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My Real Ryder Cycling Debut at Power Ryde

My early days of bike riding were not particularly auspicious. My parents love to tell the stories of how I was the last kid on the block to master a two-wheeler. I wasn’t particularly coordinated and I think I was terrified of falling! I eventually figured it out and spent many a childhood day blissfully riding around our neighborhood.

And then I just stopped. Somewhere around the time I got my driver’s license the bike just lost its allure and I took a long (really long) hiatus from riding. I have friends who ride, my husband rides, and of course my kids ride. But not me.

Until this weekend. Now before you get all excited I did not go buy a bike nor did I hit the open road. Instead, I eased back into the saddle on a Real Ryder spinning bike. Have you heard of these?

real ryder bike image

Not your ordinary spinning bike, the Real Ryder brand allows you to shift from side to side mimicking the feel of a turn on a road bike. Like this.

real-ryder lean

This engages your core and provides another fitness benefit to the workout beyond the intense cardio you’re getting by pedaling. The leaning takes a little bit to master – I’m definitely still learning! (And in full disclosure my seat is S-O-R-E after years of being out of the bike saddle. Ugh. I hear that resolves after about 3 rides.) They even build in some arm conditioning near the end of the class so you really get a full body experience.

I took two 45-minute classes this weekend at the Power Ryde Studio in Loveland where I live. This studio, operated by a mother-daughter team, Meg & Casey Hilmer, has been open for about a month and they have great introductory specials (e.g. 3 classes for $15 or an unlimited summer for $225!). Casey is a competitive marathon runner who was introduced to RealRyder while a student at the University of Michigan and was the genius with the idea to bring these bikes to Cincinnati. (You can imagine how much I love the story of a young entrepreneur following her passion to get people healthier!)

I also loved that while I was riding, I pushed beyond what I would have done left to my own devices – something about the room full of people, the music, and the vibrant instructors stoked my competitive fire making me work harder. Even as a non-cyclist, I loved this workout. But if you ARE a rider, then you have to check this out.

Why? Here’s a little bit of insight from the Real Ryder website, “RealRyder® International is the only indoor bike maker on the market that focuses on one thing, and one thing only: Making the best indoor bike on the planet. Ever see a kid ask to put the training wheels back on? We haven’t. We’ve taken the training wheels off the indoor bike; once you’ve experience our ride you will join the legions of riders who adamantly state that they’ll never ride a conventional stationary bike again.”

If you live in Cincinnati, check out the Power Ryde studio. If you live elsewhere, tell me about the studio near you. You can use this link to find one!

Starting Today

I’ve been stuck in a blogging black hole for a bit here. Things have been really active at Nourish and at home, so creating space to write something worthwhile seemed impossible. I kept putting “write blog post” on my to do list and then seeing it still not crossed off at the end of each day. Not like me at all.

But, I wasn’t sure I had anything good enough to say. I keep raising the bar when it comes to my own expectations and at some point I think I backed myself into a corner in which no idea seemed worthy of a post.

This morning, I got this post from Seth Godin, a business blogger, who manages to write something EVERY SINGLE DAY.

———————–

Overcoming the impossibility of amazing

If you set your bar at “amazing,” it’s awfully difficult to start.

Your first paragraph, sketch, formula, sample or concept isn’t going to be amazing. Your tenth one might not be either.

Confronted with the gap between your vision of perfect and the reality of what you’ve created, the easiest path is no path. Shrug. Admit defeat. Hit delete.

One more reason to follow someone else and wait for instructions.

Of course, the only path to amazing runs directly through not-yet-amazing. But not-yet-amazing is a great place to start, because that’s where you are. For now.

There’s a big difference between not settling and not starting.

——————-

That was enough to get me to my laptop. Just starting to type gets the words flowing and the thoughts forming. For me, writing begets writing. The words come more easily as I go.

So too with any habit you are trying to build. You don’t have to be amazing yet, or maybe ever. But you do have to get started. Preferably today.

Sweet And Salty Citrus Rice Salad

I’ll bet my bottom dollar you’ll be invited to party this spring or summer and asked to bring a dish to share. It’s a rite of passage into outdoor entertaining season (and one I welcome, by the way!). When you’re stumped, bring this! You’ll be the belle of the ball.

No social occasions on your calendar? Then make it ahead to pull out on a jam-packed weeknight or to take instead of the usual “turkey on wheat” for lunch. This salad keeps beautifully and you can top it off with a little grilled chicken or sliced flank steak if you’d like. Yum.

Sweet and Salty Citrus Rice Salad

adapted from a Giada de Laurentiis recipe

serves 6

Ingredients

Rice Salad:

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups brown basmati rice
3/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 medium orange, zested (save the fruit to juice!)
1 lemon, zested (ditto)
1 cup thinly sliced green onions

Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from fruit saved above)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from fruit saved above)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

For the Salad:

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock, salt and oil to a boil over medium-high heat Stir in the rice. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat, and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Using a fork, fluff the rice and place in a large serving bowl. Add the parsley, orange zest, half of the lemon zest, green onions, and 1/4 cup of the almonds. Toss well.

For the Vinaigrette:

In a blender, combine the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the vinaigrette over the rice mixture and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with the remaining lemon zest and almonds.