Monday, March 30, 2009

Monavie / Cannondal Success & Results!

I just got off the phone with Matt Ohran (Monavie /Cannondale).

He is in Vegas with the Mona Vie / Cannondale MTB team. The team just got there from CA. for camp. He wanted me check out the results in CA. He pointed out that two of his top pros, Tinker Juarex and Ben Sontag are not back from South Africa.

Results
Elite men

1 Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain 1.50.36
2 Max Plaxton (Can) ShoAir/Specialized 0.43
3 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary 1.38
4 Sam Schultz (USA) Subaru-Gary 1.39
5 Adam Craig (USA) Giant Mtb Team 2.14
6 Sid Taberlay (Aus) ShoAir/Specilaized 3.58
7 Derek Zandstra (Can) 3 Rox Racing 4.41
8 Seamus McGrath (Can) Jamis Factory 5.20
9 Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Monavie/Cann WN & Myo-facts 5.34
10 Todd Wells (USA) Specialized 5.36
11 Troy Wells (USA) Team Cliff Bar 6.55
12 Andy Schultz (USA) Kenda/Tomac/Hayes 6.56
13 Carl Decker (USA) Giant Mtb Team 8.13
14 Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona 9.01
15 Adam Morka (Can) Trek Store Racing Team
16 Barry Wicks (USA) Kona 9.17
17 Travis Livermon (USA) Champion System/Cannondale 10.01
18 Manuel Prado (USA) ShoAir/Specilaized 10.25
19 Stefan Widmer (Can) Rocky Mountain/Different Bike 10.43
20 Tad Elliott (USA) U23 National 11.18
21 Rob Squire (USA) Us National Team 11.28
22 Peter Glassford (Can) Trek Store Racing Team 13.04
23 Adam Snyder (USA) 3-D Racing 13.31
24 Colin Cares (USA) Kenda/Tomac/Hayes 14.13
25 Cameron Jette (Can) Trek Bicycle Store 15.02
26 Mitchell Peterson (USA) Monavie/Cann WN & Myo-facts 15.13
27 Bryan Alders (USA) Monavie/Cann WN & Myo-facts 15.44
28 Bart Gillespie (USA) Monavie/Cann WN & Myo-facts 16.00

"I know I am not a pro, but my race is just as hard and I want to win just as bad, that is why I will not use anything but the Wobble-naught & My0-facts sEMG/Dartfish. I would not be racing period." - Matt Ohran

He has had his ankle broken, he has undergone the knife on his back from moto-cross wrecks and he is the reason we are the fit system for his Mona Vie / Cannondale pro MTB team.


Matt just won his race!

Cat 1 35-39 race.

1) Matt Oharan (Monavie/Cann) WN & Myo-facts/Dartfish 1.38.50
2) Matthew Cocharn (Fast Friday) 0.43
3) John Mylen (Niner/Ergon) 1.30
4) Tim Sparks (ShoAir/Sonance) 2.17
5) Alexis Seletzky (Cynergy) 2.46

Georgia Gould (Luna) 3-peats at Fontana!

We don't want to rant about those who use our systems.  But, we do feel it important to point out who uses our systems and at what level.

Impressive opening round for Georgia Gould (Luna) at the opening USA Cycling's Pro Cross-country tour (ProXCT), at Southridge Park in Fontana, CA.

Georgia's extended her winning streak to 3 (07,08,09), with her teammante Shonny Vanlandingham as the only other person tho have won at the SoCal venue.  That's right, we work with Shonny Vanlandingham also!

A new gun, who we have been on the phone with, Canadian Emily Batty (Trek Bicycle Store) just had a super start to her season.  Last weekend, she won the U23 American Continental Championship.  As a another WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish  user just pulled off  her best-ever national level finish getting 4th!

"I felt absolutely awesome," said Batty after the race!

Also the 24 hour pro Pua Sawicki making her move to the (ProXCT) tour.  She was not happy with her 8th, so keep an eye on her.

Elite Women

1)  Georgia Gould (Luna)  WN & Myo-facts/Dartfish               1.35.13
2) Catherine Pendrel (Luna)                                                               1.36
3) Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary)                                                    3.07
4) Emily Batty (Trek Bicycle Store) WN & Myo-facts Dartfish    4.46
5) Willow Koerber  (Subaru-Gary)                                                    6.10
6) Amanda Sin   (3 Rox Racing)                                                          6.12
7) Kelli Emmett (Giant MTB Team)                                                  9.14
8) Pua Sawicki   (Ellsworth) WN & Myo-facts/Dartfish                9.51
9) Melanie McQuaid  (ShoAir/Specilaized)                                    10.15
10) Allison Mann     (Ie Bikes)                                                           11.43
12) Chloe Forsman (Luna)  WN & Myo-facts/Dartfish                 14.55
18) Sue Butler (Monavie)  WN & Myo-facts/Dartfish

Its going to be a great season!

Jeff Louder (BMC) Wins Redlands Classic!

Jeff Louder (BMC) had a solid performance in his battle in CA, that allowed him to win the 2009 Redlands Bicycle Classic overall. The BMC team pulled together and rode stronger than the rest of the field. A field of about 200 racers.

At the age of 31, 2009 might be Jeff Louder's best season. Jeff seems to have learned what he can do while racing at the Amgen Tour of CA where he put in a few impressive efforts. When you have a chance to race the biggest names in the sport, it can give you insight on what you can & can't do! You remember how to do it, and it's a matter of getting it done.

