Bikram Cycling

Spinning class started at 9 this morning. I think I was the only new person there; every one else seemed to know each other and the instructor and I think they were hard-core bikers. It was kind of intimidating. As the class started, I thought, "I'd rather be running," but then I got into it.

The temperature in the studio matched my maximum heart rate. There were about 15 of us in the cycling studio and no air conditioning. It sounds funny to talk about a.c. when it's 12 degrees outside, but that room got stifling. I wanted to ask the instructor to turn on the fans, but figured if the others could tough it out, so could I. At age 52, I'm a little sensitive to not being able to handle the heat. I don't get hot flashes, but I have a "menopause heater" as my friend Marcia calls it, which tends to run hot.

So I was sweating bullets. And completely ignored the doctor's advice about not sweating for two weeks. I kept wiping my face, though, so the sweat wouldn't get in my eye. I don't think it was a problem.

As I watched the sweat dripping off the man next to me pool onto the floor, I remembered a haiku I wrote years ago in another spinning class. Here it is:

Sweat pours from bodies
While hearts race, then recover
Spin class. Go, Go, Go!