In this episode I have a discussion with Peter Defty and Tony Konvalin from Vespa Power. Peter reached out to me after my rant on carbs a few weeks ago and felt we should have another discussion. This is the second time Peter has been on my podcast. 

We share a lot of common ground in the domain of sports nutrition, and on nutrition in general. People often mistakenly think Peter’s philosophy is all in on keto but in reality, he is quite moderate in my understanding. This reflects my own position; after trying just about everything over the last 3.5 decades of racing, I have come to a very middle ground perspective on nutrition, and I have realized that extreme choices almost never work out in the end. 

To learn more about Vespa or absorb some of the great info on the site, see the link below. 

Links:

Vespa Power Website ►► https://vespapower.com/

OFM Website ►► https://ofm.io/carb-wars-redefining-carbohydrate-fueling/

To purchase Vespa at a discount, use the code "metabolismalignment" for a single use 15% discount.

In this PDWT pod, I attempt to provide a useful answer to a question submitted from my audience: 

“Let's say someone comes to you and gets a perfect bike fit for an endurance road bike and everything is dialed in great. let's say they also followed all your advice on stretches/exercises etc...and now feel like want to work on developing a more aero bike position.

What would the steps be in your opinion to get more aero for road riding? How do you know if you should extend reach or drop your stem? How do you know if you are ready for it?

I am certain my thoughts will answer all of your questions and make all your dreams come true. Vote for Summer! 

In this PDWT podcast I talk about the culture of cycling and how focused it is on one single thing: watts. 

If a rider only has a hammer in their tool box, everything looks like a nail…

An old saying that has some truth to it: “Train your weaknesses, race your strengths”

Thanks for listening, space monkeys. 

In this walking episode I talk about all the reasons I don’t sign up for carbs carbs carbs and more sugar = better so more more sugar sugar = better better.

Didn’t your mom tell you not to eat all that sugar? 

She was right. 

Links:

Reticence & Reverie Podcast ►► https://reticenceandreverie.com/

Hello there space monkeys. This episode is Post Dinner Walk Thoughts, a bit of a shorter format than I would typically do. A distilled digestion of ideas on health, and a bit of perspective on how it fits into our life and our relationship to sports and cycling. 

If you have comments on this episode or my thoughts, fire the photons. As they say. 

In this episode I speak with Dr Mike DeBord about Blood Flow Restriction Training and how it is an extremely effective training method for endurance athletes. 
 
BFR simultaneously creates an environment of oxygen scarcity and elevated lactate levels, which stimulate mitochondria and also upregulate anabolic hormones. 
 
This training method is extremely time efficient, as you only wear the bands for a handful of minutes. 
 
I am sure you will enjoy this conversation with Dr Mike. If you are interested in purchasing BFR bands from B3 Sciences, please consider using my affiliate link which is found in the bio. I only recommend products which I use myself, and after two years of using the B3 bands, I think they are an excellent product. 

Thanks for listening. 

Links:

B3 Sciences Website (Affiliate Link) ►► https://colby.b3sciences.com/ 

In this episode I sit down for the second half of my conversation with Lawrence Van Lingen. We discuss the magnificent Tadej and look at his position on the bike, how he makes power, and analyze some video of him in action. We also peek at videos of Bradley Wiggins, Tom Pidcock, and Remco. 

Our conversation digs into the psychology of cyclists and why they do what they do. We agree that it is very important for an athlete to have a clear and authentic understanding of their “why”. 

I am sure you will appreciate Lawrence’s perspective on human movement in our discussion. Thanks as always for listening. 

Links:

Lawrence's Website ►► https://www.lawrencevanlingen.com/

Lawrence's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/lawrencevanlingen/

In this episode I sit down for another conversation with Lawrence. We discuss the magnificent Tadej and look at his position on the bike, how he makes power, and analyze some video of him in action. We also peek at videos of Bradley Wiggins, Tom Pidcock, and Remco. 

Our conversation digs into the psychology of cyclists and why they do what they do. We agree that it is very important for an athlete to have a clear and authentic understanding of their “why”. 

I am sure you will appreciate Lawrence’s perspective on human movement in our discussion. Thanks as always for listening. 

Links:

Lawrence's Website ►► https://www.lawrencevanlingen.com/

Lawrence's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/lawrencevanlingen/

In this walking podcast, I discuss the spectrum of athletes who are coached prescriptively vs those who are coached descriptively. 

By examining this spectrum, we can understand how and athlete or coach understand and relates to the metrics they work with, or in many cases, seem to worship. 

For the record, numbers should not be worshiped. 

My perspective is always to understand the why. I discuss aspects of why we would relate to a metric, such as power, in a certain way. 

In this podcast, I take a walk in Girona and discuss the inspirational athletic arc of Alysa Liu. If you haven’t read about her story, I recommend it, she embodies a child like, joyful athlete, and also jumped straight from the archetype of the child to the queen.

As Obi Wan would say, Hello There. 

In this walking pod, I offer 3 North Stars. Which should maybe be Three North Stars. But who cares, english spells lots of things wrong like the words receipts. Stupidest word ever. I digress. 

The north stars, of which there are the same number as thou shall count before throwing the Holy Hand Grenade, are to help answer the question “How do I simultaneously be a healthy person and also a bike racer?” which I think is a good one. And thus, I have attempted to answer it. 

If you would like to throw a Holy Hand grenade at me, do it in the comments. Thanks for listening. 

In this walking podcast, I outline some very basic ideas behind meditation. For some, meditation can be a daunting or challenging task; I offer a simple structure that can help it feel more productive. It is also important to be gentle with ourselves when we are learning something new; it is very rare that anyone can do a new thing at an accomplished level without experience or training. 

Some would offer that long solo rides are meditation; I would submit that these activities are meditative, but they are not meditation. There is a difference between regulating our emotional state and managing our internal kingdom. 

You don’t shower once in your life and then it’s done, we shower every day, more or less. The same can be said of cleaning our mental and emotional space. Meditation is a powerful tool for purpose. In fact, it is the proper tool for this job. 

A walking podcast in which I expand on my percolations about how to pedal a bike. 
 
Some offer that you can’t coach this activity. Their position is that by coaching someone on how to pedal a bike, the subject will suffer unintended consequences. 
 
I cannot accept this as I believe that we control our limbs, and also that any movement program or engram has the potential to be re-written. 
 
How do we influence our reality if not with intent? 

Onward. 

This podcast is a blend of walking thoughts, followed by three readings which are appended to support the experience and concepts I talk about. It is based on the experience I had of loosing power at home for almost 5 days just before Christmas this year. 

The first reading is from Mike Salemi. You can find him on his site Mike Salemi dot IO. He talks about five nutrients that all men need. 

The second is from Evan Peikon, who has a Substack titled On Human Performance. He discusses the limitations of modern wearable devices and what they can and cannot tell us, making the case that wearable companies are effectively writing checks they cannot always cash when they draw multiple conclusions from a single device. 

The third is from Michael Holt, who discusses how modern man is most often depleted, and how this leads to an erosion of his abilities to be generative. This state does not only impact his ability to perform at the highest level, it negatively impacts everyone in his life.  

Links:

Mike Salemi ►► https://mikesalemi.io

Evan Peikon ►► https://onhumanperformance.substack.com

Michael Holt ►► https://savageandsaint.com

The completion of a list of questions sent by one of my clients. This is my best attempt to provide answers that are helpful individually and collectively.  

In this walking podcast, I take the opportunity to answer several questions submitted by one of my athletes. The list is pretty solid so I figured I would offer some answers and hopefully more than one person will be helped in this process. 

The topics are varied in scope but all offer plenty of opportunities for thoughtful responses, which I have done my best to produce.

In this episode I recorded a walking podcast with Nathan Haas, in Girona. We discuss Nathan’s coaching philosophy and talk about how power is not a goal of training. This statement flies in the face of just about every conventional paradigm of cycling. 

If you are wondering what the hell we are talking about, give it a listen. 

Have thoughts to share? Hit me or Nathan on the 'gram. 

Links:

Nathan's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/nathanpeterhaas/

In this walking podcast, I make the case that cyclists should be completely, totally and unequivocally intolerant of saddle discomfort. 

It’s your genitals, people. Have higher standards. 

Now is the off season. It’s time to find a better saddle. 

In this walking podcast, I talk about the four orientations we can have in time, and how they impact our relationship in sport. 

Without any plot spoilers, the objective, of course, is to be like Neo. 

“You are seeing the world without time, Neo. We can never see past the choices we don’t understand. You have already made the choice, you are here now to understand why you made it.” 

Go forth and investigate my words. Send comments, questions. 

This conversation is with running and movement coach Lawrence van Lingen. We talk about how the psychology of athletes impacts their movement patterns, the concept of movement from center, and force transfer through the ankles in pedaling. Amongst other topics. 
 
Lawrence has worked with professional cyclists and triathletes at the world and olympic level, which has given him an excellent understanding of how these athletes present and move in sport. 

I am sure my audience will benefit from the wisdom he shares in our discussion.  

Links:

Lawrence's Website ►► https://www.lawrencevanlingen.com/

Lawrence's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/lawrencevanlingen/

In the continuation of my discussion on crank length with Chris Balser, we talk about factors that may drive a fitter to recommend shorter cranks, pros and cons of shorter cranks, and of course wander off into related topics. 

I am sure anyone who is considering crank length as a possible limiting factor in their cycling will benefit from this conversation. 

Disclaimer: I made an attempt to keep the language less anatomical as this can be challenging for some listeners but it gets a bit technical here and there. 

Chris's Website ►► bicyclefitguru.com

Matt Appleman Cranks ►► https://www.applemanbicycles.com/shop/2xr-crankset/

In Part A of this podcast I discuss crank length with Chris Balser. We talk about factors that may drive a fitter to recommend shorter cranks, pros and cons of shorter cranks, and of course wander off into related topics. 

I am sure anyone who is considering crank length as a possible limiting factor in their cycling will benefit from this conversation. 

Disclaimer: I made an attempt to keep the language less anatomical as this can be challenging for some listeners but it gets a bit technical here and there. 

Enjoy.

In this walking podcast I talk about the tension between looking for marginal gains in contrast to focusing on basic principles. 

Far too often I see athletes putting carts before horses. Or, tripping over dollars to pick up pennies. Choose your analogy, but the message is: getting lost in details when they don’t have foundational health and sporting principles in order. 

Even more controversial: for an athlete who has their 80/20 dialed, rather than occupying time and energy over turning every small stone looking for “more watts”, turn your 80/20 into 85/15. 

In this walking podcast I discuss the concept of finding dead space in the breath, and in your life. This is also known as equanimity, or being content with the present moment as it is. It’s a concept that has utility for athletes, as they are often rushing from thing to thing, and this rushing is often a consequence of the mentality that they are not inherently enough. 

“The best athlete wants his opponent at his best. The best general enters the mind of his enemy. The best businessman serves the communal good. The best leader follows the will of the people. 

All of these embody the virtue of non-competition. Not that they don’t love to compete, but they do it in the spirit of play. In this they are like children and in harmony with the Tao.” 

Tao te Ching, Stephen Mitchell translation 

Riders use P as a goal and think it is an objective. It is not an objective, it is a measure of output. It is an artificial construct, a mathematical calculation. 

The objective of training is physiological load: SAID principle. It does not matter how many watts you do, what matters is, did you load the system appropriately given the context of your training? 

The objective racing is not P. It is speed. In mass start racing, it is speed at the right time. In time trialling, it is also speed at the right time. 

RPE is primary to power in the hierarchy of relationship to the sport of cycling. Unfortunately, many modern riders misunderstand this. We might say their entire relationship with the sport is upside down. 

In this walking podcast, I discuss the proper relationship of Power and Relative Perceived Exertion.

The culture in our sport often glorifies suffering as though it were a badge of honor or something to aspire towards. This is incorrect. In this walking podcast, I explain why. Thank you for listening. Smash and subscribe!

In this walking podcast I talk about the insidious emotion of shame and how it can multiply. 

I also talk about the lunar cycle and how it is related to our breathing a bit. More to come in future talks no doubt. 

And I was visited by a frog which is a fortuitous event. Obviously. 

Don’t worry, all of this gets tied into cycling and your relationship to sport. But I don’t mention FTP or grams of CHO, even once. 

What the heck does NHSBTGRVLRDX stand for? 

Why, it stands for Nathan Haas Steamboat Gravel Redux of course. I thought that would be obvious. 

I am sure you will be captivated stupendified by our post race banter on the 2025 Steamboat Gravel race, where vowels are so 2018. 

Fun was had and gravel cornering shall be discussed. 

Enjoy. 

In this episode of Cycling in Alignment Nathan Haas and I drive to Steamboat for the SBT GRVL race. As a former World Tour professional and seasoned gravel veteran, Nathan has some great perspectives to offer on the newest addition to the cycling world. In cased you missed the memo, this is gravel [no, e-bikes don’t count]. 

We do speak a bit about the upcoming SBT race, and also take a bit to unpack Nathan’s analogy that in fact, cycling resembles fishing in many ways. 

