Geek Out

I bought some cycling shoes the other day. I accompanied a friend to a new bike shop and asked to see their cycling shoes. They were having a clearance sale and found a pair of Lake MX160W in my size. When I opened the box I thought, "My God, those are ugly." Dark and clunky. The owner must have read my mind because he quickly told me they were only $20. I may not know much about cycling shoes, but I know a deal when I see one. Even with the $25 charge for the SPD cleats. I was told that cycling shoes would make my spinning more effective, so I took them.

I returned to the Bikram Cycling class this morning, and wore my new shoes for the first time. I felt like a total geek. I tried them on at home with various socks to see not which pair provided the most comfort, but which looked better because that's so much more important. The instructor showed me how to clip into the pedals, and I spent the next 20 minutes practicing. I was the first one in class, and while the instructor was out, I turned on the fan. It was really powerful and I thought it would be great when the class got going. But I never found out, because when the instructor returned she told me we couldn't have the fan on during class. I was disappointed, but I guess the other members prefer to spin in a sauna.

The shoes were good, although they took a little getting used to. I feel out of my element in this class, like I'm riding with the Lance Armstrong cycling team. It doesn't help that the instructor is so young and athletic, or that when the rider next to me dismounted to do push-ups, she did about 50 of them with her legs straight. I can do maybe 10, if I don't go down all the way. I wasn't as hot today, and I kept my heartrate down, so hopefully I burned fat. Despite the fact that I'm slower than everyone (a familiar theme) it was a good workout. I like the high-energy music she plays--in the 70s we would have called it disco, but I think now it's called dance music.