SoulCycle NoHo | 384 Lafayette Street | Manhattan

A few weeks ago I tried spinning for the first time at SoulCycle in NoHo NYC. All of my girlfriends simultaneously got really into it, and I knew it was a only a matter of time before one of them roped me into going, too. It ended up being Esther who went to my first class with me; she was all, “You’ll feel awesome! It’ll be fun!”

If this were an 80′s movie, the word “fun” would be echoing in a haunting manner right about now. “Fun…fun…fun…”

It was hard, you guys. Gym equipment of any kind is intimidating for yoga-loving me, so being clipped into a bike by my feet felt hardcore. My goal for the class was the same as every new athletic endeavor for me: just try. Stay in the room. Do your best. Then push a bit to see how far you can go.

I stayed, I pushed, and, at one moment I pushed too hard, lost my balance, and fell off my bike. I was able to right myself before I crashed totally over, and took it easy for the rest of the class. I came out glowing and happy at having tried something new, though. Also, slightly bruised, but hey. I did it! Here I am all sweaty, immediately after class.

A note: I like my body. I always have, even at 200 pounds (p.s. I’ve lost 45 pounds since I started trying!), but it was a tiny bit difficult to be a little chubby and in a room full of crazy awesome bods. I don’t know if spinning works that well or if it generally appeals to people who are already fit, but there were a whole lot of toned folks up in there! I won’t name-drop, but there was even that girl from that TV show spinning a few bikes over. I’m used to my Bikram yoga class, where everyone comes in all shapes and sizes. No one gave me a side eye or anything though, because people are generally lovely, and I would like to say thank you to the entire staff of SoulCycle NoHo for making this new spinner feel welcome. Everyone I interacted with was fantastic.

I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to try again. The pros were REALLY fun music, a fantastic workout in not a lot of time, a good sweat, and that it was really fun to take with a friend “whoo-hoo!ing” and sweating next to me. It got me good and tired, too, which I liked – so tired, in fact, that I slept through my subway stop, making it the first time that’s happened to me since moving to NYC!

The cons were the equipment – the bike and the shoes that clip into the petals were both awkward for me – and how challenging it was to stay standing the entire time (you don’t spin sitting down, which I didn’t realize until I saw everyone else standing up.) It’s also a little expensive.

Have you tried it? Would you go again? Should I give it one more shot?