I won’t spoil the analogy by giving away all juicy bits in a social post, go listen to the podcast you lazy sod. 

All humor aside, I am sure you will enjoy Nathan’s thoughts, as he is indeed a philosophical and reflective person. 

“I see you have found a sense of humor. If only just a sense.”

In this walking podcast I tie together the concept of physical center with energetic center. 

By understanding this relationship, it helps us keep the perspective that sport is training for life.

I hope this collection of thoughts is helpful in your evolution as a person and athlete. 

In this episode my discussion with Dr Frey and former World Tour rider Brent Bookwalter is about training the mind to better handle the demands of sport. Rather than simply leaving race day flow state or a high level of motivation to chance, Dr Frey has developed tools that athletes can use to condition their minds in a way that cultivates a state of high performance with intent. Brent has used many of these tools and proven their efficacy. 

The conversation may offer the audience a perspective on how it is possible to train in more ways than simply pedaling harder. 

To find out more, search Dr Scott Frey and you will find his site. 
Links:

Cerebral Performance Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/cerebral_performance/

Brent Bookwalter's Instagram►► https://www.instagram.com/brentbookwalter/

In this walking podcast I unpack more about the concept of The Coin and the influence of our emotional state on our riding and racing. 

In medical QiGong, we understand that the emotions reside in the organ system. If we are unaware of this, it can be problematic. The first rule of athletics is to Know Thyself and this means understanding your own emotional state. Witnessing emotions is the first step in claiming agency over your adult life. Without the willingness to look at our own emotions, we remain a child. There are many children walking the planet in adult bodies. Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. 

In this walking podcast I discuss how the psyche influences riding posture and spiral patterns while cycling. 

It’s not a topic you will find in your average post about climbing better or improve your FTP. 

Enjoy. 

Most often, riders associate making power with pushing harder on the pedals. The sensation of the bottom of the shoe providing resistance against the plantar surface [bottom] of the foot is how the sensation of “going hard” is processed. 

However, speed on a bicycle is dictated by the complex interaction of weather [including wind, temperature, pressure and humidity], terrain, inertia, riding surface, and the output of the rider. Output = power, and power is comprised of two components: torque and cadence. 

Thus, in certain conditions, it is advantageous to be able to make power by pedaling faster, not only by pedaling harder. If your only strategy to make more power is pushing harder on the pedals, at the expense of any capacity for triple digit cadence, your abilities as a rider will be limited. 

This is a conversation with Brendan Housler of EVOQ.BIKE. It’s a friendly game of verbal ping pong in which we discuss many topics that seem to bounce around in cycling at the moment. These include what FTP is, the challenges with ERG mode when indoor training, how group rides impact your training program, and figuring out whether a rider might benefit from more aerobic or more glycolytic work in their program. 

I hope you enjoy this conversation as we dissect these topics. Disclaimer: my opinions tend to be contrary to the norm. You have been notified. 

Links:

Evoq Website ►► https://www.evoq.bike

Evoq Podcast ►► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/evoq-bike-cycling-podcast/id1500663458

This is part 2 of this discussion. In this episode, Austin and I continue to slay some sacred cows in the fitness world such as “shoulders down and back” and “brace the core”. Austin explains why he doesn’t agree with these platitudes. 

We also discuss at length the concept of standards of strength for all athletes.

We agree that cycling is fundamentally biomechanically similar to running up stairs, and this is why the foot and ankle are so important for cycling. 

I also propose my timeless, non-controversial statement that foam is evil, and Austin shares his perspective on this line of thought. 

We break down the idea of tensegrity patterns in the body and how we can use these as a map to understand and improve movement. 

As our conversation ran over two hours, this episode will be released in two parts. 

Thank you for listening and for your contributions to the podcast, conversations like these are funded by the audience and I am grateful for your consideration.

LINKS:

Corridor Crew YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CorridorCrew

Austin's Instagram: @austineinhorn

Austin's Website: https://www.theevolvedcoach.com

In this discussion with strength coach Austin Einhorn, 

Along the way, we slay some sacred cows in the fitness world such as “shoulders down and back” and “brace the core”. Austin explains why he doesn’t agree with these platitudes. 

We also discuss at length the concept of standards of strength for all athletes.

We agree that cycling is fundamentally biomechanically similar to running up stairs, and this is why the foot and ankle are so important for cycling. 

I also propose my timeless, non-controversial statement that foam is evil, and Austin shares his perspective on this line of thought. 

We break down the idea of tensegrity patterns in the body and how we can use these as a map to understand and improve movement. 

As our conversation ran over two hours, this episode will be released in two parts. 

Thank you for listening and for your contributions to the podcast, conversations like these are funded by the audience and I am grateful for your consideration.

In this walking podcast, I unpack my thoughts on training and how it might differ for athletes younger than 50 vs older than 50. On a previous podcast, I spoke to Phil Cavell about his book The Mid Life Cyclist, which also covers this topic. 

My thoughts are around Intensive training vs extensive training, but perhaps not in the typical sense they are discussed in cycling lexicon.

Concepts I consider: I really don’t like the “getting old sucks” mentality. I think it is regurgitated bullshit. 
Repletion instead of depletion. 
Training objective is experiential vs. exhaustive or maximally stimulative. 
Think with more depth and sophistication than no pain no gain or more is better. 

I think while it is tempting to push a bit more on days when you feel really good, more often is it better to keep it dialed back a bit and finish with a bit in the tank. When we zoom out and look at the big picture, it is far more common to be treading water or a bit under water in terms of the total load of life + work + travel + training, so when we are feeling like we have a surplus of energy we don't need to spend it immediately. 
Additionally, younger riders are working with a higher level of anabolic hormones than us old people. 

Perhaps you will find my thoughts useful, this is always my intent. 

This the second part of a conversation is with Thomas McDaniel, who has been in the cycling world for many years. He is currently completing his PhD at CU Boulder in Advanced Biomechanics. In the past, Thomas has been a PT, a bike mechanic, a bike fitter, and worked at Specialized, BMC and Trek. 

Thomas and I are aligned in that we prefer to educate rather than treat our clients and the people in our lives. As someone who has offered bike fitting to many clients in the past, Thomas understands that not everyone fits in the bell curve of normative data and that every person is a unique individual. 

After many other detours and explorations, we round out our discussion with a critical look at science and academia, and how they have been obfuscated from their conceptual ideals. 

I am sure you will enjoy this deep dive into the mind of Thomas, who has a rich passion for helping others and is a deep well of knowledge and experience. 

Links:

Chek Institute ►► https://www.instagram.com/chekinstitute/

This conversation is with Thomas McDaniel, who has been in the cycling world for many years. He is currently completing his PhD at CU Boulder in Advanced Biomechanics. In the past, Thomas has been a PT, a bike mechanic, a bike fitter, and worked at Specialized, BMC and Trek. 

Thomas and I are aligned in that we prefer to educate rather than treat our clients and the people in our lives. As someone who has offered bike fitting to many clients in the past, Thomas understands that not everyone fits in the bell curve of normative data and that every person is a unique individual. 

After many other detours and explorations, we round out our discussion with a critical look at science and academia, and how they have been obfuscated from their conceptual ideals. 

I am sure you will enjoy this deep dive into the mind of Thomas, who has a rich passion for helping others and is a deep well of knowledge and experience. 

Links:

Chek Institute ►► https://www.instagram.com/chekinstitute/

In this walking podcast I share some of my thoughts about how you can be your own medicine and claim authority over your life. In this day and age we have access to so much information, it can be simultaneously overpowering and also paralyzing. 

What I offer is a perspective on the difference between knowledge and understanding, and how each of these serve us in our lives. 

Think critically, pedal consciously, act intuitively. 

This episode is a conversation with Tyler Benner from Strong Feet Athletics. Tyler was a member of the US National Archery team for about a decade, and a lifelong athlete. 

He has spent the last 10 years making the world’s first barefoot style cycling shoe that is mass produced. They just started shipping the first model, The Leviathan, about a week ago as of the time of this recording. They generously sent me a pair to test although they only arrived a few days ago, so I haven’t had a chance to ride in them just yet. That said, the fit is very much shaped like my foot and I am excited to give them a try in the wild.

Tyler describes part of his inspiration for making the shoes was listening to Phil Liggett commentating for the Tour and talking about riders “dancing on the pedals” when climbing out of the saddle. 

We speak about the importance of training feet and ankles to be strong and stable, and how this is important in all athletics. Tyler’s experience as an archer led him to discover the significance of the conditioning and tone of his feet, and how it impacted his ability to hit the center of the target. 

I am sure you will find his journey insightful.  

Links:

Strong Feet Athletics Website ►► https://www.strongfeetathletics.com/

This podcast is a conversation with Lore CEO and founder Stephan Drake and lead engineer Rob Horacheck. If you haven’t seen or heard of Lore shoes, come out from under the rock you are living under and see the future of cycling footwear. Lore is a fully custom 3D printed carbon fiber shoe. Let that sink in for a moment. It’s a complete departure from any how any cycling shoe has been made in the history of cycling. [or any shoe, for that matter]. 

Enjoy our conversation as I try to contextualize Lore in cycling footwear history, and Stephan and Rob explain the features and philosophy behind this product. 

If you are interested in being scanned for Lore shoes, this is a service I provide at my studio. As with everything in my fit studio, I don’t just sell these shoes, I use them myself because it is a product I believe in. 

Links:

Lore Website ►► https://lore.cc

This conversation is with legendary bike builder Ben Serotta. 

Ben has been building bikes since the year I was born [1972!]. He is also one of the pioneers of bike fitting, founding the Serotta International Cycling Institute in the late 90’s, and creating the Size Cycle, so fitters could start from scratch to build a custom bike for a given athlete. 

We discuss some of the conundrums of modern bike fitting, as well as the tension in business between making a product that is a labor of love and scale, and making a bike that fits the dream / goal / objective of the client. 

Ben is a life long student of the sport and a humble and passionate person. I am sure you will enjoy this conversation. 

Links:

Serotta Bikes Website ►► https://serotta.com/bikes/

Serotta Bikes on Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/serottabikes/

Ben Serotta on Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/benserotta/

Greetings Well Dippers.

This is the second part of my conversation with Strength and Conditioning coach Menachem Brodie. If you missed part 1, feel free to start here but you won’t have the full picture until you listen to the first part of our discourse. 

Hopefully this conversation reminds you to move consciously.

You may have heard Menachem on the Fast Talk Labs podcast, or read some of his writing on the Pez Cycling News website. He also has written a book, Strength Training for Performance Cycling. Be sure to check out his website Human Vortex Training if you would like to know more. 

I hope you find our conversation insightful. We have been intending to have a discussion for a long time, and I enjoyed it very much. 

Links:

Menachem's Podcast ►► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strong-savvy-cyclist-triathlete-podcast/id1452580151

Happy New Year Spartans and Archadians. 

This conversation is with strength and conditioning coach Menachem Brodie. This podcast was recorded for his channel, The Strong Savvy Cyclist & Triathlete Podcast, and I thought my listeners might enjoy our conversation as well so it is republished here. We recorded two podcasts and this is the first round.. 

We wander into various aspects of strength and conditioning and how it relates to cycling, as well as some of my experiences as a young rider attempting to navigate the world of S&C, hoping it would help me get dropped less often.

You may have heard Menachem on the Fast Talk Labs podcast, or read some of his writing on the Pez Cycling News website. He also has written a book, Strength Training for Performance Cycling. Be sure to check out his website Human Vortex Training if you would like to know more. 

I hope you find our conversation insightful. We have been intending to have a discussion for a long time, and I enjoyed it very much. 

Links:

Menachem's Podcast ►► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strong-savvy-cyclist-triathlete-podcast/id1452580151

In this final walking podcast for this year, I ask you to consider what your relationship is to cycling, and does this relationship serve you? I unpack a few archetypes of riders I have worked with and raced with over the years. 

Everyone has their own relationship to the sport. From my perspective, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to relate to cycling, this is a child’s perspective. We can think past The Disney Bias, everything in life is not good or bad. In fact, most things aren’t. That said, I think some people are likely playing out unconscious programming while they practice sport. This won’t lead to anything good in and of itself usually, although it can medicate your problems to some degree. 

I would offer that most will be served by looking inwards at the true reason why the practice cycling, or any sport. The only way to do anything properly is with presence, which gives reverence, and with consciousness.

Otherwise, you might as well just live someone else’s dream. 

This walking podcast is a bit of a rambling pile of thoughts on shoes and feet, in relation or response to some discussions I have had recently including feedback from my audience. 

Specifically, I address the commonly held belief that in cycling, the best way to have good “power transfer” is to immobilize the foot in a rigid cocoon of carbon fiber and thermoplastic. This is incorrect. 

The human foot is not meant to be locked in place, and while this may result in good performance in the short term, over any length of notable time, the performance of the athlete will suffer. 

To hear me slay this sacred cow, go forth and make the keyboard mudras to play my thoughts in your mind palace. 

In this walking pod, I talk about the Two Fulcrum Problem of Cycling, which is a term I made up during the walk to encapsulate the challenges many riders face in their relationship to this relentlessly symmetrical machine. 

