Silicon Valley Finally Gets a Soul

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SoulCycle will conquer Palo Alto this weekend. And there will be balloons!

Did you experience the mayhem of opening day at SoulCycle on Union Street last weekend? The DJ? The photo booth? The throngs of spandex-clad hard bodies attempting to plead their way out of waitlist purgatory? For all of you who are 10 kinds of sad that you missed the spectacle, you have another chance to enjoy all the hoopla when SoulCycle opens in the Stanford Shopping Center. And this time, there are two days of festivities to welcome chichi spinning to Silicon Valley.

Sandwiched between The Body Shop and Pinkberry, Palo Alto's 50-bike SoulCycle studio will open with a 6am class on Friday, November 22, and a grand opening celebration to follow on Saturday, November 23. So you have a decision to make: Do you want the bragging rights of being the first soul in the studio on Friday, or do you want photos and fancy freebies from the Pressed Juicery on Saturday? (Decide quickly: The weekly class sign-up goes live a noon.)

The newest studio is a dream location for commuters: The Palo Alto Caltrain station is nearby for the public transit crowd, and there's plenty of free parking in the shopping center for drivers. (Plus, you know, the Pinkberry next door…) Inside, you'll find all the usual accoutrements you've come to expect from the brand: Soul Boutique, listening bar, lockers, shoe rentals, SmartWater, showers, Palo Alto-specific swag.

Most of the instructors will be familiar faces from Marin and San Francisco locations, and pricing for classes will also be the same: $30 for a single class, with a one-time $20 special for first time riders. (You must call the studio at 650-784-7510 to get the first-time rider reduced rate.) Riders who buy a multi-class series —between 5 and 30 classes— save $1 to $4 per class.

Want to be one of the first riders to tap it back in Palo Alto? Then you need to plot your scheduling plan before noon. Create a Soul Account and purchase a Soul Series now so reserving a bike will be easier later. Most of the first-day classes for the San Francisco location filled up within an hour last week. Between Stanford hotties and determined techies, the Palo Alto bikes will book just as quickly.
· SoulCycle [Official Site]
· SoulCycle Brings the Tap Back to SF on Saturday [Racked]
· OMG! SoulCycle Spins into Marin this Weekend! [Racked]