Each year, I list the playlists from the previous year that garnered the most page views.  But you know what?  By far the most popular playlists on the blog are the ones that readers post.  The Reader Playlist page saw 25,784 views in 2011, more than any other playlist.

1.  Gonna Make You Sweat Spin Mix (43 minutes) – 25,524 views (the #1 playlist every year.  Could it have something to do with the title?  Last year it got even more views.)

2.  Best of 2010 Spin Mix Version 2 (45 minutes) – 7,682 views (new!)

3.  Give Me Everything Spin Mix (75 minutes) – 7,658 views (new!)

4.  Best of 2010 Spin Mix (47 minutes) – 5,730 views (new!)

5.  Rock ‘n Roll Spin Mix (43 minutes) – 4,711 views (the #2 playlist in 2009 and #3 in 2010)

It was a great year here at Spinning Music, too.  Traffic mushroomed to 640,000 views this year (about 1,750 per day) and surpassed 1,000,000 all-time views over Labour Day weekend in September 2011.  The blog accumulated another 250,000 views in the last four months of 2011 – more traffic than it attracted in 2008 and 2009 put together.  344 people now follow the blog, plus more than 1,000 who follow on Ping.

A huge thank you to everyone who visited or took the time to comment or ask a question or post a ride in 2011.  You’ve helped me create a welcoming community of individuals from every continent except Antarctica, bonded by our passion for indoor cycling.  I love hearing what you’re spinning to.  I especially want to thank J.R. Atwood over at www.spinningmixes.wordpress.com and David McQuillen over at The Sufferfest for being the top two referring sites for this blog.  I also want to give a big shout out to Judy, Dana, Ellis Rutherford, Carsten, and Lisa, the top five contributors to the blog for 2011.  Thank you!

Big changes are afoot for Spinning Music in 2012.  I am planning a move to a dedicated domain and have enlisted someone far more tech-savvy than me to spiff up the blog and really make it shine.  The reader playlist page and Bike Cafe will become forums (no more crashes due to too many comments!), there will be more searchability, and (one of my 2012 resolutions) more posts.  I’d like to hear from you.  Is there anything else you’d like to see?

Here we go, the top 25 spinning tunes of 2011…

1.  The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (was there ever any doubt that this is the best spinning song of the year?  A gorgeous combo of climbing for the versus and sprinting for the choruses.  Even when I think I’m utterly spent, I find a little more juice when I hear this song.  GaGa wrote it about the death of her grandfather in 2010 and the late Clarence Clemons contributed a wonderful sax solo).

2.  We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) – Rihanna (another great climbing song, this one had to grow on me but it deserves the #2 spot.  I never tire of it).

3.  Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 (more climbing.  A great year for Levine.  He had a huge hit with this song, a regular TV gig as a judge on The Voice, and featured on Stereo Hearts, another great tune).

4.  Sweat (Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta) – Snoop Dogg and David Guetta (still more climbing).

5.  Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO (nobody had more fun in 2011 than the dudes in LMFAO and this is a perfect, light-hearted start for a spin class that also works for jumps).

6.  Rolling in the Deep – Adele (2011 was Adele’s year, no question.  Her album 21 went to #1 in 18 countries and created all sorts of records, including a match for one previously held by the Beatles.  She’s uber-talented, but most of her music isn’t really suited for spinning.  Rolling in the Deep works as an energetic warmup, thanks to the drumbeat.  A confession: her other huge hit, Someone Like You, is gorgeous, but the lyrics veer too close to pathetic stalkery self-absorbtion for me to be able to enjoy it.  I recogize I am in the minority on this one).

7.  S&M – Rihanna (more climbing, with jumps at the chorus.  This one also gets the prize for being the FM radio hit you least want your kids to sing along to).

8.  Jet Lag (feat. Natasha Bedingfield) – Simple Plan (a sprinting song with sweet pop deliciousness, plus they hail from Montreal, Canada.).

9.  Tonight Tonight – Hot Chelle Rae (jumps.  Pure pop perfection).

10.  Niton (The Reason) [Radio Edit] – Eric Prydz (I couldn’t get enough of this tempo drill; extended mixes take it as long as 8 minutes).

11.  Every Teardrop is a Waterfall – Coldplay (another gorgeous climbing song from Coldplay, but it can’t top 2008′s Viva La Vida, which is one of my favourite spinning songs of all-time).

12.  Marry the Night – Lady GaGa (despite being a huge GaGa fan, I only discovered this song recently.  A great sprinting tune).

13.  Born this Way – Lady GaGa (more sprints).

14.  Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo) – Pitbull (gorgeous cool down energy).

15.  Brand New Chick – Anjulie (a versatile tune that works for climbing or jumps, and the artist even hails from my home town of Oakville, Ontario).

16.  Mr. Saxobeat (Radio Edit) – Alexandra Stan (another versatile tune that works as a warm up, climb or tempo drill from Romanian artist Stan.  The song has done well in Europe, Australia and North America).

17.  Good Feeling – Flo Rida (great for climbing or jumps).

18.  Where Them Girls At (feat. Nicki Minaj) – David Guetta, Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj (another climb).

19.  Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People (the underdog of the year.  Dark, dark lyrics disguised in a catchy pop riff – like finding a razor blade in your cotton candy).

20.  Beautiful People – Chris Brown (fantastic warm up energy).

21. Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You) [feat. Ludacris] – Enrique Iglesias (the original version is cocky… and filthy.  A great song for jumps).

