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Bigger Is Better at SoulCycle SOMA

By Robyn Hagan Cain

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  • These co-workers from Open Table signed up for Racked Fit Club x SoulCycle together. Hooray!
  • The unobstructed merch wall in the new studio.
  • So. Much. Space.
  • Riders!
  • And more riders!
  • Can you spot the first-time rider in this group?
  • Warming up before class.
  • Soul instructor Jenny Gaither preps the crowd for what's to come.


Last night, we hosted our biggest Racked Fit Club yet: 60 eager readers flocked to the new SoulCycle SOMA for a late-night class with Jenny Gaither. Jenny, an instructor who can trace her Soul roots all the way back to the very first studio in New York, was noticeably pumped about all the space in the bigger, badder, location, and we can see why. The place is huge. You know how everyone crowds into the entryway in the other Soul locations? Here, there are two separate entrances to keep traffic flowing. Bonus: The studio is around the corner from the shwag wall, so you can actually shop for tanks and pants without stepping over waiting riders.

Other features in the newest Soul include expanded locker rooms, and more lockers in the open areas. Additional lockers make sense because there are more bikes in the studio than the other three Bay Area locations, but it feels like the locker-to-rider ratio is more generous here. Factor in the Pressed Juicery next door, and this location has the makings of an uber-Soul.

It's easy to get excited about a shiny new studio, but the real draw for any fitness enterprise is the workout. Among our 60 participants, we had about 20 new riders —including a lot of boyfriends— and we suspect that many of them will be back. After 45 minutes of jogging, sprinting, and tap-backs, one first-time rider remarked to his friends, "That put my usual spin class to shame."

Many thanks to SoulCycle for hosting! Now that we've tested SOMA, let's start plotting a 2015 Fit Club at the incoming Castro location.

· SoulCycle [Official Site]
· SoulCycle SoMa Maybe Definitely Opening Next Week. Probably? [Racked]