Pedal Power: Indoor Cycling in RVA

What happens when a ballet dancer, a runner, and a glass of wine collide? A cycling studio, of course.

That’s what Shannon Greenwood and AnnMarie Grohs came up with over a glass of wine on Grohs’ front porch one evening.

Greenwood, who is classically trained as a ballet dancer and performed with RVA Dance Collective, had spent countless hours cycling next to Grohs, an avid runner. The duo quickly connected over a mutual struggle to find a workout facility in Greater Richmond that put cycling first.

Boho Cycle Studio initially began as a research project with Greenwood and Grohs visiting every cycle studio they could find on the East Coast, including a number of the increasingly popular studios in New York City. The pair weaved together their passion for cycling using bikes made in usa, to create a place that highlighted the “fitness style that we love,” while building a cycling community.

“We say that our workout is a party on a bike, which it is, but you will absolutely earn the calorie burn,” says Greenwood, who wants Boho Cycle Studio to become known as a welcoming place for avid riders and newbies.

And it’s working. The staff at Boho are quick to greet patrons by name upon arrival and throughout the studio, and they even seem to always remember everyone’s shoe size (unlike most studios, Boho provides the option of renting cycle shoes for $2 if you do not have your own). Boho has a variety of instructors and, instead of offering one class template or format and trying to fit instructors into that mold, they work with each instructor to offer the very best version of their style of teaching and coaching. Their instructors take each other’s classes for inspiration so that they can share ideas and give feedback.

Greenwood and Grohs are currently offering two types of classes: Boho Body and Boho Cycle. Boho Body is a 50-minute indoor cycling class that incorporates upper body conditioning with light weight exercises on the bike. Boho Cycle is 50 minutes of straight indoor cycling set to an exhilarating soundtrack with various drills including Tabata and other challenges.

In addition to Boho, Greater Richmond is home to other cycle studios, such as TidalWheel. Owned by Ryan Kelly and Mike Timms, TidalWheel started in Virginia Beach in 2012 and recently expanded to RVA.

“Our classes aren’t your average spin classes you find at any box gym,” says Alyssa Halte, regional manager of the TidalWheel. “We offer total body workouts in a boutique studio. From the second people walk into our door, they are given a salon-style experience in our state-of-the-art facility.”

Halte says that cycling at TidalWheel “motivates your spirit, invigorates your muscles, energizes your mind, and works your entire body.” Muscle-targeted choreography, dumbbells, and resistance bands keep participants’ heart rate up, while instructors teaching from a candlelit stage and a state-of-the-art sound system create a low-lit, yet high-energy, atmosphere.

TidalWheel and Boho agree that indoor cycling may be an individual workout, but riders and instructors work together to encourage each other and to reach a common goal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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