Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce

I am returning to the US after our first Team EF Education coaching camp in Beuda, Spain. The weather was not amazing for this camp, we timed it perfectly to coincide with some of the coldest and rainiest days the region had experienced in months. But, we still had a very productive and fun camp with many great moments for learning. I ended up with nearly 23 hours of riding in 5 days on some of th...

In this episode of Cycling in Alignment I sit down with one of my best friends, Olympian Travis Brown, to discuss the training manifesto written by Nils van der Poel “How to Skate a 10K …and also a half 10k”. For both of us, there are a lot of interesting takeaways from this detailed disclosure of the final 2.5 years of training Nils did before his victories in the 10KM and 5KM Olympic speedskatin...

PART TWO - This is the second in a two-part podcast. Part One can be found HERE . 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...

Greetings Beloved Space Monkeys // Seekers of Knowledge and Understanding 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 gi...

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is another solo pod. I promise I have many guests coming on the show soon but for now you get me. As always I am grateful for your presence.  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...

Episode 70 of Cycling in Alignment could have been titled “Delayed by Covid” but no one wants to hear about that so we are talking about cadence. When I say we, I mean all the voices in my head … in this discussion I cover the two components of power, namely cadence and torque, and I speak about the relationship between them and why we are served by understanding this relationship. I also give pra...

Happy New Year Space Monkeys! The first episode of season 3 of Cycling in Alignment is a new format: I will call it Discussion Expansion. In this episode, I use an existing podcast from another source and add my own thoughts on their material. Hopefully this won’t get me sued or beaten up…The material I am discussing today comes from The Real Science of Sport podcast, a pod that is relatively new...

Today’s episode of Cycling in Alignment is with coach and data analyst Tim Cusick. Tim is the lead product development at Training Peaks for WKO software. He is also someone who has spent a lot of time educating other coaches, and I have benefitted from many of Tim’s teachings and lessons. Today we unpack our respective coaching methodologies and as usual, I find a way to weave a philosophical poi...

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is with Team EF Education First / NIPPO Performance Manager Nate Wilson. We discuss his background as an athlete, and journey into coaching, but mostly unpack specifics about coaching riders including some of the valuable lessons Nate has learned working at an elite level for so many seasons. Nate also reveals what he learned from me when I was coaching with hi...

This episode is a discussion of some of the errors man and woman kind has made in our accession as apex predators, expansion into the industrial age, and members of the world wide ecosystem. I discuss the context of my perspective and how this relates to cycling. It’s typical of my philosophical diatribes and while I recognize that you probably won’t find much of this in other cycling podcasts, I...

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is an unscripted conversation with Trek Segafredo professional Toms Skujins. We sit down and discuss the 2021 season, touching on the Olympics, Roubaix, and the World Championships. Toms shares some of his experiences from the two Olympic games he has attended [Rio and Tokyo] and I chime in with some parallels from my trip to Athens. We also talk some specifics...

This is part two of the Fitting Roundtable discussion with Andy Pruitt, Todd Carver and myself.  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...

Do you want to hear me discuss bike fitting philosophy with Andy Pruitt and Todd Carver? You have found the right place. This is exactly what happens on this episode of Cycling in Alignment. Buckle your BOA’s down for an engaging discussion from multiple angles on the subject of bike fitting.  This episode is a “Cross Pod” with Fast Talk Labs. We recorded in the FTL studio in Boulder, with Chris a...

This episode of Cycling in Alignment with Colby Pearce is a discussion about five minute intervals; how do do them, the relationship of power, HR and RPE, and why we care. When I say “discussion” I mean a conversation between the 2 Geminii living in my mind space…  I also introduce the concept of Dynamic Threshold Power, a concept created by my Team EF Coaching colleague, Peter Schep. Don’t worry,...

Today’s podcast is with Chek Institute faculty member and osteopath Matt Wallden. Matt was my instructor for the most recent course in the curriculum of the Chek Academy: Integrated Movement Specialist level 3 [IMS3]. In our discussion we cover a broad range of topics including attractor states, Panjabi’s model, and the benefits of barefoot / minimal shoe movement and exercise. Matt worked as the...

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is with author and bike fitter Phil Cavell. I found his book The Midlife Cyclist: The Road Map for the +40 Rider Who Wants to Train Hard, Ride Fast and Stay Healthy to be an excellent read that is loaded with insightful explorations and nuggets of wisdom. Phil notes that it has only been for the last few hundred years that humans started living past their forti...

This solo episode breaks down the muscles of the Inner Core. What is the difference between an efficient rider who effortlessly pedals with a supple, smooth muscle, versus a clunky cyclist who seems to wrestle the bike with every pedal stroke? One athlete is using the tonic fibres of the muscles, saving the phasic fibres for when it counts. The second type of rider breaks out the phasic muscle fib...

Today’s podcast is basically a solo rant on how cycling is a unique sport. Not because of the drama, not because it is beautiful temple of suffering. Not because it is a blend of art and effort. We know all that stuff. If you want to read about the majesty of cycling, see 999 other posts made today, tomorrow, and the next day.  Only Cycling is about how cycling completely ignores fundamental rules...

For this episode of Cycling in Alignment I speak with US racing legend Alex Howes. Alex is a former US Professional Road Champion, recent winner of Ned Gravel, winner of the Steamboat Gravel race [the big one without the vowels in the name; see below...], Tour de France veteran, husband, and father. I have had the honor of coaching Alex for a good part of his cycling adventure…”uncoachable” is his...

This week’s guest on Cycling in Alignment is Team EF Coaching colleague Travis McCabe. Travis is an experienced racer who has won at the national and international level, including the stages at the Herald Sun Tour [Australia] and the Tour of Langkawi [Malaysia]. He is also a former US Professional Criterium Champion. In our discussion, Travis outlines why he has begun his journey into coaching af...

This episode is about old school bike fitting beliefs that need to be assassinated. Bike fitting is filled with a lot of ancient “wisdom” that has lingered and lurked in the shadows of our collective cycling consciousness for a long time, misdirecting athletes in ways that have long lasting ramifications on their fiction and longevity in the sport. Occasionally, we find a few of these ideas to hav...

This episode is with cycling and multisport coach Jesse Moore, who has worked with former Garmin-Sharp and Dauphine winner Andrew Talansky, among other high level athletes. Jesse has time in the trenches as a former professional triathlete, and time in the school room as a graduate of UC Davis with a degree in ex-phys. We speak about the different paths coaches can take to achieve a high level of...

This episode of Cycling in Alignment is a discussion with Stephan Drake and Rob Horacek of Lore, creator and lead engineer of the Lore One, the world’s first 3D printed custom carbon cycling shoe. I am quite excited to share this conversation with my listeners, as I think this shoe will be nothing short of completely revolutionary in the world of cycling. Everything about it from the design concep...

Episode 52 is a cross-pod with Nathan Hass who has just started his new channel The Gravelog. We speak about all things gravel including training for gravel events, and how I approach fitting a gravel bike. Nathan shares many nuggets on his own experience and passion for this developing aspect of cycling. As a World Tour racer who got his start in mountain biking, Nathan knows a thing or two about...

Cycling in Alignment Episode 51 is a rebroadcast of an episode of Fit Matters with Greg Choat, on which Colby was a guest recently. They had a very interesting conversation and Greg agreed to share the audio. Their conversation includes topics such as the nuance of bike fitting, the differences between fitting for pure cyclists and triathletes, and how style affects fitting. Greg Choat is a native...