I also offer a few short rants on various topics related to modern life. Hopefully these don’t distract too much from the bigger points I am trying to convey. 

Pedal consciously, think critically, act intuitively. 

In this walking soliloquy, I share some reflections on the 20 year anniversary of the Olympics in Athens, Greece, which I attended as a member of the US team. I competed in the 40KM points race, finishing 14th out of 24 competitors. 

Being on the Olympic team is something I can be proud of, but at the same time something I don’t feel compelled to talk about often. While it is certainly a significant landmark in my cycling history, it is also simply another experience that has shaped my perspective on sport and life. In both senses, I am grateful to be an Olympian [as they say, there is no such thing a “former Olympian”, you earn the title for life]. 

“You are looking at the world without time, Neo.”

On this episode I thought I would just dive in and stab a sacred cow in the face. 

I share my thoughts on why bike fitting is “stupid” and by that, I really mean what a few of the challenges are in bike fitting. 

Perhaps you agree or perhaps you do not. Either is OK but if the latter, I hope it is with good critical reasoning instead of someone else’s regurgitated opinion. 

I look forward to your comments and thoughts, and as always, thank you for listening. 

This discussion is with Micheal Holt, whom I regard as a friend, teacher, and colleague. I first met Michael at a course at the Chek Institute about five years ago, where I learned he had been teaching meditation for many years. I ended up studying with him online and in person, and I have learned a tremendous amount from his curriculum. 

In our discussion today we speak about his new email course, which will be released shortly and details Five Indispensable Skills. I think this course will be invaluable for anyone in my audience. 

We also speak about Michael’s free online meditation course, which can be found on YouTube. 

Links:

Michael's Savage And Saint Website ►► https://savageandsaint.com/

Micheal's YouTube Course ►► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIeRtRkxvQ8&t=1357s

In this episode I discuss the relationship between music, health, and athletic performance. Some of my ideas and experiences are pretty orbital so fasten your cosmic seatbelt, or whatever, and then enjoy some tunes. 

I made a playlist on Spotify of my of my most recent played tracks. These probably all fall in the category of Conscious Hip Hop. I am not really sure what that means but I vibe with it. 

Links:

My Spotify Playlist ►► https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6go2ZDpt8KlFh5n3EwILnO?si=53b250a1b2f14856

Follow-up on Steamboat GRVL ►► https://youtu.be/4Pbaxrlo7G8?si=o-yDwvmihoGUuA8t

More with Dr. Courtney Conley. We Continue our discussion about all things feet including toe spacers, cycling shoes, and how to help me with my hallux limitus. Isn’t Latin great?

Dr Courtney is endlessly passionate about the human foot and I am grateful she took the time to come and nerd out with me on this topic. I am sure you will find our conversation interesting, in particular if you have ever been challenged by your own feet during riding or off the bike. Which is pretty much every human on earth. 

Links:

Courtney's Website ►► https://gaithappens.com

This conversation with Dr Courtney takes place in my fit studio. We speak about all things feet including toe spacers, cycling shoes, and how to help me with my hallux limitus. Isn’t Latin great?

Dr Courtney is endlessly passionate about the human foot and I am grateful she took the time to come and nerd out with me on this topic. I am sure you will find our conversation interesting, in particular if you have ever been challenged by your own feet during riding or off the bike. Which is pretty much every human on earth. 

Links:

Courtney's Website ►► https://gaithappens.com

In this walking pod I offer some lessons I learned during the 2024 SBT GRVL race. I competed on the Black course and suffered epic cramps with about 35KM to go in the race, something I have never experienced in over 35 years of bike racing. 

I discuss some hypothetical explanations for this outcome and also share thoughts on the race load for someone such as myself who trains a reasonable amount by normal person standards,  but arguably not enough to race a 200KM gravel race. 

In the end, I conclude that I simply overcooked myself heading into this event. Being fresh is critical for any race that will eventually bring you to your knees. Somehow after all this time showing up for bike races, I managed to miss the mark on this one. Hopefully my experience illustrates how easy it is to do this, even for someone as experienced as I am at playing stretchy bike time. 

This is Part 2.

This episode is a discussion with cyclist Michael Obrien, who had a transformational life experience in 2001 when he was hit by an SUV while riding his bike. 
 
We speak about the Japanese form of pottery known as Kintsugi, in which a broken bowl or vessel is repaired, and the glue is layered in gold leaf. Rather than attempting to conceal old wounds, traumas or fractures, this method seeks to highlight the returning to wholeness that happens in the process of healing. 

I am sure you will enjoy our discussion which centers more on philosophy, meditation and tribal relations than cycling performance, directly. However, as you know, health is the foundation of optimal athletic performance. 

Links:

Michael's Website ►► https://www.michaelobrienshift.com/

Michael's Podcast ►► https://www.michaelobrienshift.com/kintsugi-podcast/

This episode is a discussion with cyclist Michael Obrien, who had a transformational life experience in 2001 when he was hit by an SUV while riding his bike. 
 
We speak about the Japanese form of pottery known as Kintsugi, in which a broken bowl or vessel is repaired, and the glue is layered in gold leaf. Rather than attempting to conceal old wounds, traumas or fractures, this method seeks to highlight the returning to wholeness that happens in the process of healing. 

I am sure you will enjoy our discussion which centers more on philosophy, meditation and tribal relations than cycling performance, directly. However, as you know, health is the foundation of optimal athletic performance. 

Links:

Michael's Website ►► https://www.michaelobrienshift.com/

Michael's Podcast ►► https://www.michaelobrienshift.com/kintsugi-podcast/

During this walking podcast I discuss the idea that all movement is like a river. I offer that we must direct and cultivate the qualities of the river of our movement with a specific intent, or this river will be wild, untamed, and end up in the wrong place. 

I offer this analogy to help people understand that their daily movement patterns impact their movement in sports, and their movement in all of life. 

I also offer some practical takeaways to help direct the river of movement into a more optimal fashion. 

Movement is a daily practice that requires attention, embodiment and awareness. 

This walking podcast is a commentary on two different perspectives about forward saddle positions that have been floating around in the intersphere. They got me thinking so I figured I would drop some thoughts on this topic. 

The first discussion is around an article Dan Empfield posted on his website slow twitch dot com. I agree with some of what Dan says, and some of it I don’t. I am glad he wrote the article as it helped clarify some ideas in my mind. 

The second is a video on you tube on a channel called Peak Torque. This guy has some wid theories about why Pogacar has his saddle so forward and I think he is pretty off base. He also explains why he likes to put his saddle nose down and has been telling other people to put their saddle nose down. There are multiple logical fallacies in his reasoning. I call it like I see it. 

I hope you find this discussion useful. 

Thoughts? Hit me below. Let’s have a discourse.

Links:

Dan Empfield’s Article ►► https://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/Road_Bike_Fit/Have_You_Noticed_Hips_Moving_Forward_in_the_Peloton__8986.html

Peak Torque Video ►► https://youtu.be/9n6nTNiacm8

In this night time walking adventure I speak about the three characteristics a cyclist must have in order to express their highest potential as an athlete.

The episode is inspired by conversations with Jonathan Vaughters about what it takes to be good. His list included 1) Marathoner 2) F1 Driver. He has a video about this in our Team EF Coaching education portal. 

JV says you have to have a big engine, and be able to drive a bike. I agree, and I would offer a 3rd item to this list: 3D chess. 

Meaning: a cyclist can’t just corner like a maniac and drop watt bombs. They have to selectively, intelligently choose when to utilize their strength. This is what differentiates cycling from Marathon running or swimming events: cycling is a sport that is heavily influenced by the size of the athlete’s engine, but it is also influenced heavily by physics and terrain [read: mostly draft effect and hills] which change the weight of the variables that influence performance. 

My gripe with many modern coaches and athletes is that they over train the engine and neglect the other aspects. Even worse, they really only focus on one particular aspect of the engine. This makes you one dimensional and opens numerous possibilities for race day failure. 

These concepts don’t only apply to competitive elite or World Tour riders; they apply to all riders at every level. 

A bit of artwork is included to help you conceptualize these ideas as I am teaching them. 

Do you agree? Think I am wrong? Did I miss a major attribute? Comment and let the world know. 

LINKS: 

Team EF Coaching ►► https://www.teamefcoaching.com

Peter Defty Episode on YouTube ►► https://youtu.be/PrPdlT3apT8

In this discussion I speak to my audience of somanauts about impressions Japan has left on me and how these concepts can help us in our practice of sport and life. 

Wandering through the forest, I discuss cleaning your room, respect for other humans and reverence for nature. 

As always, I hope you find this discussion helpful. 

Questions or comments? Hit me. 

Move with intent, be present, listen to intuition. 

Today’s conversation is with Craig Taber from Locavore Delivery. Locavore works with the highest quality farms across the front range of Colorado to deliver meat to your doorstep. 

We speak about the relationship between scale and environmental impact in an economically driven market, the convenience of Amazon, and the boundaries and belief systems people put around meat. Craig unpacks some of the misunderstandings around store bought meats and the challenges of being a consumer who shops at modern super markets. 
We offer some practical takeaways for shoppers and some philosophical nuggets about health and wellness that you will hopefully find insightful for you and your family. 

About Locavore: “We offer pastured meats from a growing community of local ranchers that really do things the right way. We are proud to offer farm tours to all of our suppliers on a regular basis, so you can see for yourself how we do things. That is a level of transparency that mail order meat companies just can’t offer and a level of quality that grocery stores can’t touch.”

Links:

Locovore Website ►► https://locavoredelivery.com/

Locavore on Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/locavoredelivery/

Grandpa Pearce is here to tell you a walking story again. The story is about cold. 

Cold can teach you a lot about yourself. It is an opportunity to work with the breath and to have an alternative means of generating a focused state. 

It also brings about an experience of equanimity following the event. 

Do you work with cold to enhance your durability or health? What has your experience been? Share in the comments. 

As always, thanks for listening.  

This conversation with Dr Allen Lim covers a broad range of topics including heat stress adaptation, handing up water bottles and driving busses when you have a doctorate, salt and the sodium - potassium balance. 

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is about the most fundamental pattern of human movement: Walking. Old school cycling would command that riders stay off their feet but I would offer that this is an old ideal that should be lit on fire and kicked off a cliff. 

Walking is an absolutely essential aspect of the human experience and one that is easily taken for granted. Without proper gait patterns, many basic movement are compromised and at best daily life becomes impractical; at worst, it becomes impossible. 

Cycling makes us bad walkers but lots of walking will help your cycling. 

This conversation is with GOATA Movement coach Ricky Stanzi. In our discussion, we unpack the philosophy of GOATA movement, what it is and the origin of this philosophy.

GOATA stands for Greatest Of All Time Athletes. It is a movement education system that is based on movement principles observed in young children, tribal peoples, and the best movers in many different sports. From these observations, seven global laws were created. To hear more about this system of movement, enjoy our conversation.

Links:

GOATA Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/goata_movement/

GOATA Website ►► https://goatamovement.com/

One more solo walking podcast in which I tell you a story, grandpa Pearce is here to tell you about the way things used to be. 

The point I am making specifically is about how modern training has become dictated by head units and power zones, and why this is problematic. 

Riders assume that they are more productive or will make greater gains by following a precise workout plan or description but I would offer this is incorrect. Training is best guided by sensation and intuition, based on understanding of the athlete’s goals and objectives. Many modern riders don’t like this because this method is perceived as nebulous or imprecise. 

Links:

Contribute! ►► https://www.colbypearce.com/podcast/

This episode is a discussion of how the creation and construction of a Japanese samurai sword, or katana, is an excellent analogy for training in cycling. I break down these concepts in parallel so we can have a better understanding of how cycling training is performed in the proper sequence, and I explain how and why modern cycling is attempting to bypass this sequence to the detriment of the athlete. 

Phase 1 Initiation: 

Start with sand: this is you at the start. Raw material. 

Apply heat. Heat is the equivalent of intention. A dream, goal or objective.

Yin vs Yang. Heat is masculine, cool is feminine. The dream is what gives drive to the training, it crystalizes intent. Shape the dream.

Phase 2 Hardening: 

Hammer molten steel.  The initial training: repetition. Not super hard, but hard enough to shape. Too hard and you will shatter the molten steel or flatten it. You want to shape it, not shatter it. This is endurance training. 
Cover with mud to prevent oxidation. 

Smelt - stick pieces together. You can’t see the metal, you judge when it’s’ ready from the color of the fire and from intuition. 

The color of the fire is training intensity - Intuition = feeling of when it is time to remove from the flame

Phase 3 Purification: 

Fold the steel many times to get out the impurities. Folding = intervals. “Strike while the iron is hot”. Adjust the carbon content of the steel. This takes lots of work and power. At lunch, the sword makers hands may be shaking. If you stop half way through, the sword will break. The process must be complete. It’s a battle against the heat: heat is the dream, you are shaping the dream and working with it.

“Pray and move your feet”

“Dream and move your ass”

If you miss a hit on a thin sword, it becomes dented and damaged. You must strike with precision. 

