Being relatively new to cycling, the wheelsucker is always interested in trying some new aspect; perhaps he is still hoping to find some cycling discipline he is really good at.
When he found the "Guys on Track!! An Introductory Track Clinic for Men!!" on bikereg, he checked with his coach (who thought it was a great idea), and signed up.
The track is in Trexlertown (known as T-town) PA, about three hours drive from Annapolis. While organizers were providing track bikes, riders could bring their own, so the wheelsucker took handlebars and brakes of his Cannondale capo fixie and mounted narrow Easton Track bars he had picked up and some American Classic track 420 wheels. It turns out the track has some older track bikes and some brand new Fujis that look really nice.
For a group of riders with little or no track experience, the equipment riders showed up with was impressive. It ranged from a nice budget www.bikesdirect.com bike to high end carbon track bikes with deep dish track tubulars. Riders themselves ranged from those who clearly had a little track experience and strong road racers, to those who had never raced a bike and had never ridden a fixed gear.
The clinic was led by track legend Marty Nothstein (executive director of the track), supported by two very experienced locals who had been riding at T-town since it opened (and who helped train Marty), and a younger Zimbabwean track Olympian. They divided the approximately 30 riders into two groups, with those with some track or some fixie experience in one, and those without any track and limited or no fixie experience in the other. A four hour clinic resulted in a little over 1:30 time on the bike, on the track.
After some basic points about track riding and them an introduction to the track drill on the track (this was essentially a warmup), we moved on to "island hopping" (jumping on the whistle and bridging up to a group half a lap ahead), a 5 lap race, a "last out" race, and a "first out" race. The wheelsucker picked up some 3rds and 4ths in his group, but the races were all short and emphasized sprinting, not the wheelsucker's long suit so far.
But apart from being fun, the wheelsucker thinks riding the track would give him more leg speed, make him a better sprinter, and better at jumping, bridging, and more comfortable in a crowded peleton; his coach agrees.
The wheelsucker was running a 48x15, which is about 86 gear inches; this was fine for the drills, but too low for racing. His fixie also has 172.5mm cranks, and the track guys were strongly encouraging him to go to 167mm if he wanted to continue.
The wheelsucker could see himself going up for some Saturday racing if there are no MABRA 50+ races that weekend. If one goes up Friday after work, one can watch the pros race Friday night, first. And perhaps the best part is that the clinic is enough to upgrade from a 5 to a 4 on the track! The wheelsucker has already requested the upgrade, and his next e-mail will be to inquire about 167mm track cranks.
Several more "introduction to the track" sessions are planned. The wheelsucker highly recommends these for those interested in trying the track.
Areas covered during the five hours were:
o Track etiquitte (how to get on the track and conduct oneself so as to not endanger oneself or others, and not be yelled at)
o The importance of communication while riding, and some key words (stick and stay, rail)
o Riding the track (don't overlap in a paceline, but overlap to the right/up if you do)
o How to get you, your bike and everything you will need to the infield. What you will need.
o How to warmup, and how to recover between efforts
o The sprinter's line and what not to do in the final 200 meters.
o And much much more ...
Monday, May 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
April 21st Training Ride
The weather forecast claimed a 50% chance of rain, but checking the weatherunderground website in the Park & Ride it sure looked like a storm was heading our way.... The wheelsucker had done his assigned recovery ride in the AM, so took pictures (and did not ride) until the camera battery died. The wheelsucker left for bike-related projects while the group rolled out. A short while later it was pouring.
Here are photos of the group in happier times.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tuesday April 7th Training Ride:The Wheelsucker is Dropped
The wheelsucker’s Tuesday workout was:
Group ride. Treat parts of this as a race. Ride aggressively. Experiment with race strategies and test yourself.
And,
if you can get there early - 2x15 min efforts at threshold power.
The 2x15 intervals at threshold went fine. The wheelsucker rolled out on the Tuesday/Thursday ride route, warmed up and started the first interval before 214, picked a spot on Sands Road to turn around and rolled back, taking a long rest interval, so the second threshold interval started at the 214 light and would not be interrupted.
Riding back on the same road, the wheelsucker was well positioned to intercept the ride, but then thought his car might not be locked (two things go when you get old, the first is memory and the wheelsucker cannot remember the second), so the wheelsucker was rolling one way on Davidsonville Road toward the Park & Ride as the group was riding the other way, leaving.
The car was locked, so all the wheelsucker had to do was chase back on. "How hard could this be?", the wheelsucker thought; he was only two or three minutes behind.
Knowing the sooner he caught the group the better, and the catch had to be before the group started to ramp the pace up, the wheelsucker went to full wheelsucker TT power, trying to hold threshold. Despite no wait at the 214 light, and never easing up, the wheelsucker never saw the welcome site of the back of a peleton up ahead.
Finally as the wheelsucker started climbing Harwood Hill he saw two team mates near the top. "Where are they?", gasped the wheelsucker as he went by Will and John K. "Half way to route 2", was the answer from John. This was NOT good news for the wheelsucker, but he ramped up the speed off the top of Harwood Hill and continued the chase. There was still no sign of the back of the peleton as the wheelsucker rolled up to the right turn onto route 2, and no sign of them down route 2. The wheelsucker decided the chase was over. The group hammers down route 2 and there was no way the wheelsucker was going to gain any further ground, so he took the right turn shortcut and then the quick left onto South Polling House, riding that portion of the route backwards.
