Hi friends! This post is all about Peloton — because I recently took my first-ever class in the actual Peloton studio — but don’t worry. This isn’t an ad, and there aren’t any affiliate links.
I know some folks roll their eyes at the mention of Peloton, and that’s okay. I get it. Yes, it’s a bike that goes nowhere.
And yet, I have a real relationship with my Peloton bike. I bought it used in late 2019, a few months before my first book came out. I knew the lead-up to publication would stir up a lot of big feelings, and I could already envision myself coping the least helpful way possible. Namely, drowning in gin. I needed a healthy place to put my anxiety.
Turns out, the bike was my lifeline to the outside world during a global pandemic. Then I stopped drinking with the help and encouragement of the Peloton Sober Squad. I used the bike to train for big things, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and backpacking the Trans-Catalina Trail. Along the way, I began referring to myself as an athlete for the first time in my life.
The bike to nowhere helped me get everywhere.
So when I was on the fence about attending a travel writing conference in New York, the opportunity to visit Peloton Studios tipped me over the edge. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Manhattan.
If you’re even a little Peloton-curious, here’s everything you need to know to check out the studio:
Classes are bookable through the Peloton Studios website. (For London, go here.)
I read that classes go live 5-6 weeks ahead of time on Thursdays at noon ET, so I set a calendar reminder on my phone. Popular instructors/rides disappear fast. Like concert-ticket fast. If there’s someone you’re dead set on riding with, set a reminder and be ready when booking opens.
There is a limit: You can only sign up for two classes per day and four classes per booking period. If you’re planning on signing up for multiple classes, book your highest priority class first. Tread/strength/yoga/row classes have fewer spots (8-12) than a cycling class (39).
Classes are $35. With NY city tax, it came out to $36.58.
My friend, Karen, and I wanted to take a class together, so we traded a flurry of back-and-forth texts while we debated instructors and rides. In the end, we both successfully booked a 30-minute classic rock ride with Denis Morton.
The Chelsea studio is located at 441 West 14th Street. You’re asked to arrive one hour to 45 minutes early.
Check in at the front desk with a photo ID and your booking confirmation. They will give you a card. Do not lose this card — more on that later. Everyone is given a bracelet for class; milestone riders also receive a sticker.
From there, someone will direct you to the locker rooms, which are clean, relatively spacious, and well stocked. You’ll find lockers, showers, basic toiletries, even Dyson hair dryers. This is where you’ll stash everything except your phone and water bottle. Fresh towels are waiting on the bike.
There’s also a stretching room with yoga mats and blocks next to the small retail store.
Good news: you don’t need to bring your own shoes unless you want to. You can borrow Peloton shoes on site. The window for borrowing shoes opens 45 minutes before the scheduled class time.
Remember the card from check-in? That determines when you get to enter the studio. It’s like groups for boarding a plane, so different colors mean different boarding priorities:
Red card — first-timers at the studio.
Black card — members celebrating a milestone (like ride #500, birthday, etc).
White card — repeat visitors.
There’s also a mythical silver card that people talk about as if it were a unicorn. This is for VIPs, and I’m almost positive they don’t wait in the same line as the rest of us peasants.
Shortly before doors open, the groups line up: first red, then black, then white. (Silver is galloping over rainbows somewhere.)
It was genuinely surreal to be inside the place that I’ve watched hundreds of times from my workout room. It felt like the opening of “The Wizard of Oz” when Dorothy’s whole world turns Technicolor. There were lights and cameras, and everything was brighter and more vivid.
For the ride, I positioned myself in the front row to the left — close enough to feel involved and be on camera, far enough that I wasn’t in the main line of sight. The room buzzed even before the music started. The collective anticipation was palpable.
Denis burst through the door, and gave every rider a high five. He immediately felt strangely familiar. Exactly like he is on screen, but louder and warmer, like his energy had multiplied tenfold.
Aside: No cell phones are allowed during the ride, but you can use them right up until the instructor is on the bike.
The ride itself flew by. I sang along to all the songs; later, when I saw a replay of the class, I realized that I look like a madwoman, screaming to myself. So maybe don’t follow my lead on that.
This shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did: There was no instructor on my bike screen — um, because he was right in front of me. I had assumed the screen would look like any other live class, but in studio, it only shows cadence/output/leaderboard.
When class wraps, you can line up for photos with the instructor. They call this your “Peloton Moment.” The instructor cools down elsewhere for a few minutes while people get in line, so I used that time to do a quick change upstairs in the locker room.
There are also lockers next to the photo area, so that’s an ideal place to stash something you might want to access quickly, like if you want to change your shoes or swipe on some lipgloss before your Peloton Moment.
The photos took about 10-15 minutes total, and you cannot use your own phone/camera. An employee takes two pictures. Afterward, you receive a link to all the photos from your class.
No one rushes you out, so you can take time to shower, change, decompress. Let your heart rate come back to Earth.
Completely. I’m especially glad I did it for a milestone ride, my 1000th.
Also taking a class in the studio made me appreciate the production, the choreography, and the real human community behind all those leaderboard names scrolling by at home.
They say to never meet your idols. But Denis was chatty and personable during my Peloton Moment, and I got oddly emotional. I babbled a few words, and then I think I blacked out.
After our photos, Denis joked, “Hey I like how you put your chin down for the second photo. You must have a lot of posing experience.” And I said, “Oh no, I hate photos of myself. I never look good.” He then looked me in the eyes and said, “Sometimes I also think untrue things about myself.”
At that point I was so untethered from reality, it took me like a full hour to realize that Denis had given me a kind, supportive compliment. But by then, it was too late to say thank you.
So thank you, Denis, wherever you are. I’ll see you in my bike screen.
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