Tonight, I agreed to go to spinning class with Becky, instead of my usual lifting routine;  I’m not quite sure what possessed me, as I don’t really like spinning or classes, but I did.  I’ve found something else I dislike: “Bicycles” without a freewheel.  To make a long story short, the pedals on a spinning bike are connected rigidly to a massive flywheel.  As you pedal against static resistance, the flywheel gains momentum;  The problem comes when your feet want to change speed suddenly (Specifically slowing down).  Basically, the inertia of the flywheel drags the pedals along in their circular motion and there’s really very little you can do about it.

Where this ran me into trouble was with standing up.  I don’t seem to have the coordination yet to maintain a nice even pace while transitioning from sit to stand (or even just pedaling left-right-etc, since the bike can’t lean at all). On at least one occasion, I almost tipped the bike over when the crank was trying to drag my foot down, but my leg wasn’t going down.  Thankfully, the clipless pedal let go and I was able to lean back in (attached foot/leg still spinning).

I do find it a bit comical that my only clipless pedal “wreck” to date involved a stationary bike.  Jason warned me that at least one wreck would happen, but I never expected it to be like this…  The moral of the story is that I think I’m done with spinning.  I like a bike that can lean, and that the entire point isn’t “pedal in a variety of unnatural positions”.  Thankfully, Spring is almost here, so I’ll be riding outside more soon.

Also on the exercise front, I think I’m almost totally “grown into” the 12-rep sets on lifting day, and expect to go to sets of 15 in the next week.  I’m seeing seriously improved definition in the muscle groups that I’m working, though I’m sort of at an impasse with the scale.  I’m having a really hard time getting repeatability out of the bodyfat % function, and my weight is all over the place (within a 3 pound band).

From a next step standpoint, I think I need to get serious about eating right (I still eat tons of junk, though I am doing “better”, whatever that is), and also reevaluate my measuring tools.  More to come.

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