The wheelsucker backed off the effort after turning off of route 2, knowing he needed to recover a bit before jumping in with the group. After riding most of the way down South Polling House, the lead group appeared all of a sudden. They sped by, with the wheelsucker turning around and sprinting hard to get on the back. The wheelsucker was either tired, or the group was flying, or both; it took just about all the wheelsucker had left to catch on at the back. Riding "on the rivet" the wheelsucker gasped "Skip!" a couple of times to miss a turn in the rotating paceline, hoping to recover slightly, but was soon taking his turns. For one brief moment the wheelsucker considered how he was to follow his instructions: Treat parts of this as a race. Ride aggressively. Experiment with race strategies and test yourself, and then decided hanging on for a few more seconds was all he would be able to do.
Each time the wheelsucker pulled through it seemed to take everything he had to actually pass the rider who had pulled off, and then at the back it seemed to take everything he had to catch on again. This continued up South Polling House, along Polling House and into the Fat Man’s sprint, with the wheelsucker wondering if he was ever going to get a chance to recover. The climb after the Fat Man’s Sprint looked like it would be the end of the wheelsucker, but he pushed further into the red zone and hung on to Ace’s wheel, while Jay jeered at him "I’m going to be pissed off if I took your pulls and now you drop me." Needless to say Jay was not dropped, and as the group accelerated off the top of the climb, the wheelsucker struggled to stay on. He tried to skip a pull, but the Doetsch was having none of it and told him to get his ass up there, so the wheelsucker gasped a little harder, went a little further into the red zone, and took his pull.
He nearly went OTB at the right turn onto Bayard. He was hoping for some respite on Bayard, but it wasn’t to be. After the right turn on Sands, the wheelsucker was in a daze, he could not ride the bike straight. Other riders were making helpful suggestions about pulling through neatly and gently and staying tucked in close, but the wheelsucker was past hearing them.
Finally, unable to hang on, the wheelsucker gasped "Good bye", and sat up. While the group rolled away, the wheelsucker slowed up, caught his breath, and then as some blood flow returned to his brain, considered that he had been dropped, and the possible implications. It was depressing. After recovering a bit the wheelsucker tried to cheer himself up by deciding he would hold threshold all the way back, but by this time even holding threshold consistently was a struggle, and besides the gathering darkness – or maybe it was the wheelsucker’s poor eyesight – made it very hard to read the numbers on the power meter; was that 211 or 277?
You might think the wheelsucker would be disappointed in being dropped, and would have gone home sulking, perhaps considering quitting bike racing, selling some bikes, returning his elite team kit, and going back to sailboat – 505 – racing. But the wheelsucker’s ego is a little more resilient than that. He figures he put in a hard effort, and could have hung longer or maybe even all the way, but for exhausting himself in the chase first. This may well be complete fiction, but as the memories of the ride fade, the wheelsucker is working hard to convince himself.
Group ride. Treat parts of this as a race. Ride aggressively. Experiment with race strategies and test yourself.
And,
if you can get there early - 2x15 min efforts at threshold power.
The 2x15 intervals at threshold went fine. The wheelsucker rolled out on the Tuesday/Thursday ride route, warmed up and started the first interval before 214, picked a spot on Sands Road to turn around and rolled back, taking a long rest interval, so the second threshold interval started at the 214 light and would not be interrupted.
Riding back on the same road, the wheelsucker was well positioned to intercept the ride, but then thought his car might not be locked (two things go when you get old, the first is memory and the wheelsucker cannot remember the second), so the wheelsucker was rolling one way on Davidsonville Road toward the Park & Ride as the group was riding the other way, leaving.
The car was locked, so all the wheelsucker had to do was chase back on. "How hard could this be?", the wheelsucker thought; he was only two or three minutes behind.
Knowing the sooner he caught the group the better, and the catch had to be before the group started to ramp the pace up, the wheelsucker went to full wheelsucker TT power, trying to hold threshold. Despite no wait at the 214 light, and never easing up, the wheelsucker never saw the welcome site of the back of a peleton up ahead.
Finally as the wheelsucker started climbing Harwood Hill he saw two team mates near the top. "Where are they?", gasped the wheelsucker as he went by Will and John K. "Half way to route 2", was the answer from John. This was NOT good news for the wheelsucker, but he ramped up the speed off the top of Harwood Hill and continued the chase. There was still no sign of the back of the peleton as the wheelsucker rolled up to the right turn onto route 2, and no sign of them down route 2. The wheelsucker decided the chase was over. The group hammers down route 2 and there was no way the wheelsucker was going to gain any further ground, so he took the right turn shortcut and then the quick left onto South Polling House, riding that portion of the route backwards.
