The Intrepid Exerciser on Pelo
Cycling,
We don’t have Soul Cycle –we have
Pelo.https://www.pelofitness.com/ It’s a new Spinning studio near Trader Joe’s at Montecito plaza.
It’s got
state of the art bicycles and instructors all lined up to offer you one of your
best workouts ever. If you ride the roads
you’ll see your fitness improve, and if you don’t you’ll feel like, well, maybe
you just might …
In a previous life the Intrepid Exerciser
(IE) rode “with” the BBC –the Berkeley Bicycle Club. Simply by virtue of drafting
and hopping on the back wheel I got to experience just a little bit of the thrill
of a pace line, slicing thru the air so fast the sunlight and the shadows blended
into the pavement gliding by. So when Living Social offered five classes for
$30.00 (IE’s sweet spot $$) she jumped... ready to draft for dear life.
So first thing these bikes are special: listen to what Alan, the owner, has to say:” ..Pelo
bikes are all fitted with sensors to measure the actual power that each rider
is generating. It’s a baseline of your fitness and it will regulate how your
bike is set up for you.”
What does he mean? Well Alan does a
little look up of you, you tell him how often you exercise, and what types of exercise
you actually do (do people really know what “dancing” means? Oh well) Then
he goes behind his desk, Wizard of Oz-like, and assigns you a power number. this
number is what your bike will be set to each time you come in.
Well for my first class, Alan was a little
too optimistic--or sadistic?? I just about killed myself keeping up: drenched
and noodley, but exhilarated. Meagan took
pity on me and put me down a few notches so I could keep up.
Here’s a snapshot of Alan in class:
"Ok everybody, pedal with the
beat and adjust your resistance till you're in zone 3. Let your shoulders soften, core strong,
toes spread and feet making circles.” When you do get out of the saddle for an
attack, which is a relief after all that sitting, don’t bounce around, stay low
and let your butt graze the seat, keeping your core even tighter, hello abs!!
Back to our Alan demo: “
Bikers get 90 RPM, add two gears, ok up for an interval: 105 for two minutes –or 110
for 30 seconds.” The music is Mc Yogi http://mcyogi.com/ "Take off
two gears and go down to 90. Be in zone 4 or
5 bikers..”
Right about now, dripping and shaky,
Alan reminds us, “This is fun, you don’t have to worry about cars or other
riders. Concentrate on your form and how hard you’re working.”
However those dials and their readings
and their public display all contribute to getting you to work harder and for
an hour, that’s a good thing.
The intrepid exerciser heartily recommends
a sprint at Pelo. Jump on the back, who knows you may fly off the front and no
one will be able to catch you—Besides, the Tour is up for grabs…
