We love sharing stories of philanthropy. (B) East owner Romaine Gordon planned and hosted the event to raise money for a local family. Watch the video and read the inspirational story below. [Article originally posted in East Hampton Patch]

After a 90-minute spin class and Zumba class at B. East Fitness Studio and an auction and raffle at a benefit party at the Stephen Talkhouse on Saturday, the donations were tallied. According to Romaine Gordon, who organized the fundraiser, over $28,500 was raised for Lisa Craine of East Hampton, who has been battling Stage 4 colon cancer for more than two years. Craine, a mother of three, thanked the community for “stepping up” for her family.

Donations can still be made by sending checks payable to Friends of Lisa Craine, c/o Romaine Gordon, 12 Runnymede Drive, East Hampton, NY 11937.

Our cycling community spans across 43 countries and with that comes a powerful group constantly striving to reach their peak potential. Sure, we love selling bikes, but nothing moves us more than the stories of personal triumph told by the real people peddling away on our indoor bike.

We recently spoke with John Petrick, an avid cyclist and RealRyder® devotee from California, whose story nearly stopped us in our tracks. John inherited a frightening kidney disorder, known as polycystic kidney disease, which afflicted his great grandmother, grandfather and his mother. The dominant family gene had a fifty percent chance of affecting his life, and unfortunately, both John and his sister were eventually diagnosed.

The prognosis for polycystic kidney disease can be unpredictable and for some, the risk for mortality is high. In order to stay alive, patients must either bear a lifetime of dialysis or undergo a kidney transplant. The latter is no easy feat, as the demand for kidneys far outweighs the supply. However, John’s business partner stepped up and offered to make a donation that would give John a new lease on life.

John told us, “Poor kidney function causes the red blood cell count to go down. Slowly over time, I lost energy as well as the ability to maintain my body temperature. Even in the summertime, I was cold.” Recalling the days when completing life’s most common tasks felt like a battle, John remembered losing the ability to ride his bike, swim or simply work a full day.

However, John’s life took a dramatic turn for the better on August 17, 2004 when John underwent a kidney transplant at UCLA Medical Center. When someone tells you they had a kidney transplant, the last thing you’re expecting to hear next is that they’re completing century rides, triathlons or competing in bike events in Death Valley, where it’s 104˚ degrees! But unlike other baby boomers who tend to slow down, John is driven by an incredible responsibility to his donor – that is, to live his life to the fullest degree possible.

Since his transplant, John continues to support and stay closely connected with other transplant patients worldwide. In fact, every two years, thousands of patients compete in the U.S. Transplant Olympics or the World Transplant Games, in events like cycling, swimming, bowling, and track and field events. Here, John competes with other inspiring individuals who’ve undergone successful transplants of the kidney, heart, liver, bone marrow and more.

When he’s not competing for medals, you can find John training hard on his RealRyder® bike in his home gym. John says, “I find traditional stationary bikes to be really boring. On the RealRyder bike, I’m able to get a better workout in the same amount of time because I’m using my core muscles to balance the bike. This is how I ride outdoors. You just don’t get that on other indoor bikes.”

On June 13th, John will travel to Sweden to compete in the 2011 World Transplant Games, where 1,500 athletes representing an estimated 69 countries will compete at a high level in an atmosphere of fun and friendship.

A special thanks to John for sharing his story with us and for exemplifying a life of great courage. You’re an inspiration to all of us, John!

RealRyder® was featured this week on the American Council on Exercise’s (ACE) Certified News. ACE is the largest nonprofit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world with nearly 50,000 certified professionals who hold more than 55,000 ACE certifications. ACE is among the most respected fitness organizations in the industry and a resource consumers have come to trust for health and fitness education.

RealRyder’s Indoor Cycling Certified Instructor Training Program became recognized by ACE as an approved continuing education provider. We were VERY excited to have our education program, led by Douglas Brooks, M.S. (Exercise Physiologist & ACE-certified), recognized by such an incredible organization. Below are a few excerpts from the ACE article, RealRyder: Taking the Training Wheels Off Indoor Cycling.

