900 Rides

I will hit 900 rides on my Peloton this Saturday. If you want to ride with me I’ll be riding Denis Morton’s 60-Minute Power Zone Endurance Ride from 12/19/23 around 1 PM PST. It seems like a weird milestone to celebrate but it’s a big, big deal to me. It has taken me far longer to get here than I thought but life happened. I’ve come to realize over the years that I need a push when it comes to working out of any kind. I will not wake up early to work out. I will not go running (like EVER) unless I’m being chased. What I will do, is press buttons on my Peloton and have a highly qualified fitness professional tell me what to do.

Let me give you a little background. In 2017, my husband was working in the office four days per week, commuting mostly on his bike and doing 100-mile weekend rides. We live outside of Seattle and he was riding downtown. It scares me when it’s sunny and 72 degrees out, but I didn't want him riding to work in the winter with the darkness, cold, and rain. He agreed that we get a spin bike on one condition: I had to try it. I (very) begrudgingly, agreed. He was deciding between a Flywheel and a Peloton and the Peloton won out.

The bike arrived and we started figuring it out. At this time Peloton had a total of 13 instructors, they had “Beyond the Ride” which was some strength classes but nothing like the content they churn out today. Instructors were in their fan Facebook groups and interacted with members all the time. The studio was still on 23rd in NYC and regular New Yorkers treated it like their local spin studio. It was SO DIFFERENT than today.

With only 13 instructors, I rode with every, single one to figure out who I clicked with. My ass hurt and I wasn’t sure I was going to get into this bike but then I found Denis Morton. I don’t remember which ride I took with him first, but I DO remember while riding thinking to myself, “OK, Spring, this guy rides on the beat, he’s playing music I like because I think he might be the same age as me, and he’s low-key cool. We totally would have been friends in high school.” I got off the bike and joined his Facebook page, Denis’s Menaces.

I started riding consistently with Denis and slowly gained my confidence. I was sleeping better, feeling awesome, and losing a tiny bit of weight. And, the best part- I was having a blast doing it. I’d look at the schedule to see if I could catch a live ride with my Menace friends (not often b/c we are on the West Coast) but I was always checking to see what new rides were dropping that I could ride later. It was like Netflix but for workouts and I never in a million years thought I would be this person.

In addition to all this fun riding on my bike that goes nowhere is the community of Peloton. There are so many different groups to join (so many on FB). I’ve found a group of incredible women whom I truly adore but never met. They are my ride-or-die internet friends and I’m so thankful for them. And, I always look forward to meeting them “in the wild” too. Pelotoners have come to the restaurants to dine or we’ve been able to share a meal or a drink. And, all because of a bike. It’s truly wild!

I discovered Power Zone training early in my Peloton journey but only one instructor was teaching it, Matt Wilpers (adore him too!). As a beginner, I was freaked out by Power Zone training and thought there was no way I could do it. Then, I joined the Power Zone Pack Facebook group. They all assured me I could, in fact, train in Power Zone, because it’s customized to you. But then I learned about the FTP test (Functional Threshold Power) which is essential to the success of PZ training. I won’t lie, the test is the absolute hardest ride ever. It’s riding your ass off for twenty minutes to get the highest output you can and then it’s broken down into seven zones of power. In class, the instructor teaches to the zones instead of calling all cadence/resistance. It is the most customizable training available on the platform to this day. And, you can measure your progress with that damn FTP test. I like data so I LOVE Power Zone. Even if I take a ride that is not PZ, I always turn it into one. I can’t help myself.

Then to my absolute surprise and delight it was announced that Denis was joining Matt in teaching Power Zone classes (this class is taught by Matt & Denis and is super fun, but really hard!). I was PSYCHED. Remember, this was years ago, the software & hardware were different. Back then, you had to calculate your zones and I had sticky notes and a piece of paper taped to the wall with my zones and corresponding output. Today, there is a power bar on your bike and it highlights which zone you should be in (if not in a live class) so if your mind wanders you can get back to it. Matt & Denis are still my go-to PZ instructors.

