I have been wanting to post about my Peloton since the day that I got it, I'm not gonna lie. That was way back on May 14, but I knew that I wanted to know more about it before I posted.
I decided to wait until my 25th ride, which became my 50th ride, etc and here I am, 114 rides in, finally posting! I will try not to ramble, and start from the beginning, and end at the end, but no promises.
In the world of Covid, Peloton delivers your bike assembled, but won't bring it past the inside of your door. You get to choose which door that is, and I chose the garage. They brought it in, attached the monitor, and turned it on. They also brought in the shoes, weights, and earbuds. I initially ordered a cheaper mat through amazon, but it got lost, and I had to order a new one through Peloton. That mat beat the bike here, which was great! I also skipped the heart rate monitor that Peloton offers. I heard that it was a nightmare so I bought a Scosche instead. You connect it the first time under the settings, and then every time you turn it on, it automatically connects.
Because the delivery men couldn't bring it upstairs like usual, I had to wait for my son to come home so that he could help bring it upstairs. The Peloton weighs about 135 pounds, and with my bum knee, I couldn't help the hubs carry it up. The two of them did it easily, and soon I was good to go.
While it was still in the garage, I went through the process of setting it up, adjusting the seat, etc, and naming the bike. Yes, they ask you to name your Peloton. I named mine Jolene.
Y'all it legit took me 5 minutes to clip in the first time. Possibly longer. May in the South is seriously hot and I was a sweaty mess! I finally managed it, and tried taking a 20 minute class and had to bail after 5 minutes! I was drenched! I did take that class again once it was upstairs, though.
Along with the classes, there are scenic rides with generic music that you can take at your own pace.
So let's talk shoes. You need shoes that clip in, and Peloton provides them when you buy the bike as part of the package. I have kind of wide-ish feet, and any time I rode for more than an hour (we will talk about that craziness soon) my toes would pinch and then get super painful. I finally bought new ones, Tommaso Pista Women's Spin Shoes on amazon, and they were a gift from the heavens! They even clip in and out easier, something that did get better with practice. Doing the Mastering the Basics Program helped with that as well, because the instructors talk you through a lot of stuff.
It didn't take me long to hit 50 riders. Exactly a month, actually. I discovered the Tour, a crazy group formed by some regular people who wanted a challenge.
The Original Tour is one class with every instructor. There are 23 of them, y'all. 23 instructors. Most of them have 5 minute classes, but 2 or 3 of them don't, so you have to do longer classes for those. I ended up riding almost 29 miles in one sitting, and my fanny hurt! To complete a Tour you have to do each class in succession without stopping.
The instructor tours (see below) are pre selected, and you have to take the correct classes in the selected order. I have done 5 of those so far. Each takes roughly 2 hours, although some can be longer. I think Robin is over 3 hours.
Along the way, I have added to my little Peloton corner. I got this fun PR Board on Etsy, although I wish I had gotten a bigger one! This one doesn't have 5 or 10 on it, or 90. I loved having it there for motivation, though! All of my decals came from Etsy as well. Jolene, my Leaderboard name, and the cute crowns for my milestone rides all came from there.
You can earn badges! There are badges for some of the series (BLM, Pride, Artist Series, WHM) as well as badges for milestones. There are also monthly challenges that can earn you badges. I love badges. Badges are amazing. Like bling you don't have to find a rack for.
Just in time for my 100th ride, I received some fun swag. For everyone who uses my referral code (it's NWF226 by the way) they get $100 off their bike and I get $100 to use towards swag from the shop. I got the tank, the headband, and 3 of the most amazing towels ever.
I ordered the pants from the Tour. They are soft like butter.
The day or so after that amazing 100th ride, you get an email to order your free tee. It takes at least 8 weeks to get it, so I will probably be at ride 200 when it comes, but I ain't mad. Free is for me! More about my 100th ride below.
I don't actually like wine, but otherwise this is true.
Last week, they started the Pelothon. You choose your team, which consists of cycling instructors plus a couple others to round it out. My friends and I chose the Grit and Grace Gang. Week 1, we had to take one class with each instructor. Of course, we got a badge at the end of the week! Week 2 is this week, and we had to take 2 live classes by any instructor. I did Cody and Robin!
For my 25th, 50th, and 75th rides I put a tank top poll on my insta and let my followers choose a shirt. This was my gift to myself for sticking with it. Those rides were happening so fast that I am doing it every 50 rides now. The one below was for my 75th. I have been finding them online and then searching for them on Etsy. You can find anything on Etsy.
My 100th ride. So much fun! It's a fun custom among Peloton users to get these fun balloons for your 100th ride. I mentioned it to the hubs and he kind of brushed it off, so I let it go. One of the runners in my running club, who also has a Peloton, surprised me with them! She brought them the afternoon of my ride, and was one of my friends who joined me. (Thanks again, Sarah!!) I chose a Robin ride, and it turned out to be a hilly ride with upper body thrown in! Sorry again, ladies!
I know that there was more I wanted to say, but I will leave you with a few tips!
I haven't lost much weight but I did lose inches and I am firming up!
The official Peloton FB page is a horrible place, everyone is really mean!
There is a Super Newbie page that is much kinder, and super informative.
Cody's fan page, called #BooCrew is also amazing.
The Peloton will change your life.
There are also yoga, meditation, boot camp, walking, running, and strength classes.
My faves are Robin, Cody, and Ally.
If you are a newbie, do your best, but don't stress if you can't do the cadence or resistance called for. You'll get there.
I dare you to buy the Peloton and not spend another $500 on cute clothes and stickers and more.
Obviously, you don't need any of those things, but they are so much fun.
Do you have a Peloton? Follow me!!!
#BarkingMadRun
