Ride+Reflect opens this month in Morristown, bringing a combination of spin sessions, hot yoga and high intensity interval training (HIIT) that has been winning fans for four years in Bernardsville.
But for the real origins of this studio, you must travel much farther–to Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro; and Oxford, England; and even to Nazi Germany.
The story starts withSir Ludwig “Poppa” Guttmann, grandfather of Ride+Reflect founder Juliet Patsolos-Fox and pioneer of what would become the Paralympic Games.
A top neurologist, Guttmann fled Germany just before World War II to escape Nazi persecution of Jews. The British government resettled his family at Oxford, and soon he was placed in charge of spinal cord research in the United Kingdom.
A 2013 Russian stamp honoring Ludwig Guttmann as a sports legend.
“They gave him soldiers with spinal injuries. They were delivered in coffins, to keep them straight and flat,” recounted Patsolos-Fox, amidst the clatter of construction inside the annex of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 125 South St.
To show how patients could surmount devastating injuries to lead active and productive lives, her grandfather staged an athletic competition on a hospital lawn.
Guttmann was knighted for his efforts, dramatized in the 2012 TV film The Best of Men.
This family lore made an impression on Patsolos-Fox as a child in England.
“I grew up with the idea of sport as a way to improve your life,” she said. “Starting this business brings that around a bit.”
Patsolos-Fox discovered her life’s calling the hard way–while battling Stage 3 colon cancer.
That was seven years ago. Determined to keep a commitment to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a friend, she needed to train. Most workouts were out of the question. Cancer treatments left her with neuropathy–an uncomfortable pins-and-needles condition in her extremities.
She discovered spinning, a pain-free exercise on a stationary bicycle.
To endure chemotherapy, she meditated, with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction techniques developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
The annex at St. Peter’s in Morristown, pictured in early March 2018, is being transformed into a fitness studio. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Patsolos-Fox reached the summit of Kilimanjaro in 2012. And she had her eureka moment.
Unable to find anyplace that paired spinning and meditation, she decided to open a studio.
Friends were incredulous, Patsolos-Fox said. She had studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University, and worked in management consulting. Yet she always yearned to start a business.
“I can’t get out of the way of this. It’s burning out of me,” she said of Ride+Reflect.
Spinning at Ride+Reflect in Bernardsville. Photo courtesy of Ride+Reflect.
Her holistic formula mixes variety and personal service. She promises that each of the 31 exercise bikes in Morristown will be adjusted to customers’ specifications, down to their choice of towels and water bottles, before they arrive for workouts.
“I want to be the Four Seasons of fitness,” said Patsolos-Fox, now cancer-free. “Customer service really, really matters to me.”
Monthly enrollment runs from $99-$249. In addition to the bikes, there will be rowing- and ski machines, weights for circuit-training, and a yoga room, along with a juice bar and retail shop selling workout apparel. The staff includes a certified holistic nutrition counselor, Susan Labunski.
The Morristown venue plans to stay open from 6 am to 8 pm, seven days a week. See the new digs at an open house on Thursday, March 15, 2018, from 6 pm to 9 pm.
‘A DIFFERENT KIND OF MEDICINE’
“The goal is to get people to have a fitness routine that they love—that also works,” said Studio Manager Krystal Weisberg. “It’s not enough to just be cool and fun…consistency is important.”
The annex at St. Peter’s in Morristown is being transformed into a Ride+Reflect fitness studio. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Weisberg enjoyed working for a Morristown fitness center earlier in her career. But she described the Ride+Reflect vibe as unique.
“Here, it feels more like you’re going to a friend’s house—the friend who cooks for you and takes care of you when you’re sick. Your very best friend,” Weisberg said.
Over the years, the 5,000-square-foot annex has housed a pre-school, art shows, pottery demonstrations and, most recently, a thrift shop that will be relocated on the church campus.
Patsolos-Fox learned of the venue through a friend at St. Peter’s. Awhile back, she heard Rector Janet Broderick preach and was impressed.
“It seemed like a good fit,” said Patsalos-Fox.
Broderick agreed; she’s taken with the entrepreneur’s passion for wellness and conditioning, and her willingness to become involved in the community.
Ride+Reflect in Bernardsville is coming to Morristown. Photo courtesy of Ride+Reflect.
“She sees the connection between our bodies and our sense of joy and power in life,” the minister said.
“She is discerning in the people she works with and her trainers are inspirational. The leadership did a lot of thinking about what the right sort of offering would go well with our ministry, and we feel that health and wellness are key.”
And Patsolos-Fox is eager to extend her brand.
“It’s too good not to replicate,” she said.
It’s been 21 years since she and her husband came to America, where they have raised three children. But she never has forgotten her grandfather’s example in Great Britain.
“I come from a family of doctors. I thought I would be a really good doctor,” Patsolos-Fox said. “In a way, helping people feel healthy, it’s a different kind of medicine.”
Sir Ludwig proved how fitness can “improve your outlook and make you happier.” Now, metaphorically speaking, his granddaughter is “in the business of handing out happy pills. And there aren’t any side effects.”
For her, the greatest benefit of Ride+Reflect may be the reflect part. Patsolos-Fox even professes gratitude for her illness.
“Without it,” she said, “I might still be procrastinating about what to do with my life.”
Juliet Patsolos-Fox shows space where exercise bikes will go, in the annex of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
If you’ve read this far… you clearly value your local news. Now we need your help to keep producing the local coverage you depend on! More people are reading Morristown Green than ever. But costs keep rising. Reporting the news takes time, money and hard work. We do it because we, like you, believe an informed citizenry is vital to a healthy community.
