[Elefantino]

We are visiting our daughter in DC and she spins at a local gym, Vida Fitness. So I went along this morning. Had never spun on a real spin bike before; this one was a Matrix IC7 with "coach by color."

Forty-five minutes with her personal trainer, Kyle Suib, leading the class of about 25 people.

Whew. It was interesting, to say the least. The bike took some getting used to, adjusting the resistance knob and all, but by the end I was able to hold 300+ watts with the rest of the class on the final "sprint" session.

Not bad for an old man who two days earlier had the last birthday he's going to count.

I have to be honest, though. I don't see the attraction for serious cyclists. Sure, it was a great workout, but I would much rather go out and do a hard 45 minutes on the road.

Those of you who do both might be able to weigh in on how spinning benefits your road riding.