Joyful Suffering

"The key to staying in the saddle on an uphill is to sit your tail back as far as possible, elbows bent, body down, and head prepared for joyful suffering. That is what cycling is all about, right? Joyful suffering..."

I may not be the biggest fan of the new Tuesday night spin instructor, but he has been coming out with some gems recently. And, while I'm not his biggest fan, I keep going back to his class. Tonight, while sweating my tail off during class, I started thinking about what it is that keeps drawing me back to Tuesday night spinning.

I started spinning about a year ago and it was love at first sight. If you know me, you know that crazy exercise with loud music and a nutso instructor sounds like a match made in heaven. I have been going pretty religiously since the love affair began. I loved the old Tuesday night instructor Brian. Loooooooooved him. Like, I think I might have actually shed a tear when he told us he was leaving Tuesday nights. This new dude...there's just something about him that I don't love. He doesn't do music well, and if you spin, you know how much the music matters. He is definitely more of a traditional cyclist and less of a spinner. He isn't shouting "Two! Three! Saddle!" throughout the class and has actually told us that "all of that shit" does matter and that we should mostly do what feels right for us. He isn't super bubbly and bouncy like most of the other instructors. The class attendance has dropped significantly, so I know it isn't just me. For 6:30 pm spin classes, you need to call ahead 24 hours and book a bike...tonight there were only six of us in the spin room. There's just something about him.

But, like I said, I keep going back. And tonight, I think I realized why. I work my ass off in that class. And it isn't about the music. It isn't about the bubbly, bouncy instructor. It isn't about jumping in and out of the saddle. It is about riding...riding hard, and riding well. When I scoped out the room tonight and realized that there were only six of us, I looked down at everyone's shoes. I was the only person wearing sneakers. Everyone else was wearing cycling shoes...you know, the ones with the clips. Real cyclists are the ones that are sticking it out in this class!

And, well, that is what I need to become more of by October...a real cyclist. Not just a runner making her way around the Kelly Drive loop on a mountain bike that's too small for her in order to finish a sprint triathlon. My ass is going to be riding 56 miles...after swimming 1.2 miles and before running a half-marathon...that's no joke!!

I also realized that I have been learning a lot about cycling in his class. I'm learning technique, etiquette, strategy. These are things the other spin instructors I have come across don't really talk about. Don't get me wrong, some of them are clearly cyclists and we get a few pointers now and then, but mostly, they are spin instructors instructing a spin class.

I don't know exactly what is it about new dude, but I have decided that I'm going to continue to attend Tuesday night spin (followed always by power yoga with crazy Jacqui). And I'm going to find out the new instructors name so I can stop calling him "new dude." And I'm going to embrace and appreciate the class. And I'm going to continue to learn, grow, and relish in the joyful suffering. :)