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.  

The Heart of Spin

Only in spin class can you get to spend your birthday over three days. For me it was shout outs in Wednesday Tripper, again in KSC on Thursday and again today for those I missed on the previous two days. Debbie (the other sexagenarian in the room) greeted me with a smoothie after class and later I got to spend precious minutes with my other friend (yes my friend) Debbie Jensen. She says that when we speak she sees light I told her it’s simply the starshine reflecting off her striking canvas.  She deflects everything so gracefully and shows humility like its second nature.  She is the Golden Girl. 

How do we know we are getting a good workout in spin? When the time goes by in a blink that’s how. That clock races around the dial every time I clip in and it’s a gentle reminder too that although another birthday has passed I can ill afford not making every minute as if it was my last.  This past week has given me a new respect for all of you and I implore you to tell me your story because I want to get to know you just a little bit better and because after all you’ve enriched my life immeasurably.  

She's Coming Home

This past week I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the Lavender Palace. The workouts were arduous as always but for some ineffable reason they were more satisfying than any week I’ve spent in the CS.  Tripper was more motivated than any week prior and in these past two weeks since my return from Florida I have felt closer to those that know me and for those that don’t I love exchanging smiles knowing that just maybe I have touched your lives in some way. I love to write and it never occurred to me that so many subjects intrigue me. Well maybe I am not ready for a treatise on Quantum Physics just yet but all of you have given me the encouragement to balladize my experiential life in and out of that stationary bike.  I am a bit of a romantic and I will also admit to being just a tad hypersensitive. I love being with you all and because you put up with my bellowing especially in Tripper’s class I beg your indulgence.  

So what’s in store for 2012? Cycle for Survival is nearly upon us and as we were talking about it 6 months ago I thought it a long time but it seems like just a minute ago we were all helping Tripp raise money for Island Harvest. Now February 4 is literally moments away and I wish us all the best of luck as we help in our small way to help find a cure for a disease that takes so many beautiful people from our midst.  

This week we had the twins mark their birthday and I of course will not reveal their age albeit just about half mine. And with the return of the Prom Queen: Debbie Jensen the week for me felt like icing on my cake.  

Applied Science

Remember when I wrote about a t friend of mine who told me that I couldn’t lose weight in spin class?  I just read another article claiming the same thing because of a number of factors. Here is what the article said. 

The Sins of the Spin

Spinning follows a very similar pattern of “improvement”. Initially, spinning presents a challenge so you expend a reasonable number of calories while doing it. However, you rapidly become better at biking and learn how to effectively move your legs in a fashion that conserves the most energy possible.

While conserving energy is awesome if you are a competitive cyclist trying to win a race… this is an absolutely garbage phenomenon for individuals using exercise as a weight loss tool.

Compounding the negative aspects of spinning are the following factors:

No wind resistance to overcome 

No side-to-side sway, little upper body activation

It is weight supported!

It also said that your legs will get bigger and more muscular and that spinning was a garbage workout. 

So I guess all my spin mates who look svelte and are ripped are wasting their time. WRONG! I lost 30 pounds was that a fluke? Was it also a fluke that when I ride on the road my stamina and endurance has increased many fold from my years on the elliptical?  As the new age phrase goes: A yeah NO. Please read this article and let’s write this ill informed author where to get off. I am mystified how they let people write about stuff they know little or nothing about. If we asked Tripp  what would he say? Here is the link. 

http://graemethomasonline.com/he-s-a-i-d-she-s-a-i-d-why-spinning-wondoesnt-make-you-slim/

But take heart all read all the comments blasting this guy and some of them are athletes off as well as on the bike.  

Tales of the Ancient Mariner

On my recent trip to the tropical zone which by the way holds daylight for a full hour more than up in the frozen tundra I found myself at a loose end not being able to spin everyday. I took to the streets with very mixed results. I couldn’t understand why as I started my jog with the Pulsar HR monitor that I was seemingly out of breathe at a HR as low as 94.  What I wound up doing was start stopping which made me feel like I was the proverbial fish out of the Lavender Palace and that maybe that I was kidding myself as to how fit I actually was. There was a fourth run that allowed me to make a full 45 minute interval without stopping but the following two road sessions had me right back in the soup of oxygen deficit.  However on my last run I decided to do some wind sprints and that was the ticket that gave me some solace. But as to any idea that I might run a marathon again my friends I think that is a foregone conclusion.

And what I think I have discovered is that since these HR monitors are based on weight and HR it can be deceiving as to how many calories burned. I don’t think that if you have a low HR to begin with that the calories measured are in any way truly accurate.  Someone correct if I am wrong but I don’t think it’s ipso facto. 

Did you miss me? I surely missed you all and when Wednesday 1215 rolls around again my smile will be as broad as the English Channel. If I start saying “Do What” please feel free to slap me.