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.

John 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 view from Mt Figueroa

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:

Cruising with Carl

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!

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.

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.

One day many years ago, I was in a rush to get out the door to drive to a friend's house for a long training ride.  Thinking I had everything I needed I headed out only to find when I arrived that I had forgotten my shoes.  My friend was about 5 inches shorter than me, but had big feet for his size.  He also happened to use the same pedals that I did.  As luck would have it, my feet fit perfectly into a set of his spare shoes.  That day I got away with being disorganized, but I knew that I had been lucky and that had I showed up for a race with no shoes, I likely would have spent the day doing something other than racing my bike.

There is one key to packing for just about any trip: organization.  The same thing applies to packing for bike racing.  In the next few months we will learn how to best pack for all types of bike racing - road single day, time trial, cross, and stage racing.  Each requires a different set of kit and some have higher chance of variable conditions for which you will need to be prepared.  You don't have to bring everything you own, but if you bring the things you think you might need, then make a few choices about what and what not to cut out based on those, then you should end up with exactly what you do need.  Sounds easy, eh?

Step one is putting together a checklist.  For a single day race which you can drive to and from, it should look something like this:

• bike (obviously)
• spare wheels
• racing shoes
• 2 pairs cycling socks
• 2 sets of cycling shorts
• 2 short sleeve jerseys
• long sleeve jersey
• 2 base layers (light and heavy)
• wind vest
• wind jacket
• clear rain jacket
• 2 pairs cycling gloves- long and short finger
• knee warmers
• arm warmers
• cycling cap
• synthetic warm cap
• booties
• sunglasses and lenses - clear and dark
• helmet
• 4 water bottles (or more depending on race and post-race requirements)
• 2 flasks HammerGel (maybe more, depending on the race)
• chamois creme
• warming oil for the legs (I prefer woodlock oil)
• heart monitor/power meter chest strap
• heart monitor/power meter head unit
• compression socks (pressure pants!)
• post-race food and drink
• towel

Step two is packing it all up.  It all goes in a nice bag, preferably with separate compartments for small stuff, wet clothes post-race, and dirty shoes post-race.  If you don't have separate compartments, just bring a small extra bag or two along.  The bags that often come with racing shoes these days work well.  Queue required photo of all my stuff laid out and ready to be packed up:

Race day kit ready to pack. Note pressure pants on right for post-race wear.

Next time I will go over how and what to pack for time trials.  Until then, check back for daily (or near-daily) updates from Solvang Camp.

Once 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:

Jeff sports California Hair while drinking coffee and enjoying the view

 

The view of San Francisco from Tiburon

 

 

I already miss Portland and I haven’t even left.  It’s my home and I suspect it always will be.  Brad was just giving me grief for having been too busy to show up for even one of his races this fall.  Opportunity, however takes my wife and I to sunny (hopefully) California for one year beginning this month.  Everything is arranged, the house is rented out, and the going away parties are almost done.  I’m ready, but despite this I’m also ready to book our tickets home for my planned every-two-months visits with my local athletes.

Ah well, at least it will make organizing my training camp easier and just about everyone wants to come down and visit.

Also,  I have fun new parts to test while I am down there:

Quarq's first Cinqo for TA Carmina Crankset

suppose it won’t be so bad after all!

Another week, another California hillclimb race.  The 27th Mt Diablo Challenge took place eight days after the 48th Annual Mt Tam Hillclimb, the latter of which was a painful experience for me.  I knew that, for a number of reasons, I would go better this week, and I actually did.

I had the misfortune of starting in the 4th and final wave, which meant that I would be fighting bike traffic the entire way up.  The road had recently been repaved (real pavement and not chip seal!) and felt smooth and fast.  Also, unlike Mt Tam, this climb is gentler and has some nearly flat, windy sections where I can usually gain a bit of time.  So, I think the odds of a better ride were in my favor.

My friend Jeff and I left his house in Moraga at 7am to ride to the start.  It was beautiful riding on virtually traffic-free roads as the sun came up on a lovely Sunday morning.  We rode a nice tempo and I felt ready when Jeff pinned my number on just before the start.

The race began with a bang as immediately about 10 guys broke into a full sprint.  This of course did not last and soon it was just myself and one other guy.  He looked back at me on his wheel and said “if you sit in, you have to take a pull.”  I am not sure what he meant as we were going about 15Kph and about 10 seconds later he dropped me for good!  I think it was just nervous wannabe-pro-bike-racer-talk.

I felt solid the rest of the way up and continued to pass people from the previous waves, while no one from my wave passed me.  The finish was brutal with about 150m of 16% grade.  I put a 12×29 cassette on for TransAlp and was happy that I left it on for this event, even though that was the only time I used it.  I ended up 17th in my age group, which in a hillclimb is a great result for me.

That about finishes my season, but I will do the coming Cross Crusade races just for fun and good company.  It’s interesting to note that roadside fans in California seem to be an enthusiastic and vocal bunch.  Most spectators in Oregon just stand and stare, with cyclocross spectators being the great and notable exception.

Here are some photos from the day:

The organization was kind enough to provide toilets in my team colors!

Rounding the Devil's Elbow - about 10 minutes from the finish

Grinding up to the finish line

 

 
Jeff and I after the finish - the view was spectacular

This past Saturday I had the chance to do the annual Mt Tam Hillclimb here in Marin County, CA where I am doing some work for a week or so.   The race is a mass-start from Stinson Beach which rolls along a flat 4.4 mile stretch of Hwy 1 before turning right and becoming very tough in short order.  Climbing isn’t really my thing, but I like to challenge myself and improve.  This week, with two hillclimbs in the Bay Area, seems like  good time to do that.

After meeting a couple of friends for a light breakfast in Mill Valley, we rode up and over to Stinson Beach, which was socked in with fog.  It was chilly there, but having come over the hills in cloudless skies, I knew that it would be hot on the climb.  So, I removed my spares kit from my bike and stripped down to just a jersey and bibs, got a bit of help pinning on my number and headed for the line.  The race left at a leisurely pace – clearly no one was trying to break any records – and we took over 10 minutes to get to the climb.

Once the climb started, the race exploded.  I tried to relax into a good rhythm and slowly pick up the pace, knowing that on the rolling top section I could take back some time.  This didn’t exactly work out as the wind and my own lack of training conspired to make it a tough fight all the way home.  See how I suffer for sport:

 

My goal was to arrive in under 50 minutes, and I went about 27 seconds over that.  I suspect that had we rolled out a bit faster on the way to the climb it may have made the difference, but that's how it goes.  In any case, it gives me something to shoot for next year!  In the meantime, I will get more climbing practice this Sunday at the Mt Diablo Challenge.  If I am in any condition to write after that, I will let you all know how it went!

It's been two months since the race, but better late than never!

Day 1 descending the Hahntenjoch

Day 2 nearing the summit of the Timmelsjoch

Finally! Sunshine on the Valparola

Climbing

Adnan comin' in hot!

 

Christoph comin' in hot!
 

Anthony King put all his hard work at Marin Camp and some late summer form to good use on the track, earning a silver medal the Canadian Track Nationals in the Master's 30+ Points Race.  Nice work, Anthony!  Check out the video of the race if you like:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6975321232658471423&hl=en