Lame RR spin madness

ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the winter
I've been doing spin classes a few days a week. I signed up for the endurance class (2 hours of
endurance work) and the first one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and marathoners but I
thought, want the heck, long mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...

I'm a bit tired but not trashed like I thought I would be. I felt like a dork bring my camelbak with
me, but it sure made a lot more sense than having to get off the bike to trade out bottles.

I am riding with a HR monitor that Kamikaze #2 gifted me with: it's very interesting to see where
you are really at as compared to where you think you are at. I just wish I could figure out how to
turn the stupid alarm off.

Most entertaining part of the workout was the Village People's YMCA song.. hey after and hour and a
half of a spin bike you need *some* sort of entertainment...! YOU try doing Y-M-C-A with *your* arms
while standing and spinning -- I figured it would be a good balance exercise if nothing else. OK, so
some of the music choices left something to be desired: I am not a child of the 80's.

Hey if I have the leg up on the season when I take my bike out, I'm all for
it. I just try to take everything I can out of it and process it for later on, on the trail.

So it's a lame RR but it's better than nothing.

penny s

 

"Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
> winter I've been doing spin classes a few days a week.
I
> signed up for the endurance class (2 hours of endurance work) and the
first
> one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and marathoners but I thought, want the heck, long
> mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...
>
> I'm a bit tired but not trashed like I thought I would be. I felt like a dork bring my camelbak
> with me, but it sure made a lot more sense than having to get off the bike to trade out bottles.
>
> I am riding with a HR monitor that Kamikaze #2 gifted me with: it's very interesting to see where
> you are really at as compared to where you think you are at. I just wish I could figure out how to
> turn the stupid alarm
off.
>
> Most entertaining part of the workout was the Village People's YMCA song.. hey after and hour and
> a half of a spin bike you need *some* sort of entertainment...! YOU try doing Y-M-C-A with *your*
> arms while standing
and
> spinning -- I figured it would be a good balance exercise if nothing else. OK, so some of the
> music choices left something to be desired: I am not a child of the 80's.
>
> Hey if I have the leg up on the season when I take my bike out, I'm all
for
> it. I just try to take everything I can out of it and process it for
later
> on, on the trail.
>
> So it's a lame RR but it's better than nothing.
>
>
> penny s
>
>
Spinning is not fun, but I think there are some aspects of it which improve training. It's all
I've had for almost 2 months now, but it is very popular here in Durango. I can understand folks
like me who are coming back from an injury or surgery, or use it to get interval training in, but
I know several people in the class who only spin, they have not been out on a bike for years. Now
that is weird.
--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado

 

"Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
> winter I've been doing spin classes a few days a week.
I
> signed up for the endurance class (2 hours of endurance work) and the
first
> one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and marathoners but I thought, want the heck, long
> mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...
>
> I'm a bit tired but not trashed like I thought I would be. I felt like a dork bring my camelbak
> with me, but it sure made a lot more sense than having to get off the bike to trade out bottles.
>
> I am riding with a HR monitor that Kamikaze #2 gifted me with: it's very interesting to see where
> you are really at as compared to where you think you are at. I just wish I could figure out how to
> turn the stupid alarm
off.
>
> Most entertaining part of the workout was the Village People's YMCA song.. hey after and hour and
> a half of a spin bike you need *some* sort of entertainment...! YOU try doing Y-M-C-A with *your*
> arms while standing
and
> spinning -- I figured it would be a good balance exercise if nothing else. OK, so some of the
> music choices left something to be desired: I am not a child of the 80's.
>
> Hey if I have the leg up on the season when I take my bike out, I'm all
for
> it. I just try to take everything I can out of it and process it for
later
> on, on the trail.
>
> So it's a lame RR but it's better than nothing.
>
>
> penny s
>
Its okay! I like the spinning class too but I would do the *Macarena* after an hour of that stuff!
My attention span is pretty short so I only do the 45 minute class here. The stair climber seems to
be working the mountain biking muscles too.

 

Cinder Girl wrote:
> "Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
>> winter I've been doing spin classes a Hey if I have the leg up on the season when I take my bike
>> out, I'm all for it. I just try to take everything I can out of it and process it for later on,
>> on the trail.
>>
>> So it's a lame RR but it's better than nothing.
>>
>>
>> penny s
>>
> Its okay! I like the spinning class too but I would do the *Macarena* after an hour of that stuff!
> My attention span is pretty short so I only do the 45 minute class here. The stair climber seems
> to be working the mountain biking muscles too.

no stair climber for me... trashes my knees.

