As promised, I have to address the elephant in the room. Yes I have a Peloton. Like many people I was in search of something for exercise during the pandemic. For me it was May 2020 and there was no sign of my beloved Orangetheory Fitness reopening. A friend posted on FaceBook that she had a Peloton but I was not sold. Peloton was offering free 30days on the Peloton app and I jumped in. Like many people I used the Peloton App while riding our Keiser stationary bike and it was okay. So if you are not familiar, using the Peloton app lets you take a class but you are not able to compete on the leaderboard and more importantly for this road cyclist, you are not able to see your metrics.
Fast forward to a conversation with a fellow road cyclist who said "Get the Peloton." I asked why since I had my Keiser bike and she said, "I know you and I know that you want the metrics. You want to be able to see where you are compared to others. You want the whole experience." I'm here to say that my friend was right."
This bike that goes nowhere gave me a community during the pandemic and continues to do so. Some call it a cult, but it's not a cult. It is a strong community that rolls hard for our Peloton family. Just look at what the Peloton family did for Cody Rigsby during Dancing with the Stars. We voted for our boo thang and even when folks counted him out, he was consistently saved by our Peloton community. So what is it you ask? I'm not really sure but I can tell you that it starts with instructors like Robin Arzon who make you fell like you are a part of something. I recall a "Together We Ride" ride that Robin did during the pandemic. She spoke of the resilience of each person on that ride, what we could accomplish together and the fact that no one was riding alone. Even while each of the riders were locked in their respective homes, we could high five people on the leaderboard and get one back, which meant that we were not alone. There really is no way to articulate the feeling of community that I felt, riding on a stationary bike, in my own home. Oh and if I remember correctly, there were 10,000 members on the ride.
Add in the Peloton Facebook groups that keep you tied in and supported. I found my first group in Black Girl Magic-The Peloton Edition (BGM). Over five thousand women of color discussing rides, tips for newcomers, and yeah sis, what to do with your hair? The conversations provided something daily. Even now with life somewhat back to normal for many, I still check in with BGM to make sure that I didn't miss anything!
I said my first group was BGM, well my second group was BGM Power Zone Riders. This group of women are my girls! We ride daily @ 6:00am pushing ourselves in Power Zone to be better riders. Power Zone is the brainchild of Peloton instructor Matt Wilpers, who is a road cyclist. He developed a test based on his road cycling experience, wherein each rider takes a test, the Functional Threshold Performance (FTP) test, which gives you a chart of zones that are personal to each rider. What this means is that every rider that takes the FTP test, gets a numerical breakdown of their own performance. The beauty of that horrid 20 minute test (it is the worst 20 minutes of your life) is that a rider can take the test again and see statistically if they have improved. Game changer! Matt Wilpers describes the FTP test as a performance factor that is teachable. Factors such as genetics can not be changed, but an individual's FTP can change with the increased skill of the rider.
Consistent Power Zone riding has improved my road skills in ways that I had not imagined. Some Power Zone classes, which are the intermediate classes, Power Zone classes, challenge you to ride over and under your endurance pace which elevates your endurance pace. Endurance rides are called Power Zone Endurance rides. Power Zone max rides are rides where you ride above the VO2 max. As I tend to ride for long distances, the performance change is welcome. Now when I am on the road, I can feel when I am pushing and when I need to back down to my endurance pace. Previously, I was the one in the group that just went fast, all of the time. But getting better at endurance has improved my riding experience. Oh and just so you know, some classes teach you how to attack on a ride and blow past other riders. Priceless.
So is a Peloton for you? It depends on you. It just works for me. That's really the only consideration when ur deciding what exercise works for you. Choose the one that you will do consistently. I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried this bike that goes nowhere and I love it.
Will I see you on the leaderboard? I'm #sistahwithabike.
