Getting Schooled

One Saturday a couple of weeks ago I went to what you can call Spinning school. At the time, I was already leading some spin classes but I felt the need to understand it in it's entirety. Mainly I wanted to make sure that I was helping my class ride safely. So I signed up for orientation and for 9 hours on that particular Saturday, I learned everything there was to know about Spinning.

I was sent an Instructor Manual a few days before class to read up on the sections that would be discussed in class. I was really excited to finally learn about how to run my class properly.

When I first arrived at the training facilities, I didn't know if I was at the right place because this was what I saw...

...but upon closer inspection, I realized that I was at the right place.

This was where all the instruction took place...the master Spinning instructor bike. We learned everything from bike set-up, safety, RPM, proper hand and riding positions, ride profile construction, music selection...just to name a few. It was a long day!

Edit: Leave it to me to forget the most important part to this post which was to say that I am now a certified Spinning Instructor! The certification is good for two years and if I keep up with the material and workshops, I can renew my certification when the time comes. I've really taken a liking to Spinning so learning new things about Spinning is fun and exciting to me. I hope to work towards becoming a Star 3 Instructor some day. That will take a long while.

Check out this tricked out Spin bike.

An older model road bike.

Wooden bike.

Beach-cruiser.

I actually had to pack a bag for class because along with the instruction, there were also instructional Spinning sessions. Two of them. So I was basically in and out of sweaty clothes all day without a shower since there weren't any at that facility. You can only imagine how happy I was at the end of the day to get home and grab a shower. Reminded me of Ragnar. Speaking of which, please head over to OUAL and vote on our 2012 SoCal Ragnar Team naming poll. Much appreciated!

During our lunch break, I walked over to this little French Market Cafe. It was really close by. No more than a five minute walk.

Of course I walked over to the pastries case as soon as I walked in. I'm just a bad example. I was good and didn't get anything.

I ordered a tuna sandwich on a baguette with an Arnold Palmer. The sandwich was simple but good. It is basically what you see in this photo. Maybe you can't see the mayo but everything else. The bread may have been better had it been toasted but it wasn't. It was really chewy. I hurt myself eating it. I looked around at what other people were eating and I had food envy. Too bad this place is so far away. I would eat here again.