Leave it on the Bike

Let's get real personal.  My birthday is next week and I'm just not into it.  I usually don't have this issue, but this year, I'm struggling.  It's not even a milestone, it's another number mixed in with all the other numbers that have come before.  It's just another trip around the sun.  However, I'm overwhelmed with all that is happening in my life. Processing much of it requires a cool-down, but I can't get to the cool down and I end up spinning my wheels in the perpetual motion of going nowhere.  Yes, that pun is intended. I've always thought of blogging as a narcissistic hobby, so I try to reserve this space for things not too personal.  It started as a place to share my music and schedule for those who asked and wanted to follow me around. Then, for some reason, people seemed to like what I have to say.  I don't do it much and when I do, I like the focus to be there  and not  here .  So, when I'm traveling a rough ro...

Seriously.  My posts have been pretty serious lately.  A few months ago, I read (and shared on facebook) the following:   Inner Monologue of a Spin Class Student .  It made me laugh, remembering the days of being a student and, now, re-visiting that perspective as an instructor.  So, I was bored (a fleeting feeling that must be grabbed when it arrives) and decided to give it my own twist.  I offer my advance apologies if anyone has already done it, if I offend anyone, or it just sucks. Also I'm not looking for any responses from my students (please).  I'm just looking to lighten it up a bit and hopefully elicit a few hundred smiles.  Welcome 2013.  I hope we'll be friends. Inner Monologue of an Indoor Cycling Instructor  Me: Yup, I'm gonna' kick this class' ass.  I wonder how many bikes will be filled.  Last week's numbers were pretty good.  Why isn't anyone here yet?  Is there something going on with the...

  S o, I've been shoulder-deep in a few of my favorite things this holiday season.  No, I don't mean in the Julie Andrews, "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..." kind of way.  While I can completely see myself spinning on a gorgeous green hillside somewhere, you already know the type of "spinning" I'm talking about. I'm one of those people who struggles through the pre-holiday madness, who only begins to see the beauty of the season somewhere around 11:59 pm on December 24th.  I'll spare you the internet dirty laundry, but let's just say "Long December" by the Counting Crows (remember that one) was on repeat as my theme song for the month, more than once. I'm not exaggerating when I say the lyrics marked the margins of my graduate school notebooks in 1996.  That year was only to be outdone by December 2003 and a milder version again in 2008. Yeah, I pretty much approach the whole month with a slight PTSD that only...

As I type, the East Coast is getting slammed by our first winter storm and it's a nasty one.  On Long Island, we are experiencing blizzard conditions, high winds and, possibly, 20 inches of snow. The gym just cancelled my morning class and, while I'll miss the Monday Morning energy, I am grateful that I have a warm home in which to wait this one out. As usual, my end of the year post finds me reflective and, in all honesty, I am glad ELATED to leave 2010 behind.  On the surface, it was not the best year for me and it ended much differently than I intended, but I realize where my own growth happened. Much like a steady hill climb in the Spin room, I fought every turn of gear that I was asked to put on instead of just surrendering and believing my legs could handle it.  Duh. Any of us who have ridden know that this is when it hurts the most.  Yes, but, the beauty is that something always has to give. We either fight it until we are exhausted, get off the bike, or ...

I just had 3 days off from teaching Spinning classes and, although it was clearly what my body needed, I feel a little off balance. I am really looking forward to today's ride. Yesterday, I took advantage of the time off and went to this cool spa in College Point, NY (see http://www.NYspacastle.com/ ). It's an cultural infusion of Korean Saunas and a European spa. This was my fourth visit, and it always makes me think outside of my cultural box. As I was reclining in a huge padded chair, getting an amazing "hand and foot massage," I was revisiting some of my experiences. While the place is catching on, and there is clearly a cultural mix happening, most of the patrons are Korean. The main level, which houses the gorgeous saunas, is coed, with each of us dressed in a little "uniform" that must be worn. The downstairs, women's locker room, has its own hot tubs and water massage beds...with no bathing suits allowed...completely naked. The only women who are...