As for the length... I just wanted to see if I could do it! Whether it would kill me or not. I use
visualizations of mountain bike rides I know and love a lot... just watch your favorite PF video
before you go. I imaging certain hill sections or certain riders that I am either just in front of
or just keeping up with.

p.

 

On Tue, 4 Mar 2003 06:24:45 -0800, "Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote:

>ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the winter
>I've been doing spin classes a few days a week. I signed up for the endurance class (2 hours of
>endurance work) and the first one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and marathoners but I
>thought, want the heck, long mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...
>
>I'm a bit tired but not trashed like I thought I would be. I felt like a dork bring my camelbak
>with me, but it sure made a lot more sense than having to get off the bike to trade out bottles.
>
>I am riding with a HR monitor that Kamikaze #2 gifted me with: it's very interesting to see where
>you are really at as compared to where you think you are at. I just wish I could figure out how to
>turn the stupid alarm off.
>
>Most entertaining part of the workout was the Village People's YMCA song.. hey after and hour and a
>half of a spin bike you need *some* sort of entertainment...! YOU try doing Y-M-C-A with *your*
>arms while standing and spinning -- I figured it would be a good balance exercise if nothing else.
>OK, so some of the music choices left something to be desired: I am not a child of the 80's.
>
>Hey if I have the leg up on the season when I take my bike out, I'm all for
>it. I just try to take everything I can out of it and process it for later on, on the trail.
>
>So it's a lame RR but it's better than nothing.
>
>
>penny s
>

It's better than nothing...nice RR, Bill

The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as a reflector, that is, the mind should give
an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
:-]

 

On Tue, 04 Mar 2003 17:24:02 -0500, Bill Wheeler wrote:

> It's better than nothing...nice RR,

Only when it comes to staying in shape for the real riding. Otherwise, doing nothing feels better
than riding a stupid stationary!

My latest diversion: my daughter set up her playstation in the exercise room. I was bored riding the
recumbent stationary so I started playing some game where you run around and hack up people. Next
thing I knew, I'd been riding an hour! So now that's what I do. I spin even faster when I'm chasing
down some poor sap who's trying to run away.

--
-BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

 

BB wrote:
> On Tue, 04 Mar 2003 17:24:02 -0500, Bill Wheeler wrote:
>
>
>> It's better than nothing...nice RR,
>
> Only when it comes to staying in shape for the real riding. Otherwise, doing nothing feels better
> than riding a stupid stationary!
>
> My latest diversion: my daughter set up her playstation in the exercise room. I was bored riding
> the recumbent stationary so I started playing some game where you run around and hack up people.
> Next thing I knew, I'd been riding an hour! So now that's what I do. I spin even faster when I'm
> chasing down some poor sap who's trying to run away.

we are a pathetic bunch, aren't we. <g>

Penny

 

In article <[email protected]>,
"Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote:

> BB wrote:
> > On Tue, 04 Mar 2003 17:24:02 -0500, Bill Wheeler wrote:
> >
> >
> >> It's better than nothing...nice RR,
> >
> > Only when it comes to staying in shape for the real riding. Otherwise, doing nothing feels
> > better than riding a stupid stationary!
> >
> > My latest diversion: my daughter set up her playstation in the exercise room. I was bored riding
> > the recumbent stationary so I started playing some game where you run around and hack up people.
> > Next thing I knew, I'd been riding an hour! So now that's what I do. I spin even faster when I'm
> > chasing down some poor sap who's trying to run away.
>
> we are a pathetic bunch, aren't we. <g>
>
> Penny

I hesitate to suggest it to such pathetic riders, but...

http://cateye.com/gamebike/index.php

The Cateye Gamebike. Use the bicycle (on a trainer, natch) to control your PlayStation.

