A Smaller Jack

There was a void this week with that truncated winter recess schedule when there was no 12:15 Wednesday class. I like that slot particularly because well it’s mid week and I can attend to some of the office paperwork that has started to pile up on my desk at work that morning. And I love the fact that I can take leave of my senses and spin for an hour with the Charismatic One.  Spring is nigh and my thoughts start to think about riding outside as well as inside the Lavender Palace and I am sure our leader will be spearheading an out of doors charge in the upcoming season. 

I’ve been hitting it hard these past two weeks in an attempt to make up what I thought I lost in a lighter schedule the previous fortnight but that’s just the obsessive side of me as I continue to lose weight which to some is not needed. I often think about being 140 again but I think that’s way too light to even ponder. I never in a million years thought I would be back in the shape I’m in now but after two years in spin class the results have manifested themselves on my physiology. I thank my dear friend Tripp for being part of my renaissance.  

What If?....

If you want to hear my voice read this entry please click here and you will be redirected to Vocaroo: Vocaroo Voice Message

What if every time we went to Tripper’s class it was our last? What would you do different? Sounds a bit much but go with me on this just for grins. Would we enjoy it more? Would we give it our best effort like tomorrow didn’t matter? Would we get there on time and not sashay in like we had all the time in the world?

When I am in his class there is only one thing the next hour. I rarely think about what I did last week or something I am procrastinating about right now. It gets me to focus on exactly what is happening in the moment. Too often I think I am engaged in more important thought and then I wind up misplacing my keys, Bluetooth, wallet and even underwear and socks in my gym bag. If I can just remember to keep my head where my feet are I would save enough time to meditate every day, make calls I keep forgetting to and call a relative or friend I have been neglecting because I am too self absorbed.

Today in the 8:30 I got to sit next to my dear friend Heatherr Featherr (sometimes three r’s) What I like about this young woman is her enthusiasm, determination and commitment. She had already gone swimming before class and there she was saddled up for Tripper Tuesday and ready to roll. She’s young enough to be my daughter and if I had a daughter of my own I would want someone like her. On my right was Connie and I often see her posts about Weight Watchers when I open my page and it makes me think about the only diet I ever went on back in 1975. I went from 214 to 162 in four months on that regimen and of course now it’s so much better with more choices and less limitations. Connie is always smiling and her ebullience spills over every time she’s in propinquity.

Now it’s almost time to head and see my friend Peter Charles in Point Lookout maybe he can help me attach the audio version to my blogs so that I can read my entries to you in my own voice and intonation. I don’t think there’s a 1215 tomorrow because of the Holiday schedule but do check and see. Until next time my friends.

Fondly

Jack

What If?

What if every time we went to Tripper’s class it was our last? What would you do different?  Sounds a bit much but go with me on this just for grins. Would we enjoy it more? Would we give it our best effort like tomorrow didn’t matter? Would we get there on time and not sashay in like we had all the time in the world?  

When I am in his class there is only one thing the next hour. I rarely think about what I did last week or something I am procrastinating about right now. It gets me to focus on exactly what is happening in the moment. Too often I think I am engaged in more important thought and then I wind up misplacing my keys, Bluetooth, wallet and even underwear and socks in my gym bag.  If I can just remember to keep my head where my feet are I would save enough time to meditate every day, make calls I keep forgetting to and call a relative or friend I have been neglecting because I am too self absorbed. 

Today in the 8:30 I got to sit next to my dear friend Heatherr Featherr (sometimes three r’s) What I like about this young woman is her enthusiasm, determination and commitment. She had already gone swimming before class and there she was saddled up for Tripper Tuesday and ready to roll. She’s young enough to be my daughter and if I had a daughter of my own I would want someone like her.  On my right  was Connie and I often see her posts about Weight Watchers when I open my page and it makes me think about the only diet I ever went on back in 1975. I went from 214 to 162 in four months on that regimen and of course now it’s so much better with more choices and less limitations.  Connie is always  smiling and her ebullience spills over every time she’s in propinquity.  

Now it’s almost time to head and see my friend Peter Charles in Point Lookout  maybe he can help me attach the audio version to my blogs  so that I can read my entries to you in my own voice and intonation. I don’t think there’s a 1215 tomorrow because of the Holiday schedule but do check and see.  Until next time my friends. 