22.  When We Stand Together - Nickelback (double-time jumps make this one of the toughest jumping songs I’ve ever used, plus the band hails from Alberta, Canada).

23.  Haven’t Had Enough – Marianas Trench (a jumping song from this Vancouver, Canada band).

24.  Invincible – Hedley (inspiring lyrics for this seated grind of a climb by British Columbia rockers, Hedley.  Trivia: the lead singer was a contestant on Canadian Idol in 2004-05 but dropped out near the end).

25.  Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine) – Gym Class Heroes (a perfect cool down song).

Well, did I get it right?  You might quibble with the order (I quibble with it myself – every time I pulled up this draft post, I moved something around).  Did I leave out any of your favourites?

If you follow the charts there probably weren’t many surprises on this list – all of these songs did very well in 2011.  For a more eclectic list of great spinning songs (not limited to songs that came out in 2011), check out ICI Pro Indoor Cycling 2.0‘s blog post here.

Create a new spin mix, of course!  I never get more done than when I’m avoiding what I should be doing.  My house is clean, my fridge full, and my laundry basket empty.  Hell, I even went to yoga last Saturday afternoon.

This is the playlist I used in class tonight.  My riders gave it two thumbs up and the general consensus was that this is a tough ride.  “What got into you this week?” one of them shouted after I exhorted them to tackle all three of the final sprints standing.  “Hallowe’en candy!” I replied.  At least, I think sugar made me do it.

The profile for this class is simple: four sets of rolling hills and jumps, followed by some speed work to finish it off.  It’s a 50/50 mix of new music and some recent favourites.

This Night (Max Graham Remix) – Filo & Peri (feat. Audrey Gallagher) (6:26):  My first class of the month so the warm up today was all about proper bike fit.  More talking calls for a longer warm up.  (For a summary of what I tell my class, click here.)  This is a recent tune from Dirty Mexican Lemonade.  My apologies – when I went back to include a link to the page with the song, I couldn’t find it.  DML, can you help me out here?

Good Feeling – Flo Rida (4:07):  First set starts here with some rolling hills.  When I do rolling hills, I coach a standing climb with tension changes every 15-60 seconds as the mood strikes me.

Stayin’ Hot (Nelly vs. Bee Gees) - Lobsterdust (4:16):  On to jumps on a hill.  This song comes from DJ Lobsterdust – one of my favourite sources for mashups.  (Yes, this time I included a direct link to the song.)  Crank that tension up to 8/10 and give me 90 seconds each of 8 counts, 4 counts, and 2 counts.  Hup!

We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) – Rihanna (3:36):  Second set… more rolling hills.  This song didn’t grab me when it first came out, but on repeated listens, I’m drawn to the keyboards in the peppy chorus.

When We Stand Together – Nickelback (3:10):  Okay, Nickelback is the Canadian band that Canadians love to hate, but come on – this is one catchy tune.  It’s the lead single from their next album, Here and Now.  (I love that they’re still called albums.  I remember albums.)  This is a ridiculously tough jump drill.  I thought it would be tough – until I did it.  Holy crap.  It’s really tough.  Here’s the catch: we do everything double time.  8 counts for the verses and 4 for the choruses, but twice as fast as the beat, so really, it’s more like a series of short, standing runs with tension at 5/10.  Believe me, 5/10 is plenty.

Sexy Bitch (feat. Akon) – David Guetta (3:16):  This is the tune that made me fall in love with David Guetta.  How can you not dance when you hear this?  Third set of rolling hills start right here.  If b**ch is too risque for your club, Sexy Chick by GG is virtually identical, without the problematic lyrics.

Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO (3:19):  This fun ditty peaked at #1 on the Billboard Chart.  More jumps – 7/10 tension, 8 counts for the verses, 4 counts for the choruses.

Moves Like Jagger (The Voice Performance) [feat. Christina Aguilera] – Maroon 5 (3:21):  This song topped the charts in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United States.  I find it fascinating when songs have such wide appeal.  Last set starts here.  Rolling hills.  Yep, again.

Haven’t Had Enough – Marianas Trench (3:30):  Vancouver pop punk rockers Marianas Trench released this single from their latest album back in July 2011.  It hit #1 on Canada’s iTunes download chart (a chart I peruse regularly for ideas.)  Highest tension of the day: 9/10.  8 counts for the verses, 4 for the choruses.

Find Yourself (Radio Edit) – John O’Callaghan (2:32):  Finally, a chance to just ride.  Close your eyes, choose a tension and a cadence that is slightly uncomfortable for you (about 80% of your maximum effort), and appreciate how good it feels to move.

The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (5:21):  I admit it: I’d finish up every class with this song if I could get away with it.  A combo drill – more climbing, but with three sprints at the choruses 30/30/60 seconds.  (They’re at 1:04 – 1:34, 2:28 – 2:58, 4:02 – 5:02).  I coach riders to choose one of three options: standing (toughest), seated (medium), and surges (seated, least intense).  I will often ask: “Show of hands – who’s got the juice to do all three standing?”  Having stuck a hand in the air, people feel accountable to keep their word.  Sometimes I can keep the whole class on their feet.

Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine) – Gym Class Heroes (3:32): This one peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Chart but languished at #47 in Romania, #48 in France, and #49 in Belgium.  Those Belgians are tough customers.  And yep, that’s the ubiquitous Adam Levine on the chorus.  A well-deserved cool down.

Fight For You – Jason DeRulo (4:02):  DeRulo’s recent hit pays homage to Toto’s 1982 smash, Africa.  It’s the second recent song to reference Toto’s version.  Canadian Karl Wolf pulled out a fab version (also called Africa) that I’ve used here on the blog.  Which is better?  Tough call.  I like the rapping in Wolf’s version, but the backup singing on DeRulo’s is awesome.  Wolf’s career is really taking off in the USA and I just want to give him kudos for doing it first – his version was released in December 2008.  More cool down and goodbye music.

I went trick-or-treating this year for the first time since 1980.  My daughter was a scary tiger.  We taught her to roar,  knock on doors, and say “boo!” – all useful life skills, as a friend pointed out to me.  K. was right into getting treats from people, and she doesn’t even eat them.  (She’s like her Dad – more interested in a pork chop than a candy bar.)

We live downtown, on a street with many rental properties.  There are three toddlers on our block at the moment, but we had no luck at any other houses on our street – people weren’t home, or came to the door and confessed they didn’t have any candy.  Hello!  Who doesn’t have candy on Hallowe’en?  Half a dozen people gave K. loonies ($1 coins) or toonies ($2 coins) instead of candy.  One woman on another street (bless her) gave out delicious homemade lemony shortbread cookies, thus single-handedly redeeming the entire neighbourhood.

I am thinking it’s time to spiff up my ride, so here’s the question:  Do you have a Hallowe’en ride (or heck, a Hallowe’en song) that you really like?  I need inspiration…

Elizabeth has won a $25 iTunes gift card and a Ride Hard Bondi headband in her choice of black, orange, or lime green.

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest or who sent along well wishes for the blog - we now have a wicked list of your all-time favourite spinning songs.  I am going to distill those into a separate post so that they are easy to find in one place (plus, it will be searchable).

Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO (3:19):  Warm up.

Sinnerman (Felix Da Housecat’s Heavenly House Mix) – Nina Simone and Felix Da Housecat (4:35):  Surges.  From 0 – 0:30 keep it easy, then from 0:30 – 1:30 increase your cadence by 10%.  From 1:30 – 2:30 increase it 20%.  From 2:30 – 3:30 increase the tension and come out of the saddle to climb.  From 3:30 – 4:30, increase the tension and keep climbing.

What a Night – (DJ Kontrol Journey Mash) (feat. Claude Kelly) – Kontrol & L’il John (3:34):  One of my all-time favourite mashups, from Dirty Mexican Lemonade.  Jumps, one minute each for 8/4/2 counts.

Mercy (feat. The Game) – Duffy (3:50): An out-of-the-saddle climb on a muddy hill – tension 7/10.  Pick up the pace for each chorus.

This is How a Heart Breaks – Rob Thomas (3:51):  This song has possibly the most misguided title ever.  It should be a sappy ballad, but instead it’s a kick-ass sprinting tune.  Two quick intervals and one longer one: 15/20/1:15 at 0:44 – 1:00, 1:32 – 1:52, and 2:@0 – 3:35.  One of my all-time favourites.

Black Betty – Spiderbait (3:26):  Surging and sprinting here – from 0:12 – 0:50 surge; from 0:50 – 1:02 sprint.  Relax until 1:48 – 2:20 for another surge, and follow it up with a sprint from 2:58 – 3:13.  This song has been around for a long time.  It was first recorded in 1933, but could date as early as the 18th century.  Nobody is sure of exactly what ‘black betty’ is; the most likely meaning is a musket or a bottle of whisky.

Don’t Trust Me – 3OH!3 (3:13):  Sprints 30/30/30 at 0:30 – 1:00, 1:29 – 1:58, and 235 – 3:05.  I cringe at the offensive lyrics… but I keep playing it.

Clubbed to Death – Rob Dougan (7:27):  A seated climb starting at 5/10 and moving up to 9/10 or even 10/10.  Stand if/when you need to.  I like to get the riders to visualize a local hill and I point out the landmarks as we climb.

Lit Up – Buckcherry (3:37):  An unabashed love song to cocaine.  Come out of the saddle for this one and charge.

The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (5:21):  Spinning perfection.  Climb for the verses, sprint for the choruses 30/30/60 at 1:04 – 1:34, 2:28 – 2:58, and 4:02 – 5:02.  Ride like you stole it!

Stereo Love – Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina (4:08): Cool down.

If I Were a Boy – Beyonce (4:09):  Three years old now, and still as compelling as the first time I heard it.  Some extra cool down and goodbye music.

Water, Water, Everywhere…

Everybody knows that when you exercise, you’re supposed to drink as much as possible – right?  And if you exercise for more than 90 minutes, you’re supposed to switch from water to electrolyte-replenishing beverages, like Gatorade – right?

Not exactly.

A 2005 study of Boston Marathon runners found that 13% showed signs of exercise-associated hyponatremia.

Huh?  What’s that?  In a nutshell – it’s over-consuming liquids while exercising.  The excess liquid disrupts the balance of water and sodium in the body, causing all sorts of nasty symptoms, like nausea, spasms, cramps, vomiting, confusion, seizures, even death.

A recent Loyola University study concluded that up to half of recreational runners may be drinking too much.  Cyclists are also at risk.

