Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Sweat & Sip: Revocycle & Sisters Coffee Company

What: Revocycle
Where: 1218 NW Marshall St.
Honeys Heart: Challenging, but somehow peaceful cycling

This morning marked a Sweat & Sip first: Kel and I returned for a second round of a class we had already taken. I know, it's a pretty big deal. I mean, we did have a card that gave us five classes for free... so that helped. But also, we really like Revocycle!


What is Revocycle? Well, I would think of it as the complete opposite of Burncycle. In fact, when we told Revocycle owner Michael that we had done Burncycle before, his eyes just about bugged out. The two are based on very different methods of cycling. You'll remember that Burncycle is all about whole body cycling, so you're bopping around to the music, doing pushups on the bike, using hand weights, that sort of thing.

Those type of movements are a big no-no for the Revocycle crowd who believe that it's very dangerous to be doing those things on a unstable base. In Revocycle, you are either sitting down cycling or standing "climbing". That's it.


Revocycle also takes a more yoga or pilates-esque tone as far as instructing. While similar to Burncycle in that the goal is to pedal to the music, at Revocycle, the instructors use a calm voice, often reminding riders to close their eyes and relax their shoulders.


Another unique thing about Revocycle is the kind of bikes that are used. In Burncyle, we used fixed gear bikes, meaning that all you have to do to get the pedals to move around is to make a downward stomping motion and the wheel will help propel your foot around. Revocycle uses freewheel bikes. To get the pedals around on those, you must push the pedal around the entire cycle, which gives you a more full-leg workout.


Since I have a bad back and iffy knees and Kel is fighting a bum achilles, I really like that Revocycle is very mindful about working out in a safe way. And while Kel and I didn't feel as exhausted and sweaty after our Revocycle classes as we did after Burncycle, you are definitely getting a good workout. We both noticed that we felt more energized throughout the day after getting our blood pumping so much in the morning. (Did I mention we've been going to the 6am class? Yeah it's surprising even to us.)

What: Sisters Coffee Company
Where: 1235 NW Marshall St. 
Honeys Heart: Iced Americanos


Sisters Coffee is directly across the street from Revocycle which makes it very convenient to stop by for iced Americanos after class. The coffee is great and I feel like I have the slightest personal connection to the shop after interviewing Sisters Coffee interior designer team Jeff and Jenny Guggenheim and for an About Face profile last year.




Sweat & Sip: