for 2014. Figure it out! We all have missions in life but more importantly according to Maslow also have to sate our primary desires those being physiological, a feeling of security, being loved and an air of confidence.  But at the top of the Triangle: Self-Actualization is where people like us spend much of our time.   I so identify with Maslow’s hierarchy of human motivation and our ability to be creative, spurn prejudice, maintain a sense morality and be able to problem solve sit at the top of my innate desires.  In this geometric shape for this writer is the ability to be non-judgmental and see both sides of any argument. In this way I can limit resentment, fear and not  worry  what other people think about me.  

We can merely go through the motions in life sometimes as it’s simply the easier softer way but if we take classes in the Lavender Palace we just cannot! It is here that we can model like Maslow did our own hierarchy of what we want to accomplish each time we climb aboard our new Schwinn’s.  Spin class can be the blueprint for how we spend the other 23 hours as if each day was our last. After all we think we have a future whether we are young or old but in fact we only have today. 

We all have situations in life but if we ask ourselves 50 years from now how important is it? Most will answer not very if at all. Most days it never looks the same even the next day.  It is for that very reason that we must live each day to our maximum potential and not get self-absorbed in the trivialities that can sometimes plague us in our every day.  

Figure it out! We have a powerful computer inside that cranial cavity we merely have to ask and the solutions magically appear. It’s as if Merlin resides in our cerebral cortex. Our iPhones might be smart but it is our brain that can most times figure it out.  

It was a great class today and now that I know Watt’s What my fitness will reach new levels under the guiding light of our beloved instructors. And they are beloved make no mistake because it is through them that we can Figure It Out!