The new advice?  Your body knows what its doing.  Drink to thirst.

Electrolyte beverages are still a good idea during lengthy workouts, but are too diluted to prevent hyponatremia.  You could take sodium tablets, but they can cause nausea – not exactly what you’re looking for during a race – and carry the risk of irritating the stomach.

The good news is that exercise-associated hyponatremia can be avoided, and is easily treated with IV saline once it is recognized.

All things in moderation… even water.

Here’s my latest mix of radio-friendly tunes.  No creative digging on this playlist – I simply scoped out the iTunes Top 100 and downloaded my favourites.  I am still sitting on a bunch of tunes from David Guetta’s new album.  Haven’t quite decided what to do with those yet.  A Guetta-themed ride, maybe?

This ride starts with an eight minute endurance segment, followed by seven minutes of rolling hills, then fifteen punishing minutes of jumps, and winds up with nine sprint intervals over the last eleven minutes.

Beautiful People (feat. Benny Benassi) – Chris Brown (3:46): Warm up with Brown’s first number one single.

Adrenaline (Original Mix) – Liquid Soul (7:51):  Listen to the music for a bit, then choose a tension and a cadence that is slightly uncomfortable for you.  The challenge here is to get into a zone and maintain the effort for the full eight minutes.  There are two options for coaching this one: chatty for distraction, or encourage everyone to leave the day behind and focus inward.  They can close their eyes if they wish – it’s just them and the bike.  I coached it the latter way and when I asked for feedback, about 75% of the class said they preferred it like that to chatty.

Moves Like Jagger (The Voice Performance) [feat. Christina Aguilera]  - Maroon 5 (3:21):  The first 45 seconds are for recovery.  Increase the tension and come out of the saddle for some rolling hills.  Cue small tension increases every 15-30 seconds; once you’ve hit 2-4 increases, cue small decreases until riders are back where they started.

Good Feeling  - Flo Rida (4:07): Brand new Flo Rida.  More rolling hills.  Yee haw!

Rain Over Me (feat. Marc Anthony) – Pitbull (3:52):  Here come the jumps.  Are you ready?  Resistance to 5/10 and see what you come up with – any combination of 8/4/2 counts works here.

Brand New Chick – Anjulie (3:32):  Take the tension up a notch to 6/10 and keep jumping.  I am delighted to showcase Canadian artist Anjulie, who hails from my home town of Oakville, Ontario.  There are two versions of this song, but I’m assuming most won’t be able to play a song called Brand New Bitch – especially not Judy!

Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People (4:00):  Next tension increase to 7/10.  This song has been going through my head since I first heard it.  It’s the kind of quirky tune that Apple might use in a commercial, but the lyrics are dark, dark, dark.

Tonight Tonight – Hot Chelle Rae (3:20): The tension goes up for the last time, to 8/10.  Keep jumping to this juicy pop deliciousness.  If you’re not thinking curse words by now, you’re not working hard enough.

Jet Lag (feat. Natasha Bedingfield) – Simple Plan (3:25): It’s just sprints between us and the showers now.  Nine of ‘em.  We’re going to do 30/30/40 here – they’re at 0:40 – 1:09, 1:35 – 2:02, and 2:32 – 3:10.

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) – Katy Perry (3:51):  Perry is the current Queen of Pop.  Three more 30 second sprints  at 0:38 – 1:08, 1:54 – 2:24, and 3:10 – 3:40.

My Body – Young the Giant (4:04):  When I heard the chorus to this song, I knew I had to use it: “My body tells me no, but I won’t quit, ’cause I want more!”  30/60/30 second sprints at 1:00 – 1:28, 1:58 – 2:58, and 3:28 – 4:00.

Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO (3:19):  This is the other song that’s been going through my head since I first downloaded it.  The tongue-in-cheek lyrics never fail to make me smile.  We deserve this cool down.

I’m Too Sexy – Right Said Fred (2:49):  Sexy and I Know It brought to mind another tongue-in-cheek sexy song, Right Said Fred’s 1991 charmer, I’m Too Sexy.

Had a great treat a couple of weeks ago when reader Elizabeth joined my spin class.  Of course, it was Murphy’s spin class – I was fighting a cold, only one of my regulars showed up, and to cap it off, the microphone died halfway through the class.  Had a lovely chat with Elizabeth and her husband afterwards.  It turns out we had each brought the other a gift.  I gave Elizabeth a Bondi headband that said ‘Addicted to Spinning’ and she gave me an iTunes gift card.  (Thanks, Elizabeth – it was awesome to meet you.  This playlist is yours!)  Here’s a pic of us taken right after class.  If I’d been more on the ball, I would have gotten the pic before we were all sweaty.

Readers, if you are ever in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I would love to meet you!

Folks, the counter on the blog rolled over on the Labour Day weekend as Spinning Music welcomed its millionth page view in just over three years.  As Arlo Guthrie would say, “Friends, they may think it’s a movement!”

A million of anything calls for a celebration, so it’s time to break out the Spinning Music swag.  I’ve got a Bondi Band and a $25 iTunes gift card to give away.  (What, you expected a Cervelo?  Hey, we’re a volunteer blog here.)

What’s a Bondi Band?  It’s my favourite head band of the moment – and I am tough on head bands.  This one stays put, wicks sweat, looks good, and amazingly, works equally well for men and women:

I have three colours to choose from: black, orange, and lime green.  The saying on the front?

