Here we go, a 40 minute ride with some of the best songs that 2009 had to offer.  The profile is simple: Climb/Sprint/Lift, Climb/Sprint/Lift, and a 7.5 minute, two-song hill climb to the finish.

January and February are key months for people to return to exercise.  Classes will be full and you’ll have more new riders, so you’ll likely spend more time setting up bikes, cueing drills, and encouraging people to take breaks, drink lots of water, and ride their own ride.

Two things I usually tell classes with new riders: don’t expect to be able to do all the drills, all the way through at first.  It can take up to 2-3 months of regular classes to get there.  That can be a surprise for people who are transitioning from other sports, like running.  It’s the same in reverse.  For me, a 40 minute run feels much harder than a 40 minute spin class.  The second thing I always tell new riders is to expect a sore butt after class.  This goes away a lot more quickly – 4-5 classes, and they’ll never be sore again.  If it’s really bothersome, a $10 removable gel seat cover or a pair of bike shorts can help them make the transition.

I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas (4:49):  This song has been on heavy rotation on my iPod since it came out.  It’s one of those tunes that just makes you want to move.  Warm up your legs with some easy spinning and throw in a few dynamic upper body stretches.

Sexy Bitch (feat. Akon) – David Guetta (3:16): I am such a bad feminist for liking this song… but I do.  It reminds me of a lawyer I knew when I was first practicing.  He was about 25 years older than I was and continually said inappropriate things to women.  But the thing was – it didn’t come from a place of malice.  He adored his wife, and thought highly of women.  You could just tell.  I had a huge soft spot for him.  And this song is kind of like that.    Let’s tackle some small rolling hills to get going.  First, we climb out of the saddle, then sit down and sprint.  For an extra challenge, do the sprints standing.  Here we go!  First hill: C: 0:15 – 0:30, S: 0:30 – 0:45.  Second hill: C: 0:45 – 1:15, S: 1:15 – 1:45.  Third hill: C: 1:45 – 2:45, S: 2:45 – 3:15.

Love Drunk – Boys Like Girls (3:47): More sprints?  Sure! Three of them: 30/45/50 seconds at 0:48 – 1:20, 1:45 – 2:28, 2:38 – 3:28.  Wanna do ’em standing?  You bet!

Right Round (feat. Ke$ha) – Flo Rida (3:27): Crank that tension up to 6 or 7/10 and  do some random lifts: 4/8/2.

Love Game (Chu Fu Ghettohouse  Fix) (feat. Marilyn Manson) – Lady GaGa (5:21):  We deserve a 45 second rest.  Give your shoulders a roll and take a big drink.  The second large hill starts here.  This one’s a fast standing climb.  We’re going to alternate between regular and aggressive stances, 15 seconds each, then 30, then 45, then 60.

Waking Up in Vegas – Katy Perry (3:19): More sprints, this time at each chorus: 15/15/45.  They’re at 0:47 – 1:02, 1:29 – 1:44, and 2:22 – 3:07.  Shorter sprint intervals are the perfect time for new riders to try a standing sprint or two.

No You Girls – Franz Ferdinand (3:40):  More high tension lifts – 7/10.  Do 8 counts to the bridge, then 4, then 2 for the choruses.

Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meester) – Cobra Starship (3:18): Okay, there’s only one big, 7.5 minute hill between us and the showers.  Roll the tension back to 4/10 for this fast climb.  Take a posture break and switch to a standing jog for the choruses.  Remind new riders and those who’ve been away from the bike for a while to take a break when they need to.  The transition between songs here is a natural spot to kick back and reload.  Advanced riders, keep it going for the whole 7.5 minutes.

Fire Burning – Sean Kingston (4:03): Keep the climb going, and keep it fast.  This time we’re going to do at least three tension increases, while maintaining the pace.  Shoot for pleasantly thrashed by the end of the ride.

Africa (feat. Culture) [Radio Edit] – Karl Wolf (3:52):  Ahhh….. we made it.  Roll the tension back to 2/10 and take a few minutes to spin easy.  We’ll lower our heart rates and do some static upper body stretches on the bike, then climb off and treat our quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves to nice long stretches.

Down (feat. Lil Wayne) – Jay Sean (3:32):  Some extra cool-down and goodbye music.

In the I-Knew-I-Loved-It-Loud-Department, a recent study out of the University of Western Ontario that was reported on MSNBC and in the January/February 2010 of Women’s Health magazine found that when active women listened to their favourite workout songs at different volumes, they exercised hardest while listening at the loudest level.  Loud tunes had the greatest effect on strength-training moves.  Women cranked out an extra 7 leg presses while listening to the loud music over their regular volume, and an extra 10 reps over what they could do without music.  But you can have too much of a good thing: cranking the tunes over 85 decibels repeatedly can cause hearing loss.