Success equals more success and this will provide momentum for upcoming tournaments. This win validates his efforts. Keep an eye on Jeff Louder this 2009!

Bias cycle fans out there are going to bash his success at Redlands and provide forceful assertions that we had nothing to do with it. That is racing and that is sport and that is the nature of rivals! The old west still alive! That is also the characteristic of Baron's who want to control the outcome of things. That is what makes sport so interesting. Pressure is what it's all about!

We can't always recruit the top teams or the No. 1 players, nor can we claim the perfect stroke made a difference. It's what make it even more "awesome" when we see WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish user's bring forth their best athleticism!

So you have 200 racers in a field and you have a guy taking the GC using our blueprint! This is just like a Tiger Woods after having a person work with him on his game! Sure, Tiger is the driving force behind his game, he controls his game, but just listen to the support of his caddy "Steve" and he also works and listens to his swing coach!

Pressure comes when you assert or strive that something make a difference like a bike pedal stroke. You are in a tough campaign to achieve an argument contending not one, but many parties. Bias is a predisposition either for or against something. Bias in cycling on course and retail can even become radical to the point of bigotry, referring to an intense dislike and often violent hatred for the members of one team over the other.

Provincialism is a narrow-mindedness that results from a lack of exposure to cultural or intellectual activity and, in most cases, overpowering intolerance for one club vs. others.
There is a lot on the line when you stand behind your argument, when you put your name behind the speech. Some chose to remain anonymous with their comments, perhaps its too hard to stand for what you think?

Remember there are those who want you to go away!

Particularly in the underground prejudice that invoke favoritism at the grass roots level. The "Hatfield's & McCoys", differing in views, fight vigorously! The ill will comes forth! You battle for every inch!

The bike pedal stroke is not clear! It is not a sport that tells you if you make every stroke perfectly like a golf stroke or even a ski turn more accurately, or how you drive a car around a left hand banked turn. There are 5'000 plus strokes per hour, then you have two hands and your butt (crutches) for your feet to move under, so its hard to pinpoint each stroke! No one clearly does each one in perfect form each and every time.

Then you have the road teams which group up for a common goal. To get their strongest player to win and you know they are not all doing the same pedal stroke!

There are a lot of ideas on how to coerce what's best! There is a lot of persuasion, influence, or intimidation to make someone do something (urgency marketing) because one fit center has their own methods over another!

At any race, you need to be able to work under pressure and not get flustered by offenders who want you to go away!

That's what makes a difference! You have to stick to your guns and hope you win a number of battles through the never ending war!


Sunday, March 29, 2009

BMC puts two on the podium, Louder again atop GC.

Tracking the moves.  Are the only races that make a difference across the pond?  Nope!  There are some very real races here in the US. How tough are some of these races?  Tough!  When you have about 200 folks racing on narrow roads, you best be on a team called to the front.  Many of these teams have been hard at it, even raced in the Amgen  Tour of CA.  

Many teams live in areas that don't allow them to train this time of year. With such a strong field, there is little or no room to move up, so the best you can hope, is to get to go to the race. Even Floyd Landis has DNF a few times. If your team has to start at the rear of the field, it can be next to impossible to make ground.  

Redlands, CA, has BMC on the podium, as Jackson Stewart (BMC) took the stage crit in front of Andrew Pinfold (OUCH) and Brent Bookwalter (BMC).  BMC's Jeff Louder finished in the same time to maintain his overall lead.

Why is this of concern?  We have these names in our data base. How else can you track what makes a difference?  It can takes years for a person to reach the top.  The Euro races well known , and yes there are some very tough races.  But we have some tough races here in the US. So we are very pleased with super results like Brent Bookwalter who was serviced by Andy Applegate, a WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish dealer in Asheville, NC.  And then on the other side of the country, Jeff Louder was serviced by Craig Upton in CA.  We even had the chance to work with Jeff's dad here in Boise, ID Ken Louder because Jeff loves his setup so much he influenced his dad to try it. That's a good testimonial to show you can get your bike dialed "coast-to-coast" by a certified WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish.  Play the game better!


Super D US ProXCT #1 Kenda Cup West

Things are heating up.  Believe it or not their are fans that watch our results with great focus. New contracts, new teams and oh yea, the many cultures that believe only in their type of game.
Like snow sports, you will have the downhill skiing folks bashing on the XC folks, them bashing on the half-pipe folks, and all of them bashing on snow borders.

Snow Bording never caught on?
Sport is where you find it!

As I sit with a long time friend Patrick Harper, a ex pro adventure racer who was the navigator
of Team Montrail who also had Multi World 24 Hour Champion Reba Rusch on that team.   We are sitting, watching  it snow here in Boise, ID and I showed him how warm it is in Fontana, CA from a email from Sue Butler (Mona Vie Cannondale).

As we went to the blog we noted a comment sent about Redlands.  We have a number of people on  the fit there.  Oh my!, it seems we have a "naysayer" who doesn't care to provide their name?  It's the same kind of naysayer that bashed adventure racing, 24 Hour races, mtb, cyclocross, etc...   Since Patrick was in a sport that only included cycling as part of the overall, their team would get bashed by other's that deemed it as a no-athletic sport.  

We both have had to deal with this type of person through the years.  I asked Patrick Harper, since he is was a adventure racer at the pro level why do the roadie types hate other cycling events.  We both agree, that the remarks are those of the "ultimate naysayer".