The wheelsucker backed off the effort after turning off of route 2, knowing he needed to recover a bit before jumping in with the group. After riding most of the way down South Polling House, the lead group appeared all of a sudden. They sped by, with the wheelsucker turning around and sprinting hard to get on the back. The wheelsucker was either tired, or the group was flying, or both; it took just about all the wheelsucker had left to catch on at the back. Riding "on the rivet" the wheelsucker gasped "Skip!" a couple of times to miss a turn in the rotating paceline, hoping to recover slightly, but was soon taking his turns. For one brief moment the wheelsucker considered how he was to follow his instructions: Treat parts of this as a race. Ride aggressively. Experiment with race strategies and test yourself, and then decided hanging on for a few more seconds was all he would be able to do.
Each time the wheelsucker pulled through it seemed to take everything he had to actually pass the rider who had pulled off, and then at the back it seemed to take everything he had to catch on again. This continued up South Polling House, along Polling House and into the Fat Man’s sprint, with the wheelsucker wondering if he was ever going to get a chance to recover. The climb after the Fat Man’s Sprint looked like it would be the end of the wheelsucker, but he pushed further into the red zone and hung on to Ace’s wheel, while Jay jeered at him "I’m going to be pissed off if I took your pulls and now you drop me." Needless to say Jay was not dropped, and as the group accelerated off the top of the climb, the wheelsucker struggled to stay on. He tried to skip a pull, but the Doetsch was having none of it and told him to get his ass up there, so the wheelsucker gasped a little harder, went a little further into the red zone, and took his pull.
He nearly went OTB at the right turn onto Bayard. He was hoping for some respite on Bayard, but it wasn’t to be. After the right turn on Sands, the wheelsucker was in a daze, he could not ride the bike straight. Other riders were making helpful suggestions about pulling through neatly and gently and staying tucked in close, but the wheelsucker was past hearing them.
Finally, unable to hang on, the wheelsucker gasped "Good bye", and sat up. While the group rolled away, the wheelsucker slowed up, caught his breath, and then as some blood flow returned to his brain, considered that he had been dropped, and the possible implications. It was depressing. After recovering a bit the wheelsucker tried to cheer himself up by deciding he would hold threshold all the way back, but by this time even holding threshold consistently was a struggle, and besides the gathering darkness – or maybe it was the wheelsucker’s poor eyesight – made it very hard to read the numbers on the power meter; was that 211 or 277?
You might think the wheelsucker would be disappointed in being dropped, and would have gone home sulking, perhaps considering quitting bike racing, selling some bikes, returning his elite team kit, and going back to sailboat – 505 – racing. But the wheelsucker’s ego is a little more resilient than that. He figures he put in a hard effort, and could have hung longer or maybe even all the way, but for exhausting himself in the chase first. This may well be complete fiction, but as the memories of the ride fade, the wheelsucker is working hard to convince himself.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Team Latitude/ABRT at Jefferson Cup
This year the Jefferson Cup was the Virginia Championship Road Race.
Complete Results
Some quick notes for those interested.
Sara Clafferty, Mike Harris, Scott Olson and I pre-rode the course early Saturday afternoon. In between our first and second laps someone broke many glass bottles on the road the start/finish line was on. There were two or three areas with glass covering the road. We spent 10 minutes picking up glass and throwing it off the road while Sara fixed a flat, and our efforts did not make much of a dent in the mess. I e-mailed Ruth Stornetta about it when I was back at my hotel room, and she replied that they would clean it up in the AM.
9:00AM Races. Misty, a little cool and road very wet.
While clearly someone had worked hard to get the glass of the road, there were four flats just in the 50+ rollout. Actually the 50+ field was combined with the 60+ and the Jr 15-18 on one line, one field of 75 riders max. On the course at the same time were the W123 and W35+ fields, starting behind us at short intervals. I rode near the front hoping to jump into a break and ride away, but there were no serious break attempts. I did go off the front once with a junior, trying to catch a strong junior up the road, but we didn't make it and sat up. It came down to a field sprint. The results have me 14th and Mike Harris 29th, and no finish for Scott Olson, who I saw just to my left at 400 meters to go. Hmn. I think there were several more flats during the race.
One of the women's fields (I am guessing 35+) squeezed over to the right to let us by 2/3 of the way through our last lap. We had no Team Latitude riders in the W35+, and team finishes in W123 were:
10 Janet Olney
17 Amy Westenfeld
18 Christine Wehlburg
19 Diane Grimm
12:30 Races. The roads had started to dry towards the end of the first batch of races and the sun came out.
I don't think there were any Team Latitude/ABRT riders in the Jr. 10-14. Cat 5 results have not been posted. The registration list has Peter Shultz and Ty Wu racing it, and Ty crashed hard resulting in heavy road rash and no more new CAAD9. In the W4 race Sara Clafferty was taken down by a rider that braked in front of her going down a hill, but got back on. Amanda Wu finished second in a breakaway.
2:30 Races. The sun was out, it was warmer and the roads were dry.