They suggest the game Smuggler's Run, and I would think that game in freeride mode would be an
excellent choice. You get to run over a Boy Scout troop if you feel so inclined.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

spinning has got to help some...although I think it can have some negative impacts if you normally
ride clipless but the spin bikes use only straps...lucky for me our spin bikes have spd on the back
of the pedals. s

"Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
> winter I've been doing spin classes a few days a week.
I
> signed up for the endurance class (2 hours of endurance work) and the
first
> one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and marathoners but I thought, want the heck, long
> mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...
>
> I'm a bit tired but not trashed like I thought I would be. I felt like a dork bring my camelbak
> with me, but it sure made a lot more sense than having to get off the bike to trade out bottles.
>
> I am riding with a HR monitor that Kamikaze #2 gifted me with: it's very interesting to see where
> you are really at as compared to where you think you are at. I just wish I could figure out how to
> turn the stupid alarm
off.
>
> Most entertaining part of the workout was the Village People's YMCA song.. hey after and hour and
> a half of a spin bike you need *some* sort of entertainment...! YOU try doing Y-M-C-A with *your*
> arms while standing
and
> spinning -- I figured it would be a good balance exercise if nothing else. OK, so some of the
> music choices left something to be desired: I am not a child of the 80's.
>
> Hey if I have the leg up on the season when I take my bike out, I'm all
for
> it. I just try to take everything I can out of it and process it for
later
> on, on the trail.
>
> So it's a lame RR but it's better than nothing.
>
>
> penny s
>
>
>
>
>
>

 

[email protected] wrote:
> spinning has got to help some...although I think it can have some negative impacts if you normally
> ride clipless but the spin bikes use only straps...lucky for me our spin bikes have spd on the
> back of the pedals. s
>
>

I've never seen a spin bike that didn't have either a look or a spd option.

Other potential negatives do include: hearing damage from instructor singing along brain damage from
obnoxious music choices male eyestrain from too much lycra wallet damage from having to reserve a
spot in class butt damage from horrible saddles

;-)

penny

 

"Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
> winter I've been doing spin classes a few days a week.
I
> signed up for the endurance class (2 hours of endurance work) and the
first
> one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and marathoners but I thought, want the heck, long
> mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...
>
> I'm a bit tired but not trashed like I thought I would be. I felt like a dork bring my camelbak
> with me, but it sure made a lot more sense than having to get off the bike to trade out bottles.
>
> I am riding with a HR monitor that Kamikaze #2 gifted me with: it's very interesting to see where
> you are really at as compared to where you think you are at. I just wish I could figure out how to
> turn the stupid alarm
off.
>
> Most entertaining part of the workout was the Village People's YMCA song.. hey after and hour and
> a half of a spin bike you need *some* sort of entertainment...! YOU try doing Y-M-C-A with *your*
> arms while standing
and
> spinning -- I figured it would be a good balance exercise if nothing else. OK, so some of the
> music choices left something to be desired: I am not a child of the 80's.
>
> Hey if I have the leg up on the season when I take my bike out, I'm all
for
> it. I just try to take everything I can out of it and process it for
later
> on, on the trail.
>
> So it's a lame RR but it's better than nothing.

Step away from the spin bike and keep your hands where we can see them lol! Oh that's truly a sick
and twisted way to stay in shape. Here's a 12 step program that will help:

1 Studded tires. 2 Skate skis. 3 Running shoes. 4 Snow shoes. 5 Classic XC Skis. 6 Roller Skis (a no
no if there's ice and snow on the ground). 7 Rollers, evil but roadie approved. 8 Computrainer,
again evil but playfully painful. 9 ????

Oh man, I need three more sports to survive the winter!

Shaun Bell

 

"Craig Brossman" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote:
> > ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
> > winter I've been doing spin classes a few days a week. I signed up for the endurance class (2
> > hours of endurance work) and the first one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and
> > marathoners but I thought, want the heck, long mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...

So this endurance class is sort of a "get to a level of exertion and stay there for a long time"
kind of deal?

The knock I've had against spin classes, at least during winter when most people go, is that they
have you doing the wrong thing. During winter you should be doing long, steady days. You should
focus on aerobic endurance, which is enhanced by grinding away at a steady pace that you can
maintain consistently for a long time (90 minutes or more).

The traditional hour-long spin class where you're supposed to see stars a couple times are
pretty much interval training. If you care about being as strong as possible during the Summer,
you shouldn't really do intervals until you've got a strong aerobic endurance base already
(late Spring?)

This assumes that you care about reaching a strength peak during Summer. If all you want to achieve
is general fitness and/or weight loss, do intervals whenever you want.