This person has sent us negative emails in the past. We are very pleased that they pay so close attention to our blog and our results.  

Fontana, CA had temps in the low 80's!

"Hi Tom,  Here in Fontlucky. Crazy warm! First race out of the way!  Just Super D, but was definitely focused on my form.  Getting back on the mtb feels good.  I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.  I have not expectations except to have fun in the sun."

Sue Butler (Monvie Cannondale)

Pro Women 

1)  Kelli Emmett (Giant)
2)  Sue Butler      (Mona Vie Cannondale)  Wobble-naught & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish
3)  Anina Aaron  (Kenda/KMC)


Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Jeff Louder (BMC) Wins First Stage of the Redlands Classic

"As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary"  - Ernest Hemingway

There are a lot of ideas & systems on the market today.  Many of these ideas have not been tested!  Once again, going hard on a windy day will let you know if your bike is allowing you to find the best range-of-motion (ROM) & the best-line-of-pull.

"The best-line-of-pull can be confused with the best-line-of-bull" -TC

To many of you, this might not look important, but it is!  This isn't the kind of stuff you can see using video or other systems that place things on the skin.
 
This is a axial view model of the hip with the compartments!

This is a sagittal view of the same area using MRI showing the muscles and their arrangements or better the line-of-pull!


You just need to know what you are looking at!

The true test of something is to throw it into the game and see how it works!  We have seen large mass marketing powers place products on the market, profit, and then take 10 years for the masses to learn that it was not the best product!

There is a very real problem in this sport!  Some don't think that a few cm's here or there don't make a difference.  What's wrong with this line of thinking?

Let's go racing boy's!  We are taking the biggest races in the land.  Results that come from different people with different sizes, shapes and forms that show a trend that we are on course! 

"When you address the bones, you then find the best ROM & the best line-of-pull of the muscle system" -TC


Would you prefer us to place ads (line-of-bull) like the movie "Wang the dog" with heroes on the pages?  


Congrats Mr. Louder and thanks for sticking to our way of thinking!







Monday, March 23, 2009

Getting Deep! Spinal Elements!

People spend a lot of money to get the "candy" for their ride. Spend $$$ for carbon fiber, but on the same note are slow to get their body on the bike correctly?

Your body and how it is made is not basic.

Knowing where the forces go is very important!
You don't want to experiment with these parts! You might find it cost a lot more to replace or worst!

"No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong." -AE

Biomechanics of the spinal elements are important to understand when you set up a bike.

Anatomical models for improving segmentation is helpful. A simultaneous segmentation of the ensemble that uses not only prior knowledge of individual shapes but also additional information about spatial relations between the objects is often beneficial.

The global spine shape is expressed as a consecution of local "Vertebra Coordinate Systems" or (VCS).

Each week, we will provide you with some important insight. This will provide you with more wisdom or capacity and deep intuitive understanding. It might save your back and even improve your game?

The loads on the spine can be described as either linear (force) or as rotational (movement) or as a combination of both. The 3 primary components of a force are compression, tension and shear. With respect to the vertebral coordinate system there are 3 independent movements.

Moments (M) or torque are couples of equal & opposite force (F) that act at a distance (D), defined simply as F x D = M. With respect to the VCS 3 are independent moments. A positive moment about X, for example, produces flexion. On the other side of the coin, is the displacement of the spine and it is also very complex, 3-dimensional, and varies with the level & posture of the spine in space!

In a linear form, linear motion is a translation of the vertebral body and there independent directions of translation each along an axis of the VCS. Rotation motions can occur about each axis of the VCS and in combinations.

Within the dense cortical shell of the vertebral body is the cancellous bone of the trabecular system. The trabecular system can be considered as a structural frame supporting the outer cortical shell of the vertebral body.

Currently, most approaches on the bike are focused on the modeling of the outer surfaces of the body? Tools like Dartfish can be very helpful especially after you get a deep understanding of the structural frame.

If you don't get it right! Ouch!




Friday, March 20, 2009

Luna & Monavie Cannondale MTB Teams 2009 "HOT"

Some major gears shifted this 2009 Season for two of the top mtb teams. Luna has slowed down the travels on the World Cup; too much travel, too much jet lag, and the economics.

We are very pleased to be the (back bone) support of such powerful top ranked teams. Both teams race internationally and domestically in both hard hitting, action packed mtb & cyclocross. If you check our record you'll find we've had the top mtb racers in the world for many years! Only after we provide the grass roots support do the majors who's focus is on marketing themselves, buy them if they use their fit or not! We all have to pay our bills!

The world is a big place and to hold top honors is very special. We are not a major company, we can't market, hype the pages and websites, or hold a marketing gun to the head of the retail world. But we can point out that Luna was the 2008 "World's Top MTB Team".

How could you ask for more distinction? They could have any fitting they wanted but they know a road bike fit doesn't cut it in their game! If you do what the rest of the world does, it's only luck. Kind of like using a iron on the tee, why?  You will hear that you are close enough and you will never know the difference, besides you are still playing the game?

Close but no Cigar!

In our history, we have had people loose some of the biggest races in the US and World just because someone took liberty to change their setup. Then after discovery of the actions, getting refitted and then go on to win a world titles. Our fit makes a difference and it has been tested! Careful of such influences!  A little of this and a little of that and your fit is screwed up regardless of what others believe!  Many people don't understand what we do, our processes, and we don't care to teach them, only to have them retro engineer our hard earned work, imitate our original ideas and style for their profit!  Another example of not earning your keep, rather profit for less!  It has to be human nature!

