East 54th Street: 3/10/16

Instructor: Rich

Another day, another Soul class and for some reason, we still haven’t figured out the right time to leave to arrive on time. Flashback to Saturday, when I sprinted into Paige’s class at the SoHo studio and left my mom behind—this was the exact situation today running into Rich’s 9:30.

I hate being late. I always feel terrible when I am and have a much higher heart rate when I get on the bike. However, I quickly got into the groove in Rich’s class. I am eternally grateful to the woman next to me who kindly handed me a towel from the empty bike next to her. I needed that towel.

Rich’s upbeat energy made the small class feel like a filled room. There was so much enthusiasm, a common theme among each ride! He made an effort to acknowledge each rider present, and that made the class incredibly soulful.

Lunch Break

Before Bryant Park, we met up with Mo and her sister Brooke at Le Pain Quotidien. Surprise, surprise I got the avocado toast. I could only scarf down so much—I didn’t want to see it again in an hour.

Bryant Park: 3/10/16

Instructor: Monique

I know, I know you have déjà vu. Yes, as always her class was incredibly hard.

Today I wasn’t entirely focused on the pain I was feeling, but something Mo had said to me yesterday, I need to change my face while riding. I put a lot more effort into smiling through the pain, developing a stronger poker face. I flashed my pearly whites at Mo whenever we caught eyes, just to make sure she knew I didn’t have the same goofy look as before. I’d give myself a 10 out of 10 easy.