At The Sweet Setup:
In this series, we post a new interview with someone about what software they use on their Mac, iPhone, or iPad. We do these interviews because not only are they fun, but a glimpse into what tools someone uses and how they use those tools can spark our imagination and give us an idea or insight into how we can do things better.
Today’s victim, er, interviewee:
My name is Nate Dunn, and I run my cycling coaching company Data Driven Athlete from my home in Sacramento, CA. The sport of cycling has a long relationship with technology. In the last few decades, this relationship has been primarily mediated by the power meter.
A power meter is a device embedded in a bicycle crank that measures your power output (in watts) then transmits this data stream to a small computer on your handlebar.
Your power output is different from other classic cycling metrics (like speed or HR) in that it serves as an objective measurement of exactly how hard you’re riding, regardless of environmental factors like wind or terrain.
If you combine a cyclist’s power output with other metrics like heart rate, speed, and cadence (revolutions per minute), you can effectively turn a bike into a mobile exercise physiology lab. It’s truly amazing stuff.
All of this data gets pushed to various cloud-based training platforms enabling a coach to remotely analyze, offer feedback, and ultimately design a custom training program to support a cyclist in reaching their goals. That’s my job in a nutshell.
You can catch Nate’s complete story here: Nate Dunn’s Mac and iOS Setup.
“Back issues” can be found here: Sweet Setup Interviews.
