Emily in Paris is a confection of a show. That’s likely why it avoids any mention of the pandemic during its easy, breezy and very beautiful second season. However, even Emily in Paris couldn’t avoid one of the biggest trends of the lockdown era: Peloton, the at-home exercise bike so ubiquitous it inspired an unforgettable Saturday Night Live sketch. In Season 2’s seventh episode, “The Cook, the Thief, Her Ghost, and His Lover,” the Savoir team is tasked with marketing Pelotech (get it?), a “heart-pumping cardio experience that connects riders to a worldwide fitness community,” as its representative Pete (Lee Aaron Rosen) preaches to Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) and her dismayed French colleagues. 

Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) — Emily in Paris’ multilayered avatar for Parisian elegance — would rather pedal herself into the Seine than invest energy in something as American as Pelotech. “Why would anyone want this when you can ride outside?” asks a baffled Luc (Bruno Gouery), who often represents the intellectual French perspective. Emily in Paris itself had actually already recognized #SpinLife in Paris long before Season 2, with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene. 

Back in Season 1, Emily goes for a run in her new home city to kick off the third episode, “Sexy or Sexist.” After sprinting away from a man innocently using a public urinal, Emily ends up in front of Air & Velo, a fictional spin studio in Paris (the real-life location of Crémerie de Paris, an art pop-up venue). Air & Velo is packed. Emily — croissant in hand — is shocked to see a group of thin Parisian women strolling into the space, decked out in nearly identical luxe leggings, sports bras and athletic tops. Emily stares at the awning to figure out what could be so popular. Clearly, a certain section of trendy Parisian women is already passionate about spin in the Emily in Paris world. These are also the type of women Savoir would likely be interested in courting for business opportunities. 

Before wandering away from Air & Velo, Emily snaps a photo of Air & Velo patrons seemingly enjoying pre- or post-workout cigarettes. Recognizing the contradiction (smoking and intense cardio — le gasp), she captions the picture “#Frenchworkout #Smokin’bodies.” The next time we spot Emily’s Instagram engagement post-upload, she has gained 3,000 followers — people obviously connected with her spin #content. 

Although it’s unclear if real-life French women are pairing smoking with getting their sweat on, Emily in Paris isn’t totally off the mark when it comes to Paris and pedaling. In 2015, The Cut reported that “editors and PR girls” were “flocking” to Dynamo, an American-style spin studio in Paris. As Cut writer Kathleen Hou sampled a Dynamo class she found a “crowd” — if a “placcid” one — at her 10 a.m. “early bird” session during Fashion Week. When Time Out wrote about Dynamo two years later in 2017, the publication mentioned two Dynamo studios; now there are six spread out around the Paris area. 

It makes sense, then, that toward the end of “The Cook, the Thief, Her Ghost, and His Lover,” Sylvie — a marketing exec who knows her fair share of fashion editors and PR professionals — isn’t quite so anti-spinning as she seemed earlier in the episode. While the Emily in Paris camera swivels around Sylvie’s apartment, we realize the Pelotech bike has now been installed next to a wall-sized series of windows in her living room — or maybe it’s always been there. This is one of the first times viewers glimpse Sylvie’s hallowed home. Clad in easy loungewear, Sylvie considers the bike and climbs on, enjoying the opportunity to exercise in the comfort of her home as a heatwave rages outside. Don’t be surprised if you see Sylvie at Air & Velo next.