Friday File, October 23, 2015

Firmware upgrades for Viiiiva and PRECISION are on track and testing is nearing completion. The updated apps will be submitted to the app stores shortly and, as always, active customers will receive direct email notifications regarding the release. We’ll also update you on the Friday File.

As PRECISION customers move their performance to a whole new level with the addition of power data, here’s a view of a dedicated cyclist. Meet mathematician Paul Savala, a keen numbers guy who used his brain as much as his legs to win his first race.

Name: Paul Savala
Age: 31
Race Bike: Lynskey Cooper, titanium road bike with PRECISION power meter on left crank and Garmin Edge 500 head unit.
Profession: PhD student in Mathematics at the University of Iowa; part-time blogger
Cycling History: Bike racing for three years; recently upgraded to Cat 4
Why Cycling? In high school, I tried a bunch of sports like baseball and weightlifting. Because of my smaller physique, I was having a hard time thriving in those sports. One day, a friend invited me for a bike ride and it was an immediate fit for me.
What’s your motivation?
As an analytical person, I love the structure of competition and training. It’s an aspect of my life I can control and push myself in. Cycling also makes me a healthier human being.
What secret formula did you use for winning your first career race in July 2015:
As you can read on my blog titled “How to Win Without Being Fast”, I’m extremely strategic in choosing which races I enter and make sure they complement my strengths. I carefully study each racecourse I compete on and try to plan my training to emphasize the key course features. Training with PRECISION has been essential to making sure I train exactly the way the course will challenge me. That means that if a course ends with a huge hill, then I’ll make sure all my training rides end with a heavy load. The combination of all these elements, from the races I chose to my training approach and tools made a huge different for me this summer.
How has riding with a power meter changed how you train and race?
Monitoring my power has been key to helping me get stronger, faster and smarter about my training and racing. Overall, having PRECISION has motivated me to be more strategic about my cycling and given me the data to quantify my efforts and improvement.
How do you integrate all your training and racing data?
I use Golden Cheetah. I’ve written a blog post on how I do this.
Why a blog?
It started as a tool for cataloguing my race experiences. It’s evolved into extensive discussions about how I make the most of my training and racing – especially using the power meter.
Favourite ride?
I enjoy all the fall riding in the Midwest US. The colours are bright and the air is crisp.
Bucket list?
Everywhere! I’d really like to bike in Belgium and experience the deep cycling culture there.
Fall and winter training?
Like most North Americans, I’ll be hitting the trainer to get ready for next season. I’ll continue to use my PRECISION throughout the off season.

If you’re you an enthusiastic 4iiii product user with a great story to share, let us know at info@4iiii.com.