Three Hours of Pedaling-Fun!

No photos today - arrived at the spinning grotto with a camera with a dead battery. So those thousand words will have to be supplied the old-fashioned way: A highly detailed, completely accurate written account that will keep you on the edge of your seat. A thriller of the highest degree!

Attendees: Well, there was John, and Matt, and Matt's friend Lindsey. John had his friend Morrie there. From Klipsch, there was Larry, and Gary, and Melissa. We are still inquiring as to the whereabouts of Tom - he had reserved a spot, we saved him a bike, brought extra snacks for him, some great goodies and prizes for him. Too bad he didn't show!\

Things got off to a shaky start: John ripped the stem out of his tube when he decided his rear tire, with about 105 psi of air in it, could stand to be pumped up to precisely 120psi. No spare. The good thing this occurrence brought about - it caused John to realize he had forgotten his music - DUH! He made the round trip back home in 25 minutes. Everyone was there by the time he returned, and Matt has popped in some music and everyone was chatting and rolling the legs. So, about 10 minutes after 10, we officially got under way - perfect "Wendy Time".

Melissa - sporting a nifty headband, and matching water bottles that were neither ProMotion nor Two Wheel Sports supplied. She and Gary coordinated shirts, and that was nice. Mel spin for a little over two hours and did AWESOME! Climbing like a Geswein, she was. She may well be kicking Frank's ass at the Hilly this year! Melissa also was the high point scorer in the "name that artist" contest, and even correctly named The Airborne Toxic Event (i.e. TATE) that was played toward the end of her session.

Morrie - Fresh off a grueling couple weeks at the bank, and prepping for a well-deserved Sanabell vacation, Morrie also rode for a little over two hours. He has been following a very strict Zone Two regimen the past several weeks - you should have seen the look of delight on his face when, in the second hour, John "let him loose" to simply ride how he felt - and it looked like he felt strong! He has arranged for a rental bike in Sanabell and will be doing the Saturday group ride down there from the local shop. Go Morrie! Thanks to his astutely executed shoulder shrug during the vote for Kings of Leon or Midnight Oil, Morrie was the tie-breaker and we got to listen to the great new Kings of Leon tune. Larry wept.

Larry - rode hard, rode with discipline, and inspired with his dogged determination and mental focus. Oh, also - it's always nice to have a guy in class whose favorite songs are also your favorite songs, even if he didn't vote for Kings of Leon and made a face at The Airborne Toxic Event. His hang-able, portable bento box for his snacks, which he also shared with Gary, was a great innovation - was that something that Young Brad shared with you, Larry? Larry was also sporting some freshly shaved legs - said the trainer at the pool had talked him into it (He has been swimming three mornings a week for a triathlon in the summer, but he'll deny it if you ask him about it).

Gary - coerced Matt into playing a heavy Beatles mix during his set, which certainly worked well for the group! Plus, he started the streak whereby Matt had to do all those 15-second sprints in a row. Sometime in hour two, he hit a heart rate that was completely unauthorized and which we will NOT be repeating on purpose anytime soon - but he came through it without trauma, without drama. We settled things back down in the third hour and cruised along, endurance-like. Gary did not shave his legs, nor did he make too much fun of Larry's smooth gams.

Lindsey - so, during Matt's set, John took over the space next to Lindsey, and the scene looked like that "Great Dane and Fox Terrier" photo from last year's Coast-2-Coast race. Rumor has it she was once coached by the Chris Carmichael group, but we let her continue to ride anyway, mainly because she offered a sincere compliment to John on his pedaling mechanics (thanks to Maggie for that one!). No, this was not Young Brad's new girlfriend, but she could have been - oh, except she's married.

Matt - oh, right, ought to say something about him I guess. Well, he was wearing bright blue TrueSport kit and rode that fancy-schmancy bike of his (yes, I'm just jealous). As mentioned above, he played a nice mix of Beatles tunes. We played the rock/paper/scissors game, and he had to sprint like four times in a row - it was sweet! The "race to the top" was especially challenging as it occurred during hour two. Matt finished last in "Name that Tune" because he kept guessing Massive Attack and Chemical Brothers, even when it was clearly U2 (which Tom woudl have gotten right had be been present because he ALWAYS guesses U2).

So, two and three hours of some focused, beneficial, specific cardio work for these warriors! Laying the foundation for the future!! Great job. And this after shoveling all that snow on Wednesday!