There seem to be new fitness studios popping up everywhere in St. Louis, and it is my personal goal to try each and every one of them because I love to work out. That is a big, fat lie. I hate to work out—not just a little bit, but a whole lot. At the beginning of each week, I schedule my workouts. Once they are on my calendar, I begin to think of valid excuses to cancel. The excuse list keeps getting smaller, and now I have to take being 8-½ months pregnant off.
You see, I recently took a class at CycleBar in Chesterfield and the instructor, Kira, was just about ready to give birth. She still managed to turn me into a puddle of sweat and nearly brought me to tears. Makes you want to run out and try it, doesn’t it? Let me give you an honest account of my experience, with just a little side of snark.
Two Davids—Busker and Batschelett—recently brought the CycleBar franchise to Chesterfield. (When you say the name really fast, it sounds like Psycho Bar.) Both left careers, one as an engineer, the other as an accountant, to make a mid-life change. The locals saw an opportunity to bring indoor cycling to St. Louis. I convinced my friend Debra to join me one afternoon for a class. (I think it’s always good to have a companion along just in case something goes wrong and your next of kin needs to be notified.) That said, the studio is bright and beautiful and not at all scary. The front desk staff is happy to see you and set you up with a pair of shoes. Next thing you know, you’re clipped into your assigned bike, the music is playing, the lights are dimmed and you start pedaling.
My experience with cycling consists of going to the Katy Trail and riding on flat terrain … slowly. CycleBar is the opposite. The instructor tells you how to set your bike, and off you go. Well, you don’t really ‘go’ anyplace since the bike is stationary, but for the next 50 minutes, Kira cued us as to how fast and at what resistance to ride. Debra, who is in far better shape than me, was having no problem keeping up. I, however, was just trying to make sure my oatmeal didn’t reappear on the rider in front of me. And then I realized not a single person was looking at what I was doing. I could totally set the pace of my ride. If I wanted to push myself or not push myself, no one was going to know in that darkened room. Finally I started to enjoy the ride.
Almost an hour later, after I had completed my ride, sang along to some great music and torched some calories, I stumbled out to be greeted by a counter of free smoothies. Yes, I happened to pick ‘free smoothie day’ to try my first ride—I am never that lucky! The next day my legs hurt, but I could still move. So, would I go back? Yes, not only to find out if Kira had a boy or a girl, but because even though I hate exercising, CycleBar isn’t distasteful enough to have me concocting a bunch of excuses.
Contact Patty at phannum@townandstyle.com.
