The Marquis de Sade

So we braved the driving rain and wind and headed off to the gym this morning. We got there around 10:45 and were able to do some crunches and weight lifting before heading into our "reaction cycling" class. We had decided (stupidly, it turns out) not to wear our cycling shorts. Boy that was a dumb idea! I think they intentionally make the bike seats on the spinning bikes really hard and uncomfortable. The woman next to me was smart enough to bring in a gel-filled bike seat cover.

Then this tiny woman comes in to torture us...I mean lead the class. There wasn't an ounce of flab or fat on her body. I have no idea how old she was -- but old enough to have children as she mentioned them. So we're spinning away. Then she tells us this is the strength class...and we'll be climbing lots of hills. Maybe we should have told her we were training for a nice FLAT ride in Florida.

It was an hour long class. I thought I would never survive. And I don't stand and climb like everyone else. (i.e. riding your bike standing up on the pedals) I do a bit, but not for 3 minutes at a time like our dominatrix wanted. I did keep spinning with the tension on though. I don't think I've ever sweat that much. I know it was good for me, but my thighs are complaining. And I have laundry to do today. The washer and dryer are located in the basement. The bedrooms are on the 2nd floor. Ugh.

I'm not sure why it was "reaction cycling" instead of "spinning." Probably some marketing thing, like how a caterer can serve you "mini beef logs rolled in buttery puff pastry" when it's just "pigs in a blanket."

Ron's comment was that the Marquis de Sade invented spinning. I couldn't agree with him more.