Marin Camp 2009 Day 1

March is always exciting as the it's the month in which I run my annual training camp in Mill Valley, California.  Living 5 minutes away this year has made organizing the camp a bit easier, and it has started very well indeed.  I think there are three basic ingredients that go into a great camp: fantastic lodging, awesome food, and amazing riding.  Marin and Ralston White Retreat have all of that.  What's more is that we have a comprehensive itinerary which includes not only first-class tuition in training with power, but also lessons on how to eat properly, how to rest properly, as well as two fantastic massage therapists on staff, and a yoga class or two led by my sweetie.  To top it off, the weather could not be better, with clear sunny days in the 70s forecast for the entire week.

This year we have a fantastic group of people who have come from as far away as Florida to ride and learn.  We also have excellent support from Quarq Technology, Clif Bar, Cyfac, and StudioVelo.  All have been instrumental in helping to make this camp great.

Today began with a nice surprise for me from Quarq in the form of a brand new Cinqo Saturn mounted to a set of 177.5mm SRAM S900 cranks.  Sweet!  After introductions all around, Hunter dove right into "How to Train and Race with a Power Meter" while the campers ate breakfast.  From there it was onto the bikes and out over the front side of Mt Tam, with 5-minute and 1-minute tests on both climbs and flat.  The plan after that was to head back for lunch, but after a brief meeting we all agreed that coffee at the Depot Cafe was in order.  After that, it was an easy spin back up the Retreat where lunch was waiting for us.

After lunch, we turned our attention to cornering and descending.  I like to do my "cornering clinic" on the first day of Marin Camp as the twisty nature of the roads make for a great practice area for what is taught.  Marin is a climbing camp, but by the same token it is also a descending camp, so it pays to learn the tricks of the trade.

Tomorrow is sprint day, hopefully with photos to follow.