I jumped into the 35+ race thinking I had not worked that hard in the 50+ (a view not backed up by a look at my powertap numbers this morning). We had strong teams in both the 123 and 35+. Once again we had flats during the rollout and I think we had more flats during the race. In the 35+, Chris Harshman and Lance Lacy were out with mechanicals fairly early. I went OTB early on the 3rd lap after taking a too-long and too-hard pull trying to help pull back a break that did not have any ABRT riders in it. I rolled around the rest of the 3rd lap chasing at first and then just trying to get to the feedzone as I was either very tired, or bonking, or both. Chris, Lance, Tina and other ABRTers were already in the feedzone supporting our 123 and 35 riders, and we enjoyed watching the rest of the race from there.
Yanni Papadopoulos came out of the 123 with bad cramps, and Ryan Guttridge came out of the 35+ with the same problem. That left Ace, Art, Keith and Matt in the 35+, trying to bring back a break. Matt was working hard for the team while I was in the race and kept it up the entire race. The 35+ break was brought back, but the winning move apparently went on the last lap and none of our guys could get in it. The winner then attacked the other 2 riders and rolled away for a significant lead at the finish. John Wirsing, apparently riding for Van Dessell, was second. Art was in it for the field sprint, getting 7th. Ace was 18th, Keith 35th and Matt 44th. The results have Ryan 45th, an interesting finish considering he was standing on the side of the road for much of the race. :-)
I found the 35+ race quite a bit faster and harder than the 50+. I had no trouble leading the 50+ field on the climbs or false flats if I wanted to, while the 35+ field was hurting me on the longer climbs, and I would find myself sliding to the back after taking a pull, and then having to slowly work my way back up after catching my breath. The 123s looked rather faster than the 35+. There were all sorts of riders going off the back, including Ramone, a Harley guy, and some of our guys. But Stephen Wahl, still a cat 3, had a great finish of 22nd, with Brian Fouche 27th when he could not quite get to the winning breakaway on the climb. I think I heard he was a little too far back to get to them, though he was so strong a climber that he gapped the entire 123 field on the same climb on an earlier lap, but was reeled back on the downhill.
Next stop Walkersville.
I thought the new team colors CAAD9s and new kit looked terrific, and every team member I spoke with about the bikes was enthusiastic about them.
Ali
Complete Results
Some quick notes for those interested.
Sara Clafferty, Mike Harris, Scott Olson and I pre-rode the course early Saturday afternoon. In between our first and second laps someone broke many glass bottles on the road the start/finish line was on. There were two or three areas with glass covering the road. We spent 10 minutes picking up glass and throwing it off the road while Sara fixed a flat, and our efforts did not make much of a dent in the mess. I e-mailed Ruth Stornetta about it when I was back at my hotel room, and she replied that they would clean it up in the AM.
9:00AM Races. Misty, a little cool and road very wet.
While clearly someone had worked hard to get the glass of the road, there were four flats just in the 50+ rollout. Actually the 50+ field was combined with the 60+ and the Jr 15-18 on one line, one field of 75 riders max. On the course at the same time were the W123 and W35+ fields, starting behind us at short intervals. I rode near the front hoping to jump into a break and ride away, but there were no serious break attempts. I did go off the front once with a junior, trying to catch a strong junior up the road, but we didn't make it and sat up. It came down to a field sprint. The results have me 14th and Mike Harris 29th, and no finish for Scott Olson, who I saw just to my left at 400 meters to go. Hmn. I think there were several more flats during the race.
One of the women's fields (I am guessing 35+) squeezed over to the right to let us by 2/3 of the way through our last lap. We had no Team Latitude riders in the W35+, and team finishes in W123 were:
10 Janet Olney
17 Amy Westenfeld
18 Christine Wehlburg
19 Diane Grimm
12:30 Races. The roads had started to dry towards the end of the first batch of races and the sun came out.
I don't think there were any Team Latitude/ABRT riders in the Jr. 10-14. Cat 5 results have not been posted. The registration list has Peter Shultz and Ty Wu racing it, and Ty crashed hard resulting in heavy road rash and no more new CAAD9. In the W4 race Sara Clafferty was taken down by a rider that braked in front of her going down a hill, but got back on. Amanda Wu finished second in a breakaway.
2:30 Races. The sun was out, it was warmer and the roads were dry.
I jumped into the 35+ race thinking I had not worked that hard in the 50+ (a view not backed up by a look at my powertap numbers this morning). We had strong teams in both the 123 and 35+. Once again we had flats during the rollout and I think we had more flats during the race. In the 35+, Chris Harshman and Lance Lacy were out with mechanicals fairly early. I went OTB early on the 3rd lap after taking a too-long and too-hard pull trying to help pull back a break that did not have any ABRT riders in it. I rolled around the rest of the 3rd lap chasing at first and then just trying to get to the feedzone as I was either very tired, or bonking, or both. Chris, Lance, Tina and other ABRTers were already in the feedzone supporting our 123 and 35 riders, and we enjoyed watching the rest of the race from there.
