Let the Spinnin' Wheel Fly

So my quest for a physical activity I like continues . . . my latest: spinning.
Last night I tried my first spin class at Gold's Gym. Normally it is taught by Janie, but word on the street is that Janie angled too hard for a raise and is no longer with Gold's Gym Oakland. Ahem.

The class wasn't packed, but it was full. I nervously hopped on a bike and the instructor (Gisele - who looked like she did the Tour de France at one point in her life) promptly informed me that she needed to find the right fit for me on the bike. She adjusted the settings on my bike and a couple others, and we all got on and pedaled slowly.

Gisele then explained to us her 14 years of experience with spinning (apparently her friend Johnny G created spinning 20 years ago), as well as what spinning was and what it wasn't. She insisted spinning was not doing push ups on the bike. That would not be going down in her class. I don't know about the other people in the room, but I breathed a sigh of relief.

So we get on and start pedaling away. Gisele calls us "Champs" collectively - until she knows our names, she says, we are deemed "Champs." Throughout the next 45 minutes Gisele tells us to "gear up" (I had no idea what that was), or stand up on the bike or increase the resistance. Meanwhile, the "computer" as Gisele calls it on my bike is not working. It's not working for the chick next to me either. We both shrug and assume we are going 90 mph as Gisele has requested.

At some point, I get a pain in the back of my left knee but I keep pedaling. It is frustrating to pedal when a.) you have no idea how fast you're going or how far you've traveled and b.) you're not going anywhere.

I certainly feel it today - my butt is sore, my thighs are achy and my calves are tight. But I'm not thinking spinning is my calling. There is a belly dancing class on Sundays though . . .