Spinning is just about my only bike-like option during the winter, and it really helps keep my legs in shape for when the weather is warm enough to ride. I usually bail before the end of a class -- 55 minutes, plus shower time plus changing time, plus getting to the gym time is too long a lunch hour -- but it's still 40+ minutes of decent workout. I try to get in three sessions a week, although I won't make that this week. Proof of the pudding will come next week when I head off for a week long in-the-sun bike vacation. I am not quite counting the hours, but at times I am tempted to do so.

At the start of the month I did a 3-hour spin class too, which was pretty awesome. You have six sessions of 27-28 minutes, with a micro break between times to fill up your water bottle, grab a snack and rest your legs. Again sort of mixed. A couple of the instructors were less good than the others, and I can't stand it when the music goes all techno on me. But there was one instructor whose half-hour session consisted of a single hill, of varying degrees of effort. It was surprisingly awesome.