Final shape is decided so concentration is required. 

Finish with clay - this is applied to form the Hamon pattern, which comes out when the tempering is done. Apply the clay to the metal, this creates the Hamon pattern, which indicates the hardened steel from the spine of the sword, the cutting edge. Each Hamon pattern is unique to each sword. This is your exact expression of fitness in a given race: your speed, reactivity, ability to execute tactics, corner, sprint, climb, endure.

The clay is heated to 720-800 degrees C, then plunged in water repeatedly. This is when the soul is infused in the sword. The curved nature comes out, as the sword warps during quenching. This is the final process that makes the sword both flexible and unyielding, the blend of these two attributes gives it true cutting power. 

Phase 4 Sharpening:

Blade is sharpened. Final step. A sword sharpener studies for 10 years under his master. It takes 2 months, 8 hrs / day for 6 days/ week to complete one Katana. It is a difficult, honorable task. 

• Like you are on a flat pedal. Push early in power phase. Do not pull up. 
• Axial extension of the spine. Feel shoulders depressed and retracted. Vertical movement of diaphragm, 360 deg expansion of lower ribs. 
• Head over foot during periods of higher torque. Less head over food during higher cadence. 
• Rotary model: IABH, lateral aspect of the foot. Fifth metatarsal. Not done with orthotics or support, tension must be intrinsic to the system. Otherwise we are isolating joints. All prostethic devices weaken the system. All human movement is rotary.

• Head over foot. This rocks the bike. Narrow bars ruin head over foot. Trainer riding ruins head over foot.
• Push early in power phase. Do not pull up except in a sprint. 
• Pull on ipsilateral bar.
• Hips and shoulders are relatively quiet. Bike moves under the body. when this doesn’t happen, you look like you are on a stair master. 
• Weight is more forward over BB. Arms may be bent more or less, depending on intensity, grade, cadence. 
• Standing can be used for increased power or recovery. In order to use it for recovery, weight must fall on the pedal. See point #1.

This episode is about a client who has undergone significant life and health challenges. We have exchanged several emails about his situation and had very honest discussions regarding his choices and trajectory in the sport of cycling.

He has given me permission to share his story with my audience, we agree it may be of value for others to hear our discussion.

This client’s name is Josh and he has experienced significant trauma in his life. His response to this trauma has included an expression of extreme behavior in his practice of cycling. The results of this evolution have led him to a state of health that involves multiple complications including episodes of anxiety, low hormone levels, and sensations of extreme duress during training and racing.

I hope you find this direct and honest discussion of the events in Josh’s life helpful. One person’s healing is all people’s healing. 

This episode is a discussion about restoration of health when you are not feeling quite so perfect. Here, I reflect on my own state of health and strategies I have employed with myself and my athletes to spring back to full vital capacity. 

Understand that illness is usually a sign that you have done too much and are in a depleted state, rather than an indication of exposure. Both can be factors in illness, however a person with robust physical health and life force energy can  stay healthy even in an environment with multiple challenges. 

Links:

Wim Hoff video on YouTube ►► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-LxehFFqiQ

Well here I am wandering around my neighborhood in the dark with a microphone like a crazy person. Or someone who has lot of thoughts. 

On this moon walk I take some time to answer a few comments and questions from my audience. 

Discussion points include the relativity of diet, errors in logic and dictation of intensity using RPE, heart rate and power. 

Go forth, make the listen, make the comments. Thank you for your attention to the discussion. 

Move with presence. 

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is a conversation with natural movement practitioner Grant Thomas. We had an excellent conversation about his journey of integrating primal movement and animal flow in his movement practice. We also spoke quite a bit about the concept of finding center, from the lens of movement as well as the lens of energetic or philosophical points of view. 
 
Grant shares some of the challenges he has faced as a creative entrepreneur who builds content. We also talk about the synthesis of knowledge and the value it has towards an audience.

Grant also shares some of the daily practices he integrates in his own life. As someone who has studied and taught movement for over a decade, his answers provide insight that may be helpful for the audience. 

Thank you for listening. 

Links:

Grant's Website ►► https://www.smoovmoves.com

Grant's Links ►► https://linktr.ee/grantsthomas

Grant's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/smoovmoves/

Hello there, Space Monkeys. It’s been a minute since my last recording, things have been busy. But here we are kicking off the 2024 podcast season and here I am with some thoughts on various topics, including feet, wedging, power meters, RPE and racing tactics. You know, the usual stuff, except that it is peppered with my sarcastic wit and slightly jaded perspective. Hopefully just enough to really get you thinking about your paradigm and rototill a few of your superficial perspectives, so we can plant some new fresh ideas. Spring is around the corner after all, and spring is when we plant seeds. 

I hope you enjoy these thoughts and rest assured, there will be more Q+A style podcasts in the future. 

Thanks for listening as always. Pedal smooth, pedal conscious. In fact, don’t just pedal with these concepts in mind, I recommend you use them in all things. 

This conversation with Nathan Haas is one in which we attempt to slay the dragon of hyperbole in cycling. And talk about some other stuff. 
 
We cover all sorts of topics from Geraint Thomas’ drinking binger, to how to actually pronounce his name, to why watts are not watts. Which leads to some interesting attempts to define a watt. 

I am grateful Nathan took the time to have a discussion with me on these topics, his insight and wisdom are always refreshing. Don’t forget to check out Nathans podcast, The Gravelogue. 

Links:

Nathan's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/nathanpeterhaas/

This episode is a discussion with frame builder and crankset manufacturer Matt Appleman. Matt’s story is that of someone who has brought a product to the world as a result of his own need for something in his own life, which has been a running theme on this show for a while. It means someone created something that benefits themselves first, and then other people afterwards. It is the essence of what it means to be a creative and contributing member of society.

Matt figured out years ago that running shorter cranks helped him with bilateral knee pain, but he could not find cranks as short as he wanted. His suspicion was that if he went shorter, things would get better, and they did. 

Links:

Matt's Website ►► https://www.applemanbicycles.com

Today’s discussion is with Back to Basics CEO Ashely Frager. Ashleigh has experienced a deep healing journey which led her to create a company that is focused on household cleaning products that are non-toxic, including her own product that offers a unique cleaning solution. 

In our discussion, we look at some of the products I use in my own home and Ashleigh gives me her honest opinion of what I have been using. The results might surprise you! 

We also speak about the axiom that the body heals itself, that life force creates and restores health. This is a belief Ashleigh and I have in common, but not many people I encounter seem to understand this intuitively. 

Links:

Back To Basics Website ►► https://backtobasics.shop/

Here’s a discount code to share with your listeners for 10% off Cleaner Than Clean: PEARCE10

Back To Basics on Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/backtobasics_shop/

#cleanerthanclean #backtobasics #cleanliving #clean #chemicalfree #fragrancefree #health

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is a conversation with Aaron Dunford, a fit colleague who is Steve Hogg certified and works in Sydney, Australia. 

Links:

Aaron's Website ►► https://fusionpeak.cc/

Aaron's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/fusion_peak/

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is with my Chek Professional colleague Alyssa Sawyer. Our conversation bounces around the concept of holding the tension of the opposites, and we discuss the polarity between the worship of science and the trust of intuition and experiential knowledge. 

Alyssa also discusses her own journey as a marathoner and why she chose to quit running. Additionally, she breaks down the menstrual cycle and relates it to the athlete, offering insight and structure for women to work with their monthly rhythm as opposed to against it. 

I had intended for our conversation to go a different direction but the flow was happening so we went with it. Hopefully Alyssa will have time for a future episode. 

Links:

Alyssa's Website ►► https://www.coachsawyersays.com/

Alyssa's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/coachsawyersays/

#holisticcoaching #womenshealth #respectthecycle #innervoice #chekinstitute 

#chekinstitute #holisticcoaching 

In this episode I have another conversation with Derek Teel of Dialed Health. We get deep into the philosophy of strength training and how it applies to cyclists. Derek and I had a great conversation on his pod and I felt there was more to expunge from this man’s mind movies so we stepped on the accelerator and let it rip.

We dispel some myths about strength training and talk about the origin of the mindset many riders have when they step in the “gym”. I put “gym” in quotes because most riders don’t actually do gymnastics but for some reason this dated colloquialism persists. Really “gyms” should be called a Center for Strength and Conditioning and Functional Training. Rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? 

Thank  you for listening and if you have comments or questions for myself or Derek I am sure you know where to find us, because you are here. And remember, wherever you go, there you are. 

Links:

Derek’s Training Video ►► Coming soon! Check Back.

Derek’s Website ►► https://dialedhealth.com

Derek’s Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/dialedhealth/

This conversation is with bike fitting colleague Garry Kirk. We cover some elements of bike fitting, saddles, and relating to the client on a level which they are ready to receive. 

However, the meat and potatoes of the conversation is about Garry’s health, including his experience in 2020 with an antibiotic known as fluoroquinolone. A few months ago, Garry shared a podcast with me which features a neurosurgeon Dr Jack Kruse, as well as Andrew Huberman. Garry has embraced many of Dr Kruse’s philosophies and practices which are centered around three primary foci: sunlight, electo-magnetism, and water. 

Garry and I unpack some of what these aspects mean in terms of practical application, and he offers some resources on how people can begin to embrace some of these practices in their daily lives. 

I hope you enjoy this discussion, it is one of my favorites so far. 

Links:

Garry's Website ►► http://www.garrykirkbikefitting.com

Garry's Email ►► info@garrykirkbikefitting.com

Gary's Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/garrykirkbikefitting/

Jack Kruse Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/drjackkruse/

Andrew Huberman Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab/

AMN Academy Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/amnacademy/

AMN Academy Website ►► https://amnacademy.com

One Clock Website: ►► https://www.oneclock.co

Pranan Website ►► https://pranan.co.uk

Iris Software ►► https://iristech.co

A discussion about indoor cycling with former professional and coach Jeff Winkler, AKA “Why I think virtual cycling is ruining the sport”. My intent was to come out swinging with all the reasons I think virtual cycling is a bad choice, and then have Jeff rebut me. This more or less worked out as I thought, except Jeff had some great points I had not fully anticipated. So in the true spirit of my Geminii nature, I can see both sides. 

Jeff is the perfect guy to discuss this topic, as he has ridden a lot of “miles” indoors and leads regular indoor group rides on Zwift.

I hope you find this conversation useful as the sport of cycling continues to evolve and develop in the context of technology and how people relate to bicycles.  

Links:

Winkler Coaching Website ►► https://winkler-coaching.ghost.io

Winkler Cycling Website ►► https://winklercycling.com/about/

Jeff Winkler on Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/jeffwink/

This episode is a discussion with fellow Steve Hogg Certified bike fitter Neill Stanbury. Neill and I dig into various concepts and ideas about bike fitting in this discussion, including but not limited to asymmetry. Our discussion covers a broad range of bike fit topics, if you are a fitter or a cyclist who is a chronic tinkerer I am sure you will find Neill’s perspective interesting. 

Normally we see Neill on YouTube, he has been featured in several videos on bike fitting on the Road Cycling Academy channel. If you want to know more about Neill’s fitting methods and philosophies, this is the first place to go. 

Thanks for listening, I hope you enjoy this discussion.  

Links:

Neill’s Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/roadcyclingacademy/

Neill’s Website ►► https://neillsbikefit.com.au

Cam Nichol’s YouTube Channel ►► https://www.youtube.com/@CamNicholls

Howdy Psycle-Naughts. This episode is a car pod, I am operating my mobile recording studio on the way out to Unbound Gravel for the 100 mile Old Man Race [50+ AKA 50% fossilized]. For those of you who may be concerned for my driving safety, or those who share the roads with me, fear not. This drive is about as brainless and safe as it gets. I literally take the highway east for 8.5 hours and then exit, with only 2 x 90 degree turns in the final hour of driving. 

I unpack why cycling is yet again unique in the world of sports, specifically how cyclists are the only sportspeople who confuse athletics with fashion or aesthetics. Often, at their own peril, and even more relevantly, at their own performance. 

I also unpack some thoughts on wedging in bike fitting. It’s a complicated topic and like any aspect of fitting, there are many factors that determine the best course of action or final solution for a rider [if such a thing exists, for many it does not, this is a myth of bike fitting].

Thanks for listening as always. 

In this episode I have a conversation with Derek Teel of Dialed Health. Derek and I met at Unbound and agreed to have a recorded discussion which turned out to have a lot points about training and coaching in it. We also talked about strength training, and if you check out Derek’s IG channel you will see that he does quite a bit of movement, and he offers a lot of useful guidance to his audience. He is a big believer in complementing the repetitive movement patterns of cycling with auxiliary training, and he and I definitely agree on this point. I really enjoyed our discourse and I hope you will too. 

Links:

Dialed Health Website ►► https://dialedhealth.com

Dialed Health on Instagram ►► @dialedhealth (https://www.instagram.com/dialedhealth/)

In this episode of Cycling in Alignment I am reposting a conversation with Brendan Housler at EVOQ.BIKE. Brendan and I talk about the relationship to technology in cycling, strength and conditioning, and many other topics you will hopefully find interesting. I really enjoyed my conversation with Brendan and I am grateful he reached out to talk coaching. 

