Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce

Failure is uncomfortable and unwanted but it comes across our lives in often unexpected ways. 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.

Explore the common misconceptions surrounding cycling, including the truths about cadence and the importance of breath control. Dive into a holistic approach that emphasizes mental engagement and cross-training, debunking the myth that more time in the saddle equates to greater progress. Learn how refining breathing techniques can enhance performance and the psychological shift needed for a mindful cycling experience. Find out how diversifying your movement practice can improve your cycling efficiency and overall athleticism.

Jason Williams, Retül fitter at the Specialized Experience Center in Boulder, is here to discuss the methodology of Retül fitting and how the technology is used to help fitters make decisions during their fit process. We delve into the strengths and potential pitfalls of using comparative data. We also discuss the current trend of road riders slamming the saddle forward. If you have comments or questions about this episode, please post them on the Fast Talk Labs forum, there is a page for this episode. Make sure to @colby so I get the post. Thanks to Jason for making time to talk shop with me. Specialized Experience: https://specializedboulder.com Keith Bontrager K.O.P.S. https://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

Happy Freedman is a 40-year bike fitting veteran and expert. Prepare yourselves for another round of bike-fitting nerd-dom. Happy and I don’t agree on every aspect of bike fitting, so I hope you find the explanations of our respective thought processes helpful. We share our separate opinions on the merits and pitfalls of selling bike saddles, seat-posts, cleats, etc. as a bike fitter. 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

Jerry Gerlich, a Steve Hogg Certified bike fitter based in Austin, Texas and I go way back and share a lot of common knowledge about bike fitting due to our mutual teacher and mentor, Steve Hogg. We dork out big time and get honest about fitting mistakes and learning how to reframe those experiences as learning tools. We relate Jerry’s musical talents as a drummer to some of the same rhythms and attention skills that bike fitting requires.  RESOURCES: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-4-watch-listen-tools-bike-fitting-jerry-gerlich/id1477543731?i=1000452902450

After starting with a disclaimer, that he is not a doctor, Colby outlines a few guidelines for supplements. 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://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/08/01/benefits-of-good-iron-levels.aspx https://www.usada.org/wp-content/uploads/supplement-guide.pdf ✎ EditS

Gluten is bad news for your body and today we’ve got an expert in the subject who will explain exactly what the long-term effects of consuming gluten are. Trevor Connor, who you know as the host of Fast Talk, is also the CEO of The Paleo Diet. 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 https://thepaleodiet.com/product/the-paleo-diet-for-athletes

The paradigm of climbing an endless mountain paints the picture of an athletic journey that at points will be fraught with endless comparisons to other athletes, and devastating setbacks with illness or injury. What if training and racing is more of an orbital journey? Your goal is one point of the orbit. At halfway, you can see your goal on the horizon.

Greg Choat is a cycling coach and bike fitter with decades of experience, whose bike fitting knowledge traces back to the expertise of Steve Hogg. 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

Former guest on the podcast, triathlete and Feet Freex shoe creator, Jessi Stensland is here to unpack more of her evolution as an athlete. Starting as a D1 swimmer, making the Olympic trials, transitioning to triathlon, and finally competing in ultra Mountain Bike races are all a part Jessi’s athletic journey. Her continued athletic evolution has a different focus than simply “winning” a race. Creating a long-term health and high-performance lifestyle is now the primary focus for Jessi. The idea of being “kinterractive” as Jessi defines in this podcast, is one of nature, activity, love, and connection.