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Marin Camp 2009 - Photos Part 2
Marin Camp 2009 - Photos Part 1Well, AT&T's great quality of service put paid to my attempts to keep a daily journal of Marin Camp 2009, but in the end it's the camp that counts and it was fantastic. We finished up yesterday with a spectacular 150km loop that included Marshall, Tomales Bay, Point Reyes Station and Alpine Dam. When it comes to amazing riding, you can't really go wrong with Marin and yesterday was proof of that. Here are some photos from camp:
Marin Camp 2009 Day 2, or how I learned to hate AT&T
Oh my. Sprint day always flattens me and this one was no exception. The warm California sun makes things a bit easier, though, and this camp is really coming together well. After a great sprint workout, which included tuition in the technique of sprinting, we broke into teams for race finish scenarios. These are always a blast, and a fast way to learn about how different tactics work in a race setting. Now our internet is down, with the AT&T technician explaining that it was "no big deal, because we are all at the Retreat to relax." Um...NO! In reality, I have always hated AT&T and now I just hate them more.
Happily, I have internet at home where I am doing our laundry! Photos to follow. 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. Berkeley Team TTAbout a month ago, Jeff and I signed up to ride the Berkeley Bicycle Club Team Time Trial. I hadn't planned on racing much down here, but the idea of a TTT always gets my attention. The two-person format is particularly appealing as it reminds me of my early cycling years, paging through Winning magazine and reading about great races like the Trofeo Baracchi when I wasn't busy watching taped-from-TV videos of the 1987 Tour for the hundredth time. Good times indeed. I have always thought that TTTs are one of the hardest events in cycling. They require a rider to ride at the upper edge of their LT zone and then try to recover just below that between turns at the front. More riders equals more recovery, but with only two riders per team allowed at this event, we were all in for a tough ride. The course is one that has been used for years. It runs clockwise around San Pablo Reservoir on what might best be described as varied terrain and road surfaces. At times it was so rough that I wondered how anyone on a TT bike managed to hang on. The rough roads, vicious climbs in the last 10km, and occasional water draining across the roads from recent rains made for a very European feel to the event. We had a grand time. After spending the night at Jeff's place in Moraga, we rode 30 minutes to the reservoir, signed in, stashed our warm clothes, and headed to the start. We arrived with 10 minutes to spare and got down to the job of focusing on the next 45 minutes and the effort it would take. The biggest mistake you can make in a time trial is to start too fast (well that's the 2nd biggest mistake - the biggest is to arrive late to the start!). We made sure to start steady and work into it, saving something for the hills. Jeff is quite the climber, so when it got steep I did my best to hang in and not sound too whiny. In the end, we did well enough - mid-field with no aero equipment. We were both pleased with that and celebrated by riding over the hills to Berkeley and meeting our sweeties at TK for lunch. Here are some photos from the event:
Solvang Camp Day 6Today was the long day of camp - 100 miles of breakthrough riding to finish the camp on a high. The B-group did a sweet out-and-back to Jalama Beach while the A-group did a loop over Drum Canyon and down to Lompoc before hammering the outbound leg of Jalama. That cashed a lot of folks' chips, but on the inbound portion of Santa Rosa Rd, superstar pro Chris Peariso took off with only Carl and myself able to follow. We then proceeded to do all we could to just hang onto his wheel for the next 45 minutes home. Neither of us was able to take even one pull - we termed it "PearisoPacing" since he may as well have been a motorbike. Here are some photos from the day:
And a short film of the group heading out of Los Alamos:
This year’s Solvang Camp was attended by some of the nicest folks who have ever come to camp, and it was a great pleasure to spend a week coaching, riding with, and getting to know the 2009 Solvang crew. I hope next year is just as good, and now I am really looking forward to Marin! Solvang Day 5 - Tour of California TTThe Tour of California time trial in Solvang is one of the highlights of the race. It's where the general classification gets sorted out and it's the day we have off to do whatever we like at camp. My day started with my athlete Jenn Reither coming up from LA to visit and go for a spin. We got to catch up a bit in person, see some world class riders warm up while we spun around the course (Ivan Basso says "hi"), drink some coffee, and stand on large trucks:
After that, we joined Jim and Mieke from Quarq on the first climb of the course and watched the riders as the started their races. Then, we headed down to the staging area and gawked at the stars, some of whom gawked back:
We finished with dinner at the Los Olivos Cafe, which is always a pleasure. It was extra special this time as the rest of the camp treated Jason, who is our mechanic, and I to quite a feast. Tomorrow we plan to do a sweet 6 hour spin to finish camp on a high note. Solvang Camp Day 4
Tomorrow the Tour of California comes to Solvang in the form of a time trial on an excellent course in the surrounding countryside. Today, the campers had a chance to "race" it and 1) get a feel for what it is like to race on a great TT course from a big race and 2) get some solid power numbers.