Yanni Papadopoulos came out of the 123 with bad cramps, and Ryan Guttridge came out of the 35+ with the same problem. That left Ace, Art, Keith and Matt in the 35+, trying to bring back a break. Matt was working hard for the team while I was in the race and kept it up the entire race. The 35+ break was brought back, but the winning move apparently went on the last lap and none of our guys could get in it. The winner then attacked the other 2 riders and rolled away for a significant lead at the finish. John Wirsing, apparently riding for Van Dessell, was second. Art was in it for the field sprint, getting 7th. Ace was 18th, Keith 35th and Matt 44th. The results have Ryan 45th, an interesting finish considering he was standing on the side of the road for much of the race. :-)
I found the 35+ race quite a bit faster and harder than the 50+. I had no trouble leading the 50+ field on the climbs or false flats if I wanted to, while the 35+ field was hurting me on the longer climbs, and I would find myself sliding to the back after taking a pull, and then having to slowly work my way back up after catching my breath. The 123s looked rather faster than the 35+. There were all sorts of riders going off the back, including Ramone, a Harley guy, and some of our guys. But Stephen Wahl, still a cat 3, had a great finish of 22nd, with Brian Fouche 27th when he could not quite get to the winning breakaway on the climb. I think I heard he was a little too far back to get to them, though he was so strong a climber that he gapped the entire 123 field on the same climb on an earlier lap, but was reeled back on the downhill.
Next stop Walkersville.
I thought the new team colors CAAD9s and new kit looked terrific, and every team member I spoke with about the bikes was enthusiastic about them.
Ali
Monday, March 23, 2009
ABRT Spain Training Camp - Group 2
Wow, what a difference a week makes! At the risk of gloating about how nice the weather was, the ABRT group two had 8 days of bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid 60s, although we did have to put on arm warmers the last 3 days, which really put a crimp on my tan. It was, like the first group, very windy most days.
Group 2 consisted of 3 ABRTers, Rick Paukstitus, Doug Shapter and Alex Pline along with Heidi von Teitenberg from C3-sollay.com and Nick Baker and David Edmondson both triatheletes from the UK. Heidi, Rick and David were there for a few days until Rick, Doug and Alex showed up on Wednesday. We all flew Air Chance, uh Air France, but luckily all bikes and baggage showed up at the prescribed time and place after paying the requisite $150 fee. After getting to Idlebreaks, we put the bikes together and went for a warm up ride up to Archidona. Alex stayed at Idlebreaks to nurse his sore back in the hot tub; a tweak the day before nearly kept him stateside, but a few pep talks from the peanut gallery made him realize the worst that could happen is that he would have a 7 day vacation in the hot tub in Spain. Luckily, it improved quickly.
The first full day on Thursday was a very nice 75 mile ride that we had not done last year. It took us through Antequera, up El Torcal, down through Almogia and around the reservoir Embalse Casasola which is about 10k north of Malaga, and back up to Conception. At that point, Rick, Doug and Alex had had enough given that it was just the first day. Nick, David, Jon and Heidi continued the last 10 miles home after Andy (with a straight face) told Heidi there is only a "little hill". As with all things, proper context is very important. Andy fessed up after they left saying it was a "bitch of a climb" which validated the decision to stop after 75. Watching them suffer while we passed them in the van was amusing.
Given that some of the group did a long day on Thursday, on Friday, we did a "semi" recovery day of 45 miles up through Archidona. Those of us who were fresh also added the "Church of Pain" climb. I was happy to get to do this, since last year I was cooked by the time we got around to it. It's about 1 mile at 15-20% with some really cool switchbacks. The surface has deteriorated a bit due to the weather this winter, but going up was not a problem. We just had to go very slowly down.
Rick grunting it up to the finish of the Church of Pain climb.
Saturday we went directly north to the reservoir in Iznajar. You can really see the difference between last year and this year as the reservoir level was up something like 25 feet. The highlight of this ride is the smokin' descent down to the reservoir and the climb back out. Since we decided to do the Pico Veleta climb on Sunday to accommodate David who was leaving Monday, we did not do very much climbing on this ride. Of course we did have a very nice cafe con leche in a small cafe next to the reservoir. On the way to Iznajar, we went by the gas station that was the infamous site of the "Ho Ho Incident" where James was left behind. I felt this strange sense of Deja Vu and quickly whipped out my camera to catch a photo of someone who looked like James standing the doorway.
Funny a guy who looked just like James was standing in the doorway.
Sunday was one of the days we were really anticipating. For Doug and Alex a real objective of the trip was to significantly best last year's times on this climb. Hearing about how horrendous the weather was for group 1 really raised the apprehension level. After setting out on the lower section out of Monachil, the group split pretty quickly with Alex and David opening a pretty wide gap on the switchbacks. They paced themselves up through the quarry, with Alex opening gaps occasionally due to his lighter bike and lower gearing, but David always clawing back. They got out onto A-395 at about 45 minutes in and continued to work together. At about 14k to go Alex got a bottle from Jon at the van and was gaped by David; a gap that would never get closed. In the end both Alex and Doug cut nearly 1/2 hour off last year's time (2:21 and 2:45). David should have come in right about the 2 hour mark, but missed the turn at 7k and took a sightseeing trip into the ski village which cost him official time. Heidi came on strong on the flatter section to make up a lot of time with a time of 2:19. After the ride, we took some pictures and had beer and french fries in the outdoor cafe just below the finish line. It was quite the zoo up there due to the nice weather.