You can also see our conversion on my YouTube channel, once it gets uploaded to the interwebs. Hopefully the Bezatron 6000 will approve and it can get some peeps.

Links:

Brendan's Email ►► CC@evoq.bike 

Brendan's Website ►► evoq.bike

Other articles mentioned in the episode coming soon. Please check back.

Greetings and Salutations. This podcast is a solo-sode on the return from the 100 mile Unbound Gravel race in Emporia, Kansas in 2023. I take the Kansas landscape journey in while I share my Unbound experience and talk about preparation for the event. It’s an excuse to tell my story [who doesn’t want to talk about their race?] while sharing what I hope is useful practical advice for preparation for an event of this nature. There are many details to be attentive to and organize in the context of a very busy few days.

I also share a few further thoughts on real time, actionable ideas for combating the escalating postural spiral that so many cyclists experience on the bike. If you have listened to my previous podcasts on this topic, you will have a better idea of what I am talking about. If not, you will hopefully find some nuggets in this part of the discussion. 

Pedal fast, pedal consciously, thanks for listening. 

In this podcast, the third of a series of three about the Spiral Pattern often seen in cyclists, I offer some exercises I believe may help to unwind us from the inevitable rotation around the seat tube that afflicts so many of us who have been entranced by the rhythm of the crankset. 

In addition to describing the exercises in this episode, I have also made some videos of me demonstrating the movements. In spite of what you may think, I am not imitating Mark Wahlberg in the second movement; I am actually doing this Twisting Pillar movement to restore or improve symmetry in my body. But you can pretend I am just dancing if you want, I am cool with it. 

Did this series help you with your twisted movement pattern on the bike? After trying these exercises for a few weeks, have you improved your function? Let me know in the comments. If you feel someone may benefit from this information, please share it with them. 

And don’t forget to kit out your whip with the best bearings on the market: Matt Harvey and Rick Sutton from Enduro Bearings. See Link Below:

https://cyclinglinalignmentwithcolbypearce.podbean.com/e/81enduro/

#SpiralSolutions #bikefit #bikefitting #Physiology #exercise #cycling

Cycling is a sport that tends to bring about a point of friction when our spiral patterns interact with what is fundamentally a symmetrical machine. This can lead to frustrations in our pursuit of cycling performance, zen, or exploration. Having worked with many clients who struggle with this outcome, I offer some observations and practical solutions to this conundrum.

This episode is a solo episode to outline a series of discussions around the function of the hip and foot in the context of cycling. In my little universe of experiences as a human and bike fitter, I see many riders walk through my door with challenges in foot and hip stability, and this causes a host of individual outcomes and problems. The specifics vary but the common denominator is poor hip stability on the bike. This can result in sensations of being “twisted”, saddle sores, knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain, IT band pain, and all kinds of other niggles. 

Riders are often confused when they report this instance, almost dumbfounded, as though they have been robbed of their precious and irreplaceable dopamine fix. They also are often under the impression that they are the sole human in the universe to ever suffer from these afflictions. I assure you, you are not alone. 

In this series I will attempt to delineate the fundamental causes of why this happens and offer some solutions. This will take at least two more episodes, as it’s a big topic. 

I will take my typical antagonistic stance against cycling and how it tends to wreck human function, so if you are going to be upset while I slaughter this holy cow [yet again] with my brutal honesty, then go read a story about how some emaciated pro tortured themself and won a bike race. If you want hard core truth and to understand the essence, stick around.

On this Episode of Cycling in Alignment, I am interviewed by a colleague at the Chek Institute, Karina Krepp, on her channel The Holistic Movement. We discuss the postural compensations that are incurred by cyclists and practical ideas on what kinds of movements to offset them. 

If you like Karina’s vibe, you may want to check out her channel on Youtube or Spotify. She has lots of excellent information and guests on her show. Go forth and make the keyboard mudras, enhancing your learning and life experience.  

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/chakraholistic/

https://chakraholistic.com/

This conversation is a cross pod with Nathan Haas, he will also publish it on his channel, The Gravelogue. 

We discuss The Primal Fear and how it impacts our decisions around training. Whether you are externally coached or self-coached, having a comparative mindset can allow self-doubt to cloud your decision making process during workouts, which can undermine or derail intent. This effect may be minor over days or a week, but in the long term, it can have a significant impact on your fitness trajectory. 

In our discussion, we relate choices about training to the Six Foundational Principles and how they can help guide your decision making to be more effective in training. 

Links:

The Gravelogue on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gravelog-with-nathan-haas/id1090662866

The Gravelogue on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3vKBF0PpLI8EXjMNlRbEeW

The Gravelogue on TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/The-Gravelog-with-Nathan-Haas-p2122441/

For the 99th episode of Cycling in Alignment, I am talking about the concept of timing. I use the model of a single center point, which we might call the Zero Point, which is surrounded by a sphere. Using this model I expand outwards, and time increases in duration as we get farther from the center. This model allows us to discuss different aspects of timing and how they impact our cycling, and our lives all together. 

Howdy Space Monkeys, today buckle your safety belts, grab a wooden dowel and a flat section of wall because we are talking about lower cross syndrome. What is it and why do you care? Find out all these details in my episode. All four of my gemini minds are discussing this topic with the sum total of all my knowledge and overstanding, which is more than many people and a lot less than many others. I discuss how you can begin to figure out what position your own pelvis is in, and what you can do about it. 

This episode is about adapting to time zones. I share my wisdom after many years of hard earned lessons during travel to and from many bike races. 

Commercial airline flight is not a thing that humans have evolved to do, but many of us do it all the time. “For a man or woman with a why, there is a how”. We chose to fly to visit family, attend races or events, or just to explore new places. I would never say that flying is a healthy thing for a human to do but there are techniques we can apply that will help us negotiate the process with less friction. 

In this episode I unpack some of the best ways I have learned to help with time zone adaptation [jet lag] effectively, including the use of Zeitgebers. I also unpack wool socks, fasting during airline travel, and the use of binaural beats. 

Thanks for listening, hit me with comments or Q’s as you see fit. 

Travel safe, Space Monkeys. 

Links:

Ra Optics Website: https://raoptics.com

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is with Mosaic Cycles founder and owner, Aaron Barcheck. Aaron and I discuss all the things about custom bicycles, including materials, geometry, integrated cockpits and 3D printed dropouts. We discuss the three major reasons a customer might want a custom frame, and how Mosaic builds frames to fit these needs. 

As a Mosaic dealer and frame owner, it made sense for me to have a discussion with Aaron about his process so that I could understand it better and share it with my clients. The custom GT1-AR they made for me is one of the best bikes I have ever owned. It is great to work with a company that was born and lives in Colorado, and makes bikes in a facility that is about 3km away from my fit studio. I only recommend products I believe in and use myself and Mosaic definitely makes the cut.

Links:

Monica Website: https://www.mosaiccycles.com

Mosaic on Instagram: http://instagram.com/mosaiccycles

Mosaic on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaiccycles/

This episode is a solo on strength training and why I think it is so important, including reasons why cyclists should strength train. I unpack specifics on misconceptions that some athletes have around strength training, and why I do not recommend using machines to strength train, ever. This is probably an unpopular opinion…but I have to speak my truth. 

I also break down the bio-energetics of strength and discuss how strength training can be defined by the same energy systems that govern physiological response on the bike. 

Think I am full of crap? Confused? Questions? Write me a note. 

I hope you find this episode useful. 

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is a conversation with Molly Baron and Sasha Cucci from Entropy Designs. They have teamed up to create amazing custom paint jobs for bicycles, and have recently completed a Japanese themed paint layout on my custom carbon Appleman road bike. 

We talk about the genesis of this project and how Molly has come to believe that her art belongs in the world and on the complex and nuanced canvas of a bicycle frame. 
 
We also discuss the process of challenge and growth that Molly and Sasha went through in order to bring this painting business to life. They spent approximately 150 hours painting my Appleman, which included using indigo powder imported from Japan to create the blue hues, as well as real gold leaf. They also built a paint booth and coated the frame with diamond-hard Cerakote to protect the artwork during real world use. This bike won’t be a mantle or museum bike, it will be on the road climbing mountains and rocketing down hills, negotiating the black ribbon.
 
Together, Molly and Sasha make a gifted team that delivers a unique and beautiful product. Are you someone who would like the vision of a truly talented artist to transform your bike into a functional, durable work of art? If so, Entropy Designs is worth your investigation. 

Links:

Entropy Designs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entropy_designs/

Entropy Designs Website: https://www.entropy-designs.com/

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is with Team EF Easy Post doctor Kevin Sprouse. He interviewed me on his podcast channel, The Podium. Kevin asks me some great questions about bike fitting, and even though Kevin is a doctor, and a way faster runner than I am, he has also done a bit of bike fitting. So it’s more of a two-way conversation in some senses. 
 
To wrap up the discussion, we discuss the contact points of your Victorian Era Contraption. 
 
Thanks for listening. Please share this episode with someone if you think they will benefit from it. 

Links:

Link 1: https://www.podiumsportsmed.com/kevin-sprouse

This conversation for the Cycling in Alignment podcast is with Chek Practioner, RAAM competitor, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and ELDOA / SOMA practitioner Kenny Baker. Kenny owns a studio in Tennesee, 51 Fitness, where he works to help clients heal themselves of pain and dysfunction. We speak about our relationship to racing as master’s athletes, and our somewhat parallel paths in the sport of cycling and holistic coaching, and Kenny talks about meeting the client where they are by becoming the “hollow bone”. 

Links:

Kenny's Website: https://www.51fitness.org

Michael is a meditation instructor, martial artist, and sage. He brings the wisdom of the Mastery of Self to his students, in mental, physical, and spiritual domains. Michael leads by example as part of his instructive practice, and truly walks the walk of his own teachings. 

Michael has an excellent six-part mediation class he taught online, it is free. The link to this class is in the bio, and in the show notes. For anyone who would like to experience Michael’s teachings, or who wants an excellent pathway to begin meditation, this course is highly recommended. 

I hope you enjoy our discourse.

---

Links:

6 part meditation series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIeRtRkxvQ8&t=85s

Micheal's Website: https://savageandsaint.com

Tribe Men's Community Website: https://www.tribemenscommunity.com

Michaels' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Savageandsaint/

Tribe Means Community Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tribemenscommunity/

Links:

Dr. Vince --->

drvinceofinfity@gmail.com

301 Main Street
Elsegundo, CA 90245

Infinity Bike Seat --->

https://infinitybikeseat.com

info@infinitybikeseat.com

https://www.instagram.com/infinitybikeseat/

Today’s conversation is with acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist Todd Plymale-Mallory. Todd has been in the cycling and sports world as a practitioner and participant for many years. Today we discuss some of our philosophies on the relationship of athletics to life and how Chinese medicine relates to this topic. It’s a conversation that wanders into the weeds at times, and these are good weeds to wander into. 

Links:

Todd's Website: https://www.toddplymalemallory.com/about

Todd's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tplymal/

MBS Medicinals Website: https://mbsmedicinals.com/

Charlie Merrill's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charliemerrill/

“If you have a breathing dysfunction, you have a core dysfunction.” 

“Every day you ride your bike, you should do postural corrections.”

“The more aerodynamic you are trying to be on a bike, the more likely it is that cycling is multiplying your Upper Cross postural distortions.”

I get on a bit of a roll and lay down some pretty solid statements on how we have to offset the posture that cycling puts us into. I also made this artwork to go along with my feelings on the topic. 

Images coming soon...

Links:

Ep59: The Significance of Core in the Biomechanical Model:
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-cwesm-10e6c8f

Nathan’s insight for each of the Jerseys

Jersey 1: The Full Circle - Inspired by my phases of cycling, this jersey is to tell a story of my journey so far, from MTB, to Road to now beginning on gravel.

The radar that links to the center of the jersey has drawn each phase, staring with the outermost circle (part circle) being my MTB career, the middle circle, the biggest of them the Road career, and the small red slither, the start of a circle is my time on gravel

The texture dots in the jersey are actually an illustration of all my race days in all sports, with certain dots being in colors representing either wins, podiums, team mate wins or special races like the TDF and world championships.

–––––––––––––––––

Jersey 2: Kansas- Art Decor. We looked at Kansas and asked, what is it famous for? Nothing really. 

But we loved the state flag colors and thought it would be a fun way to bring back the art decor era of colnago and their Master olympic bike.

The jersey was built around the bike, in the colors of the state flag with the state motto on. Plus, we called the jersey, the Wizard of Aus. Great pun. 

–––––––––––––––––

Jersey 3: DOPAMINE - Designed to be raced in Iceland against the grey scale of the black earth and grey skies, Dopamine was to be the excitatory neuron of the race.

Inspired yet again by the full circle concept, as my season had begun to build and my time in gravel, so too have the circles changed. This is a variation of the circles in motion. 

–––––––––––––––––

Jersey 4: PURPLE RAIN - Again another variation of circles, this time, in the form of blurred color droplets that cause a blur throughout the jersey to give a fluid effect, whilst staying true to the full circle philosophy. It's all a story building and evolving. 