The addition of Denis took my training to a new level. Obsessed is putting it lightly. I participated in the Power Zone Challenges, on a team, and rode constantly. The weight was coming off and I’ve never felt better. I felt like I was in my 20’s. I had found my thing and my “person” in the fitness world. Denis is sneaky, he will win you over with jokes and scientific anecdotes while simultaneously kicking your ass into next week. And, fun fact; he rides along with you and follows his own instructions. So, if you see him breathless on the bike, he actually is, and he’s teaching!!

In 2018 Mike and I rode our 250th rides in New York at the 23rd St. studio. I rode with Denis and Mike rode with Emma Lovewell (one of his favorite trainers). That ride has been purged because it was so long ago, but it was a PZ class. I was on bike 6 (which meant I was on camera a lot). It was all Zone 2 & Zone 5; a hard class. I think I rode in Zone 6 with a giant smile plastered to my face. I took my obligatory photo with Denis; I was bursting with joy. He was so nice and patient with all of us waiting to take photos. I tease him now that he doesn’t remember me, but these instructors have taken photos with thousands of people. I have met a lot of very famous people because of my job over the years, but those were all just people; this was Denis, the guy who had such a profound impact on me. He was the one that made me remember I used to be an athlete.

For the next couple of years, things on the bike were going swimmingly. Peloton was expanding, new modalities were being added, and I was excited about it all. Denis started teaching yoga!! The Pandemic happened and the bike saved my sanity. Denis didn’t teach from home but I had PLENTY of his rides to keep me busy. Peloton was adding instructors for specific modalities and I discovered other people I enjoyed taking classes with, specifically strength. Ladies, you need to lift those weights!

Then, we started coming out of the Pandemic (I’m in Washington state, so the first to shut down and the last to open up) and life was returning to “normal.” For us, that meant we could start planning trips again, and we did just that.

Our son had his Bar Mitzvah in November of 2021 and in the summer of 2022, we planned a six-week road trip around the Western US with our kids. I haven’t shared details of that trip on the blog yet because there is so much to write about. It was the trip of a lifetime and I’m so, so glad we went. I don’t know if I will ever have the opportunity to spend that much time with my family uninterrupted again.

But then we came back. And, I didn’t ride the bike. My kids were back in school, older, and busier than ever. My job was crazy because events were backed up from the Pandemic so I was working a ton. I knew I needed to ride, it made me less stressed and always made me feel better. But, I didn’t. I felt this weird pressure that I had been at the top of my Peloton game before we left and then I would have to start at the bottom again. It was like I thought I was competing with someone else, which I, obviously was not. The weight started creeping back (and it hasn’t left). Finally, a year after basically not riding I decided it was time. I had to let it all go and simply start again.

I was doing ok for a couple of months, riding a few times per week. Then, we took another 10-day trip. I got sick the last day so I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick back up when we got home. This was the summer of 2023. Unfortunately, I got REALLY sick. I had a debilitating cough that made it hard to breathe and it went on for months. Finally, I was able to get some medication that could help. My vocal cords had been damaged and I was a wreck. I had to start over, again. The funny thing is, this stupid cough is back as of the first week of October and I’ve been off the bike for a few weeks. But, I started the new Power Zone challenge this week.

In the past couple of years, Denis and I have become actual friends. It’s been such a treat for me to say the least. He is as cool in real life as he is on the bike. We were talking recently about me hitting 900 rides and how long it’s taken me. He said to me “We tend to think once we’ve made progress that it should stay and continue upward, but that’s not how anything in life works.” How true is that? I value his perspective because it makes so much sense. Progress is not linear to quote Denis & Matt. We all have peaks and valleys in life. And, the only person I’m doing this for is me. My kids are busier than they were last year; teenagers have a lot going on but I am finding the time. The appeal to me with the PZ challenges is I don’t have to make any decisions. I have an 8-week training plan completely laid out for me. I add my classes to my stack on Sunday night and then I’m off. And, I can add strength and yoga alongside; it’s amazing. And, since I know that I need direction in this particular area of my life it works perfectly for me.

I realize that Peloton isn’t for everyone. One of my brothers is a runner. I have friends who love Orange Theory, some get up way before the sun rises to work out. I am not those people, I’ve finally figured out what I need. But, I want everyone to find the thing that makes them happy. We all need to move our bodies. Find your thing and your person and go. I am proud of myself for hitting this milestone. Onto 1,000!!!