First Impression:

Well, obviously there isn’t much strength training going on here. But if you’re looking for cardio, and have even an ounce of competitiveness in you, this place delivers. It starts out like any normal spin class, little bit of warm up, relatively loud music, then eventually the leaderboard goes up and it’s time to fricking race…. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but as soon as I saw my name up on the screen in 10th place behind some lady named Gigi, I cranked the tension up and it was on like Dixie Kong. I pedaled like I was trying to beat a stoplight. I pedaled like my little brother just passed me. I pedaled like I was about to be first in the goddamn Tour de France…. And I smoked them all - at the end of the 30 second sprint, I was solidly in first place and it was by a long shot. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Gigi! But then of course I realized that we were only 10 minutes into a 45 minute class and I was totally boned.

I was exhausted by the end, but honestly couldn’t complain at all. Monitor gripes that I wasn’t used to the bikes, and it took a sec to figure out that “gears” didn’t have much to do with the amount of resistance, or that you had to find a little lever on the bike and swing it left and right at certain points - I felt like I was activating a trap door when I finally found it.

Second Class:

Made my second trip to Cycle Bar in Culver today. Luis was teaching class and as soon as Avril Lavigne’s “Hey Hey You You, I don’t like your girlfriend!” Came on, I knew this was going to be a fun class 🤭

Luis was full of energy and you could feel it the entire class - it was full group focused and everyone was having the time of their lives, with howling from the back and people spinning towels over their head. It’s 6am, but just TRY to be tired during this class, it is impossible! I did miss the leaderboard racing a little, I was kind of sandbagging a bit to make sure I didn’t die during my bouts of intense competitiveness, but they didn’t come.

Showering situation here works, but isn’t my favorite. The shower rooms themselves remind me of a shower at a doctor’s office; a bit industrial feeling, with grimy corners that look like they let someone’s teenage child clean the showers for too long, and the body wash vaguely smells like something my grandmother would have used. They do provide nice towels though, that’s a plus!

Overall- still super happy with the CycleBar experience and it’ll surely be in my regular rotation.

Showers
- private shower room
- Towels provided
- O.K. shampoo/conditioner/bodywash
- Mirror