Weekend Warriors

 The new Peloton in the still very much coming together new gym. It was delivered yesterday morning, and I have to say, I think that I made a mistake in having it "put together"....a big guy rolled the bike in, made a few adjustments and...wait for it....plugged it in! I had to enter my wifi password on the big (huge!) touchscreen and that was about it. DUMB! I could have done that! As it was, the accessory package showed up in the afternoon so I was in there lifting the million lb bike up and onto the black mat that is made to go under it. That thing is solid! The bike feels incredibly well made and durable. Its very adjustable, and I have the feeling that I am going to be playing around with the settings for quite some time as I figure out the optimal position for me.

The shoes are cool looking ~ as I have never loved spin I've never had clip in shoes before. You have to manually set up the clip in system, but its just a matter of an Allen wrench and a some screws and bolts. I think that I will have to leave the shoes in the room where the bike is, because in the 20 steps I took all that I could picture was the clip bottoms scratching up my floors. I had a busy day yesterday as I had kids sleeping over Thursday night and they stayed for the day Friday. I didn't get a change to try out the bike until about an hour before we left to play golf, so I jumped on and just did a super short "intro" ride where the video showed information about what the monitor was telling you, how to set up your bike, and how to clip in your feet (not intuitive, for me anyway). Its a super smooth ride, the screen is really amazing in terms of clarity and ease of use, and it has a tiny space footprint, which is really why we ended up with this bike.

I had never heard of Peloton until a few weeks ago, when we started considering turning a first floor bedroom into a useful, functional space for ourselves. I used to have Jakes old bedroom furniture in there, and the dog's crate/food/water.  Having a family of four stay with us for a week in may showed us that we just don't have any need for two guest rooms, its much more comfortable for guests to be all in one space, and the basement offers a level of separation and privacy that is nice when you have guests for an extended time. I saved the bed, got rid of the rest of the furniture, and started talking to gym owners about cardio equipment. Originally I was sure that I was going to want a stairclimber, as they used to be my jam. The truth is, for the past year I haven't been on a cardio machine once! Last fall was all about being outside, hiking and running and the gym, then I segued into Corepower in late November and went almost obsessively through the end of the school year. This summer it was about other things.

The consistent feedback that I received was that stairclimbers are huge and break often. I know rowers are super efficient, but man do I get bored as hell on those babies! I don't use elliptical machines, I can't justify a treadmill when I live in this beautiful place surrounded by trails, and so I was feeling uncertain and frustrated. That is when I was told about this bike. The thing that differentiated it was its small profile and the online classes. I need distraction, and being in a group environment, from home, sounded ideal! The price is comparative to what you would pay for a used stairclimber, and its super quiet and under warranty. The ongoing price of the class subscription is a consideration, but we don't pay for gym memberships anyway thanks to my teaching, so it is cheaper than what we would theoretically be paying for a gym anyway. The "gym" has a door to it and a bathroom and is away from the kitchen and family room, so I can go in there, shut the door, turn on music and just be in my own little world. I've gone very minimalist with my workouts lately, relying on body weight exercises and using one kettlebell and a set of heavier and lighter hand weights. The weighted vest, a big yoga ball and some medicine balls and yoga mats round out everything that I need to get in a great workout. Like anything its going to be a work in progress, but I'm glad that the room is heading in a functional direction vs. hosting some token bedroom furniture.

Yesterday started with an hour long hike through the HRCA backcountry. I walked here from home!

Allll of the plants arrived yesterday and the yard looks like a new place! It's looking tranquil and lovely, and added a ton of space for me to plant annuals (difficult before with all of the rock). We had a picnic up at the pool for lunch and spent the day up there.

After Nate had a little turn around time we all went out and played 9 at 5:20 and then stayed up there for an amazing sunset and a roaring fire on the patio (it was CHILLY~ 85 during the day but maybe 55 at dinner? Perfect. Today Im trying my first real class on Peloton, and we have a busy afternoon planned in downtown Denver with friends ~ Philly People!!! ~ and their 4 girls. A good dinner and a Philles v Rockies Game at 6 pm tonight. Tomorrow I have an early tee time to play 18 with Nate, then we have the parent child tournament in the afternoon.