What else?

Here’s how it works: to enter the Spinning Music 1,000,000 Views Contest, leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite Spinning song of all time, and why.  (Don’t leave your address, e-mail or contact info – I can still get in touch if you win.) 

The contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 30, 2011.  I’ll do a random draw of everyone who comments, and one lucky commenter will win the Bondi Band and $25 iTunes gift card.

My first class in June was a full class with a couple of new faces.  One guy I didn’t recognize was riding at the back of the class, on the bike closest to the door.  He was extremely fit (and it didn’t hurt that he was also good-looking!)  Not that I noticed.

As planned, I spent the warm-up talking about bike fit. 

As the class progressed, I noticed that no matter what type of drill we were doing, the new guy’s form was excellent.  He left during the cool down, but came back to chat once everyone had gone.  He told me he is a Spinning instructor

A slight bend in the knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

in Pittsburgh (aha!  That explains the great form.)  He was in Nova Scotia on business.  This sweet guy took the time to come back to tell me he thought I’d explained proper bike fit perfectly.  I beamed.  So David from Pittsburgh, if you ever read this – thanks.  You made my day.

It occurred to me on the way home that some might be interested in knowing what I said to my class about bike fit.  Here’s what I told them:

I’m going to spend the warm-up for today’s class talking about how to ensure you have a proper fit on your bike.  Keiser bikes allow for three adjustments: the seat goes up and down, it goes backwards and forwards, and the handlebars go up and down.  As they go up, the handlebars also move away from you.

The line of power from knee to ball of foot to pedal shaft.

Let’s deal with seat height first.  You want the highest seat height that is comfortable for you.  Start by putting the seat a little too high and then move it down in increments until you feel you’ve got it right.  How do you know?  Well, first test: is your knee a little bent at the bottom of your pedal stroke?  If it isn’t, your seat is too high.  Second test: Focus on your hip bones.  Are they rocking up and down as you pedal?  If so, your seat is too high.  Third test: Do your knees splay out as you pedal (I demonstrate).  This is a sign that your seat is too low.

Once you’ve got your seat height where you want it, let’s move on to seat position.  Stop pedaling for a sec, with your feet parallel to the floor.  Look at your front foot.  The front of your knee should be in line with the ball of your foot and the ball of your foot should be on the pedal shaft – that’s your line of power.  You should be able to draw a straight line from the front of your knee down through the ball of your foot and the pedal shaft and into the floor.  Can’t see the front of your foot?  Your seat is too far forward.  Front of your knee over the middle of your foot?  Your seat is too far back.  Adjust it until you’ve got that straight line you’re looking for.

Finally, we get to handlebar height.  This is mostly a matter of personal preference.  You are looking for a slight bend in your elbows while your hands are on the handlebars.  Most people like to adjust them to the height of their seat, or perhaps a bit higher, but keep in mind that on Keiser bikes, as the handlebars go up, they also move out.  Make sure you’ve still got a slight bend in your elbows.

Once you’ve arrived at a proper fit, you will notice that your bike has letters or numbers at the various positions.  Just jot down or remember your numbers for the three adjustments and you can set up your bike in no time flat.

If anyone would like me to do a personal bike fit, I’ll be available after class today.  You can also grab me before or after any class and I’ll make sure your bike set up is right for you.

Today’s ride is one I put together to sub a longer 75 minute class on the weekend.  It’s a mixed bag, an easy start befitting a longer class, three large hills that will take 7-9 minutes each to climb, lots of jumps, and 14 gruelling minutes of intervals to round it out at the end.  If you’re doing a 45 or 50 minute class, you can switch to the cool down at the water break, but you’ll lose most of the sprints, so it might be better to trade a couple of the climbing songs for sprints.  Most of the songs on this playlist are brand new and charting right now, but I’ve also thrown in a few older favourites.  It does skew heavily to club music.

Good Girl – Benny Benassi (3:41):  We don’t get too far into this one before we think: “is this song about a dog?”  Hey, whatever.  The beat rocks.  We’re doing a two-part warm-up today.  Easy spinning at low tension for now; for the next song, we’ll step it up a bit.

Every Teardrop is a Waterfall – Coldplay (4:03): Brand new Coldplay (goody!)  This one debuted at 29 on America’s Billboard chart and sold 85,000 copies the first week of its release.  We’re going to complete our warm-up by increasing the tension to 4/10 and coming out of the saddle for some rolling hills.  I like to simulate rolling hills by cueing two small tension increases about 20-45 seconds apart, followed by two small decreases.  (That’s one hill.)  Repeat.

Till the World Ends – Britney Spears (3:58):  Time for some jumps.  Take the resistance to 6/10 and do 4 count jumps for the verses and 8 count for the choruses.  Ke$ha has a co-writing credit on this one and although Britney recorded it, she didn’t write the song.

The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (5:21):  Here starts a 9 minute, two-song hill.  Riders looking for an extra challenge, eliminate the break between this song and the next one.  We’re going to climb for the verses and roll into standing sprints for the choruses: 30/30/60 seconds.  The sprints are at 1:04 – 1:34, 2:28 – 2:58, and 4:02 – 5:02.  Hmm, can I get away with putting this song on every playlist I do this summer?  I think I might try.  It’s five and a half minutes of spinning pop deliciousness.  The gorgeous sax solo is by Clarence Clemons, of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.  I was saddened to read that he died on June 18 after a stroke.  He was 69.

