Today begins the penultimate week of the quest and classes are lined up before me like aircraft on the runway at DFW. Starting with Martha’s class tonight I’m entering a difficult stretch both for my body and for blogging. After this class I’ll scamper down to the studio for a Sculpt class with Beth that ends at 8:15. Then I’ll race home, have dinner and get to bed so I can get up in time for a 5:45 a.m. Yoga class. After that I’ll go to a 10 a.m. Nia class. Yikes.
Martha’s 6 p.m. class is competing with primo weather outside and that’s hurting the numbers no doubt. There are only five of us in class but that won’t stop us from having a great ride.
Martha has lined up an inner tour of the Gaelic countryside accompanied by a mostly Irish soundtrack (see play list below). It’s a pleasant place to imagine riding a bike and a fairly easy visualization for me.
I’ve been to Ireland a couple of times and I loved its green rolling countryside. The first time I went it didn’t take long before curiosity led me to a phone book to see how many Riley’s there were in Dublin. Well, that number turned out to be zero, however, there were plenty of O’Reilly’s.
Reilly evolved from the Gaelic name Raghailligh, which came from some historical figure named Raghallach. In Gaelic, Raghallach is the combination of two words meaning race and gregarious. This is related, I suppose, to the Irish penchant for talking a lot or the “gift of gab”, something my father inherited but didn’t pass on in tact to me.
Riley Family Crest
I’m actually thinking about all this as we ride along because I’ve read some about the Riley/Reilly derivation before and wonder what it all means for me. Some of the Irish stereotypes fit for me – for instance, I never met a potato that I didn’t like and I have a warm place in my heart for the Irish landscape and enjoy the music, however, I’ve got no taste whatsoever for room temperature beer.
Martha has a soothing voice and keeps us moving along at a steady clip pointing out the “sights” as we tool along. At one point she draws our attention to a sheepherder about to take his flock across the road ahead and urges us to hurry up to get past this looming traffic jam.
Martha Plaster in Dublin
Since we’re in Ireland there aren’t any steep hills to negotiate only those of the rolling variety. So, mostly we move along at a fairly fast pace but never get into the highest, most exhausting gears. The overall experience is a pleasant one – where my heart rate stays elevated but never climbs into the OMG zone. According to my watch, my heart rate averages 128 and maxes out at 142. I burn 450 calories in the 45-minute ride.
Four of the five taking class tonight are guys. One of the guys, Jim Miles, is the winner of the gift certificate.
Next up is class #90, Sculpt with Beth.
Play list below:
Gypsy Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance
Breakout Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance
Siamsa Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance
The Acoustic Motorbike Luka Bloom
Warriors Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance
Discothèque (New Mix) U2
The Countess Cathleen/Woman Of The Sidhe Riverdance: Music From The Show
American Wake (The Nova Scotia Set) Riverdance: Music From The Show
Vertigo U2
The Lord Of The Dance Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance
Reel Around The Sun Riverdance: Music From The Show Lift The Wings (cool down) Riverdance: Music From The Show
General Celtic
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