It has been more than 20 years since Johnny G introduced Spinning® and transformed the stationary bike from a solo piece of cardio equipment into a new group-fitness phenomenon called indoor cycling. The Spinning bike’s design, with the heavy flywheel, chain drive and friction resistance, offered a pedaling experience that mimicked that of an actual road bike. “It was a brilliant design that created the ability to get on top of the gear and keep it rolling,” says Colin Irving, creator of the RealRyder® bike and co-founder of RealRyder® International. Douglas Brooks adds, “Since Johnny G introduced the Spinning bike, there has really been nothing new about the riding experience, until now.”

But beyond the joy factor, it is the quality of the ride that Brooks and other cyclists are referring to when they say that Colin Irving “got it right” when he developed the concept of the RealRyder bike more than 15 years ago. “As a competitive cyclist, I spent many hours training on rollers in the hallway (for balance) and thought how nice it would be to just turn,” explains Irving, describing how he came up with the concept for the RealRyder bike. This led to sketches on training logs, cardboard, paper or whatever was available. “I wanted to create a riding experience, not just pedaling,” he says.

Picture a Buddha statue – the highest symbol in yogic culture – and immediately the idea of unshakable faith, mental discipline and fearlessness come to mind. Ask a professional cyclist what it takes to complete a 100-mile race and you’ll hear about similar self-mastery. Trevor Tice, CEO of Core Power Yoga (CPY), has always appreciated the similarities between power yoga and the sport of cycling, and now he’s investing in both.

Making his mark with sweaty, core-centric yoga classes, Tice selected the bike that would serve his members’ needs best – the RealRyder® Indoor Cycle. This “unstationary” indoor bike actually leans and turns, emulating the same functional, core-centric movement you feel on the real road.

“The lateral movement adds a whole new dimension to the experience. You’re not only getting your arms more involved in the workout, but it’s also more specific work for the core… just like the type of yoga we offer at Core Power Yoga,” says Tice. “We wanted to provide this as a value-add, so that our members could move away from the gym and be completely fulfilled spiritually, mentally and physically at Core Power Yoga.”

Read more on RealRyder and Core Power Yoga by clicking here.

RealRyder is hard at work on its installments featuring studios across the United States that have taken their indoor cycling studios to the next level (see our first installment on Real Ryder Revolution in metro-Detroit Michigan). What is their secret to selling out cycling classes, creating waiting lines and leaving their customers hungry for more? Watch the second part of this installment, featuring Qi Ryders, to learn more about the secrets to their success!

“Every month has been better than the last.”
“In 5 months I’ve never had one class not sell out.”
“Customer retention has been easy. We just put them on the bike.”
“RealRyders provide 100% more benefit – to everything.”

Qi has an incredible story in terms of its business success, but the classes featuring RealRyder® ABF8 bikes have also changed the lives of their participants. Below we have the story of how RealRyder changed the life of one of Qi’s top trainers and their Boxing Director, Nick Spinosa.

Nick has been on his feet for most of his life, growing up working his family’s restaurant in Pennsylvania. As an avid athlete, Nick played many sports – baseball, football, basketball – and continued to play baseball at the collegiate level at Penn State. He also developed a love and passion for boxing, which runs in his family. Nick’s grandfather was  a professional boxer.

Nick’s love of sports and time spent on his feet caught up with him. During his collegiate years, while playing both baseball and boxing, Nick had to undergo surgery for damages to his feet, also dealing with arthritis pains from being on so many surfaces. Surgeons had to fuse the bones of his feet together in a series of surgeries. Three surgeries, in fact. Not an easy thing to swallow for an active person. And that wasn’t the end.

Following college, two additional surgeries (for a total of 5 surgeries on his feet!) the newly-minted kineseology grad headed out west to live with his brother in Denver, Colorado. Nick said he could barely walk or bend over when he arrived in Colorado in early 2010. It was time to get back in form. His brother proceeded to introduce him to Chris Lindley, one of the co-owners of Qi.

The two hit it off immediately, bonding over boxing and the Army-style workouts Chris provided at Qi. Enter the RealRyders at Qi. Nick was re-learning to walk when RealRyders arrived at Qi, and with the RealRyder® ABF8′s, he was able to accomplish his goals of walking again, becoming physically active and shedding weight gained over multiple surgeries. Nick is now 60 pounds lighter, teaching at least 13 filled or sold out classes a week and directs the Boxing programs at Qi. Nick’s personal triumph is one of the many stories we are proud to highlight and share. Qi continues to make an impact in the Denver community and on the lives of its participants and employees.

Do you have a story to share? We would love to feature your story on RealRyder’s blog!