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by Dr. Matt Miller (a.k.a. MTB PHD)  Yeah, right…”Free Speed.” Believe it or not, it’s out there for the taking and this is not an infomercial. Any endurance athlete obviously has to have the physical capabilities and engine to perform their sport. But there are ways to get faster without improving our fitness. In a very skill dependent sport such as off-road cycling (mountain bike, cyclocross, and even gravel to some extent), this is even more evident. One of the most important skills in these disciplines is effectively applying (or not) your brakes, but can we measure something like this? Thanks to Dr. Matt and his amazing team, now we can! I’ve known Dr. Matt Miller for over 20 years now. Dr. Matt and I were at many of the same races back when he lived in Pennsylvania and I got to know him well through my junior teammates. Personally, Matt is super fun to be around, an excellent cyclist, and overall a great guy. And now, he is literally the MTB PhD. Dr. Matt has a master’s degree in exercise science and earned a PhD with a focus on mountain bike descending. So in addition to all of his great personal qualities, you can add super smart and experienced to the list. He now resides in New Zealand with trails right outside of his door. Perfect testing grounds for his amazing creation.  24 Hours of Allamuchy 2004 Matt and I were both on winning teams that year. Matt and his teammate took the two-person division, and I was on the winning Men's Elite 4 Person Team. Good times  Besides Matt’s extensive knowledge, research, and application of exercise science, he has also invented the world’s first brake power meter. Sound awesome? It is! It was recently showcased here on Pink Bike: Brake Ace on Pink Bike https://www.pinkbike.com/news/hq-tour-brakeace-worlds-first-brake-power-sensor-app-combo.html Brake Ace will now allow coaches and riders to actually quantify their braking and how it impacts their riding, both positively and negatively.  That which can be measured can be improved.
Along with this amazing device, Matt and his all-star team developed an app to collect and make sense of the data while providing actionable steps for improvement. The app delivers many meaningful metrics, but also breaks it down with your “flow score” and provides three “key opportunities” where you can find the greatest gains. For each key opportunity you improve, it will find another. To pull it all together, Dr. Matt also wrote a companion book that we can all learn from even without a Brake Ace. However, after reading the book, you will quite likely contact Dr. Matt to order your Brake Ace. The name of the book is, you guessed it, Free Speed. Matt and I had a great video chat a month ago, and right after the call I went straight to his site and got the book. It was written really well and an easy and engaging read. While reading it, there were many times I felt like I was actually having a conversation with Dr. Matt. He broke it down to a language that is easily understandable. I might be at a slight advantage having been a math teacher for 20+ years and with extensive education in the cycling and coaching world, but he delivers it without getting too techy. However, the science is there if you have an interest in diving in deeper. While the book thoroughly describes how Brake Ace and its app can be used to help make you faster, there are also concepts and drills that can be practiced without a Brake Ace. My question really would be, “why practice this without a Brake Ace?” Here’s a link to his book on his Brake Ace site: Free Speed https://www.brakeace.com/product-page/free-speed-the-brakeace-book And on Amazon: Amazon Free Speed https://www.amazon.com/Free-Speed-Guide-Finding-Brake/dp/B0BPGMSSHB I also encourage you to check out his two podcasts: Demystifying MTB https://www.brakeace.com/podcast These are mountain bike centric, but certainly some of the episodes could be applied to other off-road disciplines. Dr. Matt’s is joined by Rohan Martin, a.k.a. The Sweaty Techie, who has an amazing resume of decades in the technical world of ANT+, Bluetooth, wearables, and more. And now Brake Ace. He also rips it up on the mountain bike. The Performance Advantage Podcast https://www.performanceadvantagepodcast.com/podcast This one is presented from more of a training and science standpoint brought to us by Dr. Matt and his co-host, Dr. Will O’Connor. Dr. O’Connor specializes in running endurance coaching and is an accomplished runner himself. I recommend this episode first to learn more about Brake Ace: Five Ways to Get Faster Without Getting Fitter https://www.performanceadvantagepodcast.com/podcast/episode/30da38a6/99-or-5-ways-to-get-faster-without-getting-fitter Brake Ace is a smart investment for all of us that want to get faster. Yes, you should train with consistency. Yes, you should build your endurance engine. Yes, you should hire a coach. And yes, you should check out this amazing tool that can help you improve your riding. You can find more about Dr. Matt at: MTB PHD : https://www.mtbphd.com/ and let him know I sent you there. Find your flow! Coach Brian
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Will you be happy with your future self? Picture this…you just rolled back into your driveway from a multi-hour winter base training ride. It’s cold, you’re cold, you’re tired and hungry, and you just want to get out of your cycling clothes and get some good food and warm up. You glance at your bike as you park it in your stable and see it’s a mess.