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Don’t forget to go to https://cycling.endurobearings.com your exclusive Enduro Bearings discount code mentioned in the episode.

Ones and Zeros are the most fundamental elements of how we have boundaries and tension in the world. In relationship, they are how we negotiate what we want vs what someone else wants. Once this concept is understood, it can make relating to other people simpler. 

Julie and Dede will be releasing a podcast over the Fast Talk Labs channel over the summer, so if you are wanting more info about all things women and cycling, their channel will be one you will want to follow! Between the two of them, they have a deep reserve of knowledge and experience that will be highly beneficial to their audience. 

Today we talk about some of my observations in fitting women, some saddle solutions, and the nature of modern bikes and gender specific equipment. I once again reference of my favorite articles, “When the US Air Force Discovered the Flaw of Averages."  

Links:

https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/01/16/when-us-air-force-discovered-the-flaw-of-averages.html

https://mariposabicycles.ca

https://julieyoungtraining.com

Sebastian is very knowledgeable and we get deep into the weeds on physiology and cycling performance. When an athlete uses INSCYD software to analyze their data, they gain insight into how power is made for a given duration and intensity. This can help a rider or coach understand what training recommendations will provoke the desired result in future performances. 

Buckle your seatbelt and enjoy this nuanced and technician discussion. I have been learning a lot from Sebastian and I am sure you will as well. 

Special announcement: After over two years of recording and 80+ episodes I am elated to announce that Enduro bearings has agreed to become a supporter of the Cycling in Alignment podcast. Listen to the episode to learn how you can take advantage of an exclusive offer to upgrade your whip with some of the best products on the market from Enduro. Link in bio. 

Links:

Enduro Website: http://cycling.endurobearings.com

Enduro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enduro_bearings/

INSCYD on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inscyd_/

Sebastian is very knowledgeable and we get deep into the weeds on physiology and cycling performance. When an athlete uses INSCYD software to analyze their data, they gain insight into how power is made for a given duration and intensity. This can help a rider or coach understand what training recommendations will provoke the desired result in future perform ances. 

Buckle your seatbelt and enjoy this nuanced and technician discussion. I have been learning a lot from Sebastian and I am sure you will as well. 

Special announcement: After over two years of recording and 80+ episodes I am elated to announce that Enduro bearings has agreed to become a supporter of the Cycling in Alignment podcast. Listen to the episode to learn how you can take advantage of an exclusive offer to upgrade your whip with some of the best products on the market from Enduro. Link in bio. 

Links:

Enduro Website: http://cycling.endurobearings.com

Enduro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enduro_bearings/

INSCYD on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inscyd_/

Helen and I get deep in the weeds on bike fitting theory and we discuss how we each see clients on the bike. She divulges some of her ways of thinking about how to help a client become more efficient in their cycling and I found the conversation fascinating. If you would like a deeper dive into fitting philosophy, this will be a good episode for you.

More info about Helen can be found on her website.

Links:

Helen's Website1: https://www.helen-hall.co.uk 

Today’s conversation is a running coach, biomechanist, minimal running pioneer, and bike fitter, Helen Hall. I discovered Helen on Matt Wallden’s podcast and heard her again on Just Fly Sports. She has studied at the Chek Institute and brings a tremendous amount of thought, perspective and wisdom to her practice of working with clients to help solve their niggles. 

Helen and I get deep in the weeds on bike fitting theory and we discuss how we each see clients on the bike. She divulges some of her ways of thinking about how to help a client become more efficient in their cycling and I found the conversation fascinating. If you would like a deeper dive into fitting philosophy, this will be a good episode for you.

Helen's Monkey Graphic

More info about Helen can be found on her website.

Links:

Helen's Website1: https://www.helen-hall.co.uk

Rick Sutton is the director of Business Development at Enduro, I worked with him previously on the Wave handlebar project at Coefficient Cycling, which produces the RR model bar I currently use on all my drop bar bikes.

As a listener to this podcast, you will have the opportunity to take advantage of a special offer on all products made by Enduro Bearings, including their headsets, derailleur pulleys, and bottom brackets. Stay tuned until the end of the pod for this exclusive offer. Also be advised that the Maxhit and XD-15 bottom brackets are guaranteed for life. 

Links:

Go to https://cycling.endurobearings.com to use the promo code mentioned in the episode to get 35% off.

Enduro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enduro_bearings/

Rick Sutton on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rick33ster/

Links:

https://lowcarb-runner.com

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5407976/

https://blog.supersapiens.com/ronan-mclaughlin-scales-the-everest-of-fueling/

Some resources I will discuss in this show:

https://www.helen-hall.co.uk/podcasts/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/irene-davis-ph-d-the-evolution-of-the-foot/id1400828889?i=1000491173363

https://www.naboso.com

Shara and I discuss the internal knowing and contrast it to the external surrender of power and understanding that is prevalent in western society in the present age. We discuss the technique of becoming the ”hollow bone”, to step out of the way and empty the mind in order to see the client as clearly as possible. Shara talks about Paul Chek’s Six Foundational Principles and how fundamental they are to her coaching process. Additionally, we discuss the I - We - All model and how it influences her practice.

Thank you for listening, I am sure you will find Shara’s wisdom, honesty and passion for her practice engaging and powerful. 

Links:

Shara's Website1: https//www.eukinetics.com

Shara's Email: shara@eukinetics.com

Shara in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eukinetics/

During our discussion we speak about the influence Paul has had on our respective coaching trajectories, how our preparation for teaching has changed as our personal practice has developed, and our mutual quest to escape from the sagittal plane. 

I am sure you enjoy this insightful dialogue with Mike.

Links:

Mike's Website: https://mikesalemi.io

Mike's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike.salemi/

Mike on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MikeSalemi

“Drop knowledge” is a term I use with full awareness that while I have things to say, I don’t know everything. “Strong opinions, loosely held”. There is always more to learn. I humbly offer the best information I have at this moment, in the hopes that some might benefit from my thoughts, and I might learn in the same process.

From a slightly different angle: life is a process that is meant to be experienced, not stopped and understood.
 

Show Notes – Here are the links mentioned in the show:

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/09/crank-length-forget-leverage-power-fit/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11923708_Determinants_of_maximal_cycling_power_Crank_length_pedaling_rate_and_pedal_speed

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/2014/07/crank-length-whateverwithin-reason.html?m=1

We worked on many aspects of cycling, but one of the topics most frequently discussed was fueling and hydration for hard training rides. My Team EF Coaching colleague Zack Morris was on a mission to teach our riders how to fuel for this type of riding.

Many of you have heard me be harsh about the use of gels and mixes during training on my podcast, and I am not here to reverse my prior statements. However, this camp has helped me reflect on my position and refine my teachings, something I will continue to do until my time on earth comes to pass. 

In this episode of Cycling in Alignment, I unpack my thoughts on the spectrum of fueling for rides and races. I hope you find this information helpful. 

Links:

How to Skate a 10K …and also a half 10k by Nils van der Poel on Velo News

Swedish Olympic Star Gives Away Gold Medal to Protest Beijing’s Abuses on The New York Times

Greetings Beloved Space Monkeys // Seekers of Knowledge and Understanding

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is with Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, a Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor, and a Shamanic Energy Practitioner Ron Kochevar. The depth and breadth of his study, as well as his experience in health care and clinical treatment gives him a unique perspective on healing human beings. 

Today we unpack some of the sports specific compensation patterns that are exhibited in cyclists. Ron has worked with many cyclists over the years and shares some of the more common challenges that cycling brings to the human body over time. Our conversation oscillates between practical application and examples to more philosophical and big picture explorations of why cyclists do what they do.

Ron has been on my podcast previously, in episode #24, titled: Rototilling Belief Systems. I find Ron to be an engaging critical thinker and a direct and honest communicator, I hope you enjoy our conversation.  

Links:

Ron's Website: https://www.ronkochevar.com

Episode 24 with Ron: https://cyclinglinalignmentwithcolbypearce.podbean.com/e/24-rototilling-belief-systems-with-physical-therapist-ron-kochevar

PART ONE

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is with Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, a Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor, and a Shamanic Energy Practitioner Ron Kochevar. The depth and breadth of his study, as well as his experience in health care and clinical treatment gives him a unique perspective on healing human beings. 

Today we unpack some of the sports specific compensation patterns that are exhibited in cyclists. Ron has worked with many cyclists over the years and shares some of the more common challenges that cycling brings to the human body over time. Our conversation oscillates between practical application and examples to more philosophical and big picture explorations of why cyclists do what they do.

Ron has been on my podcast previously, in episode #24, titled: Rototilling Belief Systems. I find Ron to be an engaging critical thinker and a direct and honest communicator, I hope you enjoy our conversation.  

Links:

Ron's Website: https://www.ronkochevar.com

Episode 24 with Ron: Episode 24 on Podbean

In this discussion, I outline the idea that many people look for validation outside of themselves, rather than inside. That is; people seek knowledge from experts in various fields and become attached or invested in these expert’s opinions. I argue that when people do this, they place power outside of themselves. Culturally we are looking for exogenous forms of expertise.

This can be for two primary reasons:

- Overwhelm from sheer volume of information available on the internet
- A refusal to or bypass of taking accountability for the decision. When an expert told you to do it, you don’t have to worry about it

As humans we have an invaluable source of information and understanding in ourselves. This might be commonly referred to as intuition, a priori knowledge, or a gut feeling. We have to have some basic knowledge of a topic in order to develop understanding, without a doubt. However, the only way to have a full understanding of a topic or field of study with depth is through experience. This is the key. Knowledge + experience = understanding. 

I have also written about this topic on my website, colby pearce dot com. My plan is to release more written content in conjunction with future podcasts, in order to get the information out in different forms. Additionally, written content allows for links to resources and articles, as well as visual aids including photos, graphs, and diagrams. 

I will also be making some artwork in conjunction with future podcasts and will post this on the gram as well as on my site with the written work. I was quite artistic when I was a young man but this has largely gone unpracticed as my life became consumed with competitive cycling. There is something missing in me when I don’t have an outlet for my creative energy. My vision is to bring this to my teaching in a way that helps me communicate my ideas and also serves my audience. 

I synopsize some of the major points that Ross makes in his podcast, and then expand the discussion with my own thoughts and observations on the topic of hydration in sports. Ross made several very good points and I can’t say I disagree with any of them outright. That said, I did have things to add from my own mind movies. 

My intent is to offer additional views on the topic with complete and total respect to the original author[s]. Professor Tucker is a far more formally educated person than I am so hopefully I didn’t butcher any science along the way. Ross and Mike do an excellent job of presenting the material and I think this episode is worth listening to. I also did my best to accurately quote or paraphrase the material; if I misquoted or misrepresented the podcast or in any way, it was not intentional. 

Did you like this episode? Would you like more “Discussion Expansion” format episodes? If so, please let me know, and send me your suggested episodes. I can’t promise I will do an episode for every suggestion I receive but I will consider every suggestion. 

Or, do you think this is total crap? Honesty is the best policy. Just tell me.  

Links:

Ross' and Mike's Podcast on Apple: Here

Ross' and Mike's Podcast on Spotify: Here

Do any Space Monkeys have any questions or comments for us? Hit me in the comments below. 

Does anyone know the origin of my space monkeys reference? You think you are so smart. Tell me. [You are smart!]
 

Links:

Trying Peaks Website: https://trainingpeaks.com

Base Camp Website: https://www.joinbasecamp.com

WKO Power Group on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WKO4powerusers

Tim's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim.cusick_coach/

Links:

Team EF Coaching: https://www.teamefcoaching.com

EF Pro Cycling: https://www.efprocycling.com

Links:

Trek-Sagafredo Team: https://racing.trekbikes.com/trek-segafredo

INSCYD: https://inscyd.com

This episode is a “Cross Pod” with Fast Talk Labs. We recorded in the FTL studio in Boulder, with Chris and Trevor there to moderate. This episode expands our discussion and we get into the technology we use in our fits, as well as a discussion about normative or orthodox data.

Thank you @fasttalklabs for allowing me to publish this on my channel too. I am sure my audience will find it a worthwhile discussion on the topic of fitting.

LINKS:

Fasttalk Labs' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fasttalklabs/

Fasttalk Labs on the Web: https://www.fasttalklabs.com

This episode is a “Cross Pod” with Fast Talk Labs. We recorded in the FTL studio in Boulder, with Chris and Trevor there to moderate. Trevor was mostly trying to keep us on track but we wandered into some interesting weeds and told some obtuse stories. 

Thank you Fasttalk Labs for allowing me to publish this on my channel too. I am sure my audience will find it a worthwhile discussion on the topic of fitting.

---------------------------------

Fast Talk Labs' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fasttalklabs/

Fast Talk Labs on the Web: https://www.fasttalklabs.com

I also introduce the concept of Dynamic Threshold Power, a concept created by my Team EF Coaching colleague, Peter Schep. Don’t worry, this episode is not all technical bicycle dork stuff, I also manage to fit a bit of philosophy in there. 

