Theme Ride Thursday: May Flowers

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Who doesn’t remember the old adage “April showers bring May flowers”? Did you know that saying has been traced back to the 1500s poet Thomas Tusser, who wrote, “Sweet April showers do spring May flowers”? He lived in England, which has long been known for its wet springtime, but many other places in the world enjoy the occasional gentle showers in April as well. 

You can use the flowers bucket playlist below (with over 150 songs about flowers!) to create a theme ride based solely on, well, flowers (as in the profile below), or you can mix in songs about rain to combine the showers and the flowers into one theme ride that matches Tusser’s poem.

Or, create a flower-themed profile in the winter when you are dreaming about the joys of spring and summer! We’ve got you covered no matter which way you choose to go.

Last month we gave you the April Showers playlists with two rain-themed profiles. 

We also have this profile below in our archives called “The Language of Flowers” by Christine Nielsen.

This coaching in this profile is unique. Christine encourages her riders to self-select their intensity, with some gentle guidance from her and the energy of the song. She explains that this tactic is most successful after a period of more structured classes in which your students have been guided through a variety of intensities. If you are uncomfortable with allowing your riders to do this, you can certainly add more intensity cueing.

4 Comments

  1. A few more to add to the Flowers concept:
    King of Carrot Flowers Part 1 by Neutral Milk Hotel, 2:00 at 95 bpm perfect for a recovery. Warning, King of Carrot Flowers Part 2 and 3 should probably not be played in an indoor cycling class.

    In The Flowers by Animal Collective, 5:21 at 122 bpm, good for a surge on a steep hill, starts softly, picks up around 2:30 for 1:30, and finishes softly; weird and bizarre, which is typical for AC.

    Broken Flowers by Danny L Harle,5:15 at 122 bpm, very catchy tune for a climb with extremely processed vocals. He released a remix titled Awake For Hours, which is essentially the same song sped up to 146 bpm and shortened to 3:32, which could be used for a faster, more intense climb.

    1. Ahh Bill. We’re so in tune with our musical interests. King of Carrots is listed in the PDF–one of my fav songs. I forgot about the AC song, and Broken Flowers is new to me. Thanks for the suggestions as always!

      1. Sorry that I missed King of Carrot Flowers Part 1 in the list. It’s important to distinguish Part 1 from Part 2 and 3, especially for any instructors at the JCC. You may want to add Danny L Harle’s Awake for Hours to the list. It’s the same melody and lyrics as his Broken Flowers, just sped up and renamed.

        For those into ambient electronic or shoegaze music, Run Into The Flowers from M83’s second album, Dead Cities, Red Seas, & Lost Ghosts, repeats the muffled lyrics ‘flowers, flowers, flowers…’

  2. Here’s a few others:

    I’m Looking Through You, Wallflowers, 127 bpm
    You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, Barbara Steisand, 110 bpm
    Wildflower, Sheryl Crow, 124 bpm
    Desert Flower, Wayne Jones, 117 bpm
    Lotus Flower, Radiohead, 128 bpm
    Thing of Beauty, Hothouse Flowers, 128 bpm

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