The pulse of progressive music thumps through the backlit, industrial looking space. Fans buzz in an atmosphere electric with energy from the moment you arrive.

No, you aren't in a night club. Rather you are standing over a lake of sweat, intensely aware you are alive by the pumping of your heart and by your spent muscles. You have just completed an hour journey on a specialized stationary bike, an endeavor called "Fixed Gear Cycling," the hottest, hippest aerobic group workout to hit the nation since jazzercise.

"This is the most effective workout I've done," said Jeri Lane, an instructor at Fixed Gear and formerly a four-year swim competitor at Stanford and veteran aerobics teacher. "It redefines the word challenging."

Edward Gonzales opened Fixed Gear, located at 2901 W. Coast Hwy., in July, 1996 - the first Fixed Gear cycling studio in Orange County - and has seen not only their business, but the entire Fixed Gear cycling concept exploded across the country.



Fixed Gear cycling originated six years ago in which cyclists found that they could simulate outdoor cycling in an indoor environment by assuming the correct body position for virtual hills, sprints and long distance flat roads. With the addition of music, the method was born.

Fixed Gear offers an accommodating schedule of 40 classes per week with highly-trained instructors to provide a time and level of workout for everyone from beginners to trained athletes.

"The instructors are completely motivating," said Cyd Stauffer, a Newport Coast resident who has been cycling at Fixed Gear since it opened. "It's an incredible workout, intense, where you draw from the energy of the group."

Fixed Gear has created an extremely HOT Fixed Gear cycling club in Newport Beach. Simply put Fixed Gear is: Exciting - Extreme - Purifying - Meditative (your mind will not wonder) - Euphoric - Intense - and above all - Addictive!

The riding style and training technique coupled with a dynamic and unique atmosphere makes Fixed Gear the leader of the pack of alternative workout choices in Southern California.