“It’s OK,” you think, “I’ll clean that later.” And then you get busy or just conveniently forget until…the next time you go for a ride and it’s a mess or worse and not even rideable. So you just lube the chain and deal with the extra wear and tear, until that next time. And the cycle repeats. Or maybe it’s the pile of cycling clothing that’s growing, or the water bottles that are a mess both on the inside and outside. Or your head unit showed that your power meter battery was low and “you’ll change it later.” Or that tire with a slow leak. Or that head unit that needs to be charged. Or countless other little things that may provide a barrier and time delay to you starting your next ride. I write about these through personal experience. I’ve struggled with all of these things and more, and been frustrated with myself when I go out for my next ride. Although as I “grew up” and got busier, I did improve in this domain but it’s far from 100%. I recently heard a great suggestion that really resonated with me to help us all make better decisions when it comes to these little tasks. Ask yourself the question, “Will my future self be happy with my current decision?” I like to take it just a step further and ask: “Will my future self be PSYCHED with my decision?” The busier I get, the more important taking care of these post ride chores becomes, and the more psyched I am when I take that extra step. It might even mean, gasp, ending my ride 5 minutes early to fit it in, but it saves a whole bunch of self-aggravation later. I bucket this together with also being proactive, such as setting out my clothes for that early morning training, or getting my bottles prepped hours before my ride when I have 5 “extra” minutes. These are definitely decisions that my future self is psyched about. I know many of you may have all of your cycling and life tasks wired, and I admire that and aspire to that. If not and you’ve have experiences like me, set yourself up for success with those little less-than-fun chores. Especially at those times when they’re least enjoyable. I’m off to get ahead on my laundry and prep my bottles for tomorrow’s ride. And my future self is going to be psyched. Word. Coach Brian A Simple Tip to Keep Your Feet Warm “Once my hands and feet go, it’s all over,” said every other athlete that I’ve worked with and lives in a place that gets a “cold” winter. Here’s a little hack to keep in mind, or to pass on to others and save your ride. I’ve been riding with winter mountain bike shoes since around 2000, and I highly recommend this as serious consideration your winter cycling footwear. Mine are particularly warm, have great grippy soles if I need to hike or warm up with a coffee, and I don’t have to struggle with booties/shoe covers. However, booties are the next best thing, in my opinion. I’ve logged thousands of miles with booties for sure. And booties with winter boots...single digits! I also have a whole drawer full of Seal Skinz socks (thanks, Seal Skinz!) that are primarily made to be waterproof, but that also makes them windproof and warm. Of course there’s the guidance that’s often given to make sure you keep your core warm, and this will help to keep your extremities in better shape. But what happens if you get out there and realize that you underestimated the “real feel?” Or your buddy shoes up with no cold protection for their feet and you want to make sure they both of you can still have a good ride? Or you’re traveling and don’t have your warm gear and want to head out on a rogue cold day? Here’s a nice little hack that you can use to help keep your feet warm on the cold and windy winter days. I used this once way back in the day, but have seen others clearly embracing this fix out on rides. It’s very simple: Put your socked feet inside of a plastic bag and then inside your shoe. You can cut off the excess on top or tuck into your tights or leg warmers if it’s long enough. This technique also has the extra bonus of keeping your feet dry (from the outside at least) from wet weather or puddles. You do need to be careful that if it’s raining or snowing that the precipitation or splashing can get up and over and into the bag. That is definitely something you’ll want to avoid. I even saw this as a roadside fix. I was out on a cold winter rides with my teammates, and one of them had undressed their feet. We were out in the middle of nowhere, at least 20 miles from any store. I remember he found two plastic shopping bags on the side of the road and created his emergency oversocks. It wasn’t attractive, but we rode for several more hours and he was not uncomfortable enough to have to head home. This article goes into a little more depth, but it’s not to complicated a concept: https://www.montaguebikes.com/folding-bikes-blog/2014/02/keep-your-feet-warm/ Have you ever done the plastic bag trick? What’s your best tip for keeping your feet warm? Post these answers and questions or comments below. Until next time, may your extremities never cut your ride short. Coach Brian I am laid up this winter but found great solace in my cheapo flat bar, flat pedal starter commuter hybrid in winter. I now use heated insoles from Amazon. I charge them via USB the night before, and if I leave it on the lowest level, I can easily get 4 hrs of warm feet. Before that, I used sandwich bags (fold-over, not zipped) and still carry some as backup sometimes. |
AuthorCoach B.L. is the head coach at BJL Coaching and an avid racer and cycling enthusiast himself. Categories
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