Freewheeling Chance to Help AIDS Charity Riders
Want to go for a spin Saturday?
You won’t need a car. To spin, just hop on a stationary bicycle with a 40-pound drag on the front wheel--so there’s no resting--and start pedaling. There’s pounding music, rhythmic motion and--did we mention?--there’s no sitting.
The cardio workout is done standing up.
On the upside, it’s free. There’s a deejay, snacks and sodas, and the opportunity to do a good deed, such as sponsor one of the six members of Team Newport Workout in the California AIDS Ride 7.
Team leader and spin instructor Brian Dobbin organized Saturday’s Cycle-a-thon, with free spinning from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Newport Workout, 747 Dover Drive, Newport Beach.
Team members will be spinning for 12 hours to find sponsors for the June 4 fund-raising bicycle ride from San Francisco to Century City. Each member must raise a minimum of $2,500 to qualify for the 580-mile ride.
Free spinning classes are offered at 7 a.m., 8:15 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. and guests can drop in any time. Free personal instruction also is available.
Although the workout is intense, Dobbin guarantees a good time. Spinners in his classes range from 20-year-old athletes to 50- and 60-year-olds staying fit.
“If you get tired, just sit down and enjoy the music. My classes are packed because my philosophy is you do as much as you can and have a great time. The music is up really loud and people sing along,” he said.
Dobbin, 38, is executive chef at Haute Cakes Caffe in Newport Beach, owned by team member Paul Taddeo. Other team members include Michael Sullivan and Sherry Boston of Newport Beach, Suzanne Morrison of Laguna Beach and Kevin McGuire of West Hollywood.
Four of the team members did the ride last year and raised $50,000, Dobbin said. They pledged to do it again and set their fund-raising goal at $100,000.
Riders and their crews sleep in tents and ride about 100 miles a day. Dobbin’s team has been in serious training since December, spinning at Newport Workout three days a week and hitting the road too.
“There are people in all ranges of shape on the ride,” he said referring to riders with HIV/AIDS and riders in their 60s and 70s, whose adult children have the disease. “Some people are challenged just to get there and they may not finish. We are training hard but we realize there are a lot of people training harder than we have.”
For more information, contact Dobbin at (714) 420-2339 or by e-mail at bdob@earthlink.net. Sponsorship checks payable to California AIDS Ride 7 can be mailed to Dobbin at 2816 Lafayette Ave., Newport Beach, CA 92663.
California AIDS Ride 7: http/www.aidsride.org