Michelle Ross - RPM Studio Instructor to Road Cyclist

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RoadStarz

Sports


Until recently, the words ‘indoor cycling’ evoked images of solitude, stoicism or even bad weather. Following the explosion of indoor cycling fitness classes -or studio cycling- in the late 1990s the cycling world has since been revolutionised by smart turbo trainers, interactive indoor cycling training apps and even e-cycling races. Indoor cycling, especially studio cycling, has never been so popular. But the problem has been tradition. Cycling, more so than almost any other sport, is steeped in decades of tradition, folklore and sub-culture - men with shaved legs, time trial events starting at 5 o clock in the morning, and a flagship event – the Tour de France – which still has no equivalent event for female riders. At the same time, across the globe, there are studio cycling classes taking place at every minute of any 24 hour period. With packed out classes of mostly female participants, studio cycling boasts a female demographic in participation that is yet been achieved in the more traditional sense of cycling. So, the obvious question to ask, is how do you connect the followers of studio cycling with road cycling? In this episode of the podcast, I spoke to Michelle Ross, a life long fitness devotee, RPM studio cycling instructor, and now RoadStarz rider. Becoming a road cyclist has had a life changing effect on Michelle but I started by asking how she became hooked on fitness in the first place.   So, eventually, Michelle’s RPM class was attracting interest from another category of participant. Until this point, road cyclists eschewed the comfort of studio cycling. But in a break with tradition, it became commonplace to see competitive road cyclists checking in to Michelle’s sessions… After the break, Michelle discovers how her new level of fitness has given her a passion for climbing hills. And do you remember the group of road cyclists that Michelle first trained with? Well, what was supposed to be a farewell to long loved holiday destination near to her parent’s villa in Spain, turned into a life changing moment with one of those riders…. When we left off, Michelle was discovering a new level of fitness and a new level of cycling performance. I asked if any of her regular training partners had noticed her newly developed strength and confidence on the bike. One of the elements of cycling that appeals to many people is the spirit of adventure and freedom. The French even have a term for this type of personality characteristic, a flaneur, someone who freely wonders into adventure, observing society, free to make discoveries. And in Michelle’s case her passion for fitness and then cycling was just the beginning of a new chapter in her life… Just 14 months in and Michelle has transformed from being a very fit studio cycling instructor to a super fit road cyclist. So far, she has taken part in individual and team time trials, ridden ridiculously long distances at a pace that was previously unimaginable, and along with her fiancé and a group of equally committed road riders, Michelle is about to embark her very first cycling training camp. All of which is in addition planning a wedding…. The RoadStarz podcast is hosted, written and produced by me, Nic Tilling with music by Daniel Kadawatha. If you’re a rider looking to achieve that next level of fitness and cycling performance then head over to roadstarzcycling.com, subscribe to the free download ‘How to prep for every training ride like a pro cyclist’ and let me know exactly how I can help you to achieve your cycling performance goals and fitness ambitions.   If you like the podcast, leave me a review and tell your friends about it. It helps.