Pappillon: Bill Peterson

Just wanted to share that with you all! You probably feel the same way about this great sport of ours, right?! I had a great ride today in "The Park." Did a few different loops and even stopped to take-in a couple of practice sessions at the BMX track (spectating, not riding!!!), and then struggled to keep pace with a local racer who was training on the flats today. Thankfully, he throttled back to an intensity that I could handle and he explained the basics of his GPS cycle-computer, and also talked about what it was like to train and compete while managing Type 2 diabetes. THAT put things in perspective for me, and helped me realize that this nagging tendon inflammation I have is sooooo not a big deal. If I wasn't so lazy I would just swap out shoes (a la Boonen in Scheldeprijs) and that would probably take care of it - which I'm now committed to doing for the next ride!

UPDATE 1: The Fun Begins on FRIDAY Night (and here I thought it was Saturday):

UPDATE 2: It was a slipped-cleat that caused a minute change in my pedaling biomechanics - resulting in a sore knee. Swapping out one set of Sidi's for the reserves cured that problem and tomorrow I'm sending the "tweaked" shoes to the fit gurus at Foot Fitness Pedorthic and Performance Center in Tuscon, Arizona for new cleat installment.

Bill Peterson and his staff are masters of the cyclist's feet! Foot Fitness makes custom orthotics by taking a mold of the foot and then using a 3-D scanner and a CNC machine to produce the athlete's very own custom made orthotics. They also do comprehensive cycle fitting and gait analysis. The biggest incremental gains I made as an athlete (outside the realm of the black magic) came from Bill's scientific process of cleat positioning and analysis. My power went up while pain and injuries went away. It doesn't matter where in the country Bill is - I will never replace a cleat on my own shoes. I send them to him so that there is no chance of my screwing up the precise angular rotation or fore/aft placement of the non-floating Shimano cleats.

Bill is a Board-Certified Pedorthist NYU / BCP#133 / ABC CPed #164 who has worked with elite cyclists since the 1980's. Previously based in Rhode Island (at least I could drive there from NY!) he is now in Tuscon. Other professional achievements include:

President and Founder, established Foot Fitness in 1995 as a sports performance and pedorthic center.
35 years - Orthotic Design, Orthotic Manufacturing, and Patient Care.
Teaching and Lecturing on advance biomechanics and pathologies.
1960 - 1978 US Ski Team, Professional Skier, Cyclist, and Water Skier. Still today, after 7 knee surgeries, Bill rides 6 - 7 thousand miles a year and is a avid skier. Without the Foot Fitness Orthotics and Alignment he would not be able to participate in any activities.
1979 Designed and introduced the first Direct Mold Pillow Orthotics System to the ski industry and established Peterson Sports Orthotic Lab.
1980s - 1990s Designed and Patented three Direct Mold Orthotic Pillow Systems, Alignment Systems, and Evaluation Equipment.
1986 - Present; Running Gait Evaluations, Cycle-Fit and Orthotic Manufacturing for some of the best professional runners and cyclists in the world; Motorola, US Postal, Mercury, Saturn, Discovery and HealthNet professional cycle teams, to name a few.
2002 Invented and Developed the AirPillow 3D Laser Scanning System and CNC Orthotic manufacturing.
2008 Designed and Produced a new state of the art orthotic system. This new system uses the latest science, biomechanics, foot capture, 3D laser scanning, CAD/CAM and computer CNC manufacturing. This system is recognized as the most effective and accurate orthotic system by medical professionals.

As noted above, some of the best racers to ever compete in the USA, including Gord Fraser and most of the Mercury team, Saturn, Navigators, Fly V Australia, Bissell Pro Cycling, UnitedHealthCare, Team Type 1, etc. have all benefited from the experience, professionalism and the dedication to performance that the entire Foot Fitness team manifests.