Wash My World – Laurent Wolf (3:34):  Okay, this one’s a bit of an in-joke.  See, the weather in Halifax has been truly abysmal for almost three months.  It’s been overcast and rainy six days out of seven, and the temperatures haven’t pressed much above 21 degrees Celsius yet this year.  Essentially, we had March, then April, then April, and then April again.  Finish off the first hill with a seated climb.  The challenge will be to keep the beat with tension set at 7/10.  Trivia: French DJ Wolf won top DJ at the 2008 World Music Awards.  Not too shabby.  Thanks to reader Ove for suggesting this tune.

Painkiller – Freestylers feat. Pendulum (5:31):  Two seated surge intervals here at 80% of your maximum effort.  Think medium resistance and fast legs.  The first one is three minutes long and runs from 0:45 – 3:40.  There’s a recovery break from 3:40 – 4:15, then the second interval runs from 4:15 – 5:11 (about 1 minute).  Surges, no problem.  The catch?  Every time you hear the word “painkiller,” you’ve got to come out of the saddle for an explosive four count jump.  It’s devilishly ingenious. Thanks to reader Greta for suggesting this song and her idea that riders jump with every “painkiller”.  You’ll find the PKs clustered around 1:40 – 2:00, 2:45 – 3:18, and 4:15 – 5:11.  There are even three of them during the recovery break!

Niton (The Reason) – Eric Prydz (2:45):  This one’s a tempo drill.  Choose a tension and cadence that you can maintain for almost 3 minutes, but not much more.  Once you get settled into a rhythm, close your eyes and focus on the ride.  It’s just you and the bike.

Bon Bon – Pitbull (3:36): You can almost taste the Miami vibe in this new tune from Pitbull.  It’s not the most complicated song ever written, but it’s perfect for jumps.  Jack the resistance to 8/10 and give me 4 counts for the entire song.  Hup!

Dirty Dancer – Enrique Iglesias with Usher (feat. L’il Wayne) (4:05): Here’s the second hill.  We’ll be 7.5 minutes to the top.  Once again, riders seeking an extra challenge can choose to eliminate the break between this song and the next one.  Dial the resistance back a bit to 7/10 and dig in.  When you hear the choruses, move into a standing jog.

Where Them Girls At? (feat. Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida) – David Guetta, Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida (3:15):  Guetta is all over this song.  If you can get past the astonishingly bad grammar of the title, it’s a relentless beat for an out of the saddle climb.  Dial the resistance back to 4/10 and hit it.

Alone (Radio Edit) – Jasper Forks (3:17):  I have reader Ove from Sweden to thank for this song, too.  He put me on to German DJ Jasper Forks.  The piano in his songs is hauntingly beautiful, and just when you think it’s a ballad, he pulls out some dance moves.  Alone is here to keep us company for a water break, a necessity on a longer ride.  Riders can refill their water bottles and take some recovery time, but not too much.  We’ve got another hill to climb, along with all those intervals.

Sweat (Remix) – Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta (3:16): Third hill starts here.  7.5 minutes to the top.  As with the previous two hills, riders seeking an additional challenge can skip the break between this song and the next.  Not much resistance here, maybe 4/10.  What makes it tough is the beat, just as relentless as Where Them Girls At without the poor grammar.

S&M – Rihanna (4:03):  Second half of the hill.  We’re going to add a little tension (5/10) and keep climbing.  For each chorus, add tension to get to 7/10 and move into 4 count jumps.  When you hear Rihanna singing “la la la la la come on,” hit it double-time and do some 2 count jumps.

Megalomaniac – KMFDM (6:08):  The good news?  That was the last hill.  The bad news?  We have 14 minutes of intervals between us and the cool down.  German rockers KMFDM put this song out in 1998.  We’re going to use it for some surges, starting at 0:45: 15 seconds on/off, then 30, then 45, then 60.  Want an extra challenge?  Do ‘em on a hill (tension 5/10 or 6/10).

Fire – Scooter (3:30):  Time for a pace line.  Split your riders into three groups.  The deal here is 20 seconds of  full-on sprinting, followed by 40 seconds of recovery, with each group taking three turns at the lead.

Dread Rock – Oakenfold (4:40):  Part of the Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack, this song is perfect to simulate a race to the finish line.  We get some easy spinning for the first 30 seconds, then come out of the saddle to climb from 0:30 – 2:45 while the music builds.  At 2:45 when it picks up again, we explode forward with everything we’ve got left.

Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Nayer) – Pitbull (4:16):  I confess to being far more partial to this song and to Hey Baby (Drop it to the Floor) than Bon Bon.  It’s got beautiful cool down energy, but would work just as well for more jumps.  What, no one’s interested in more jumps?

Ghetto Love – Karl Wolf feat. Kardinal Offishall (3:05):  Wolf is a Montreal hip hop artist who has a knack for updating 80s pop songs.  When I heard that he’d collaborated with Toronto rapper Kardinal Offishall on this new song, I just about did a happy dance.  More excellent cool down energy for some stretching and goodbye music.

