A high-tech spin class took me from San Francisco to Wonderland

I enjoy stationary bikes because they offer the exercise benefits of cycling without annoyances like bad weather and dangerous traffic. But there are times when I miss some of the benefits of being outside, like a cool breeze and changing scenery. While a gym’s AC unit can never really capture the magic scent of flowers and pine as you pass through a peaceful glade, workout designer company Les Mills has come up with a way to at least restore the sense of excursion with its new program, “The Trip.”

Instead of staring at a mirror for the duration of each spin class, riders sit on bikes in front of a giant screen and are enveloped in visuals that help create the illusion of motion. You may not physically leave the studio during the half-hour spin session, but thanks to some inventive imagery, you’ll mentally travel farther than a standard bike ride could ever take you.

The Trip made its debut in Santa Monica, California, last November and in March arrived at David Barton’s new gym in Midtown Manhattan, TMPL. That puts it in competition with ImaxShift, the immersive spin class introduced by the eponymous film company in May. Both classes feature a curved screen, booming sound system and an (overly) enthusiastic instructor. When I tried ImaxShift I found some positive aspects to the experience, but the sensory overload left me overwhelmed. On the surface it would seem that the Trip might induce the same feelings, but a series of small differences make it a more uplifting experience.

Though Imax is known for delivering larger-than-life cinematic experiences that can really draw you into the story and setting of your favorite films, Les Mills actually delivered a better narrative for an immersive exercise program. You start in a simulacrum of San Francisco, biking up and down the steep hills of the city until you cross the Golden Gate Bridge and enter a lush green forest. From there the scenery on the 30-foot screen gets increasingly whimsical, from a strange Wonderland-esque backdrop filled with rainbow mushrooms to a series of glossy neon-lined pathways reminiscent of Tron. Eventually you end up back where you started, gazing upon a sunset-tinged cityscape. It’s no wonder this particular program is called “The Rabbit Hole.”

Each ride has a specific playlist, making it possible to explicitly tie the visuals to the beat of the music. “The Rabbit Hole” starts with a cover of “Who Are You?” by the Travellers and closes with Nas’ “The World Is Yours” — perhaps an indication of how you should feel when you finish the 30-minute program. It’s an intense workout, requiring you to bike up steep hills for periods of between 15 and 60 seconds. Of course, these are merely virtual hills that you create by adjusting the resistance lever just below the handlebars on your cycle. The lever was a lot easier than the dials I’ve used on other bikes, which is just one part of why the Trip is as intuitive as it is. You see, when I tried ImaxShift I had an issue with following the instructor’s directions. The music would often drown out his voice, making it impossible for me to keep up and get the full workout. The Trip has the music at a more reasonable level. But even when I couldn’t hear the spin director, the screen provided plenty of visual cues as to my next action. A gentle slope? Increase the resistance slightly. A steep hill? Crank it up. Now we’re going back down the hill, so lower that resistance all the way down and enjoy the glide.

The computer-generated scenery wasn’t even close to Academy Award-winning graphics, but the aesthetic cheesiness of it didn’t really matter — the need to react to the images I was seeing made me feel more involved. It became more immersive as a result, and I was able to imagine myself going up those hills because I felt it both physically and emotionally.

As the class biked back through the forest to end up back in the city where we started, I also experienced an acute feeling of satisfaction. Sure, I was riding high on the thrill of a good workout, but there was also that completion you get out of a good narrative. And, in a way, that’s what a bike ride is: It’s a simple story, in which you travel some distance and eventually return where you started, a little better for the experience. And isn’t exercise in its own way about making us better people?

If the the Trip is a journey of self-improvement you’d like to take, the program is currently available at 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport in Santa Monica and TMPL in New York City. Unlike ImaxShift, individual spin classes aren’t available for purchase; instead, you’ll have to sign up for a club membership, which runs $165 a month at TMPL. This gives you access to all of the gym’s facilities, not just the virtual reality studio. But why would you confine yourself to a stuffy weight room when you could be gliding through futuristic cities and sunset-lit canyons instead?