We are pleased with the effort that have come from Matt Ohran.  We supported  Monavie-Cannondale MTB Team team before it was even a team, and in 2009 their GM Matt Ohran, an intermountain Cannondale rep, just let the news out about 2009. We knew the news months ago and couldn't wait for the release. This is one of the strongest mtb teams anywhere!

So why Wobble-naught & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish? First is it works!  Perhaps it's the name of the bike maker? I don't think the Specialized or Trek camps are going to support their rivals! Kind of like Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota camps all racing each other in NASCAR. There is a lot on the line!

When it comes to fit systems, our system is more high-tech and you have to pay for the software each time it is used on-line,  on the same many it's not economically appreciated by the mass marketing retailer wanting to get in the fit game. The trend is to go with a lower ranked service to make more profit and not provide the precision needed for your body. 
After all, the majors have most of their money in their brand of packaged bikes, they don't want to have to change anything out.  They don't want to focus on aftermarket!  The majors who make their own, don't want their dealers going to another product e.g. FSA, Thomson, Ritchey, etc...

Really and truly it means the customer is getting a mass market approach, or a system that doesn't look at the things that are so important for your body (more money in the store) and it's not the same quality of service! But they have a fit system and, as so many proclaim, the customer will not know the difference?  Retail stores don't want to hear that a bike is between sizes and if they have a system like ours that can happen!

We have seen this retail behavior for 50 plus years, not just in cycling but in other industry. Provide just enough service to reel them in, it's not about providing the very best or more service for the customer, rather how much can we make off them, yet look like you are the real deal for less.  After all that is what the rest of the mass marketing professionals are doing! Profiting for less.  Times are hard to day and the majors are once again profiting!

My father was correct in many ways! He was alive when things got bad back in the depression after WWII and understood greed and how it works!  He always said, a man is not going to tell you to your face that he has greed and how much profit intends to make, he is going to have his poker player face.  He also said for the last 30 years the country can't keep going the way it is! A problem today, is many of the owners of the newer companies where not around in the depression, so they did not learn.

Too much profit for the major marketing company, (Dad went through this w/ both Goodyear & Firestone as a retailer) too little gains for local retailer (who buys & resales), not always the best product nor the best service for the consumer!  It drove him to become a member of Tire Brand Inc.  

Mass marketing has really hurt this country and it needs to be pointed out and better understood who influences us! It's very hard to be an independent dealer, to compete against the major brands, but it can be done!  Better products and better service however requires more effort.  You don't have be ruled by mass authority!

Independence is what our country is based on!
Liberty means freedom (philosophy) of oppressive restrictions imposed by mass authority, rather being in able to pursue their own interest and preferences!
That has not been the case in retail!

It is hard to think that mass authority comes from industry, but it does and it is imposed on us all.  Good or bad its just like looking at the heads of AIG who took the $280ma in bonus after we bail them out! Many times, the powers set the model of behavior for their gain only! As they see it, the rest of the world is bottom feeders!  After all if the local mass market retailer can't make it, they will just find another that will do it their way.  They even black ball other brands!

No wonder this country is in trouble!
More Profit! for those who influence the behavior or course of events!
My father is turning over in his grave!

My father started with nothing! Earning his grass roots and was one of the founding members of Tire Brand Inc. He and his business members based their ideas on "you provide only the very best service you can", nothing cheaper, not to provide less for more profit!   You bet they had rivals and they where the major powers of the industry (Goodyear and Firestone) and their mass marketing ways! Check history and note the wows the two giants both practiced and their partnership with providing a cheaper tire on the newer cars from GM.  Cheaper for more!  

In fact, Sonic tires was the first US tire company to make a radial tire! Why? To make a better product, to make a wider tire, something that works better. Why not Goodyear or Firestone or any other major tire brand? Because they where in bed with GM and the gas companies! They all profited more from not making a better tire!  Blemish tires for all, they will never know the difference!  Firestone got into big trouble on this one!

GM didn't want to change their practice - that would cost too much to adapt to radial tires. And as the the CEO in that day put it, who cares about better handling, better gas mileage and besides we rule what people get! As part of their marketing Goodyear and Firestone didn't want the tires too last longer, they just wanted more profit. In fact, Tire Brands Inc. was at one point the only tire company in the US to back their tire down to the last 2/32nd of tread wear (what was legal) for road use and safety!

Tire Brands Inc. made S0nic Tires and yes it's the same sign you now see on the drive-in across the USA.  The owner of the now Sonic drive-in,  saw semi-trucks on the roads in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with Sonic on them picking up rubber at US Rubber company.  There where a lot of trucks running none stop day & night!  Tire Brands Inc. was growing fast.  In fact the Big O Tire retail was placing a new store every month!  The Sonic tire was for the the 

And he wanted to buy the logo, and did!  Other brands included Saxon Tires, Big O Tires for the Big O Tire retail stores and importers of many other brands! They stood up against mass marketing for profit vs. mass marketing. Even winning a major law suite against the mass marketing powers Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for stealing their name and misleading people. The group won a $60million law suite in the highest court of law in Denver, CO.

As a Cannondale rep Matt knows our history, knew that we took guys like Sobe- Cannondale pro Eric Jones to another level. Matt himself got hooked on our fit in hopes to simply ride his bike again! He had to have back surgery and didn't know if he would ever ride again!

