I go to spinning classes. Lately, I have been going on week mornings. It is still a bit dark in the mornings to get out and ride. I have lights and do ride in the dark, but I feel safer on the last stretch if it is light for the maniacs uh drivers to see me. Also before dawn here in FL, it is still cold and it takes awhile to put all the necessary clothing on. That early in the morning, it is easier to not think and make the very short drive to the gym and do a spin class.

I am not motivated by the music. I suspect that spinning is more like an aerobics class than like cycling. They change the kinds of activities very quickly often less than a minute at something before changing intensity or friction or something. Also they do things that I have never seen anyone do on the road. One is something called "jumps". It consists of getting out of the saddle for 1-4 revolutions and then sitting for 1-4 revolutions and then repeating. These are considered challenging. I have gotten to ignoring them. Another thing is they often crank on far more resistance than an experienced cyclist would ever do and get down to RPMS close to 20. That is supposed to build "strength".

I have found by observation that many people look like they are working hard, but probably are not. It is not as if anyone can be dropped on a spin bike. So appearance is everything. I can drop most of them pretty easily on the road even at my advanced age and state of increpitude.

However, I find that I can concentrate on just intensity and getting a high intensity is not hard in a spin class especially if I keep things more intense and don't fool with the "recoveries".

Spin bikes are nice because of the large fly wheels which makes them a bit reminiscent of fixed gear bikes. It encourages high RPMS and they are better than resistance training in my experience. Also in the gym, they often have some pretty high powered fans which is nice and even essential.