The ToC caravan has rolled into town and now crews are busy setting up the expo areas and preparing the start and finish lines. It's exciting to feel the change in atmosphere and the tomorrow's race should prove to be a great one. It's easy to see the newly-arrived bike nerds in town, and as we all know, there is no limit to cyclists' dedication to their sport. I've also been busy doing a bit of work on the side and preparing to spend part of tomorrow with one of my athletes driving up from LA to talk about her season. Tomorrow should be exciting and I will post more about it here. Solvang Camp Day 3John Ruskin wrote: “Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” Following that logic, we have had many different kinds of good weather this week. My favorite kind of good weather showed up today meaning that we had plenty of sunshine. The day dawned clear and stayed that way. It almost made the kind of good weather we had the last two days seem worthwhile! Mt Figueroa is tough no matter which side you approach it from. Normally we go from the back part, through a small gate, over a gravel section, down a steep bit and through some washes, before the real climbing begins. This year, there is snow at the top, so we did an out-and-back up the front side. The climb was 55 minutes long and just as uneven and difficult to hold a rhythm on as the back side. We climbed beyond the snow line, and into the thin fresh air. Check out the view:
The descent from Figueroa towards Los Olivos is technical and difficult, with some gravel, rough pavement and the occasional pothole. Still, it is loads of fun and the front group made the most of it. Everyone came down safely, and we cruised back to Solvang for cornering clinic:
Tomorrow we ride the Solvang TT course for the Tour of California which arrives on Friday. I wish I could actually "race" it with the campers, but my duties usually mean I am holding a stopwatch or pointing people in the right direction. That's okay, I suppose - my legs are toast! Solvang Camp Day 2
They don't call it tRAINing camp for nothing. Again we started in the wet, with a cold downpour making the road spray seem inconsequential. Happily for us, it ended after 30 minutes or so and the rest of the day was warm and sunny. We were still stuck in our damp lycra, but when the sun shines, things like that don't seem very important.
Day 2 is usually sprint day, and it is always hard. The kilometers are relatively few, but the intensity more than makes up for it. We do small ring sprints, big ring sprints, lead out practice, and finally race finish scenarios. In the latter we split into teams, each with different assignments, and "race" the last 4 or 5 km of a course. We do it several times, with different strategies, so that the riders learn a bit about the tactics of road racing. It's loads of fun and always a big hit. It's usually followed by excited hammering all the way back into town and today was no exception. Tonight we dined in Los Olivos at Mattei's Tavern. The food was fantastic and we had our own room, pro-style. Tomorrow we climb Mt Figueroa and, with any luck, it won't be snowing on top. Solvang Camp Day 1
Everyone thinks it never rains in California, but they are wrong. It doesn't rain as much as in some places, but when it rains, it rains very, very hard.
We were reminded of this as we pulled out onto the road after doing the lecture early and waiting out the first rains of the day. As luck would have it, we left right as the second monsoon of the day let loose. Riding in the rain is something I do a lot in Portland and considerably less in California. In Portland we have fenders, so I don't mind. In California, I have no fenders and so I don't ride when it's wet. When it is your job, though, you have to suit up and get on with it and that's what we did. The first hour of the ride was in the cold, pouring rain, but then we were in for a treat: glorious evening sunshine on green oak-filled hills. It was Santa Ynez wine country at its best and, for me at least, it made it all worthwhile. Other than the weather, camp is going well. Jim Meyer from Quarq Technology is here again with more fun power-measuring treats for us to try. He gave Hunter a gold Cinqo Saturn, and I have to say I am a wee bit jealous. Too bad he can't pre-load it with some power. Tomorrow is sprint and race finish scenario day and that is always ton of fun, and very tiring. Hopefully the weather will improve and give us a bit more consistent sunshine. California's Been Good to MeOnce again I have broken the golden rule of blogging by not posting an update in so long, for which I apologize. The holidays have a way of warping time, and before I knew it we had all arrived here in January with a fresh new year and new goals and aspirations to match. I don't have any articles of value finished yet, so while I sit around in my pressure pants I thought I would put some words down if only to prove I haven't been swept into the Bay. My sweetie has been working hard at our temporary gig, and I have been making a point of facilitating my athletes' goal-setting for 2009. It seems like last season was a long one and, happily, no one is ready to rush into next year. That's good because in order to improve, you have to rest and recover. Many athlete's forget this each winter in the quest to "not lose fitness." The thing is, you're not losing fitness - you're gaining freshness critical for maximizing your training. So, don't worry about that extra week off the bike or the entire holiday fruit cake you ate (well, maybe you should worry about that). Rest is making you faster! So, rest well, enjoy the beginning of the new year, and think about what you want to accomplish. In the meantime, everyone loves pictures, so I will leave you with some photos from yesterday's ride around my neighborhood:
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