Matt not only rides his bike, but races at the top level. Everyone needs a little support, provided backbone of Sue Butler to the worlds and she got branded on her leg after winning the World Single Speed Championship! In single speed you have to learn how to pedal! That lets you know that our process stacks the bones the way they should be, for their best interactions the way they are shaped (For Real) not the way someones thinks they should be.

That is where Kurt, who makes the "Rock & Roll" comes into the game. We have teamed up with the $120 million company per year to take things to another level! We know a few things about trainers! This is not hype like the major marketing outfits, but allowing us to see and design what the eye or video can't!

There was a day when the industry naysayers said, snow boards would not make it, that shocks, disc brakes and yes, even bike fits. Two steps forward, one back is the norm! It takes a long time to earn your grades!

Back to the press release, keep a watch and note what a force Matt's team will be! New to the team long time WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish user Jeremiah Bishop who raced for Trek-Volkswagen and 2008 National & Short track Champ. Newcomer Ben Sonntag, Alex Grant, Mitchell Peterson, Brian Alders. Upper classmates Tinker Juarez, Sue Bulter, Bart Gillespie and Matt Ohran.

Can you say "Epic Racing around the World." Sonntag is a real "Hot Rod", he is 2 time world champion in winter triathlon and owns 2 collegiate mtb championships for Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Another hot name is pro Burke Swindlehurst (Bissell).

Back to Epic racing around the world, Tinker Juarez and Ben Sonntag are teamed in South Africa ready to race this coming week.

Mountain biking & cyclocross are very demanding and they are a very real test to the spinal elements. The bony vertebral bodies are the primary load-bearing structures of the spine. Bone is a 2-phase composite material comprising mineral salts (making the bone hard) and a matrix of collagen and ground substance (giving the bone flexibility and resilience).

Bone is an anisotropic material, exhibiting different mechanical properties when loaded in different directions. Bone fractures usually occur due to complex loading conditions, involving combinations of tension/compression, bending, shear or torsion. Like ligaments, bone exhibits some viscoelastic behavior. It can only sustain higher loads before failing and stores energy. Bone remodels in response to the mechanical demands placed on it, which are affected by the external loads as well as the muscle loading.

Good Stuff!




Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Tournament tested, Tournament Proven!

Once again, designing and engineering your fit around the bones can make a difference! 

We are setting new course records across the land.  We just got word from our pro fitter in Asheville, N.C., Andy Applegate, who holds 8 National Championships himself, that a young man with a well known sister who is a mtb pro just got fitted and is burning up the tracks.  He just set a new course record.  

We can't use their name, in respect to their contracts.  They are however in our data base!

This is not a shock, but the trend since 2000!  Want to go faster, get fit and then learn to pedal! This has been the case since day one!  Just because you have the best gear doesn't mean you know how to use it!  In many cases, those who have the best gear are not the ones who haul it! There is more to it than money!

So how does one break the long-established tradition of cycling?  Join a national political union that further their rights & protect their own self interests, join a club "birds of a feather" to get better deals ($$$) over retail or ride with the local status for approval?  

Should I hang out with Tiger Woods "Therefore I am."  

High-tech is not in the scriptures, or from the oral teachings?  The oral laws of the tough-minded cycling prophets and apostles didn't ascribed to such ways!  Another way to view this, is kids today know more about software than you know, they grew up with it!

Knowing sport tradition, we where going to anger the tough-minded,  with strong feelings of annoyance, displeasure, and even hostility.  We knew this was going to be a long term process to bring cycling into the 21st Century not to confuse with a "Century-to ride or race for 100 miles."  

We had to invent our own software (CAD) preforming our own biomechanic research and with people holding the highest of degrees and from around the world.  It had not existed before nor had the prophets signed off on such means.  This is after all has been a sport of blood, guts and mental toughness that allows you to withstand adverse conditions and holding a uncompromising attitude.

We then had to Alpha Test, a series test working through 1,000 fits, then we moved into the Beta Test phase, another 1,000 fits!  We even tested it in the market for one year, to see if people would want the service!  We went to the smallest shop in town to see what an impact it would have on the local market.  After all there are retail outlets that have been around for years.  Throw the kid out into the world and let the hard knocks come and they did and still do!  
As the Wenzel's put it, take that software to the true test,  during tournaments. We had our mtb fit, but  felt it important to listen and worked with the Wenzel's for few years on real road issues.  All before we placed the software on-line! Our quest was to make a software that really does something & not just be flash!

Professionals who had years in their field in 1999, who worked with sports medicine, kinesiology and orthopaedic needs, Ph.D's, PT's, PA's, Engineering professionals e.g. Curtis Wardhaugh our project manager with a Engineering P.E. next to their name, plus Noraxon's team of biomechanics research engineers "The world leader in EMG technology" holding multi master degrees designing telemetry, fixed cable, biofeedback for research and clinical, for the first groundbreaking CAD that is a true 3D of the joints. We flew our whole staff to AZ to work in their lab.

With all this professional "horse power", we knew we had to approached the fit solution from not the skin, not power, not the eye, or led, or video or other methods... but understood the issues are the forces of "compression, shearing, tension" within the bone joints. Only by stacking the bones, designing the best joint range of motion can you find the best line of pull and the best range of motion of muscles. However, it does take time to unlearn, then learn what's important for you, but it's worth it!

