Spin Demon

My spin teacher likes torture. And I guess I must like it too, seeing as how I keep going back again and again to BE tortured. Today's class was particularly hard. It's funny to me that spin teachers always use the phrase, "increase that tension" but never include, "drop that tension" in their repertoire, except at the very end when you are supposed to be cooling down. For those non-spinners out there, the bike is stationary, with about 50 other bikes in the room, simple design with the speed up to your legs and the work up to amount of tension a little dial puts on the wheel. More tension=more work and sweat. So if I were to strictly follow the teacher's instructions, my tension wheel would make several revolutions in the class. But it goes only about 3/4 turn. Any more than that and I would be on bike stuck in virtual quick sand.
I'm surprised how much I love to ride. My friend recommended it a few months ago when I was training for the triathlon. I went thinking that it would be a good way to train for the biking portion. Boy was it ever. I trained and smoked Steve on the bike (yes he had a lemon of a bike, but I finished 20 minutes ahead of him, stopping several times to wait for him to catch up). I've always thought bikes were a bit wimpy, but it gives me a far better range of workout compared to just running. Oh, and it kicks my butt. Today, as sweat was pouring off of me and I wanted to quit, I knew that this my penance for eating that handful of Reisens (ambrosia on earth).

These are the beautiful tomatoes from my little garden. My pride a joy. 8 plants have produced a harvest of sweet, yummy pesticide free snack for my little kids to eat. I wish I could have more space to raise more food. I love growing our own food. There's just something magical about planting a seed, watering it, watching the plant grow and bam, there's beans on it! Yippee food for tonight! We should all garden a bit more.