If you've raced in Montana then you know who Brad Morgan is. In the past I've given him nicknames such as "Bad" Brad Morgan and "Hardman" Morgan. His team refers to him as Brad "Nails" Morgan. He's racked up some legendary Montana racing stories and he's ready to share that knowledge with you. Recently he became certified as a USA Cycling Level 2 coach. He's got a new blog and is willing to share his secrets on excelling as a "Working Man Cyclist." I really liked the idea so I shot Brad an email to see if he'd answer a couple questions for mtcx.com. Here's his responses (Thanks Brad):
What services do you provide? Training Plans? Wind Tunnel Testing :)?
I am still developing a plan for what all I am going to be able to offer. This is just something that interests me, and I thought I'd give it a try and see how it goes. If people have general questions they need answered, want rough ideas for training plans, on the bike testing to determine functional threshold and training zones, or full on personal coaching, I'd like to be able to help them. I also plan to become certified for bike fitting, so I can help people address those issues in the near future, as well. The wind tunnel testing is just a few years down the road at this point, but I'll put you down for first one in the tunnel when it's up and running.
Will you post on the blog regularly? If yes, what can we expect from your posts?
I hope to be able to post about once a week or so at first. I plan on posting some general training tips, race reports, and progress reports on my own training as well as the training of any potential clients who are interested in sharing their info on the blog. Hopefully, people like it and I can post more frequently as time goes by. I'm not much of a writer, so we'll see how it goes.
What was the deciding factor in you attending the USA Cycling certification clinic and becoming a coach?
This coaching thing has just been an interest of mine for a few years now. I figured attending the clinic would be a good experience. Even if I didn't decide to become a coach, I figured I learn some good stuff to help me with my own training. I have never been smart enough to have a coach help me, so I have tried to learn a few things over the years to help myself become a better, smarter racer. Now, I feel like I have acquired a good base of knowledge, and I would like to use that to help others who are confused or don't have a clear idea of which direction to focus their training in. I definitely don't claim to have all of the answers, or have a secret new training plan to guarantee victory, but I think I can help people get pointed in the right direction and make some significant strides towards attaining their goals. I don't have any grand plans of quitting my day job to run a coaching business, although that would be pretty cool if I could make it work.
You've had lots of success in road and now in cross, what do you think is the most common trait that you and other successful "working man/woman" cyclists have?
I guess dedication. When your time is limited, and life is pulling you in many different directions, you have to be dedicated to racing. You really have to want it, and enjoy it, otherwise racing is just to hard. At the end of a long, hard day of working and family commitments, getting on the trainer is usually about the last thing I want to do, but I do it anyways (usually). So many days it would just be easier to say I'm to busy to train today and skip it. Next thing you know, you've skipped as many days as you've trained, and you're off the back when the racing starts.
What motivates you the most to train?Team. The GAS team is awesome. We are stacked with talented riders, who just happen to be awesome people and great friends as well. There's not one person on our team who wouldn't sacrifice their race to help a teammate win. That's what it's all about. Whether I'm the worker or the go to guy, I want to be the best I can be so my teammates' effort aren't wasted. That's what gets me on the trainer on those days I would rather skip it.
You've won several races by solo efforts at the end, is this something that's pre-mediated with your training or is more of playing to your natural strengths? Also, do you have a set in stone distance you can hold the pack off, or is all by feel and situation?
A little of both. Sprinting is definatley not my strength, so I try to get away from a group when I can. I spend a vast majority of my training time alone, and I do tend to do some long, hard intervals at the end of rides to kinda simulate the late race solo break, so I do train for it. Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier if I just started working on my sprint, as those solo breaks HURT. I don't have a set in stone distance to hold off the pack, but I'm not afraid to try almost anything the situation dictates, you'll never know if you could have made it if you don't try, right?
Photo by Natasha Westphal
