PURE Indoor Cycling: Evergreen Park's Newest Workout Center

A rainy Friday afternoon in Evergreen Park hardly seems like an ideal time for a spin on the ol’ bicycle. But in the inviting studio of PURE Indoor Cycling, going for a bike ride doesn’t seem like such a bad option.

PURE Indoor Cycling, which opened June 17 at 3354 W. 95th St., is a cycling studio equipped with 10 Keiser m3 bikes, a large set of yoga mats and a bumping stereo system that blasts everything from Macklemore to Michael Jackson. Marla O’Brien, the owner of the studio, says the classes are very much centered on the music and on finding a rhythm. 

That’s exactly the feeling I get walking in: I’m about to get my groove on.

Katie Curran, the instructor of a class called PURE Sweat, shows her three pupils – all of us beginners – the ropes: how to adjust the bike, what seated posture to aim for, how to properly stand on a bike. She encourages us to push ourselves but to listen to our bodies as well.

“I never touch your bike,” she says. “Your workout is as hard as you make it.”

Your workout is indeed as hard as you make it, and I quickly realized I might have gotten in a bit over my head on this one. Despite the rainy weather, it was hot, I hadn’t properly hydrated, and within a few minutes, I was toast. A regular spin session is 1 hour. I lasted about 20 minutes.

While I may not have made it all the way through, I still have every intention of coming back because of PURE’s atmosphere. No gym or studio has ever made me feel as welcome as PURE did.

PURE offers several types of spin classes including Katie’s PURE 105 (that’s an hour and 45 minutes straight of cycling, a class for someone much more adventurous than me) and even a Monday night yoga class (now that sounds right up my alley). The studio is open from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with yoga at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays.

PURE’s typical monthly package costs $65/month, but with the promo code “RIDE50,” it’s only $50/month. You can reserve a bike up to two weeks in advance on the site so you can schedule your workouts in advance.

According to O’Brien, who worked for LA Fitness for five years, the goal of PURE is to be different, and she has certainly accomplished that goal.

“Really you control your own workout because you’re controlling the tension on the bike,” O’Brien says. “Nobody’s watching.”

PURE’s philosophy is centered on an idea that Curran touched on at the start of our session: “If you’re pedaling, you’re exercising.” And if exercising is this fun and challenging at once, then PURE has made certain I won’t backpedal on my exercise plan; I’ll be pedaling back for more.