Pact + The Handle Bar: Boston Blogger Spinning Party

SoulCycle, The Handle Bar, Flywheel -- Spinning/indoor cycling seems like it got really popular of nowhere! But I digress. I've seen girls I follow on social media, as well as one of my good friends (@cat_wok) repeatedly enjoy themselves multiple times a week at spinning classes. So when Marissa (@MWindow) from Pact invited me to join some other bloggers and the Pact team for a spinning class at The Handle Bar, it was hard for me to turn down -- I'm also never one to turn down a chance to try something fitness-related!

Of course, after RSVPing, the first thing I thought about was "What do I wear?!" Even though it was a workout event and I knew I'd be sweating, I wanted to make sure I represented my brand and blog appropriately. It's also been miserably cold and raining with crazy winds here in Boston the past two days so I had to be warm as well. I wore more than just this to commute to The Handle Bar last night but pictured here is:

• lululemon Purist Cycling Water Bottle

• lululemon Flow Y Bra IV

• lululemon Cool Racerback

• lululemon Cut the Crop leggings

• Nike+ FuelBand SE

Pretty soon, I'm really going to have to do a post on my wearables. I picked up the FuelBand after thinking about it for months and months. I had purchased the FitBit earlier in the year but ended up returning it the day after -- I just wasn't a fan of it. I like that I can monitor my progress on the FuelBand and it fits my wrist a bit better. But we'll save that review for another time!

I've never been to any type of spinning or indoor cycling class before so it was definitely something that took getting used to. The shoes clip into the bike itself. I'll admit, my right foot came off once or twice and I panicked for a second, but once I fixed it, the rest of the ride was great. There was core work, arm work, and of course, leg work!

I'm still sore this morning so I'm thankful that I have the day off! While I would love to say that I'd absolutely, positively spin again, I think it'd have to be something I do every now and then. I think being so short makes some workouts that require machinery or equipment a little bit harder for me (just like btone's Megaformer workouts). It was definitely fun and it'd be something I'd grab my girlfriends to go do with me. The group environment makes it more enjoyable and the music selections match up with your pace and give you that extra little push!

After we finished, we were treated to some Downeast Cider (one of New England's craft ciders) and some of b.good's 4 Petal Juices. I've tried other flavors of their juices before and I haven't had one I don't enjoy yet! If you live near a b.good and haven't tried their healthier menu expansion yet, I suggest you give it a shot! They even have açaí bowls too!

The team from Pact also provided us with a crazy awesome swag bag.

• A Pact tee and tote bag

• First Aid Shot Therapy

• Run Clean Energy Drinks

• Harvey Prince Perfume Samples

• Ziggy Marley hemp seeds

• Rhythm Kale Chips

• KIND bar

• Coupon from SweetGreen (one of my favorite places to grab a healthy lunch!)

• The Handle Bar sticker (yay! more stickers to add to my collection!)

You can see that the 4 Petal Mason jar is already empty (oops!), I've already opened a pack of the hemp seeds by now, and I'm currently wearing the shirt. Pact, you sure know your way to get to a fitness girl's heart!

I wanted to give a big shoutout to Pact and The Handle Bar for hosting such an awesome event! I'm so happy that I was able to ride for the first time, can finally say I've done it and found another workout I can do outside of my normal comfort zone! What about you all -- have you tried spinning/indoor cycling before? What's your experience?