Fondly 

Jack  

The Sun Goes Down, The Stars Come Out

The prodigal son has returned and just in time too! It’s been nigh on 3 weeks since I saddled up in Tripper Tuesday and although I have been spinning with very competent instructors in South Florida nothing, no-thing is like being in the Lavender Palace with Mr. Inspiration Tripp Doherty. He was at the top of his game this morning as I caught the second act of the 8:30 before I took my regular turn in the 945 and as per usual the room was filled with an energy that is unmistakable when our leader is at the controls.  

Some of my favorite classmates like Mary McCann in the 8:30 and DJ in the 9:45 helped make my homecoming feel like I was putting on my favorite glove. I love that split of a class and a half because I get to see 110 of you instead of just 55. And there seems to be some new members in the flock and I am anxious to get to know all  of them and I do hope they’re amenable to the echo of guttural sounds from yours truly.  

“The sun goes down and the stars come out” (Glad You Came-The Wanted) had just the right timbre for the synchronicity of the 945 class because the rhythm of this particular song seemed to capture the artificial intelligence that I swear is alive when all of you are in propinquity. * I can hear Lori Spiegel saying: Jack that’s a little out there. And I suppose it is but sometimes the words just type themselves and well I’m just not responsible. Well maybe you get the idea I like that song.  

Suffice it to say I am glad to ride with all of you but the call of the Southern Sky is in my blood now.  

*Propinquity: See The Golden Girl

http://jackbriant.blogspot.com/2012/02/golden-girl.html

A Sentient Man

Hello fellow Tripper aficionados. Do you think that I’ve abandoned you for those of you that care?  Well I’m on a slow boat back from China (is that PC?) and will land on a Schwinn near you soon. And I must tell you these Johnny Q. Spinner bikes are not very comfortable. Has it been that long since I have missed all of your radiant faces?

Let me say that the spin instructors down here are not too handy when it comes to their iPods and have a degree of difficulty in providing a seamless choreography.  Sort of makes you appreciate how much prep goes into each and every class at EQ.  Even when Tripp moves the play list ad hoc during the session it never seems like crashing cars.  

Now a word about our favorite personality, Tripp Doherty is truly a sentient being. After all it takes one to know one.  Has there ever been anyone as sensitive that you know of in a world gone cold into an abyss of catch phrases, phone mazes, (pay attention please our options have recently changed in the 20th Century) google it, talking heads, and 247 channels and still nothings on?  I think not!  

Now a word about us men as Lori Spiegel muses that I have jumped off the deep end with this report.  The touch of a sentient man who despite being emasculated still shows up while the world is shouting to “man up”.  I’m way out on a limb here but you’ll have to excuse me I’ve taken leave of my senses because as I alluded to earlier that’s what happens when you ride on a Johnny Q. Spinner bike long enough.  In any case I will be back soon after I pack my suitcase and figure out just what baggage I will be bringing back. If you want to leave a comment to check on my sanity please do.  I’m not all there I know.  

Bust It!

I had yet another singular experience in my spinning away from home today. Yes I can hear Lori whispering on facebook about my spinfidelity. And in a way she’s right how dare I write about other instructors in my blogs.  In any case a buffed out man named Barry who seemed to look very much like my friend Ritchie led us in a spirited 60 minute version of his Southern hospitality. 

To be truthful most of my spin instructors have been of the lithesome variety but Barry (more akin to the body type of David Cooper) is not what one might expect leading the charge of the light brigade in the cycle room. Nor was I used to someone singing along with some of the lyrics in their discography but if you stay around long enough you will always see and hear something you’ve never experienced before. He actually used his vocal chords rather adroitly as he blended the lyrics into his ride.   Barry’s approach felt less thematic in terms of the music and in this way I sensed the percussion with more clarity, which gave the backbeat central focus.  I’ve always been taught to ‘feel’ the music but today except for when my visceral attention to Cee Lo Green’s Forget You was played, I was Ringo Starr pounding out drums with my pedal stroke.

I know most of you are at Cycle for Survival and doing a marvelous job raising millions for this cause that has hit many members squarely in their hearts.