Maybe you’ve noticed the huge, colorful logo in front of the building at 3505 Cleveland Heights Blvd. It’s hard to miss. It’s CYCLEdelic, slated in June to become Lakeland’s first indoor cycling-centered facility.
CYCLEdelic is owned by Lakeland resident Mary Marcia Brown. She thought of it after breaking her second Guinness World Record for most static-cycling classes attended in one year, which she accomplished teaching in various facilities from Lakeland to Tampa to Winter Park. She found out in April she won.
“The journey allowed me to see what was being done well and what wasn’t and bring it to Lakeland,” she said. “Let’s create something that’s really cool for the city of Lakeland.”
As a testament to her tenacity, she was shooting for 550 classes but ended up winning with 585. She had a year to complete it, but she needed only eight months.
“Once I got past that 550 mark, I knew I had sufficiently broken the record,” said Brown, 45. “I didn’t know if anybody else was trying to break the record. So I wanted to really get that evidence in and have that at their fingertips and prove it.”
Brown’s first record, in 2016, was for longest static-cycling class at 24 hours, 7 minutes and 30 seconds.
Her history is as a runner. She has chalked up eight ultra-marathons, which are defined by being longer than 26.2 miles.
After a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis, and at her doctor’s behest, she hit the pedals. But she missed the competitive spirit of marathons, which prompted the endurance required to earn her two world records.
Now, her focus has shifted to opening CYCLEdelic (web | Facebook | Instagram). Everything is on track for a CYCLEdelic grand opening in June, Brown said.
Six instructors will teach classes, which will be offered seven days a week. With 30 bikes (plus one in the observation room) at the 1,500-square-foot facility, CYCLEdelic will offer 1,200 “fit trips” per month, Brown said
One of the instructors is Brown’s dad, Will Morrell, who is a nationally ranked runner and coach.
Morrell anticipates demand will increase once people feel comfortable in a group setting. “A lot of people during the COVID crisis have started with Peloton and other things, so this is an answer for them now to come enjoy exercising with a group,” he said.
Brown thinks, too, people will be “itching” for the group atmosphere. “There’s nothing like the energy in the room,” she said. “I just think you’re able to achieve more.”
Masks will be required in all general areas, plastic safety shields are installed on the front of the bikes, and there will be sanitization between uses.
CYCLEdelic incoprportates upper body strength and will offer multiple classes and multiple types of classes.
It will offer a deli for smoothies and leaderboards to monitor progress. The bikes are made with magnetic-resistance technology, facilitating a smooth and quiet ride, Brown said.
For more fun, Brown is adding a lighting system that pulses with the beat of the music. Drop-in visits or monthly passes will be offered.
Brown plans to incorporate her late husband Phil’s memory at the facility; he died in a vehicle collision at age 40 in March 2017. She’ll add his favorite bike and one of his bike frames to the decor. His portrait will be on display.
Lakeland resident Steve Monti is looking forward to the opening, although he was a reluctant spin-cycler at first. He’s a runner, mostly. But a friend dragged him to one of Brown’s classes five years ago.
“I’m a hard-driven person,” he said. “I got in there, and she has a way of psyching you up and getting you going. She has that knack to get that extra out of you.”
He’s set to become a regular at CYCLEdelic, already purchasing some gift cards.
“I’ve never met anybody more cheerful and optimistic and positive in my whole life,” Monti said. “I’ve gotten to know her and her dad personally, and she’s an amazing person. She can pull the best out of everybody.”
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This is NOT actually Lakeland’s first indoor cycling center. There was one in the Scottsdale Plaza on South Florida Avenue ~10 years or so ago – so long ago that I can’t remember its name. A Lakeland schoolteacher opened it, and hired many Lakeland-based instructors.
Thanks, Ashlee. This is a reminder that it’s dangerous to call something the first or largest or many other superlatives without first asking a lot of questions and doing research. It’s also a reminder that our readers collectively know a lot more than we do. Thanks for speaking up.