John Forbes

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Coach John Forbes is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and ready for in-person coaching with appropriate precautions.

Since age five, Coach John Forbes of Portland, OR has trained and competed at high levels in swimming, rock climbing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, triathlon, and since 1993, his passion, cycling.

His career includes numerous age-group national records and podium finishes at NCAA and Elite swimming championships as well as the completion of 11 Ironman-distance triathlons, during which he reduced his finishing time from 14:46 to 10:38. In cycling, John has more than 20 first place finishes in master’s competition in Oregon’s extremely competitive racing scene and has placed in the top 8 in all but one of the US Master’s Cycling championship he’s attended, with a gold medal in the Points Race (Men 60-64) and five other podium finishes.

John is a professional bike fitter, with over 15 years expertise in optimizing riding positions and solving such issues as knee, hip and foot pain utilizing bike fit systems such as WobbleNaught, Specialized and his own observations. He has also has spent many seasons as a working athlete, planning workouts so they best fit with the work day, taking advantage of limited time available — a practice that requires balance, discipline, dedication and flexibility, and a practice that he helps his clients to achieve.

John’s comprehensive knowledge of training for success in sports is collected from numerous coaches, books, articles, formal classes, seminars, and interaction with other athletes over his long career. That knowledge isn’t just about the physical aspects of training, but includes the many factors
needed for realization of one’s full athletic potential. He believes there are three basic principles for a successful athlete:

1. A structured physical training program incorporating specific active work in the sport, core and strength, and a disciplined stretching program.

2. Proper attention to nutrition and rest. Here, he includes pre-race, event and recovery nutrition as well as day-to-day diet. He believes athletes must reach and maintain a healthy weight and will suggest dietary means to that end. In short, John believes a competent coach has as much responsibility for telling you what not to do as what to do.

3. Finally, a successful athlete maintains his/her equipment. No matter how well trained you are, if your equipment fails due to improper care, you will not reach your goals.

In addition to his experience in endurance sports, John has a PhD in Literature from UC Berkeley and earned a BA in History at UCLA, where he was a top swimmer. He lives in Portland with his partner Linore and their four cats. If you are ready for the next step in your athletic development, contact John.

Bike-Fit Money-Back Guarantee. If for any reason you are unhappy with your resulting position after follow-up adjustments, we will return the bike to its previous position and refund your money. 

Events: Endurance Road Riding, Ironman Triathlon, Learn to Ride, Olympic/Sprint Triathlon, Road Racing, Track Cycling

Services: Bike Fitting, Clinics/Camps, Consultation, Learn to Ride, Skills Training, Training Programs

Specialties: Beginning Racing, General Fitness, Master Athletes, Return from Illness, Return from Injury, Return from Overtraining, Road Skills, Senior Athletes, Track Skills, Working Athletes

"John was always available for questions. He was very open to calls at most anytime of the day and I never felt he was trying to rush me. John was good at explaining why we doing what we were doing and how it related to how the exercise/or program and how it was to benefit as we progressed forward. John is very knowledge of the body physiology, nutrition and anatomy...and surely much more." ~ Dan C.

"John is a wonderful resource. As a triathlon coach and a cyclocross coach John provided the insight I needed to train smarter to perform better and reduce my rate of injury. This is just part of the assistance he provides, he also has great insights on race day, beyond just the warm up and cool down, strategy and how to perform at your highest level. If you want to get faster sooner John will get you there." ~ Brian L.

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