Bicycle Friendly Business

Pro Cycle and Triathlon was chosen as a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Business, the 1st in Alabama. We are not sure if this is an award or just stating the obvious...

The Student Becoming The Teacher

A few weeks ago I received a phone call inquiring if I would be interested in teaching fit. Teaching was nothing I had ever considered but I figured that I would give it a go and a few weeks later I was driving up to Victory Bicycle Studio in Memphis, TN.

I spent 2 intensive days with their fitter/manager going through every detail and step of our fit process and practicing on their team, Victory Test Team. 

The best bike shop in Memphis has elevated their fit services to a new level and were happy to help. If your in the Memphis area be sure to check them out.

2014 National Bike Summit and Women's Cycling Forum

 2 weeks ago we traveled up to Washington D.C. for the National Bike Summit and Women's Cycling Forum. The National Bike Summit is a bike advocacy event, uniting the voices of bicyclists on Capitol Hill. The Summit helps increase investments in bicycling at the state and local level.

The Summit includes a lobby day on Capitol Hill where we met with Alabama Senators and Congressmen / Congresswomen (or their staff in most cases). Visiting all of the representatives from Alabama is tough to do in just 1 day but we split up and got it done. At the end of the day we calculated 11 miles of walking.

On lobby day we made 3 ask for upcoming bicycle related legislation:

1- Co-sponsor the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act 

2- Please support the Safe Streets Act (previously called Complete Streets)

3- Please support the New Opportunities For Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Financing Act

 The Summit was exciting everyday included keynote addresses from top government officials, members of Congress, and leaders from advocacy and industry. 

The Alabama delegation.

 The weather in Washington D.C. was less than ideal. 8 inches of snow and temperatures dipping down to 15 degrees.

We attended daily workshops and breakout sessions that highlight innovative advocacy ideas and trends from around the country. It was a great opportunity to listen and learn from the top advocates in the country.

We are already looking forward to attending the National Bike Summit in 2015!

Body Geometry Fit Certification

We came out to SBCU back in April to expand on our fit knowledge and enjoyed the course. Last month we came out for the level II of the course to learn a few more advanced techniques and further our knowledge. Following the level 2 class somebody said, "Hell, certification is 3 weeks from now, you should show up and do it." Starting something and not finishing just isn't our style so getting final certification was a must. After some research we noticed that certification happens once a year so we booked a flight.

Specialized takes certification very serious.

So last week we flew back out to Morgan Hill, CA for the 3rd and final level of Body Geometry Fit training. The course was 2 days. Day 1 consisted of reviewing the BG FIT method and day 2 was the certification. For final certification we had to do a practicum fit on a random rider and a written test. Pass these test and show our mastery of the BG FIT method and then we would be the first and only Certified Master Body Geometry Fitter in the state of Alabama.

Above is the bike from my practicum fit. For the practicum fit the instructors find a random volunteer from the building and randomly pair you with them. From there you have 2.5 hours to perform a full pre-fit physical assessment and Body Geometry fit. During these 2.5 hours you are graded every step of the way for professionalism, understanding that your doing, why your doing it and technique.  I wasn't too stressed, it's just another fit which is something we do daily at the shop. Everything went smooth and we nailed the fit just like we do everyday at the shop.

The written test went fine, just like any test one would take in school. The test consisted of general fit knowledge and case studies. Afterwards we snapped a photo with Dr. Andy Pruitt and Specialized founder Mike Sinyard for the certificate.

Below is a video of what the certification consist of. I'm not one of the original certified fitters but this video give you the idea of what certification is.




Yes, Joseph passed on his first shot.

Our New Fit Studio

This week we completed our new fit studio. For the past 2.5 years Katie and I were using this room as an apartment until we bought a new house. 

 It's hard to believe now that we had most of the stuff in this room crammed into the 10x12ft green room.

Body Geometry Fit Level II - Day 3

I'm a day or 2 late posting about day 3 of the BG Fit Level II Masters course. My bike I was using for the lunch ride had a small issue and I ended up slamming into a rock wall at around 30mph. I hit so hard that I broke a carbon shoe sole, I have body pictures but it would be better to not show. The end result was a destroyed bike and extremely sore body but not a single minute of class was missed. I will keep the destroyed helmet at the shop if you would like to see the benefits of wearing a helmet.

 We spent a majority of the day testing position in the wind tunnel. 5+ hours of wind tunnel time is significant, contact a wind tunnel and ask about their hourly rate.

 Our time in the wind tunnel taught us a ton about position changes and equipment changes on aero drag. Some of what we tested had no surprises but then we would discover something new. Narrower and lower isn't always faster!

 I hopped in and helped out as long as it didn't involve me using the left side of my body that a damaged a few hours earlier.

 Everybody picked a change they wanted to make and then the aerodynamicist validated it. Some changes to position show significant improvement and other changes showed minimal improvement. Don't always believe what you read on those slowtwitch.com forums.

 The fans that pull air through the tunnel are massive.

The tunnel also has internet so we watched a few You Tube videos on the ground display while the fit bike was being set up. 

It was cool to be the first fit class ever to learn in the new wind tunnel.

Body Geometry Fit Level II - Day 2

Today was our second day at BG Fit Level II. Our brains were flooding with knowledge on the medical aspects of fit and case studies. The highlight we going into the new wind tunnel and seeing the effects of aero drag when position and equipment were changed.

 Of course we ripped the pump track in full kit.

 Testing out the exit from the 2nd floor, it worked. I made the receptionist snap a photo.

 Mark Cote giving his lecture on aero testing in the wind tunnel. Our class was the first class to ever learn in the new wind tunnel.

 Dr. Pruitt giving his lecture on aero fit in the wind tunnel.

 A view of the wind tunnel through the honeycombs.

Another view from the outside of the wind tunnel.