Day 12: Pro Bike Fitting

Now that I’m finally feeling a bit better, I gave my professional trainer a call, Kirk Otterson, who works for Velo Works Cycling Development. I asked him if there was a chance that we could get together at Spokes Etc. Bike Shop before for a fitting because I am 100% sure there is something wrong with the way I am fitted to my bike which is why I am getting the pain in my Left leg as well as possibly the extremely numb feet on basically every ride since the Winter started. He said, “how about 3pm at Spokes?” Immediately I took up this offer and we met there.

I’ve never done one of these before and it was amazing how complicated the process is and how much time and effort and studying of numbers and power stats goes into this. It was extremely cool to do this and I am so honored that he is willing to work with me on this and on becoming the best rider that I can possibly be. I was spinning on the trainer at about 22mph on and off for about an hour or so.

We found that my left leg gives out a bit more power than my right. We also found that I am a very toes-down rider (which apparently Lance Armstrong is as well.) We found also that, when at a 90 Degree Revolution my knees are way too far over my feet, they should be lined up going over just about the middle of your foot, closer to the toe box. We changed this my dropping the seat a bit and also lifting the nose of the seat a bit for it was angled down quite a bit and was forcing my legs down and over my feet, which would be giving me problems.

This was a very cool experience and not to brag or anything, but Kirk said something about me as he was introducing me to a very good rider that he trains before I left, and it meant a lot to me so I thought I should share it. When he introduced me he said, “Hey, meet Darion, the next big Radioshack U23 rider.” I laughed at this because I thought he was just messing around but after I laughed he looked up and said to me, “Seriously, he’s looking really strong.”

Unfortunately, because of a lack of time, we didn’t get the chance to go over my power and find the fit where I would be getting the most efficiency and power out of my bike. So we plan on Sunday for another session to hopefully finish this off and even things out. I definitely look forward to this.