HTTT pb Backcountry Delicatessen Photos

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Published on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 21:33

Week 2 Photos by Tim Lynch

Week 2 Photos by Jeff Stephenson

Week 4 by Alan Schenkel

USA Pro Challenge Volunteer Signup

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Published on Wednesday, 15 May 2013 09:14

Stage 6 of the USAPC promises to be a pivotal stage of the race.  In order to make it run smoothly, race organizers will need several hundred volunteers to work the course and venues.  If you're available on August 24th, please sign up by filling out the following form. 

Read more: USA Pro Challenge Volunteer Signup

The Importance Peripheral Awareness in Cycling

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Published on Tuesday, 14 May 2013 08:54

Here's the 4th article in Dr Skrdla's YGR series.  

Article One- Road Bike Visual Demands

Article Two- What is Dynamic Visual Acuity?

Article Three-  Visual Information Processing

by Dr. Matthew Skrdla

Peripheral Vision is defined as the area of vision outside of our central 15 degrees of view.  This is approximately a 2 ½ foot circular area when viewed at 10 feet.  Peripheral Vision is physically limited by pupil size, where the eyes our located in the head (the front v. most animals where their eyes are more lateral) and the bridge of the nose.  Our peripheral field is typically limited to about 160 degrees.

(The red dots indicate cones. The grey dots indicate rods. Rods are much more sensitive to motion and low light vision)

In relation to sport, and specifically cycling, it is more common to consider Peripheral Awareness.  Peripheral Awareness is a trainable skill that can be improved!

At one point in our human evolution, Peripheral Awareness was a key to survival.  Our peripheral field is much more sensitive to movement, especially under low light conditions.  This was a critical skill for avoiding predators and other threats to survival.

Over the past several thousand years, there has been a rapid and dramatic shift to central focus and like any other skill if we don’t use it, we lose it.  In relation to cycling, the less aware the athlete is of his/her peripheral environment, the greater the liability they are to themselves on the trail and to those in their group.

Cycling, and especially cycling in a group, is a unique sport for the ‘modern’ visual system and dormant peripheral awareness skill set. To be a safe participant in a group ride, a cyclist must keep their visual attention independent from their focused vision (think ‘keep your head on a swivel’, without moving your head).   For example, if you can (or are) reading the logo’s on the jersey in front of you, or a sign on the side of the road, realize your visual focus has just been reduced to 15 degrees (or less) and you have just become a liability to yourself and fellow cyclists as you will not be aware of potential ‘threats’.  Without looking at individual logos, you can still be aware that it’s a black jersey, or an orange road sign/hazard cone while keeping your visual attention rapidly shifting from what’s in front of you to what’s around you.

Read more: The Importance Peripheral Awareness in Cycling