> Spinning is not fun, but I think there are some aspects of it which improve training. It's all
> I've had for almost 2 months now, but it is very popular here in Durango.

I think there are lots of good things about it. As pure aerobic conditioning, I think it's at
least as good as something goofy like stairclimber. And the fitness is *potentially* portable to
actual cycling.

> ... I know several people in the class who only spin, they have not been out on a bike for years.
> Now that is weird.

It is indeed. Spinning ain't cycling. It's related to cycling, but it's something else.

Last Spring I visited my little sister to do an organized [email protected] ride, and her roomate came along. The
roomate was portrayed as an expert cyclist because "she coaches a spin class". This woman is really
nice, and I like her a lot. She's fit, great-looking, cheerful--the whole package. But we almost had
to call Flight For Life to get her through a 100K road ride.

She had no endurance. After 20 miles her pace fell way off. She rode a full-on time trial bike that
was geared like murder, but that didn't matter since she didn't know sh!t about how to use gears
anyway! She cramped up so bad that she couldn't stand up at about mile 40. Eventually she finished
the ride under her own power, but barely.

Spin yourself strong again Craig. It is better than nothing by far, but I'd encourage you to avoid
doing intervals right now if you can.
--
Tom "nice and steady in March, breathing fire in June" Purvis Salida, CO

 

"Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Shaun Bell wrote: .
> >
> > Step away from the spin bike and keep your hands where we can see them lol! Oh that's truly a
> > sick and twisted way to stay in shape.
>
> Beats being a couch potato.
>
>
> > Here's a 12 step program that will help:
> >
> > 1 Studded tires. 2 Skate skis. 3 Running shoes. 4 Snow shoes. 5 Classic XC Skis. 6 Roller Skis
> > (a no no if there's ice and snow on the ground). 7 Rollers, evil but roadie approved. 8
> > Computrainer, again evil but playfully painful. 9 ????
>
>
> > Oh man, I need three more sports to survive the winter!
> >
> > Shaun Bell
>
>

>
> I am skiing hard two days a week, that has to count for something !
>
> penny

I don't think you finished filling us in on your schedul above....

I'll bet you a six-pack that your first ride back on the bike is twice as hard as your spinning
class. I used to rely on spinning and found that at it's hardest, it still doesn't compare to the
exertion of a decent ride. But hopefully that mega-class is making up for what spinning just can't
give you for real hills.

Paladin

 

"Tom Purvis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Craig Brossman" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > "Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
> > > winter I've been doing spin classes a few days a week. I signed up for the endurance class (2
> > > hours of endurance work) and the first one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and
> > > marathoners but I thought, want the heck, long mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...
>
> So this endurance class is sort of a "get to a level of exertion and stay there for a long time"
> kind of deal?
>
> The knock I've had against spin classes, at least during winter when most people go, is that they
> have you doing the wrong thing. During winter you should be doing long, steady days. You should
> focus on aerobic endurance, which is enhanced by grinding away at a steady pace that you can
> maintain consistently for a long time (90 minutes or more).
>
> The traditional hour-long spin class where you're supposed to see stars a couple times are pretty
> much interval training. If you care about being as strong as possible during the Summer, you
> shouldn't really do intervals until you've got a strong aerobic endurance base already (late
> Spring?)
>
> This assumes that you care about reaching a strength peak during Summer. If all you want to
> achieve is general fitness and/or weight loss, do intervals whenever you want.
>
> > Spinning is not fun, but I think there are some aspects of it which improve training. It's all
> > I've had for almost 2 months now, but it is very popular here in Durango.
>
> I think there are lots of good things about it. As pure aerobic conditioning, I think it's at
> least as good as something goofy like stairclimber. And the fitness is *potentially* portable to
> actual cycling.
>
> > ... I know several people in the class who only spin, they have not been out on a bike for
> > years. Now that is weird.
>
> It is indeed. Spinning ain't cycling. It's related to cycling, but it's something else.
>
> Last Spring I visited my little sister to do an organized [email protected] ride, and her roomate came along.
> The roomate was portrayed as an expert cyclist because "she coaches a spin class". This woman is
> really nice, and I like her a lot. She's fit, great-looking, cheerful--the whole package. But we
> almost had to call Flight For Life to get her through a 100K road ride.
>
> She had no endurance. After 20 miles her pace fell way off. She rode a full-on time trial bike
> that was geared like murder, but that didn't matter since she didn't know sh!t about how to use
> gears anyway! She cramped up so bad that she couldn't stand up at about mile 40. Eventually she
> finished the ride under her own power, but barely.
>
> Spin yourself strong again Craig. It is better than nothing by far, but I'd encourage you to avoid
> doing intervals right now if you can.
> --
> Tom "nice and steady in March, breathing fire in June" Purvis Salida, CO
I think you are right on the money regarding the emphasis on interval training. One of the things I
believe happens is that most of the folks who teach these classes are some sort of racer, road or
mountain bikes. They tend to always have a good base fitness because they ride all the time, when
they can't they XC ski. So interval training make sense for them. No that I'm a little healthier,
I've been able to XC ski, rode my commutter bike once and have been hiking and snowshoeing a bit.
Emphasis on endurance. Still not supposed to do anything were a crash is possible, though I did go
skiing at the local resort a couple of times. I'm beginning to feel strong again but I need to get
out and spend some long term endurance time. Moab in a couple of weeks, I'll be able to put a few
miles on there I hope. The area trails are under 2 feet of snow, very soon to be snow and mud, I'm
sure you have a similar situation in the bananna belt.
--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado

