Beginner spinner

Last night, with yesterday's goal post (hahaha) fresh in my mind, I went home from work, dawdled a little bit and then got ready for the gym.  My gym is not far from my front door and the weather was 48 degrees and not windy, so I decided to ride my bike over.  I haven't been using it nearly enough the past couple of months.  I'm hoping there will be at least several comparable afternoons in the coming weeks that will allow some fall rides. 

I clipped on my helmet and pedaled away, and I was happy as a clam.  I used to ride this bike on trails, but it's my town bike now.  (Mostly because, well, I stopped riding trails.)  Anyway, the point is that it's hard to feel anything but joyful when you're sitting upright on a bike, cruising around town.

Then I realized that I was riding a bike to the gym...to ride a bike at the gym. 

(The kids today are using this acronym "SMH," which means "Shaking My Head."  I never really found a good use for the little ditty until now.  SMH.)

I signed up for Beginning Spinning, puttered around on the elliptical trainer for awhile, and then went into the spinning studio.  There were two other women plus the instructor, who was super friendly.  She asked if anyone was a little nervous, and I meant to raise one hand partway (nonchalantly, of course) and accidentally raised both hands.  And no one else raised their hand.  Ugh.

I felt nervous because I am generally an enthusiastic but unskilled participant in group fitness classes, and I'm not being charmingly self-deprecating.  But the instructor - who was great, by the way - put me at ease right away by explaining away any reason for nerves.  "It's funny to me that people are intimidated by spinning, of all group fitness classes," Jodi told us.  "They're afraid of spinning - the class where you're on a stationary object that you control!"

Well, when you put it that way, I'm all in!  I pick spinning over step aerobics any day!

The class was 30 minutes long and super intro, which was perfect.  We learned how to adjust the bikes, and Jodi walked us through what each type of spinning class involved.  I left class feeling excited about trying a full class, pronto.

Then I biked westward into the sunset - literally.  It was the most beautiful sunset I've seen in a long time.  The air was crisp and I cruised along in the night (carefully) and oohed and aahed.  I didn't grab any photos, because I left my camera at home with the rationale that it was silly and creepy to bring it to the gym.  That's probably true, but I think it's just another nudge to upgrade my phone to include a better camera.  Is it finally iPhone time?

By the time I got closer to home, the sunset was gone - but the view was still pretty.

This was a good start to my November resolutions.  My next benchmark: whether I can make it to a 6 a.m. spin class.