I have a dusty gym membership that I use in the winter when spinning on the rollers or hooking my bike up to the trainer is painful.  The few times (very few times) I decided to try an indoor spin class offered by my gym, I left woefully disappointed.  The experience, as a whole, felt inadequate.  I know that nothing can take the place of riding on the open road, of registering for a crit and suffering for a full 45 minutes, of going out with your buddies and hammering for 3 or 4 hours, but I think I’ve found something so very close it turned this pure cyclist into someone who appreciates and welcomes an alternate form of suffering (I mean, exhilaration). 

I wanted to throw a shout out to Revolution Spin, located at 904 Sherman Avenue, just a hop north of Chicago.  This super (adjective) small business, run by Jason Bressler, is almost a “boutique” spin studio that succeeds because it is participant focused.  No frills, the first class I took was a Spin & Strength class led by Kristin.  It was challenging, engaging, and felt complete, like an actual experience, instead of just 60 minutes of house music.  And that’s what’s so great about Revolution Spin – the experience.  From the moment you get to the space, 20 well-manicured spin bikes greet you (if the instructor doesn’t get to you first).  The space is welcoming and warm.  There are fresh towels available, as well as cold water if you’ve forgotten your own bottle.  If you brought your bottle, they have a water cooler to use as needed as well.

Revolution Spin was just named in Make It Better Magazine as Best Spin Class of 2012 for their Bootcamp class – 90 minutes of interval spinning, running, strength training, plyometrics, and core work (http://www.ww.makeitbetter.net/the-better-list/fitness/spin-classes...). 

This business has truly embodied the meaning of “experience”.  They also offer Spin & Pose classes (which incorporate yoga into the session), Spin & Strength (spin and weight lifting), a class called The Gun Show (spin and upper body work), and many others that cater to just about every physical aspect one could look for while training (including Hillacious, a 90 minute spin class, and The Long Ride Home, a two hour spin, led by a triathalete and Ironman).

I hope that you all will give them a look.  I’ll be riding with Jason and others at the North Shore Century and they’ll have a booth set up if anyone wants to come by and see what it’s all about. 

www.revolutionspinning.com