Spun out to dry!

It would not be an exaggeration to say that I was thrilled earlier today when I really pondered the implications of the class schedule at the new cycle studio at Chelsea Piers. It's now the case that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings as well as on Saturday (this was always the case, but it was the only one) and Sunday mornings you can get a two-hour block of spinning by taking back-to-back classes.

THIS IS GOOD.

I was talking with Liz yesterday about my continued uncertainty about whether I can really pull off IMCd'A this year (today I am thinking that yes, I can and I must, even if it is a down-to-the-wire last-minute finish - I don't want to pull out of another Ironman race, even if I am really looking at a bare finish rather than, say, a more ambitious sub-15:00 or sub-14:00 goal), and she was strongly recommending that I enroll for the NYCC's SIG cycling course, the one I flaked out of two years ago due to excessive anxiety. I think I am now past having that level of anxiety, though riding over the GWB still seems like a trouble spot; but much more problematic is the HORRIBLE ALL-DAY NATURE of that style of riding, and the enforced socialization in the intervals where one stops for meals! I thought about it, and I thought that truly the sort of jolly lunch or jolly snack that one has to have when riding with a group of 15 people one doesn't know well is so horrible to me (I can do that sort of conversation quite well, but it takes a lot of out me!) that I absolutely cannot do it - I thought that there must be some other way...

So I am now committed to finding a way to do adequate long rides outdoors on my own (or with Liz or Lauren if I can rope 'em in!); but this thing of the 2-hour spin session is going to be fantastic in the meantime, and for midweek riding even once I'm training properly. Another snowstorm is forecast for tomorrow, clearly I am not going to be doing any outdoor riding in the immediate future, but this sort of session is going to be a very good way to build some basic bike fitness and get back into shape...

2hrs. spin