The Power Illusion: Why Your Suspension Setup and HRV Dictate Real Speed

Short mountain bike stem upgrade for modern trail geometry used in physiology-first cycling training cockpit optimization.

Chasing Ghosts on Peavine: The Ecology of Speed By Coach Richard Wharton • May 27, 2026 Heading out from the Peavine Mountain Hoge Road Trailhead to collect raw biometric and suspension telemetry across the Halo Loop. Part 1: Physiology-First Cycling Training, the Weight, and the Climb Metrics It has been months since I last pointed […]

Cracking the Code: My Physiology First Tabata VO2 Max Deep Dive

A comparison graph showing cumulative average power decay over three Tabata sets, highlighting higher initial intensity in Set 1 and more stabilized power in Sets 2 and 3.

Cracking the Code: My Physiology and the Tabata Triple Threat Preface: The Metabolic Green Light vs. The CNS Red Light Before I even turned a pedal, the data was already telling a nuanced story. I woke up with a solid 83 sleep score and a body battery that recharged to 85—clear signals that my recovery […]

Rocky Terrain Suspension Efficiency: The Open vs. Locked Debate

Peavine Singletrack is fun, challenging, and easily accessible.

May 7, 2026 Rocky Terrain Suspension Efficiency: The Open vs. Locked Debate; A Peavine Challenge In November 2025, I conducted a “Physiology First” experiment on Reno’s Peavine Mountain to analyze rocky terrain suspension efficiency. This ride has since become the archetype and benchmark for my 2026 training season. The mission was simple: Two laps on […]

98% Charged: The +61 Garmin Body Battery Bounce Back

Garmin Body Battery 28-day chart showing a peak of 98.

The Great Recharge: How I Pushed My Garmin Body Battery Back to 98 By Richard Wharton Achieving a massive Garmin Body Battery recharge is the ultimate goal after the physical toll of outdoor labor drains you to zero. Following up on my last post, I wanted to share the physiological “bounce back” results that took […]

More Suspension Tweaking With ShockWiz

ShockWiz Is Helping My Speed Rise, and My Splits Fall The ShockWiz suspension Tuning System has been around now since 2016. It’s a tool that attaches to front and rear suspension systems, and measures the velocity of compression, rebound, and air pressure ramping, to optimize contact with the ground. I was an original backer for […]

Vo2Max and Heart Health – A Single Ride Following Dr. Paddy Barrett’s Formula

DFAA1 and SmO2

Vo2Max and Heart Health Correlation With DFAA-1 and other Metrics I recently stumbled across a Substack post by Dr. Paddy Barrett that explains how Vo2Max is impacted by low intensity exercise. While I had not known about Dr. Barrett previously, when I read his history and other posts, I became intrigued. I think he’s a […]

Rotor Q Rings Revisited – Yet Again

Rotor Q Rings Position using InPower App.

Rotor Q Rings DO Work – Just Not The Way You Might Think I’ve been using Rotor Q Rings ever since they came out. Prior to that, I was using Rotor’s ‘RSX’ technology, because the company gave their product to trained scientists for honest review and application. The theory behind Q rings is that they […]

Vo2Max and Mountain Biking

Vo2Master outdoor data collection.

Mountain Biking Requires Riding at Vo2Max! CAUTION – THIS POST IS NERD-HEAVY! IT IS DEEP IN THE WEEDS! DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS!!!!! Ever since I received my Vo2Master back from my friend and code buddy in Canada, I have been collecting data on inside and outside rides. Not long ago, I rode two […]

Building An MTB Course With Garmin Connect Course Creator

Garmin Connect Course Builder Climb Detail

Garmin Connect Course Creator Offers Course Building – But Singletrack Can Be A Challenge The Garmin Connect Course Creator is yet another of Garmin’s under-utilized features. Other Apps and Software offer Course Creation, like RideWithGPS, but keeping everything inside the Garmin Connect Ecosystem allows for easier transfer to a Garmin Bike Computer or wristwatch. However, […]

Peavine Mountain Bike Video

Peavine Singletrack is fun, challenging, and easily accessible.

Mountain Biking On Peavine Mountain Is In My Blood! Hey everyone – I’m still working on several blog posts, but I had to post this mountain biking video real quick. It was filmed with a Skydio 2 Sports Drone, and I filmed this all on one battery. It depicts a trail on Peavine, the Halo […]