On the surface, this is an aerobic interval ride, but the underlying objective is to help riders enter a dreamlike reverie as they work. This is also known as the state of “Flow,” or being “in the zone.” The intervals are 12 minutes long at Zone 3 intensity, which is a solid working effort below threshold. The reverie is inspired through the music selection and through the coaching, guiding students to trust you enough to let them ride on their own for most of the final 12-minute interval.
Note (2026): The track “Tribal Force” by Klangstrahler Projekt originally appeared as the second song in the first introspective interval of this profile. I’ve been using this piece since my early days as a master instructor with Spinning®—it first showed up in my 2002 WSSC (World Spinning and Sports Conference) 2-hour workshop, Moving Mountains. That ride focused specifically on how to coach riders to attain the flow state.
In 2025, Gero Bode, the artist behind Klangstrahler Projekt (and one of my favorite psychedelic trance producers), removed his entire catalog from Spotify and Apple Music. This was a real loss for those of us who built playlists around his work—many of these tracks are deeply evocative and not easily replaced.
Fortunately, I purchased most of his music years ago as MP3s, so I can still use this track in my own classes. But for instructors relying on streaming platforms, it’s no longer available. The good news is that the full album is still available on Bandcamp for about €5 (under $6), so you can download it and add it to your local library. (Here is how to add local files to your Spotify. If you use Apple Music, the songs will go into your iTunes, where you can then access them for your playlists.)
In the Spotify playlist for this profile below, I’ve replaced “Tribal Force” with “Deep Space” by Nigel Stanford. It’s a solid substitute with similar introspective energy and duration, though it runs at a slightly higher tempo (90 bpm).
Note that I have not yet updated the profile itself—this is still on my list of early ICA profiles to revise. When I do rewrite it, I’ll announce it on ICA and include a shorter Express Profile to make it easier to teach from.
Even so, the coaching in this original profile remains exceptional. Print it out, revisit it, and use these cues whenever you want to help riders turn inward and enter that reverie state.
Thank you for this. This is definately my style of teaching. Your cueing for this ride, is where I feel the most comfortable. Although, I don’t have the formal education I have to come to understand this through instinct and love to guide my students to this “place” and to your comment – I love to look out and see everyone so engaged. Out of their head, out of the noise and distraction that we resides inside our heads, the trip into the body and into the flow is healing in so many ways. I havn’t been on this site in a while due to work overload and I’m happy I snuck home before my 4oclock class today to regenerate and visit with ICA .. 🙂 Thank you.