Quick Profile: Open Road Ride

Whether it be on a bike, a motorcycle, a car, or your own two feet, do you ever feel like you just need to escape? Get away from it all? Hit the open road? Life hits us from every angle, and sometimes we need to do something just for ourselves…something that, albeit long and tiresome, will leave us feeling invigorated, refreshed, energized, and ready to tackle what the world is throwing our way. This ride, presented by guest contributor Laura Gurney, is for those who delight in the experience of the open road!

Encourage your riders to leave every stressor outside the doors of your studio and to immerse themselves for one hour (or 45 minutes) on their own open road. You’ll ask them to dig in and work hard, to focus entirely on doing their best, and to see how great they feel at the end of their ride. 

This theme-based profile includes songs about driving, cars, highways, and travel. Cadences and drills vary depending on the terrain, culminating with a long, 22-minute climb broken up into four segments. As with any long ride, the main objective and benefit will be to build endurance: muscular, cardiovascular, and mental.

Your riders will groan as you tell them to keep holding their resistance steady and to press on, but they will feel sweet satisfaction and exhilaration at the summit. They will know you pushed them to do something significant, and they’ll have confidence as they cool down that they can tackle what’s awaiting them when they leave your studio.

During the long climb, there is one song where you will alternate seated with standing climbs or, if you choose, jumps. Feel free to use this article on standing transitions to augment your coaching. 

6 Comments

  1. Excellent idea and profile! I’m using a modified version of this for my first class after the COVID-19 shut down (perfect since feeling cooped up). I also used some other songs because my radar love version was shorter or just preference. Free Ride by The Edgar Winter band; I can’t drive 55, sammy hager; Fast car by Jolyon Petch (already had this version and used it
    during ride versus cool down), I drove all night, Celine Dion (thanks Lyn lebowitz!); Ride like the wind (54 remix edit) by FAB, Drive, the Shires; For cooldown The driver, charles kelley and extra song at end The Back roads and Back Row, Cole Swindell

    1. Just putting this ride together. Thanks for all the great song options!!

  2. I love this profile! I exchanged “Life’s been good to me” with “Long white Cadillac “ by the Clarks in order to have enough time to add Alan Jackson’s Drive for a stretching song. This profile is upbeat and held my class’s interest well. Sometimes I think we get so caught in always having to use certain BPM of a song to fit the intended cadence. This profile shows that you can deviate from this concept and still have a great ride.

  3. Loved this profile!! Some other song suggestions if I may because I didn’t have all your songs.First song I used I Dove all night.Celine Dion. My third song was cars-Gary Numan.And one other was One foot Walk the moon. Cool down Fast cat Tracy Chapman

    1. Thanks for the song options!

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