Team EF Coaching on the Web: http://www.TeamEFCoaching.com 

-------------------------

Show Notes:

Matt Wallden's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewwallden/

Check Institute's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chekinstitute/

Matt on the Web: http://www.mattwallden.com

As always, thank you for listening to Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce. I appreciate your comments and feedback on this episode in the comments below. 

REFERENCES:

https://twitter.com/PhilCavell

https://www.cyclefit.co.uk

In this wandering examination of anatomy, I talk about the muscles of the Inner Core, why we need it, what muscles are in it, and common exercises we might use to train these muscles. 

Screen shots courtesy of Visible Body app.

RESOURCES:

Chek Institute Four Point Tummy Vacuum: https://chekinstitute.com/freegifts847386/TheInnerUnit.pdf

Only Cycling is about how cycling completely ignores fundamental rules of basic movement dynamics, human physiology, and biomechanics, and why it is the only sport to really do this. There are a few other examples of this in other sports, but cycling is #1 at ignoring the basics of what is universally understood in the study of movement as ideal posture, otherwise know as the Instantaneous Axis of Rotation. 

As always, thanks for listening and please leave any comments here or on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/cyclinginalignment/). I am grateful for your time, energy, and input. 

Alex Howes’ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Alex_Howes

Alex on the Web: http://www.TeamEFCoaching.com 

Steamboat Gravel Race on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbtgrvl/

Do you have feedback on this episode? Questions for Travis? Reach out on the comments below and let us know, we will get back to you. 

Find Jesse at the following places:

WEB:

https://www.teamefcoaching.com/coaches/travis-mccabe/

INSTAGRAM: 

@travis_mccabe

OTHER RESOURCES: 

Marcel Kittel Tour de France intensity breakdown: 

https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/tour-de-france-physiology-research/

Find Jesse at the following places:

WEB: https://www.mooreperformancecoaching.com

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/theJesseMoore

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jesse.moore.52459

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thejessemoore/

Helpful Links:

Lore Shoes
Lore.cc – Exclusive Discount Code: Colby07 

Podcast on evolution of footwear:
Peterattiamd.com/irenedavis/

Greg Choat is a native of New Zealand. He is certified as a Level II Functional Movement Specialist and his focus is identifying movement disfunction and applying corrective exercise to help clients achieve their full athletic potential. Additionally, he is a USA Cycling certified Level 1 Coach and Skills instructor in Nevada, he is also a sought after bike fit practitioner having worked with professional level athletes through to first time riders.

Fit Matters with Greg Choat on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNxd6Y7XbdwgolxNFbJrd7Q

Greg's website:

https://www.clinicalbikefit.com/greg-choat/

Chris Balser's Webesite: https://www.bicyclefitguru.com

Going forward you will now be able to find new episodes of Cycling in Alignment with me and all of my illustrious guests on a new channel.

I would be eternally grateful for you to take an extra moment in your day to re-subscribe to the new Cycling in Alignment RSS feed by clicking on one of the links below or searching "Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce" on your podcast app of choice. Thank you! 

Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/3AYL8IuWfnLCVrtoGJU9I7 

iHeartRadiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-cycling-in-alignment-with-81951689/ 

There are many things we can do to facilitate the recovery of our muscles. Some popular techniques include massage. cryotube therapy, Norma Tech compression, ice baths, inversion table hanging, electromagnetic pulses, etc., but none are more effective than the basics.

Matt Maruka and the Light Diet: https://chekinstitute.com/podcast-episode-notes/ep-99-matt-maruca/
Soma breath: https://home.somabreath.com/lessons/day-1-correct-your-breathing/
NOTE: Follow with each subsequent day [7 days total.] To find the link for the subsequent day, you must page all the way down to the bottom [past the comments] and you will see days 2-7.
Paleo Diet for Athletes: https://thepaleodiet.com/lifestyle/for-athletes
Belissa Vranich: https://www.thebreathingclass.com/breathe-usa
Metabolic Typing Diet: http://www.metabolictyping.com

Learning how to deal with it and, most importantly, learn from it, is an invaluable ability.

Colby tells the stories of a few of his biggest failures and the lessons he learned from each.

Paul Chek on breathing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KZlCI2QmWE&t=2s
Ed Harrold – https://www.edharrold.com/breathwork-wellness-retreats
Soma Breath – https://www.somabreath.com

Specialized Experience: https://specializedboulder.com

Keith Bontrager K.O.P.S. https://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

Happy’s Site: HappyFreedman.com
Medicine of Cycling Conference – https://www.medicineofcycling.com
Science in Cycling – https://science-cycling.org/conference/
Podcast: What is Bike Fitting? Live from the Philly Bike Expo https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-6-what-is-bike-fitting-live-from-philly-bike-expo/id1477543731?i=1000456088411

RESOURCES:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-4-watch-listen-tools-bike-fitting-jerry-gerlich/id1477543731?i=1000452902450

First, understand the concept of bio-individuality.

Next, know that eating good, healthy food should always the first choice when you want to increase your body’s performance.

Absolutely use discernment when reading labels and marketing materials related to supplements.

Answer a few questions about why you’re taking supplements in the first place.

• Is it to optimize health?
• Or is it to take a shortcut? Maybe to bio-hack?
• Maybe to optimize performance?

There are many variables that affect studies about supplements that can affect their findings.

Colby’s note to coaches: you can make recommendations or suggestions, but the athlete is making the choice and takes responsibility for any supplements they choose to take.

https://heartandsoil.co/

https://www.globaldro.com/Home

https://www.usada.org/wp-content/uploads/supplement-guide.pdf

https://www.usada.org/wp-content/uploads/supplement-guide.pdf

We talk about keto and carnivore and veganism; we talk a lot about gluten and specifically the challenges that it brings. We get geeky and scientific in this episode but don’t worry, if you’re not a science person, you’re not going to get lost. Trevor does a great job of bringing it back to some relatable and understandable context.

RESOURCES:
Anit-Factory Farm Shopping Guide: http://www.trufkinathletics.com/books.html

Trevor’s series on wheat: https://thepaleodiet.com/the-wheat-series-part-1-wheat-and-the-immune-system

Paleo Diet page on nutrient density:
https://thepaleodiet.com/eliminating-non-paleo-foods-improves-nutrient-density

Metabolic Typing Diet: https://uprightmovement.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/The_Metabolic_Type_Self_Test.pdf

Understanding the quintessential difficulty of a bike fitter’s challenge is most aptly painted in this proverb quoted by Greg in the show: “Man is to bicycle as fish is to elephant.”

Helping a human body fit seamlessly onto a carbon or metal frame requires mechanical knowledge of the bike as well as biomechanical and physiological knowledge of the human body.

Preventing and dealing with injury caused by either poor form or poor bike fit is one of the primary challenges that Greg and Colby face in their work— and which they unpack in this episode. 

Website: www.sanussports.com

Instagram: @sanussportsusa

“As you’ve identified in your show, amateurs look at pros for things like training, not realizing that all pros do is ride, sleep, and eat. For those of us who race, how much training is too much? Where is the drop off in terms of results? Personally, I’m not willing to train 20 hours a week even if I had the time. Anyway, I’d be curious to know where the curve starts to drop in terms of fitness and health. When does it move?”

This episode is Colby’s musings on the matter, which he hopes will prove useful as you determine your own sport-life balance.

That raises issues: Riding in such a time trial position increases the functional load when compared to road riding.

For instance, the wider the handlebars, the wider the base of support, and, conversely, the narrower the bars, the narrower the base of support. These different approaches yield different aerodynamics, but simultaneously address some of the load characteristic of such a contorted position.

In this episode, Colby discusses the key components to creating an effective time trial position based on his decades of experience, tinkering, and experimentation.

Superficial Back Line

Crank Length

Crank Length

Tony Martin sand paper story

Rohan Dennis

http://www.contortionhomepage.com/photolib.html

Paul Chek 90/90

www.bikejames.com

www.pedalinginnovations.com

www.bikejames.com/strength/3-bjj-c…your-mtb-riding/

www.bikejames.com/strength/winning…-bjj-tournament/

The shoes James uses: www.somfootwear.com

Velocious coaching site: https://www.velociouscyclingadventures.com

IG @moningerscott

When you sit on a saddle, that’s a lot of weight on a very small surface area. There’s the weight of the torso, the weight of the helmet, the weight of the upper body, the arms — it’s all focused into this relatively small point. Then we add friction generated by the movement of the legs. With so many moving parts there is so much that can go wrong which can lead to undercarriage issues for the rider.

Today, I’ve also got a special guest that we’ll get to in the second part of the podcast. Don Powell is the creator and owner of Panache Cyclewear. He’s been designing and creating his own cycling gear there for 12 years. We’ll hear a bit from Don about the construction of chamois and fabrics and technical details in the second part.

RESOURCES: 

Panache Cyclewear: 20% discount code: Alignment 

Kaerwell store for Liposomal Glutathione: 10% discount code: Pearce10

Detox Pathways blog post

Chamois cream

Dr. Bronner’s soap

Weleda soap

Trainer platform

Inside Ride Trainer platform for KICKR

Other potentially unpopular opinions of Colby’s are related to indoor riding. He outlines some of the pros and cons of Zwifting, including the benefits of riding with extremely controlled and focused training, as well as increased blood volume versus the compounding effects of poor posture that the monotony of riding inside can foster.

This question has a lot of nuance and detail. I asked Julie if she would come back onto the pod to do a sort of Q&A style episode, inspired by her thoughtful question. Then, after laboring over these questions even further, I realized that I needed to bring in mountain bike geek-extraordinaire, Travis Brown, also a previous podcast guest (Travis Brown: Mountain Biking Olympian and Hall of Famer.) It is time to unpack bike geometry and rider weight distribution in great detail.

Humans are meant to push down so we need to understand how to optimize that motion for cycling.

We’re going to break down how to pedal in different conditions:

• We will look at the demands of the event that will help us decipher what disciplines have what requirements for the type of pedaling you must do.
• Then, I will break cyclists down into pedaling phenotypes. When we talk about cycling phenotypes (sprinter, time trialist, etc.) in terms of pedaling, understand that it is a spectrum.

I hope these thoughts lead to insight in your own training and spur you to think more critically about how you ride. 

Bradley Wiggins hour record
Vittoria Bussi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNctC8NnCI&t=50s
Alex Dowsett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkfkMTEqQak

I met Daniel when he was a junior racing on the track, sometime around 2004. Years later, when I had the opportunity to race some of the European six days, I needed a partner, and Daniel ended up being the man for the job. He was one of the youngest riders in the field at our first Six Day in Dortmund, and I was one of the older riders in the peloton. I think it is quite accurate to say we really had no idea what the hell we were doing.

Together, we stumbled our way through four seasons of racing Sixes, World Cups, and World Championships together. We had wins, crashes, DNFs, lots of laughs, and one moment that was pretty close to a fistfight.

I thought having Daniel on the show would be the perfect excuse to tell some entertaining stories, and also to help my audience understand the archaic and iconic world of European Six Day racing. 

We’re going to talk about the anatomy of the human undercarriage, and then we’re going to talk about the shapes of saddles and how those two things go together. How do they fit together? What are the design concepts of different types of saddles? How do they support the weight of the torso?

All this and much more this week on Cycling in Alignment.

Knudson Recharge fruit juice sports drink: https://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/recharge

Dental Herb Company mouth wash: https://www.dentalherb.com/

Skratch Labs Cook Book: https://www.skratchlabs.com/pages/cookbooks

EMF Harmony EMF reduction devices: https://www.emf-harmony.com/collections/emf-harmony

Rogue Fitness Supernova for pelvic floor work: https://www.roguefitness.com/mobilitywod-super-nova-2-0

This is a clear demonstration of what happens if you do decide to ‘just keep training.’ If you adopt the ‘more is always better’ mindset and ignore the signals of the body this is what can happen. Sticking to the training plan relentlessly or over-doing miles, intensity, and general time on the bike. This will eventually lead to some dark outcomes. Both of these guys have taken that downward spiral to the extreme. It’s very useful for us to hear their stories. Understand the elements that were at play for them to adopt this mindset and to keep going in spite of the warning signals from their bodies. This is where the power in the lesson lies.

Rocco’s Story: https://cyclingtips.com/2020/08/bikes-of-the-bunch-saved-by-the-bike-a-former-soldiers-custom-venge/

Where we first heard Trevor’s story: https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fasttalk127/

Steve’s website: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com

Spinacci Bars: https://www.ebay.com/itm/324057816576

Bike Fit Resource: https://ibfi-certification.com/

Lentine’s Website: https://lentinealexis.com/about/

Providence: https://providencela.com

Skratch Labs: https://www.skratchlabs.com

Colby’s Site: http://www.colbypearce.com/

Email: cyclinginalignment@www.fasttalklabs.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyclinginalignment/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CyclinginAlign_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyclinginalignment-110271017351743

#1) First of all, we’d prefer ideally free to pick flat or mostly flat terrain, terrain that is not obfuscated with a lot of things like stoplights and potholes and people, not a busy bike path. Not a lot of turns, not a lot of rolling hills.