The zoo-like party atmosphere along the last 100m of the course was amusing.
Dave Edmundson, Rick Paukstitus, Heidi von Teitenberg and Alex Pline celebrating at the finish of Pico Veleta.
It is just amazing how different the weather was. For comparison purposes between the two weeks:
The turn at 7k to go.
5k to go.
On Monday we were all quite tired, so we did a ride with the long 17k descent into Loja followed by a few minor climbs, some rolling like D-ville terrain into Salinas (for coffee!) and some flats back home.
Tuesday was Puerto del Sol, which we all had personal record times for - given a nice tailwind all the way up. In general a beautiful day of riding. After stopping for coffee in Alfanarte after Puerto Del Sol, it happened to Doug - he was left getting gloves out of the van as Alex, Rick and Heidi started up Lactate Hill because it was very chilly. Angry Doug made an appearance, rocketing by us and big ringing it up Lactate Hill. I think in the future, we just need to tick him off before he races.
Tuesday was of course St. Paddy's day. We started at Patsy's and then walked around the corner to Manulo's where it felt like we were actually in Ireland. The pictures we took were waaaay tamer than last year, although there were certainly some that are not suitable for this family blog. Before we knew it, the evening was turning into morning and we didn't get back to Andy's until about 3am. Somehow, the Kirkwood Express route we decided on for the last day wasn't seeming like such a hot idea.
Rick and Heidi were up and raring to go at 8am (Doug and Alex were still bleary eyed)
so we eventually got rolling figuring we'd ride until we didn't feel like riding. It was very, very windy that morning, so we decided to start the ride away from Andy's just after the highway on the way to Archidona since the wind was most severe around Idlebreaks. The Kirkwood Express route goes north in a large clockwise circle which culminates with the long slog up the 17km hill from Loja. The night before we were all looking forward to this long ascent - evidently the source of some Ali humor in group 1 - but as were underway, the week's riding was certainly taking it's toll, not to mention 5 hours of sleep and, eh hem, some fuzziness from the night before not to mention leaving the compound without our lunches. Ouch. El Jefe bore the brunt of the previous evening's Guinness and kept Jon entertained riding shotgun in the van. Heidi was the first to say enough as her achilles tendon was bothering her, going only 1.5 miles after our coffee stop to the base of the last climb as she wanted to hit 450 miles for the trip. After the last climb, Rick had enough and Alex, determined not to be Mr. Sag Wagon like last year continued on to Salinas where he finally called it quits.
Tired and sunburned we returned to Idlebreaks to pack up the bikes, relax in the hot tub and have our final dinner. Once again, this was a fabulous trip. While we certainly lucked out with very nice weather, Andy, Tracy and Jon still worked their tails off to give us the best possible experience. Debbie's massages everyday were awesome! My experience two years in a row is that there is no better trip for a training camp that I could ever imagine. Our dynamic was a little different because the group was smaller, but that in and of itself was interesting because it gave us a lot of flexibility as we could travel easily in the van without the trailer. I encourage anyone who is even mildly interested to really try and attend next year. Thanks again to Doug Miliken for putting it together. A full slideshow is below.
-- Alex Pline
Group 2 consisted of 3 ABRTers, Rick Paukstitus, Doug Shapter and Alex Pline along with Heidi von Teitenberg from C3-sollay.com and Nick Baker and David Edmondson both triatheletes from the UK. Heidi, Rick and David were there for a few days until Rick, Doug and Alex showed up on Wednesday. We all flew Air Chance, uh Air France, but luckily all bikes and baggage showed up at the prescribed time and place after paying the requisite $150 fee. After getting to Idlebreaks, we put the bikes together and went for a warm up ride up to Archidona. Alex stayed at Idlebreaks to nurse his sore back in the hot tub; a tweak the day before nearly kept him stateside, but a few pep talks from the peanut gallery made him realize the worst that could happen is that he would have a 7 day vacation in the hot tub in Spain. Luckily, it improved quickly.
The first full day on Thursday was a very nice 75 mile ride that we had not done last year. It took us through Antequera, up El Torcal, down through Almogia and around the reservoir Embalse Casasola which is about 10k north of Malaga, and back up to Conception. At that point, Rick, Doug and Alex had had enough given that it was just the first day. Nick, David, Jon and Heidi continued the last 10 miles home after Andy (with a straight face) told Heidi there is only a "little hill". As with all things, proper context is very important. Andy fessed up after they left saying it was a "bitch of a climb" which validated the decision to stop after 75. Watching them suffer while we passed them in the van was amusing.
Given that some of the group did a long day on Thursday, on Friday, we did a "semi" recovery day of 45 miles up through Archidona. Those of us who were fresh also added the "Church of Pain" climb. I was happy to get to do this, since last year I was cooked by the time we got around to it. It's about 1 mile at 15-20% with some really cool switchbacks. The surface has deteriorated a bit due to the weather this winter, but going up was not a problem. We just had to go very slowly down.
Rick grunting it up to the finish of the Church of Pain climb.
