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Last modified: 29 Jul 2020 10:49am

A man in a black top, wearing a pink hat with candles on it rides an Exercycle with orange balloons on the front while a group of people around him Excercycles wave their hands in the air

To celebrate turning 92, Len Cotton decided to go for a spin.

Mr Cotton is one of the most enthusiastic members of the Rolleston Community Centre spin classes—which he attends three times a week.

With Wednesday’s class falling on Mr Cotton’s birthday the class members decided to mark the day.

Mr Cotton also attends Mature and Motivated, a Council-run low impact, fun exercise class for people over 50 and still sometimes attends, though spin has become his main focus, Group fitness instructor Kim Roberts says.

A keen cyclist, he was encouraged to join the classes about six months ago after a conversation with one of their members at a café, Ms Roberts says.

“For 92 he’s pretty fit. He shows up some of the younger ones sometimes too. If he’s not cycling indoors he can be seen sometimes cycling outdoors.”

There are more benefits to the classes than just staying fit, he says. “I’ve met lots of new people and they’re very social and we all go for a coffee afterwards. It’s where you go to make new friends.”

He’s also a fan of the music played during the class and sometimes can be seen at warm down with the instructor’s microphone singing along.

The class often celebrate birthdays, but Ms Roberts says they were keen to do something a bit different for their inspiring oldest member. “We’re all mother hens to him. He’s amazing. He’s an inspiration for all of us that age is no restriction. We just wanted to make it extra special for him.”

Council spin classes are available at Rolleston Community Centre and Lincoln Event Centre with a range of morning, mid-morning and evening times. Times are listed in the term three activity programme, you can also pick up a copy from your local Council facility.