Spinning, not just an ordinary sport!

I'm finally venturing into the torturous, but great workout- wise, aerobic spinning class again .

You know, the one where you spin around on a stationary bike like a mad hamster, going nowhere rapidly.

What I didn't know is that most spinners take this exercise VERY seriously!

I traipsed in 5 minutes late, adjusted my bike to the proper micro-size and got to "spinning." I even have trouble taking the name seriously. I either picture a bunch of grannys getting ready to knit or baby Miles and Isai when they spin around and around in circles until they lose their balance and fall with silly grins on their faces.

Back to spinning. Since I thought I would fall off the bike from sheer exhaustion last time after 30 minutes, I chose the empty front row, down on the bottom. Better to make an early escape, if needed.

The new "spinning" room is set up like a movie theater, with each row a step up and farther back so that we can all watch the video of a road flowing in front of us. Today's went beside a lake. In this way, you have the illusion that you actually ARE going somewhere. I think this is supposed to motivate you to go faster, thinking you're going farther. Or it's a distraction from the sheer boredom. At any rate, with the help of very upbeat music and motivational challenges from the instructor, I found that I made it the rest of the entire hour.

The video off, we all dismount and impulsively, I turned to 8 or 10 people behind me with the comment, "Don't feel bad that I won, I did have a head start."

The response was overwhelming in it's silence and the various looks I got. They ranged from disgust to confusion, with disdain, contempt, and disregard somewhere in the mix. I stifled my desire to announce that it was only a joke, and took a quick exit.

"That's a serious spinning class, " I told the guy at check out. He emphatically agreed, adding, "Yes, they are, and the early morning ones are the same way!"

So, FYI, don't mess with spinners, if ya know what's good for you!