You Spin Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round...

So...This blog post has been in my head a lot lately.  I needed to write it down.   I have decided that my life has been in a spin a lot lately this past year, and also my body.  Now that life has calmed down, and I am once again settled into my own house, with all of my own stuff and relatively back to normal, whatever that means, I am also now back to Spin Class.

Something occurred to me about spin class.  It takes a special kind of crazy to be one of those people, who like myself, LOVES going to spin class.  It is almost masochistic if you will.  If you have a good instructor, you will come out of that spin room red in the face, sweating from every pore imaginable (and some you never knew existed) and absolutely grinning ear to ear.  It becomes something your body and mind crave.  Like chocolate, but much better for the hips.  Now, I am no Lance Armstrong .  Nor am I Ted King (although honestly I think the domestiques have way more balls than the GC riders for the most part, they sacrifice their whole ride to see their leader to the end).  However, I am a strong rider on a road bike.  I can climb some serious hills (my regular nemesis hill is a Cat 3 by Tour De France standards), and ride out a "better than your average bear" pace on a flat.  However, spin is a whole different world.  They do things on those bikes that, in all likelihood, would land me in a hospital if I attempted them while riding my Specialized Allez Dolce down the roads of Western NY.  And spin class is not for the meek.  At least not my spin class. The teacher plays the music LOUD!  And we sing along, and she shouts out to us and asks for answers.  She doesn't beat you with a paddle if you don't answer or anything, but we all answer because if it came down to it, I am fairly certain she could take EVERY SINGLE ONE of us in a brawl. 

This brings me to my next point.  While it takes a special kind of crazy to love spin class, it takes a REALLY REALLY special kind of crazy to properly teach a spin class.  I have had at least a dozen different instructors in spin classes.  Trish, my Monday and Wednesday morning gal, she ROCKS.  Despite her gleaming smile and mildly, but not annoyingly, perky demeanor, she means business.  Her class is not a casual ride.  Usually it is 13-15 songs, ranging from AC/DC to Lady Gaga to Andrea Bocelli.  You never know what you will be listening to, but it is always appropriate for the task at hand.  When we climb, she cranks up her tension and climbs right along with us.  And she sweats her ass off too.  I hate when I see an instructor walk out of class looking like they just came from freshening up.  She works with us.  And also, she doesn't use a McDonald's headset to bark orders at us.  Nope.  She just yells right out over the top of the very loud music or waits until in between songs and tells us what to expect next song.  She is that REALLY REALLY special kind of crazy, and I mean that in the most loving way ever.  You see, after the first spin class I ever went to, I swore I would NEVER do that again.  Turns out I just didn't like the instructor, because apparently I AM a special kind of crazy, and I DO love spin class!

So, back to life.  Even when my world seems to be spinning so fast that I am just hanging on for dear life, I have found spinning wheels is a great relief.  Be it in spin class, on my road bike or just on the trainer while watching some old seasons of Grey's Anatomy on DVD, the high you can get from spinning those wheels is far better than whatever drugs people take to escape their realities.  It is far healthier too.   And maybe you don't think you are the special kind of crazy, and maybe you aren't, but there is only one way to find out.  As Freddie Mercury once put it in the illustrious Fat Bottomed Girls song......"Get on your bikes and RIDE!"

New Year's Resolution Revolution

This year, I am not going to say that I will lose 10 lbs (though I'd like to lose 15).  I will not say I am going to work out an hour every day.  I am not going to promise not to cuss, or to not buy things I don't absolutely need.  Instead, I am determined to make this the year of Pay it Forward. 

I encourage you, if you are reading this, to do it too.  With the hate and evil deeds that have been happening for years, but seem to be more frequent recently (i.e. the Arizona shootings), I think a little bit of good in the world will go far.  So, pass it on and see how great it feels to do a good deed. 

So far, I have been doing pretty good with my pay it forwards.  I paid for lunch for a Vietnam Vet who was sitting a few tables away from us at Friendly's when I was at lunch with the kids.  That was my first Pay it Forward of the year.  Not sure it was paying it forward though, as he has already sacrificed much for me and all of us.  As much as I would have loved to see his face when the waitress told him his bill was taken care of, I asked her not to tell him until after I left.  I don't want recognition or thanks from him or any of my other pay it forward recipients.  I just hope that they feel good about the act, and then in turn are encouraged to pay it forward to someone else.  Wouldn't it be a lovely chain reaction if we all just started doing nice things for strangers and family?  Some are bigger gestures, some are small.  I've paid for the car behind me at Tim Horton's a couple of times.  A cup of coffee may not seem like a big deal, but who knows what that little surprise can do for someone.   You may just give them the boost they need to get through the day. 

I remember a day that seems like yesterday, yet at the same time seems SO long ago.  Tom and I were still living in Vermont.  The girls were about 2 & 3, and Finn wasn't even a thought at that point.  We were sitting in Ramunto's Pizza, one of our favorite spots for lunch.  The girls were being goofy, but not obnoxious or out of hand.  There was an older lady watching us periodically, and I thought the whole time that she must have been annoyed at the girls laughing loudly and dancing to the jukebox music.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  As the lady left, she walked over to me at our table.  She reached out her hand and handed me a $20 bill.  She said "I remember the days of small children, enjoy it while it last.  Take this and buy something for your family."  Then she hurried out the door.  I did have time to thank her, but her actions stunned me.  She wasn't watching me in annoyance because my kids giggling was disturbing her lunch, she was reminiscing.  She inspired me to pay it forward then.  I started with small acts randomly.  This year, my goal is to do them whenever I can.  Little or big, a kind deed can really brighten someone's day.  I learned that first hand. 

So, my friends, I challenge you to Pay it Forward with me!  When you're clearing the snow off your car in the parking lot after a long day of work, clear the car next to you too.  Help someone carry their groceries, leave a surprising tip for a waitress who needs it, bring food to a shut in.  We all have something  to give, even if we have little in the bank.  Give of yourself, it will warm your heart and just may change a person. 

Here's to a year of good deeds!  Happy 2011!