Then we used a $40,000 Noraxon sEMG in an attempt to teach more truth about what goes on within the muscles, only for many (who don't understand EMG and how we used it) to claim they knew more about sEMG than us? They would even make fun of our name Myo-facts sEMG, not knowing that Myo-means muscle and facts-mean truth.

Humans are funny! Even with all this, they still listen to the naysayers voice? You bet, if you didn't have the software the people who performs fits are going to oppose! Don't tell that to Georgia Gould and J. Bishop and many who have obtained world championships.

Then we worked with Sebastien Dubuis and the company president Victor Bergonzol and after a number of years signed a contract with Dartfish. It is the most advanced video technology available on the market for technical & tactical analyses!

Once again to teach and show more truth to the concerned eye! As Mr. Bergonzol puts it, you still have to know what to look for, just like a golf pro, ski pro, tennis pro, etc... Dartfish watched our results roll in! That is why we know your fit measurements work, that is why the CAD makes a difference, allowing the very best use of Dartfish. Dartfish does have staff and reps, so a few of the reps provided free use of their high-tech software to a few known fitters only for those fitter's to retro their tools into their version of fitting system that lays on the skin. A major point, it doesn't concern your joints. Even a major marketing company came up with their fitting system to rival ours!

All hands on deck!!! Naysayers then hit the Internet! Then came the local bike brand reps. We even had one say to our face, we would never make it from the first day? That was at the grand opening of a new George's in Boise, ID 2001.

Now we are working with Kurt who makes the "Rock & Roll" and intend to lead again! We cannot inform you of what we are working on at this time, but it will take your game to another level and it is not flash or marketing hype!

A very good question: Are the newer ideas "all flash" doing the same old thing with a better marketing approach, or do they have the substance to step it up?

Tournament tested and tournament proven. We just stood up to the test of local and national professional cycling again - many have been aced!

It's one thing to be cycling for fun and it is easy to let you ride the way you want... but when you're in a cycling tournament where every ounce counts, you've got to step it up.

With our services you'll not only get the best CAD but also a picture of what's beneath your brain, you'll have views you can't get with any other technology, helping you cycle smarter, faster and more successfully than ever.

Boise, ID is not unlike any other cycling community, people want to find more performance!
After all cycling is a big deal here, we have some of the fastest women and men in the world racing at our local events. Can we say they view their local races as the world championships?
A race is a race and there is a ton of pride on the line!

It's a great place to test what works the best. Today, after 10 years, people are willing to pay for the latest & greatest technology and advice they can find. Technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. At Wobble-naught and Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish, we don't believe that is anything more practical than results and helping people do what they dreamed of... "WIN."

People will break their backs to win! They really push it to the limits and you can bet they want to protect those bones with the best setup they can find after doing so!


Not only do they want to protect their bones, but they want something that gets them back to wining, that gives them the biggest kahunas.

We are proud to pioneer technology that puts them at top of their game, but also back into the game!

We can't claim anything, but it's easy to see why our methods are simply, clearly, better.

Sam Kreig a Cat 2 just took the first race with about 5 1/2 minute lead in pro level with another WN user Chris Stewart who is a college national champion also doing his internship with us from Boise State University "Department of Kinesiology."

The chair of the department Ronald Pfeiffer, EdD, LAT, ATC is also the Co-Director, Center for Orthopaedic & Biomechanics Research. Ron was a top mtb racer in his day and I took classes from him and even interviewed him to be part of our company!

It is proclaimed that some fit centers hold the highest education around? I wonder why you would have to make such a statement?

We also had Sara Brown take her first win this season in pro women's field as she rode off the front of the pack and held her lead to the finish line. Winners in both the men's & women's feilds? How's that for results!

All of these folks just got fitted a few months ago and already they are standing up to the newer ideas and some of the most accomplished racers around. Not just earning their success but simply riding away when they want!

Only with time will history provide more truth! It is not easy to see why something is clearly better. The only way we know to do that is take it to the tournaments.

2009 Slammer
Sunday, March 15th, 2009

1) Sam Krieg  Rocky Mt. Surgery WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish 2.01.902
2) Chris Stuart Bob's WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish 2.01.905
3) Brian Sather  Bob's WN & Myo-facts/Dartfish 2.07.071
4) Kristin Armstrong Cervelo Test Team 2.07.776
5) Dylan Jones BODE 2.07.978
6) Robert Hoene Bob's WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish 2.08.004
7) Kai Applequist Bob's WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish 2.09.002








Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Matt Winstead Makes A Valid Point On Adaptation!



As a 28 year old pro Matt Winstead  (Kenda Pro Team) makes a valid point.  Are you chasing your tail?  The "top gun" from Huntsville, Alabama racing at the pro level is another zip code from his home!  Any % of improvement can make a difference if you are willing to earn it!
Neurologically speaking, sponges are just about the simplest members of the animal kingdom. Prick one with a pin and it will contract slowly, but is will only move only a few millimeters beyond the point of stimulation.

Almost all animals reach out or lunge after food; they pull back, crawl, swim, run or fly when they are about to become food themselves. Fight or flight!

We are not sponges! We are much more complex and the more complex the life-style, the more elaborate are the animal modes of receiving, integrating, and respond
ing to information about the external and internal world.  In existing vertebrates, the oldest parts of the brain still deal with reflex coordination of vi
tal functions, such as blood circulation & breathing. The neural connections within the most recent layerings are the basis of memory, learning, and reasoning.

