I just became aware of a new Indiegogo campaign for an innovative* method of pedaling a bicycle. Similar in functionality to a KrankCycle, the Caron Bicycle uses independent left/right crankarms that create 6 different pedalling movements.
They have their crankset installed on a conventional IC in this video. Watch and then tell me if you feel these added exercises would improve your class… or is it just a solution in search of a problem that doesn't really exist?
This animated video shows the various muscle activation from the different pedalling techniques.
*I'd be curious to know if Matrix has patents on the KrankCycle that would extend to a leg powered bicycle?
In case you haven't seen the KrankCycle in action:
Caron claims this on their campaign page:
Technology for CARON Bicycle is protected by patents worldwide, including US Pat. No. 7,544,139.
It might be cool to observe power output – especially during one legged work 🙂
In advance of recording her new Audio Profile Beat Down, Instructor Krista Leopold and I discussed her need to take a break from teaching. With a demanding tech job, along with being an active soccer mom, Krista explains why she decided to step away from regularly scheduled Spinning® classes in this episode of the Podcast.
This ties in with my moving to Florida and having to give up my classes at Life Time Fitness. So for the first time in 17 years I don't have a scheduled class next week 🙁 Not sure how I'm going to feel, once this sinks in…
For those of you who are still teaching, we've published Krista's profile Beat Down for our ICI/PRO members. It's going to include a special treat – a fully mixed MP3 of the complete class playlist!
I taught my final class for LifeTime Fitness yesterday and thought I would use my very last track as this week's free music Friday.[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|PRO-Visitor|PRO-Studio']
Line of Fire from Junip is one of those sneaky songs that starts quiet and unassuming. Then it begins to build @ 92 RPM, in volume and intensity. Listen for the obvious places to cue additional load that come about 20 seconds apart. We built up to our Best Effort power over the first 2:30. Then there's a nice quiet spot to regroup before ramping up again to the BIG FINISH – you decide how long you want to keep everyone above threshold. The total length (before the outro) is 5:22. Plenty of time to really do something cool!
Has this ever happened to you and really messed up the energy of your class?
You switch from the Now Playing screen on your iPhone, back to the Playlist Screen to check what song is coming up next.
Except you're a ways into the class and to see the current song that's playing in the list, you need to carefully scroll down through the playlist. Easy to do when you're sitting at a desk. Not so easy when you are all sweaty and pedaling a bike. So what you intended as a swipe to scroll down the order, becomes a click that starts a different song. This of course messes up everything and has you flustered, trying to get back to the previous song – and at the correct point in the track 🙁
I found a solution for this today. I'm not sure how long it's been there, but there's now an option to see the Play Queue the list of what's coming up next. Here's how you can find it:
From the Now Playing screen > Click the top right icon.
That will open the Play Queue with the current track always at the top!
Understanding WHY something “is” the way it “is” is fascinating to me. Outdoor road riders tend to be predominantly men… and Indoor Cycling participants are far and away women. So why is that?
OK, I already know why – outdoor cycling has an element of risk that's more acceptable to men, than women. My wife Amy is much more comfortable at speed on the back of our tandem, than she would be piloting her own bike. And it's not just me who's figured this out. Citi Bike has too.
When Citi Bike arrived here, it promised to spread the benefits of biking to the masses, an uphill push in a city where large potholes, heedless yellow cabs and darting pedestrians can make riding on busy streets seem like an activity best left for daring messengers.
But two years in, Citi Bike’s inroads have been decidedly uneven, with men far outnumbering women in using the bike-sharing system. A little time on Eighth Avenue on a recent morning, watching the stream of Citi Bike riders heading north past Pennsylvania Station and toward Times Square, was instructive. Man after man pedaled by, some in suits, others in jeans. From time to time, a woman on a Citi Bike rode by.
Reasonable (and observant) people already understood this, so I'm not sure why this is even a question. Men are by nature more reckless and more tolerant/accepting of risk than women.
“Women are early indicators of a successful bike system,” said Sarah M. Kaufman, the assistant director for technology programming at the Rudin Center for Transportation at New York University and an author of a new report on Citi Bike. “If you have more women riders, that means it’s convenient and safe.”
Officials at Citi Bike say they are attracting a greater share of women than the citywide rate of female cyclists – about 21 percent, according to a study from Hunter College. The bike-sharing service is looking at more than just the safety concerns that seem to nag more at women than men, who insurance actuaries long ago concluded are more likely to engage in risky behavior, such as not wearing a bike helmet.
Anyone who's insured young drivers (like me), are thankful they had daughters – not sons – when they get their insurance bill. Young women are less likely to do stupid/risky stuff in a car = they crash less often = they're less of an insurance risk.
This isn't rocket science here people. And yet I'm continuously seeing instructors and studios focusing their marketing at men… who ride outside… and will probably never set foot in your class. While successful (read profitable) fitness businesses like SoulCycle cater almost exclusively to women.
My advice to Citi Bike is to accept the reality here (women don't feel safe riding in traffic) and quit coming up with stupid non issues like not having a place for their kids.
And there are other perceived obstacles, not unique to women but more commonly cited by them: They cannot ride with small children. They think the cost – $149 for an annual membership or $9.95 for a day pass – is too steep, especially on top of a subway pass. And they worry about arriving at work sweaty.
“I wouldn’t want to be gross the whole day,” said Maeve McCarthy, 21, an intern at an interior design firm in Manhattan, who has not tried Citi Bike but said she would consider taking a nice ride through Central Park, if not commuting to work from Brooklyn.
Ms. McCarthy just doesn't want to smell sweaty the rest of the day… and I don't want to sit next to her if she does 🙁
There's an old saying; “you can't fight city hall”. It points to the futility of trying to change something that just ain't going to change… no matter how hard you wish it to change.
That will open the Play Queue with the current track always at the top!