Saturday we went directly north to the reservoir in Iznajar. You can really see the difference between last year and this year as the reservoir level was up something like 25 feet. The highlight of this ride is the smokin' descent down to the reservoir and the climb back out. Since we decided to do the Pico Veleta climb on Sunday to accommodate David who was leaving Monday, we did not do very much climbing on this ride. Of course we did have a very nice cafe con leche in a small cafe next to the reservoir. On the way to Iznajar, we went by the gas station that was the infamous site of the "Ho Ho Incident" where James was left behind. I felt this strange sense of Deja Vu and quickly whipped out my camera to catch a photo of someone who looked like James standing the doorway.
Funny a guy who looked just like James was standing in the doorway.
Sunday was one of the days we were really anticipating. For Doug and Alex a real objective of the trip was to significantly best last year's times on this climb. Hearing about how horrendous the weather was for group 1 really raised the apprehension level. After setting out on the lower section out of Monachil, the group split pretty quickly with Alex and David opening a pretty wide gap on the switchbacks. They paced themselves up through the quarry, with Alex opening gaps occasionally due to his lighter bike and lower gearing, but David always clawing back. They got out onto A-395 at about 45 minutes in and continued to work together. At about 14k to go Alex got a bottle from Jon at the van and was gaped by David; a gap that would never get closed. In the end both Alex and Doug cut nearly 1/2 hour off last year's time (2:21 and 2:45). David should have come in right about the 2 hour mark, but missed the turn at 7k and took a sightseeing trip into the ski village which cost him official time. Heidi came on strong on the flatter section to make up a lot of time with a time of 2:19. After the ride, we took some pictures and had beer and french fries in the outdoor cafe just below the finish line. It was quite the zoo up there due to the nice weather.
The zoo-like party atmosphere along the last 100m of the course was amusing.
Dave Edmundson, Rick Paukstitus, Heidi von Teitenberg and Alex Pline celebrating at the finish of Pico Veleta.
It is just amazing how different the weather was. For comparison purposes between the two weeks:
The turn at 7k to go.
5k to go.
On Monday we were all quite tired, so we did a ride with the long 17k descent into Loja followed by a few minor climbs, some rolling like D-ville terrain into Salinas (for coffee!) and some flats back home.
Tuesday was Puerto del Sol, which we all had personal record times for - given a nice tailwind all the way up. In general a beautiful day of riding. After stopping for coffee in Alfanarte after Puerto Del Sol, it happened to Doug - he was left getting gloves out of the van as Alex, Rick and Heidi started up Lactate Hill because it was very chilly. Angry Doug made an appearance, rocketing by us and big ringing it up Lactate Hill. I think in the future, we just need to tick him off before he races.
Tuesday was of course St. Paddy's day. We started at Patsy's and then walked around the corner to Manulo's where it felt like we were actually in Ireland. The pictures we took were waaaay tamer than last year, although there were certainly some that are not suitable for this family blog. Before we knew it, the evening was turning into morning and we didn't get back to Andy's until about 3am. Somehow, the Kirkwood Express route we decided on for the last day wasn't seeming like such a hot idea.
Rick and Heidi were up and raring to go at 8am (Doug and Alex were still bleary eyed)
so we eventually got rolling figuring we'd ride until we didn't feel like riding. It was very, very windy that morning, so we decided to start the ride away from Andy's just after the highway on the way to Archidona since the wind was most severe around Idlebreaks. The Kirkwood Express route goes north in a large clockwise circle which culminates with the long slog up the 17km hill from Loja. The night before we were all looking forward to this long ascent - evidently the source of some Ali humor in group 1 - but as were underway, the week's riding was certainly taking it's toll, not to mention 5 hours of sleep and, eh hem, some fuzziness from the night before not to mention leaving the compound without our lunches. Ouch. El Jefe bore the brunt of the previous evening's Guinness and kept Jon entertained riding shotgun in the van. Heidi was the first to say enough as her achilles tendon was bothering her, going only 1.5 miles after our coffee stop to the base of the last climb as she wanted to hit 450 miles for the trip. After the last climb, Rick had enough and Alex, determined not to be Mr. Sag Wagon like last year continued on to Salinas where he finally called it quits.
Tired and sunburned we returned to Idlebreaks to pack up the bikes, relax in the hot tub and have our final dinner. Once again, this was a fabulous trip. While we certainly lucked out with very nice weather, Andy, Tracy and Jon still worked their tails off to give us the best possible experience. Debbie's massages everyday were awesome! My experience two years in a row is that there is no better trip for a training camp that I could ever imagine. Our dynamic was a little different because the group was smaller, but that in and of itself was interesting because it gave us a lot of flexibility as we could travel easily in the van without the trailer. I encourage anyone who is even mildly interested to really try and attend next year. Thanks again to Doug Miliken for putting it together. A full slideshow is below.
-- Alex Pline
Sue's race report analogy:
I decided I was going to buy a TV after much hesitation, since there was not a lot of $$ in the bank. I wasn't sure I could afford it, but was pleasantly surprised to find a store close-by that I hadn't visited before. So off I went! The shop was really friendly. I decided on a TV that was quite a bit smaller than my dream TV, but realistic under the circumstances. It was priced at $700, but when I went to pay for it, it was on sale for $500! That felt pretty good. The only trouble was that when I arrived at the warehouse to load it into my car, I realized that the clerk had mistakenly not given me my receipt! So I had to wait a while for them to straighten it out. But the supervisor found it, no problem. I feel pretty good about the transaction in general.