#2.) And the second point that directly stems from that is, no matter where you are in this meditative process, you need to understand that you are responsible for and obligated to always keep a direct awareness of your environment.

Just because you’re zoned out and thinking about your pedal stroke doesn’t give you license to ignore cars that turn in front of you, dogs, cats, ice, sand, potholes, small children, flying objects, whatever else you might encounter on the bike. So we’re here to be aware, you’ve got to accept the fact that during cycling, we need to have our reticular activating system on which is a low-level alert for threat.” – Colby Pearce

This is the Meditation portion of Podcast Episode 21: Meditation on the Bike; uploaded here separately from the full episode for you to utilize with more ease.

The main focus of this conversation is to understand the helpful and healthy place for data and analysis in your training. Learning to craft your own intuition is something that, when paired with the right amount of data, can lead you to becoming your best athletic self. 

Julie Young: https://julieyoungtraining.com/meet-julie/

The Rider: https://www.amazon.com/Rider-Tim-Krabbé/dp/1582342903

I am so excited for today’s show, the guest is none other than Paul Chek. I have been a student of Paul’s for a few years now, and I am so grateful and honored he has taken time to speak to my audience.

Paul Chek has been an exercise coach for over three and a half decades, but he is much more than someone who can tell you how to do a Swiss Ball crunch. Paul has hundreds of hours of YouTube videos that detail everything from proper relationship to coffee, to numerous strength exercises, to thoughts on mediation and stone stacking, to the history of pornography, and many other topics.

Paul is the founder of the Chek Institute in Encinitas, California where he and his instructors teach classes on Holistic Lifestyle Coaching, Four Quadrant Coaching Mastery, Integrated Movement Science, in addition to numerous other programs. I am currently studying in Paul’s Academy which is a multi-year program that takes the student through every class he teaches and I have found it to add to, expand and challenge my own coaching programs in numerous ways. Paul’s programs are about far more than teaching an athlete to move well; through years of therapy Paul has learned to apply a psycho-spiritual model to coaching in order to more completely serve and heal the client.

Paul has had experience as a member of the US Army boxing team, as a massage therapist, he has repaired weapons systems on Cobra helicopters, introduced the Swiss Ball into the gym, is a former professional triathlete, is a licensed Native American Medicine Practitioner who has led over four hundred shamanic journeys.

Paul Chek & The Chek Institute: https://chekinstitute.com/

Paul Chek Four Quadrant Coaching:

The six principles are:

1. Eating
2. Drinking
3. Sleeping
4. Movement
5. Breathing
6. Thinking

Water Calculator: https://www.thecalculator.co/health/Water-Calculator-56.html

Breathing:

https://www.thebreathingclass.com/about-dr-belisa/

https://oxygenadvantage.com

TAG -https://www.tagperformanceco.com/our-leader

DARI – https://www.darimotion.com/about-us

Colby’s DARI Test – https://www.velonews.com/training/training-center-motion-capture-technology-helps-fix-imbalances/

FMS Gray Cook: http://graycook.com/?page_id=150

SFMA: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Selective_Functional_Movement_Assessment_(SFMA)

In this episode of Cycling in Alignment, Colby outlines many of the key components of cycling, including the physical characteristics that make for great cyclists.

He also ponders the question: if your body doesn’t match with this description, can you still be a great rider?

Colby also touches upon torque, the pedal stroke, fascial system, physiological testing, FTP, bike fit, and the symmetry of cycling in this broad overview of the sport of cycling.

In today’s episode, listen to his conversation with Colby to hear about how he began his return from a severe leg injury on the bike, even before that leg was weight-bearing.

Brown still works with his long-time sponsor, Trek, developing new bikes and equipment.

He also develops young talent in the sport, including those on Native American reservations, providing bikes to young riders there.

The pair touch upon all of these topics.

Finally, Travis reveals the scare he’s had from skin cancer. As an outdoor enthusiast who spends much time on his bike, he has strong recommendations for protecting yourself while you’re out on the trail.

• Archived page of Travis’ SSWC Tattoo: https://web.archive.org/web/20051115120933/http://www.trekbikes.com/news/news_detail.jsp?articleId=4353&category=hot_news
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBrowntrip
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travis.brown.18007

• https://secure.metabolictypingonline.com/
• https://www.westonaprice.org
• https://secure.metabolictypingonline.com 
• Eugene Trufkin: https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Factory-Shopping-Guide-Evgeny-Trufkin/dp/1099029430

Thanks for coming along with us to experience Jessi’s powerful journey and listen to the lessons she’s discovered along the way.

She has deeply developed her relationship with her body in the years since competing as a professional triathlete, swimming at the Olympic trials, and winning a bronze medal at XTERRA World Championships. Her ideas about shoes and sleep may be new and unusual to you, but pause and consider her enthusiasm, her agility, and her deep connection to her own body.

• Feet Freex: feetfreex.com
• Team Exos https://www.teamexos.com/capabilities/sports-performance/

Today’s guest, an expert in this field, is Aaron Anderson, the founder of PTI Orthotics & Foot Resource Lab, and a board-certified pedorthist for over 20 years.

In this episode, we break down the different ways that prefabricated, semi-custom, and custom orthotics are constructed; analyze the pros and cons of the different methods used to cast feet and determine orthotic support needs; offer practical tips and advice on how to find the best podiatrist, and discuss how to determine the quality of the orthotics you’re considering.

• Aaron Anderson, PTI Orthotics and Foot Resource Lab https://ptiorthotics.com/
• Dr. Kevin Kirby: kirbypodiatry.com
• Robert Donatelli Book: Biomechanics of the Foot and Ankle
• Prolotherapy: Mayo Clinic on Prolotherapy
• Ehlers Danlos: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/

More importantly, have you learned how to apply this knowledge to your life? Lucky for you, Colby has some answers. All you Type-A, go-getter cyclists, it’s time to contemplate the importance of balancing your yang activities with the yin.

Ready for some intervals from Coach Colby? How about a six-by-six-minute breathing workout as you slowly walk around the block?

• The Dragon: https://www.paulcheksblog.com/the-dragon-2/
• Tai Chi Poster: https://chekinstitute.com/gong/

Colby once coached Lydia, and in this interview, she recalls her apathy toward training and riding during that period of her racing career. Lydia reveals why she was struggling so much at the time: Sadly, she was dealing with the all-too-common issue of an eating disorder. That, in combination with a myriad of serious injuries and concussions, eventually took its toll; she got to a point where she didn’t touch a bike for years.

Now, the bike is all about adventure for Lydia. She and Colby talk about some of their epic rides in the past, including Lydia’s 500-kilometer, 40-hour ride.

They emphasize the importance and struggle of finding and understanding one’s identity outside of sport and career. As coaches, they discuss the issues with training young girls to be aggressive with their teammates and training partners.

This and much more on today’s episode of Cycling in Alignment.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydlovesmud/

Lydia on Bike Magazine https://www.bikemag.com/author/lydia-tanner/

This may seem like a straightforward question. But the better thing to ask is: Which shoes are right for my feet? If you’ve been a professional cyclist with extensive experience as a bike fitter, like show host Colby Pearce, the answer to that more complex question becomes an hour-long podcast, filled with the nuances of human anatomy.

There are several questions about your physiology and biomechanics that need to be answered before you can select the ideal shoe for you, and for the purpose of your rides. Dial that Boa in—but not too tight.

There’s much to be learned in today’s episode of Cycling in Alignment.

Lake 403s – https://lakecycling.com/products/cx-403?variant=30307106029662

Device that expands toe-box – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4SKS82?tag=duckduckgo-osx-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

Cycling Tips Podcast about Bont shoes: https://cyclingtips.com/2015/05/bont-vaypor-s-shoe-review/

Bont Helix – https://www.bontcycling.com/products/road/helix/index.html

Bontrager XXX – https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bike-clothing/cycling-shoes/road-bike-shoes/bontrager-xxx-road-cycling-shoe/p/25000/

Lintamen – https://www.lintaman.com/

Hanseeno – https://hanseeno.com/collections/performance/products/u100g-shoes

www.feetfreex.com/

Treadlabs orthotics – https://treadlabs.com/

Superfeet orthotics – https://www.superfeet.com/en-us

Icebug orthotics – https://icebug.com/insoles

G8 orthotics – https://www.g8performance.com/

Colby and JV first discuss their early training techniques, taught to them by their first cycling coach, Adrie Van Diemen, a Dutch exercise physiologist now with UAE Team Emirates. Many of the techniques are now considered to be standard practice. The pair reminisce about how they were ahead of their time, in many ways, even though they didn’t realize it.

Vaughters, who has coached many pro cyclists over the years, then gives examples of experiments gone right—and wrong—and how certain training regimens should be applied to certain types of athletes. He also openly discusses the conflict of interest in coaching athletes while also serving as their team manager.

The discussion then turns to the finer details of cycling technique, including a detailed explanation of how crank length affects a rider’s ability to climb, sprint, and win. JV even describes the time he swapped cranks behind the back of his former team manager, Johan Bruyneel.

Next, the conversation turns to Rigoberto Urán, who finished second in the 2017 Tour de France. The Colombian’s diet at that year’s race included bananas and… bananas. Vaughters uses that example to illustrate how the natural and simple solution oftentimes bests all of the “advanced” nutrition expertise in the world—and how athletes often discover what works best for them and “solve their own equation.”

That, and much more, in today’s episode of “Cycling in Alignment.”

• Book: “One-Way Ticket: Nine Lives on Two Wheels” https://www.amazon.com/One-Way-Ticket-Nine-Lives-Wheels/dp/0143134140
• Coach Adrie Van Diemen http://www.webtrainer.com/nl/

However, formulas can have flaws or limitations. The critical piece is to make allowances for alterations and compensations. We, as coaches, are trying to help the athlete refine their instinct. Formulas are a tool in a tool chest, which athletes and coaches can use as a starting point. However, formulas don’t account for varying road surfaces, grades, weather, even the unpredictable nature of each individual’s biome.

There are so many opportunities for an athlete to be led astray by strictly adhering, religiously, to a formula. A formula is a proxy for experience. As always, the goal of this show is to help guide you towards the alignment of scientific athletic pursuit with the right relationship of mind and body.

• Merrill Performance Web: https://www.mperformance.com/ 
• NC Website: http://mywholebody.net/about-us/nikki-costello/
• Anatomy Trains: https://www.anatomytrains.com/
• Weston A. Price: https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/why-we-need-carbs/
• Black Onyx (cocoa) https://www.savoryspiceshop.com/black-onyx-cocoa-powder

Injury can have a devastating impact on many athletes. The conversation covers how and why so many individuals have dealt with some aspect of pain in their time of athletic pursuit. Colby and Charlie also cover the degree to which pain can set us back in terms of physical fitness and emotional well-being.

All that and much more, this week on Cycling in Alignment.

• Merrill Performance Web: https://www.mperformance.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MPerformanceBoulder
• Instagram: @charliemerrill https://www.instagram.com/charliemerrill/
• Kit Laughlin: https://stretchtherapy.net/
• Peter O’Sullivan: http://www.pain-ed.com/team/
• Stu McGill: https://www.backfitpro.com/about-us/
• Guy Winch Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/guy_winch_why_we_all_need_to_practice_emotional_first_aid
• Keith Bontrager and the Myth of KOPS [Knee Over Pedal Spindle]: https://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html
• Steve Bauer “chopper” Paris-Roubaix bike circa 93: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/top-five-worst-cycling-inventions-196732
• Charlie’s video on Jika-Tabi Shoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLkMni4Qv1Q&t=2s 
• Also see: https://www.lin.health

On a personal level, Lim coached Colby through the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, bringing a more scientific approach to the sport of track cycling.

In the second half of the show, food becomes the subject of conversation. Food is often viewed as fuel—and only fuel—by endurance athletes. Lim, author of three books about food and cooking, including The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes, preaches about eating and the importance of having a good relationship with food.

In Lim’s view, food provides energy not just to power your legs for five-hour rides. Food has chi; and athletes have intuition regarding what and how much food to eat to keep their bodies in balance. The sport-induced eating habits of many athletes can be isolating; Lim, however, understands how food can serve as social fuel, which goes well beyond its role as chemical fuel.

All this and much more in episode 3 of Cycling in Alignment.

Loneliness is a fundamental breach between who one is and who one pretends to be.
– Moustakas

• Dr. Allen Lim https://www.doctorallenlim.com
• Skratch Labs https://www.skratchlabs.com/
• Chek Institute https://chekinstitute.com/product/holistic-health-and-performance-for-women-e-learning/ 
• Dr. Stacy Sims https://www.drstacysims.com/

Things there are getting better. Many riders, including Nathan, are now able to get out on the roads, at least to a limited degree. This episode is not just about a pandemic—it is about far more than that. Ultimately, the conversation is a useful tool to teach us something about ourselves, from two friends who love nature and who are passionate about bikes.

Knowledge Doubling: https://www.industrytap.com/knowledge-doubling-every-12-months-soon-to-be-every-12-hours/3950