You gotta love afterburn: the increased metabolic rate that toasts extra calories for up to 14 hours after you finish a workout.  A recent study out of Appalachian State University quantified the afterburn that comes with a 45 minute cycling session: 190 calories.  Sweet.  The catch is that to get the afterburn, you’ve got to exercise at high intensity: too high to carry on a conversation.  Hmm, sounds like a spin class.  Veteran health journalist and Spinning aficionado Gina Kolata covers the study here.

Here’s the idea: a bunch of local gyms get together and advertise a two hour ride (name it after a local peak or call it the Tour de Your-Home-Town).  Schedule it for a Saturday morning about three months away at whatever gym has the most bikes in their spin room.  (My town has a gym with 35 bikes.)  Riders sign up and pay a fee (say, $50?) and will get a t-shirt to wear on the day of the ride.  The rest of the proceeds go to a local charity.  Offer the participants training rides for the three Saturdays before the event.  The first week, they ride for 60 minutes.  The second week, 75 minutes.  The third week, 90 minutes.  The fourth week is the long ride, taught solo or as a team.  Participants can choose to train on their own, but training is a must for a ride this long.  I am going to pitch it to my gym for this fall and see how it goes.  If it’s a success, we could start doing it annually, or even a few times a year.

This is the playlist I used for the 75 minute ride.  It’s my Edge of Glory playlist expanded by six songs to add another 25 minutes of work.  Why is it only 66 minutes long if the ride was for 75 minutes?  I tend to pause the music between songs to tee up the next drill, so I need about 10% less music than I have class time.

Rolling in the Deep – ADELE (3:48):  When reader Chris first touted this song as one of the best of 2010 I took a listen and thought, meh – I wasn’t sure how to spin to it.  Since Chris mentioned it, it’s exploded and multiple listenings have made me an Adele convert – this 21 year old Brit is uber-talented.  It would work as a seated climb, but here, I’m using its energy for a warm up.  Kudos, Chris – you called this one.

S&M – Rihanna (4:03):  Okay, I’m aware that chasing a song as complex and delicious as Rolling in the Deep with S&M is like chasing a gourmet meal with a Big Mac, but stay with me, okay?  The thing is, the chorus is as catchy as the lyrics are insipid and look-at-me salacious.  And I’ve always been a sucker for a good beat.  We’re going to take the resistance up to 5/10 and come out of the saddle to climb for the verses.  For the choruses, we jack up the tension to 7/10 and do 4 count lifts until Rihanna says, “La la la la la come on,” when we switch to two count lifts.

Born this Way – Lady GaGa (4:20):  Wikipedia reports that GaGa wrote this song in ten minutes; critics suggest that perhaps this is because it sounds like a rip-off of Madonna’s Express Yourself.  Lady Gaga remains fiercely unapologetic about her hit.  “Don’t be a drag, just be a queen.”  We’re going to sprint here: 30/30/30 seconds.  They’re at 0:58 – 1:28, 2:08 – 2:38, and 3:18 – 3:48.  Three options for how to do ‘em: as surges, as seated sprints, or as get-out-of-my-face standing sprints.  Riders’ choice.

On the Floor (Mixin Mark & Tony Svejda LA to Ibiza Radio Mix) [feat. Pitbull] – Jennifer Lopez (3:17): This was another song that took a while to grow on me, though I loved the video from the beginning.  Time for some jumps, mid-tension 6/10.  Random intervals: 8/4/2 counts.  Mix it up.  The end of this song marks the end of the first set.

More (RedOne Jimmy Joker Remix) – Usher (3:40): Take a drink, give your shoulders a roll, but leave that tension where it is.  We’ve got a hill to climb.  Come up out of the saddle and find your groove.  At 1:05, when we hit the first chorus, the song quickens and so do we.  Pick up the pace.  When the second verse starts, add tension to get to 7/10 and keep going.  Pick up the pace for the second chorus.  When it ends, add a wee bit more tension 8/10 and push to the top of the hill – it’s going to feel like a slog, always playing catch-up with the beat.

Trouble – P!nk (3:13):  P!nk can always be counted on for a good sprint.  Let the song guide you here.  When the music is slow, recover.  As the beat picks up, move into a surge.  The choruses are short, snappy, all-out seated sprints: 15/15/15/30 seconds.  They’re at 0:17 – 0:32, 0:45 – 1:00, 1:57 – 2:10,  and 2:39 – 3:09.

Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You) [feat. Ludacris & DJ Frank E]  – Enrique Iglesias (3:52):  The REAL version of this song is raunchy enough to make Rihanna’s S&M seem tame by comparison.  Let’s just say Enrique wasn’t “lovin’” in the other version.  Please excuse him, he doesn’t mean to be rude.  We’re going to finish the second set with some more jumps.  Resistance 7/10.  Start with 4 count on the verses, move to 2 count for the choruses.  Hup!

Hey Baby (Drop it to the Floor) [feat. T-Pain] – Pitbull (3:56):  Last set starts here, so we’re in for another climb.  We’re going to leave the tension where it is at 7/10 and stay seated for this one during the verses.  For the choruses, we’ll come out of the saddle and into a standing jog.  Thanks to my former student, Legalb for suggesting this tune.

Hit it Again - 3OH!3 (3:04): This Boulder, Colorado duo just can’t stay away from controversial lyrics.  Here, we have an F-bomb during the chorus, and no radio edit in sight.  But it’s so damn catchy.  The sprints are 25/25/25 seconds at  0:40 – 1:05, 1:42 -  2:07, and 2:34 – 3:00.  If you don’t dare play it, try substituting with Avril Lavigne’s What the Hell (3:40).  If you use that one, the sprints are still 25/25/25 seconds long, at 0:45 – 1:10, 1:55 – 2:20, and 2:53 – 3:30.