 

Tom Purvis wrote:
> "Craig Brossman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> "Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> ok, so it's not really a ride but it will have to do. So I don't lose it completely over the
>>> winter I've been doing spin classes a few days a week. I signed up for the endurance class (2
>>> hours of endurance work) and the first one was last. Its geared towards triathaletes and
>>> marathoners but I thought, want the heck, long mtb rides count too...It was by invitation...
>
> So this endurance class is sort of a "get to a level of exertion and stay there for a long time"
> kind of deal?

Yes, maintainining an enduarnce pace ( re: 80% or so) for most of the class, no intervals.

You had a lot of good in your post, info that I've snipped. <g>
>
>
>> Spinning is not fun, but I think there are some aspects of it which improve training. It's all
>> I've had for almost 2 months now, but it is very popular here in Durango.
>
> I think there are lots of good things about it. As pure aerobic conditioning, I think it's at
> least as good as something goofy like stairclimber. And the fitness is *potentially* portable to
> actual cycling.
>
>> ... I know several people in the class who only spin, they have not been out on a bike for years.
>> Now that is weird.
>
> It is indeed. Spinning ain't cycling. It's related to cycling, but it's something else.
>
> Last Spring I visited my little sister to do an organized [email protected] ride, and her roomate came along.
> The roomate was portrayed as an expert cyclist because "she coaches a spin class". This woman is
> really nice, and I like her a lot. She's fit, great-looking, cheerful--the whole package. But we
> almost had to call Flight For Life to get her through a 100K road ride.

NONE of the instructors I know of ever go out for real.

>
> Spin yourself strong again Craig. It is better than nothing by far, but I'd encourage you to avoid
> doing intervals right now if you can.

thanks for the advice.

Penny

 

Paladin wrote:
> "Penny S." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> I'll bet you a six-pack that your first ride back on the bike is twice as hard as your spinning
> class. I used to rely on spinning and found that at it's hardest, it still doesn't compare to the
> exertion of a decent ride. But hopefully that mega-class is making up for what spinning just can't
> give you for real hills.
>

You absolutely right in that it's not a substitute for real riding. But I've also found that it can
put me about 6 weeks ahead of the conditioning that I would have if I didn't do it. I know this
because I've compared my performance on sections like "half mile hill" in the springs that I have
not done winter bike conditioning and the springs that I have.

Some of the info like what TOM P just wrote is pretty interesting. Spinning is nothing like real
riding, but I can apply certain aspects of it to real life. And it's certainly a better option for
me, considering there are very few gym type programs that I will tolerate. The endurance class
leader did add a strength move that I can see exactly how it will help on those standing starts with
the bike pointed up hill.

It's be spring soon enough.

Penny

 

Penny S. wrote:
> NONE of the instructors I know of ever go out for real.

I finally got my instructor out on her bike on the dirt.. (Figured It was time for a little
"payback" ;-) Though I toasted her soudly on the tight/technical/twisties, she still dusted my @ss
up the hills.