Airbnb CEO addresses issues with racist hosts

Airbnb is hosting its annual OpenAir conference today, and CEO Brian Chesky kicked off the conference by addressing recent reports surrounding the phenomenon of racist hosts cancelling travelers’ trips. “First, let me make it clear that we have zero tolerance for any amount of racism or discrimination on our platform,” Chesky said.”Over the next couple months, we’re revisiting the design of our platform end to end and look at how we can revisit decisions we’ve made.”

VP of technology Mike Curtis also addressed the issue at the end of his keynote. “I want to stand here and tell you that we are commited to battling this with every tool at our disposal and with zero tolerance,” Curtis said. “Our goal is to create a world where everyone can belong everywhere…we’re taking it seriously and we’re taking action.”

Neither Curtis nor Chesky had specifics about what sort of things the company would look for on the Airbnb platform, but it sounds like the company will be soliciting feedback from its users — including those who may have been victims of racism or discrimination. “I myself have personally engaged with a number of people who have been discriminated against on our platforms, and I want everyone to know that we’re working on this,” Chesky said. His remarks were fairly brief, but it sounds like building a more inclusive community is a topic that’ll come up more than once in today’s event.

Following the keynote, Airbnb director of diversity David King kicked off a roundtable discussion with Slack’s Leslie Miley and Project Include’s Ellen Pao on the topic of diversity and inclusion. Before that conversation, King noted that he would lead a “top-down review of the entire community” to improve discrimination issues. He also said that the company would release the results of its study this September, with changes based on those learnings to follow.

These comments come a week after Airbnb removed a host from its service for sending racist remarks to a black woman who tried to book the host’s property. At the time, Chesky tweeted that “racism and discrimination have no place on Airbnb.” But this incident was just the most recent example of the company’s problems with racism — a study last year showed that guests with “African-American sounding” names were significantly less likely to find a rental on Airbnb.

Gene-edited organisms aren’t ready for the real world

Gene editing holds the promise of eliminating diseases and perfecting humanity, but is it truly ready for real life? Not by a long shot, if you ask the National Academy of Sciences. It just issued a report warning that organisms modified with gene drives (that is, genetic additions meant to propagate through reproduction) “are not ready” to be released in the wild. We don’t understand enough about how they work, the report says, whether it’s their inner workings, their ethical questions or their impact on the environment.

The consequences could be dire, the Academy says. You could accidentally wipe out an animal population (and not necessarily the one you were targeting), or inadvertently create a super-species that’s resistant to your attempts to shut it down. Even a field test could quickly spiral out of control.

And the solution? The committee involved in the report has a few ideas. It wants phased testing that gives scientists more opportunities to collect evidence before making decisions. It also wants more input from the public, and governance that’s both more flexible and takes gene drives into account. The Academy is in favor of gene editing — it just wants to be sure that the technology is used responsibly.

Source: National Academies

Airbnb makes it easier to find a place to stay with your friends

Airbnb addressed the problem of racist hosts at the beginning of its OpenAir conference today, but the event is primarily focused on new technology and products. As such, VP of technology Mike Curtis quickly took the stage to announce three new products: group collaborative wish lists, an improved booking process for business travelers and multi-party reviews for when a group of guests stay at a property.

To most users of Airbnb, the collaborative wish are probably be the most notable new feature. For a while now, you’ve been able to book a place on Airbnb and then invite other guests to view the details for the stay. But now, you can get your friends involved earlier in the search process and have multiple users save different homes to a shared wish list. From there, you can vote on your favorite option; once you book, the property will be shared with everyone’s account so your friends can see the details of your final choice.

The multi-party review system builds on the concept of group trips. Previously, hosts could only rate or review the single person who actually booked the property, even if multiple other people stayed at the house. Now, a host can write a review that applies to all the guests in your group; hopefully you stay with respectable friends, otherwise your reputation could take a hit. Of course, for both of these features, your friends will need Airbnb accounts to join in the fun.

The last new feature is more focused on business travelers, something Airbnb says is a core part of its business — in fact, the company says that business travel has tripled on Airbnb in 2016 so far. The new third-party booking feature will let another authorized individual (like a company’s travel manager) complete a booking on behalf of an Airbnb user. The company already sees 11 percent of Airbnb useres booking for another individual, so this feature should ease the friction there. All of these new features should roll out immediately.

Source: Airbnb