It is the somatic system and its sensory axons that has control of motor functions; carries signals to and from skeletal muscles, tendons, skin.

The spinal cord has both white matter and gray matter.  In cross-section, the gray matter of the cord looks vaguely like a butterfly.  This part of the spinal cord deals mainly with reflex connections for limb movements (such as walking) and internal organ activity. 

Maybe you have been on a farm when a chicken is destined for the stewpot?  Even though the chicken has its head cut off, it still runs around for a
while.  Chicken legs are governed to a great ext
ent by stereotyped reflex pathways in the spinal cord. 

The peripheral nervous system has a somatic subdivision, which deal with skeletal muscles concerned with voluntary body movements.  The cerebral cortex has regions devoted to receiving info from various sense organs (more with the memories of past events, and coordinating motor responses.) 

Cycling is a very active sport!  It is a labor of love, using more the somatic area of the brain concerned with voluntary body movements!  That means your body needs time to adapt to the labor, plus it takes a lot of thinking (mental faculties) to focus to obtain a small % of improvement!  How are your mental faculties, do you coordinate your movements from past events? Do you have the aptitude or talent for change? 

Why is it said?  It's as easy as riding a bike?  The world is not black & white, it is more like the picture somewhere in the gray area that matters, or is it?  


Many think you buy it, get a fit and off you go?  We say, it takes about 30 days of real riding time on the bike for the body/mind to start to work together!  You will hear people say, but my x,y,z hurts and they don't put in the effort or time.  Many go too hard, too fast and don't allow their muscles to adapt!  Its it a gray or white pedal stroke, so it takes a long time to improve it!

No matter your level, you need time for the muscles to get used to the the moves, just like any other sport!  Too many people jump on their bike and want it to feel good from the start, without putting in the time!  This is the very problem with asking a  person how does that feel while performing a fit solution!  The brain doesn't know what you are trying to do, there is not a program in it that says you are going to now pedal correctly, it's not auto, you have to learn it, or better "EARN IT."

Biology - a change by which a organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.

The foot and ankle is a very complex anatomical unit comprised of multiple bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons, all of which can be injured either alone or in various combinations. The small size of many of these structures and the fact that the foot is curved in all three orthogonal planes makes imaging of the foot and ankle particularly challenging!  It is also a long ways from the brain and that makes it very challenging to control!

Matt Winstead writes:

Last year was my first year racing the Wobble-naught CAD & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish solution and I had the best season of my cycling career.  Prior to the WN solution I had travelled to many reputable fitters in the west but had always experienced nagging pains and tight muscles that were hard to pin down and eliminate. I was in essence constantly chasing my tail.

When I first rode the solution I have to be honest, it was like trying to learn to ride my bike all over again!  I couldn't believe how awkward it felt but I paid attention to what WN staff were saying and was determined to give it time.  After several weeks of training on the solution my biomechanics adapted and I developed new nerve firing patterns. 

I remember thinking "I can't believe I ever rode my bike with the setup from before."  It felt that much better but is was admittedly hard to get to that point. During the long season I noticed I wasn't going to the masseur to get "fixed" but actually able to go and focus on recovery, not muscle problems.  At the end of the season after taking time off I got back on the bike and thought it didn't feel right, so what did I do? I started fiddling around with it again and before I knew I was having problems again.  My psoas was locking up, my hips and lower back were tightening up and I was back to chasing my tail.  But really I had gotten away from the fit because I didn't give my body time to re-adapt to the solution again.

I had 10 years on a whacked up fit and only one year on the WN & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish so I again had to retrain.  So now I'm back again to full WN & putting the focus on the correct pedal stroke and my psoas has let go, the back and hips letting go and my stroke is becoming natural on the fit again!  

For those that are skeptics I say stick with it, just give it time and then let the results speak for themselves. 

Matt Winstead  (Kenda Pro Team)

Monday, March 09, 2009

Kenda Pro Team obtains "Results" almost coast-to-coast!

We just had camp in Greenville, SC and already the "RESULTS" (aka TRENDS) are in! We can't claim coast-to-coast, but almost. With that much distance and ground, you know there are many fitting systems and ideas out there being used on the regional racers! And you know many of those racers/clubs have been provided the latest bikes, the fitting sizzle, paid to be on the many kits, by their bike shop or fit center thinking they are going to be more powerful and perhaps obtain more results. That is why you get behind a given team, to promote what you think works, to promote your store or fit center.

So let's be real here. Someone out there is going to have a heated argument about these results. Saying that it's at the regional or state level. That's right, if you can't obtain results or win at the regional level with the "latest & greatest high-tech" how in the world do you think you can step up to the plate at larger races like the Amgen Tour of CA? Some will even say, those racers would perform well without our fit solution, so why do they use it? I can't tell you how many times I have seen a true pro racing and mixing it up at the regional level. A race is a race and people don't race to come in second!

Our rivals also blog that we can't do what we do? They say you can't use CAD to find the best solution or the best "blue-print", that humans are not motors! Perhaps they should take up gravity sports, they would learn a few things. These same people will also inform you they can do what we do and even better. I saw where one person claims he can see and adjust you by 1 mm? Did they mean 1cm, how can they see the joint and the forces e.g compression, shearing, tension? Don't tell that to the Kenda Pro Team - www.infernoracing.org

"When the racers were on the " Kurt Rock & Roll," using the Dartfish, working on their stroke, I asked each and everyone of them if they're aware of all the new fitting stuff? They all said, are you kidding me? WHY?" Racers will not use anything that doesn't make them better!

