RydeOn! Offers a New Way To Burn Calories in Saline

There’s a new way to get in shape in Saline.

A week ago Saturday, Saline area residents Brigid Lossing and Christina Turner opened RydeOn! Cycling Studio at 450 E. Michigan Ave. in Saline.

The well-lit studio features 21 state-of-the-art Keiser stationary bikes situated spaciously on the hard wood floors.

The owners of the business say RydeOn serves a wide variety of people..

“It could be an avid cycler or an athlete training for an event, or it might be someone just looking for a new way to burn calories,” said Lossing, who is an avid cyclist. "Taking a ride is a great way to work out and get fit. You can work out as hard as you need to, without worrying about getting hit by a car."

RydeOn! Cycling Studio isn’t your regular gym. You don’t just show up when you want, jump on a bike and start pedaling.

“It’s all class driven,” said Lossing. “We have eight instructors. You can review the class that’s best for you online, and register and pay for it, right on our website.”

On Monday, for example, there were five classes. The first, a 5:45 a.m. “wake up and ride class,” was led by Lossing. The 60-minute class is designed to wake you up and charge your batteries with steep hills, all-out sprints, and long and winding roads. The “Ryde Energy” class at 9:15 a.m. is a 60-minute class designed for anyone who wants to burn calories and the intensity is decided by the user. Turner led to “Ryde Fit” classes, which are billed as high-energy, heart-pounding rides that are set to thumping music.

Most of the classes are one hour in duration. RydeOn! also offers a 30 minute “Ryde and Dyne” offered at lunch hour with a power bar. The 90-minute “Ryde Strong” class offered on weekends is a more serious workout designed to push people out of their comfort zone.

Turner, who completed the Chicago Marathon last year, said she’s fallen in love with the workout.

“I had a stress fracture last fall my doctor took me off the road. So I tried this instead. It’s a great workout, but it’s low impact and there is less wear and tear on the joints and the body,” Turner said. “It’s a great cross training exercise. And every ride is a different ride, with new music, so it doesn’t get repetitive.”

All registration and payment can be done on the RydeOn! website. Lossing said anyone who wants to try it gets one free ride. After that, a single drop-in costs $14 a ride. By purchasing from various plans offered on line, however, customers can bring the cost down. Lossing said that an unlimited all-year plan that costs $114 a month can bring the cost down to as little as $8 a ride.

RydeOn! features 21 Keiser M3 bikes. Each bike is equipped with an on-board computer that measures RPMs, watts generated, miles travelled, and calories burned.

“After the class you can tack how many watts you generated and use that as a bench mark for the next ride,” Lossing said, adding that people can lose 400-600 calories per ride.

The computer will also pick up the heart rate of users wearing a polar heart monitor. Users can shift gears up and down, using magnetic resistance, and take their ride at their own speed.

Lossing, a paralegal, and Turner, a stay-at-home mom, both live in the Saline area.

“We both enjoy indoor cycling and local options are very limited. It occurred to us that people were looking for something better,” Turner said. “We decided to go for it. We looked at every angle, we got the very best bikes, we found a wonderful space with bright, natural light, and we found great instructors.”

Lossing said the only other similar facility in the county is located in Ann Arbor.

She said she’s confident the fitness-conscious Saline community, which has 5k runs at the drop of a hat and recently was home to the Tour of Washtenaw cycling race, will adopt RydeOn!

“I think Saline is a community that recognizes the importance of physical fitness,” Lossing said.

For more information about RydeOn! Cycling Studio, visit its website or phone 734-316-2356.