I appreciate an instructor just like you. This issue seems to be coming to a head at my club. They recently made the cycling instructors take a workshop on "Power Spinnning." This may not be the correct name, but a few did refuse to do the training. Why? It is a pre-packaged format, similar to Body Pump. Canned music that the instructor does not get to choose. All of our classes will not be in this format, but enough to make me have to limit which classes to go to, when my time is already limited. I am pretty upset over this. I am a cyclist who used to be an aerobics instructor (ten years). I understand the attraction of new formats, but a considerable amount of the people in spin class use it as a way to stay fit in the off season and work on certain cycling specific skills. I will never race; I'm a recreational cyclist. That said, maybe clubs should have 2 types of classes geared to the two different types of people who take them. I don't want to stand up in "position 2' and do high cadence running drills. It hurts my knees and back and it's not something i would ever do outside. Yes, it might improve my strength, but it just seems like something that would have been called "contra indicated" when I was teaching. I don't want to spin at a low resistance at a high cadence. Some of the people i see do this so much, they never use the resistance on their bike. Yet, they think they're tough because they are spinning at some crazy high cadence. Give me a nice mix of popular music, oldies, alternative rock and no disco or techno. I hate the lights being dim or being in the total dark. I can't see my heart rate monitor enough to press the light button and I end up pressing some other function button and messing up the settings. Who would ride their bike in the dark (without a good light)?

I know this is a rant, and being in class is not being outside, but I don't want all the silly, goofy stuff. I cringe when I hear people in class saying they "would NEVER ride on the road."