And many of them will not waste time reading all the hype on web sites. They let their legs do the talking. MTB pro Shonny Vanlandingham put it this way! Why would I want bad info in my head? Its like reading a newspaper or watching the news where most of the stuff is bad. I don't care to have that in my mind!

Results, from North Carolina with Rich Harper to Ohio with Marco Aledia to Mexico with Jaime Gandare to Arizona with Jonathan Parrish; the Kenda Pro Team is quickly discerning the distance they can put on their rivals, feeling firsthand how our teaching methods allows them to make more power, pushing them to another zip code!

Given all the new fitting systems and marketing, it makes you wonder what they're marketing?

Let's go racing boy's & girls!

Friday, March 06, 2009

Sam Krieg Rolls the Dice "Gets his body Blue-Printed."

We know that it must be hard to change your ways, with the Internet, there is a lot of misleading marketing out there, but sometimes you have to make a change to get better!  Even if you have thousands of hours using a power meter, wind tunnel or read the many proclaimed experts that their way is best!  If you don't improve, they can always say it's due to your "mom & dad" and they understand you did not have a choice in picking them! 

This sport has long been a sport of "blood, guts & copy-cats."  Not unlike skiing, the sport has a rich history of copying what the next person does if they are winning, but copying the winner's hair style will not make you a winner.  It's not what is important. With all the hype, the problem is telling which is the original and which is a copy?  Check out our history and note the tools we brought to the sport years ago! You can say anything on your web site, say anything you want on your web blog but can you back it up with real results?  The only thing we can do is take the ideas to the race and let the outcomes be the final score!  Then track them for 5 to 10 years, you might find more truth!  We have success with all shapes and sizes every year!  Change the brain, change the game!

The sport is not defined by one person's movements e.g. "Lance Armstrong."  For the record, it is well known that Lance Armstrong has even fired these type of people!  A lot of people attempt to ride the shirt tail of top guns in any sport for capital gain!  

I just saw a major cycling site that has an large ad on its home page and within the website, it says we can't do what we do using CAD? How would they know what we do? Simply put, they don't understand what we do! They paid big bucks to be on the home page of a major cycling site.  In a round about way, they pointed out that you can't use CAD on humans to find a "blue-print" of the bones?  I guess they did not know that muscles move bones, sad, as they said they even worked with EMG?  I guess they don't understand cross-sections of muscles and how muscles work?  To them and all their misleading hype, sorry! These same people use to work with one of the largest names in the sport?  Not any more! I am starting to understand why.

Perhaps more people need to take up golf or skiing over go-carts and learn how to move their bones! Just calling a ace, an ace! We can' claim anything, and we don't spend huge money on the misleading hype, we only show you true results!  By the way, the CAD is just the "tip of the ice berg."  You still have to learn, that is if you have a open mind!

Rolling the Dice in VEGAS!

After 1 month of adapting to his new Wobble-Naught fit Sam Krieg( Peaks Coaching Group Coach and Athlete) was able to throw down in sunny Las Vegas. It was the first time he went all out in his new position. He has been holding back and adapting to the new fit. His patience paid off big time with a great result and some personal best wattages.

3rd Place GC (PR0 1-2) at the Callville Bay Classic Stage Race in LAS VEGAS!

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This past weekend was a great example of training hard and paying attention to details can bring about some great results. For the past several months Sam has been training smarter than ever before. His new fit with Tom Coleman at Wobble Naught & Myo-facts sEMG/Dartfish has started to show some impressive results. Sam rode a personal best of near 6 watts to kilo during the opening time trial at the Callville Classic. This was Sam’s first ride outside this year. Living in Idaho his training has been exclusively indoor. This was good enough for 3rd in the Time Trial only 15 seconds back of former Australian National TT Champion Ben Day! Sam was amped to be even in the ball-park of such a great rider. Coming off 8 super hard weeks of indoor training he didn’t know quite what to expect.

“I had heard that Ben was here racing today, and I had seen where he won some huge California race this past month beating Landis and several other top Pro’s. I was super nervous and had no idea what to expect. I literally haven’t ridden outside in about 2 months. I just opened up the throttle slowly, and let my legs rip. It felt great, I was hammering all out and my fitness and new fit just took over.”

The road race came down to an 8 man selection where Ben Day eventually bridged across to Tommy Nelson and the duo rode away with the stage. Sam eventually was able to attack his way out of the lead group to finish 2 minutes up on the other chasing riders. Which pretty much sealed the deal on 3rd place for Sam in the GC, and 4th on the road race stage.

“ I followed Day’s teammates attack and found myself with a nice 8 meter gap in limbo in front of the chasers and just behind Day’s teammate. I couldn’t close the gap to the Australian Airline rider, but I kept him at 15 seconds for about 7 miles. After tons of hours suffering in my basement I just put my head down and hammered. I had a rider sitting on, but I was happy to drill the last 20 minutes of the race pretty much solo with 6 guys chasing. I just kept the legs turning around 360 watts until my gap opened up to several minutes and I could relax a bit. It was just rad to get outside and race. It has been a long and hard winter, and it felt incredible to get some results and check and see if the hard work has paid off.”

To repeat the same thing over and over in hopes of improvement can lead you to serious mental issues! 

What if you spend 5 to 10 years doing some thing that way, when you might have more?