Blow – Ke$ha (3:40):  Thanks to one of my regular riders, Laurie, for suggesting this tune.  Last set of jumps 8/4/2 counts switching at 1:15 and 3:00.

River Flows in You (Eclipse Vocal Version) (Radio Mix) - Jasper Forks (3:26):  This is where most spin classes end, but today we’re pushing for another 25 minutes.  For now, though, a recovery break and a chance to replenish our water.  I had about two dozen riders in my class so I had the back two rows go out for water first, then the front two rows.  Reader Ove from Sweden put me on to this gorgeous song.

Lose Control (Radio Mix) – Phunk & Beat Thrillerz (feat. Katy Allen) (3:51):  A great. big. hill.  Ten minutes to the top.  We’re already fatigued but doesn’t a challenge taste good?  Let’s go.  Start with resistance at 4/10 and alternate between regular and aggressive stances, 30 seconds each.  If you’ve got lots of juice left, how about doing the ten minutes without a recovery break?  Hmm?

Hypnotico – Jennifer Lopez (3:36):  Another tune from J.Lo’s new album with a catchy chorus that will run through your head long after the class is over.  Jack up the resistance to 7/10 and stay out of the saddle.  When Jennifer gets to the choruses, we’re going to switch to four count jumps.  There are three choruses at 0:32 – 1:04, 1:32 – 2:05, and 2:39 – 3:27.  Decide: are you going to take a break between this song and the next one?

Sweat (Snoop Dogg v. David Guetta) [Remix] – Snoop Dogg and David Guetta (3:16):  An appropriately named song to take us to the top of this mother of a hill.  Dial the tension back to 4/10, stay out of the saddle, and follow the music to the top.  It’s just you and the bike here.  We are over an hour into the ride.  Close your eyes and just move with the music.

We Won’t Forget (Original Mix Edit) – Robert Nickson (4:30): I threw this song in as a hat tip to Sandy,  the regular instructor for this class, who plays a lot of trance.  We’re going to do some surges and sprints.  First off, a surge from 0 – 1:20.  Recover from 1:20 – 3:00.  Then from 3:00 – 4:00 we sprint.  If you’ve still got lots of juice, do it standing.  If you can get through it with a few choice curse words, do it seated.  And if you left your juice on the hill we just climbed, do another surge.  We rest again from 4:00 – 4:30.

Niton (The Reason) [Radio Edit] – Eric Prydz (2:45):  So close now to the finish line.  We’ve got a comfortable lead – as long as we keep a strong, steady pace.  This one is a tempo drill.  Pick a cadence and tension that you can sustain for no more than three minutes and ride it out.

The Edge of Glory – Lady GaGa (5:21): This is GaGa’s latest single, released just days ago and already burning up the charts.  GaGa modestly called it “f-ing beautiful.”  That’s Clarence Clemons from Springsteen’s E Street Band on the sax.  Ego aside, I’ve got to say I agree with GaGa here.  This song kicks ass.  We thought we had a comfortable lead, but there are riders closing in and the finish line is at the top of a five minute hill.  A combo drill, out-of-the-saddle climb during the verses, all-out standing sprints during the choruses 30/30/60 brutal seconds.  They’re at 1:04 – 1:34, 2:28 – 2:58, 4:02 – 5:02. Time to get all that energy out.  Can you see it through?

Forget You - Cee Lo Green (3:44):  We earned this cool down.  Take the tension back to an easy 2/10 and spin it out.  I confess, I’d never heard of Cee Lo or this song before reader Chris suggested it as one of the best spinning tunes of 2010.  Now, the song is everywhere, there’s a Glee version, and Cee Lo is a judge on the NBC talent show, The Voice.  Cee Lo isn’t new to the music scene – he’s half of the duo Gnarls Barkley and I’ve used two of his songs on this blog, Gone Daddy Gone and Run (I’m a Natural Disaster).  Chris, thanks – you did it again.

Alone Again [feat. P. Reign] – Alyssa Reid (3:57):  More cool down and goodbye music.  Reid samples Heart’s 1987 hit, Alone and P. Reign raps around it.  18 year old Reid is Canadian; Alberta born, currently living in the Greater Toronto area.  This tune hit #11 on Billboard’s Canadian Hot 100.

So way back in April of 2010, I wrote about a local spin studio that uses Real Ryder bikes (check out the post here).  The cool thing about these bikes is that they are supposed to steer, lean, and feel like road bikes.  Today, thanks to a pretty excellent Groupon, I got over there for a class on them.  My verdict?  The jury is still out.  They definitely steer and lean.  They definitely engage your core, hip muscles, and upper arms in a way that a stationary spinning bike doesn’t.  But I’m not sure I like how much the bike shifts back and forth in an out of the saddle climb.  And even though the studio is on the third floor and you can ride looking out at the ocean, it is small (12 bikes) and suffers from a very mediocre sound system, which affected the ride for me.  The Groupon was for five classes, so I’ve got four to go – I’ll do those over the summer and report back with a final verdict once I’ve used all five classes.  Readers, has anyone else tried the Real Ryder bikes?  What did you think?