My mum has always said that life is like a spin class. Well, she hasn’t, but I’m sure she would if she went to one and thought along the same lines as me. The entire Entourage is back in full training (Noosa is just around the corner…) and it struck me today, as I was trying to zone out the burn in my quads that felt like a million hot nails were being pounded into my muscles, that there are analogies to be drawn between spinning and life. Of course some would say life is just one BIG spin (I know I often feel like I’m mid cycle - in a washing machine!), but let’s break it down a bit. First, the muscle burn you have to go through when you’re doing a Seated Climb. It really hurts, but it kind of feels good at the same time. That would be the equivalent to, say, a tough day at work when you’re up against a deadline and everyone is stressed and the phone won’t stop ringing and you don’t know where to start; when you make the deadline and answer the query and everything turns out well, although it seems to have gone on forever, the muscle burn eventually stops and life becomes calm again (AKA: endorphins). Then you collapse and rip into the vino collapso. Oh sorry, I forgot we’re in training; you grab a takeaway that involves chips and gravy on the way home. No, wait, in training…..I mean, you go home feeling calm and satisfied, job well done! Yeah, that’s it. The Race follows the Seated Climb – the frantic pedalling that doesn’t actually get you anywhere – the feeling that although your legs are pumping wildly you aren’t moving. Which on a spin bike, of course, you are not, but you know what I mean. Racing through life this way (and we all do it on occasion) can mean you miss certain signs. And signposts, for that matter. Racing definitely doesn’t allow you time to smell the different flowers you encounter on your journey, either, whatever form they take. Aftershave on the street is one of my favourites. But I digress – we’re at the Free Spin! Like a get out of jail free card, sometimes we all need a little respite from the pressures of our modern lives. A chance to just turn our legs over and drift for a little while. To check out what resistance the spinner next to us is working out at. (Less than me? Geez I’m good). A suitable time, perhaps to assess the state of our world and tweak any little bits that need some balance. To make sure that we know we’re headed in the right direction. The Free Spin might be my favourite, but without the other, more frenetically paced elements to balance it out, life (and a spin class) would be kind of boring. You need to do the hard yards before you can stop to savour the fun bits. Life is kind of unfair in that respect. And there’s one important thing to remember. No matter how hard life, or the muscle burn gets (that lactic acid is a real bitch), there’s always relief just around the corner. Probably at the end of this track, in fact. So at worst, the tough times should only last about three minutes. Hmm. Maybe life isn’t as similar to a spin class as I had first thought. Wonder where can I get chips and gravy from at this hour?