Translation:
I haven't been on my bike much at all in the past 3 months (seriously, about 3 times). I decided to race Rockburn on the old mt bike, anyway. I was on the waitlist, but got a spot in the Cat 2 Women/ Sport category. There were only 7 women registered and they all looked very fit. And unfortunately, the course was not very technical- so it would rely mostly on my fitness level- (which is non-existent). Therefore, my goal was to have fun and simply to finish, assuming I'd be in last place- since they all looked so strong! But in the end, I managed a surprising 5th place! I was pleased and really enjoyed hanging out with my teammates, afterwards- (Karen, Dee, Kidd, Sean, Mike, Justin, Steve, Michel, Dave, Kyle, and Dennis- am I forgetting anyone?). However, when I went to check the results, my name was not even on the board. I wasn't sure I wanted to make a stink about it, but I went to Lew (the official) and asked him about my number being left out. He checked the other official's notes and found my number - no problem.... and fixed it in the system. He also made me feel pleased that I had said something and told me that it was important, because he knew I worked hard for it, regardless. He was right... and I feel pretty good about the transaction in general!
Cheers!!!
SuePer
I decided I was going to buy a TV after much hesitation, since there was not a lot of $$ in the bank. I wasn't sure I could afford it, but was pleasantly surprised to find a store close-by that I hadn't visited before. So off I went! The shop was really friendly. I decided on a TV that was quite a bit smaller than my dream TV, but realistic under the circumstances. It was priced at $700, but when I went to pay for it, it was on sale for $500! That felt pretty good. The only trouble was that when I arrived at the warehouse to load it into my car, I realized that the clerk had mistakenly not given me my receipt! So I had to wait a while for them to straighten it out. But the supervisor found it, no problem. I feel pretty good about the transaction in general.
Translation:
I haven't been on my bike much at all in the past 3 months (seriously, about 3 times). I decided to race Rockburn on the old mt bike, anyway. I was on the waitlist, but got a spot in the Cat 2 Women/ Sport category. There were only 7 women registered and they all looked very fit. And unfortunately, the course was not very technical- so it would rely mostly on my fitness level- (which is non-existent). Therefore, my goal was to have fun and simply to finish, assuming I'd be in last place- since they all looked so strong! But in the end, I managed a surprising 5th place! I was pleased and really enjoyed hanging out with my teammates, afterwards- (Karen, Dee, Kidd, Sean, Mike, Justin, Steve, Michel, Dave, Kyle, and Dennis- am I forgetting anyone?). However, when I went to check the results, my name was not even on the board. I wasn't sure I wanted to make a stink about it, but I went to Lew (the official) and asked him about my number being left out. He checked the other official's notes and found my number - no problem.... and fixed it in the system. He also made me feel pleased that I had said something and told me that it was important, because he knew I worked hard for it, regardless. He was right... and I feel pretty good about the transaction in general!
Cheers!!!
SuePer
Monday, March 16, 2009
Elite Team Training Camp:A Wheelsucker Special Report
Perhaps influenced by the well publicized Team Saxo Bank (ex Team CSC) wilderness team camp in Denmark, and Team Liquigas’s team camp in the northern Italian snow, or more likely just a little unlucky with the weather, the Team Latitude elite (and elite dev) team held its training camp in the Blue Ridge mountains this past weekend.
Ex ABRTer Chris Larsen arranged to have part of the team stay with his grandparents, while the others stayed closer to the top of the Blue Ridge, at Wintergreen resort. While not all elite and elite dev team members could attend, the team had an excellent turnout with:
Chris Larsen (no longer with ABRT)
Chip Hoover
Eric Krause
Nat Thompson
Yanni Papadopolous
Brian Fouche
Stephen Koeble
Paul Beyer
Mike Hefner
Lance Lacy
Ali Meller
Supported by Kyle Jones and Doug Milliken.
The wheelsucker feels honored and privileged to be a member of the elite dev team, and is not entirely sure how he made it onto the team, and worries about being able to hang with this crowd, some of whom are young enough to be his sons.
Almost everyone managed to arrive Thursday evening, enjoying the freshly falling snow on the trip down. The drive up the side of the Blue Ridge up to Wintergreen resort was impressive. The wheelsucker was trying to decide if the gradient was 15%, 18% or 20%, all while trying to stay on the road, while following Mike Hefner (aka Hef2) up the road.
Though not in the Burma jungle, this hike was a full-on "Bridge on the River Kwai"-style death march up the side of a mountain, in wet slippery snow, and then a race back down. With the possible exception of Chris Larsen, who seems to enjoy hiking and apparently does a lot of it, and who felt so strongly about cycling in the cold rain that he left the camp early Saturday morning and went home, just about everyone on the team swears they will never go hiking again.
March or die
Picture yourself hiking up the mountain at a threshold-crossing-into-VO2-max pace, soaked with sweat, muscles-not-used-in-cycling in pain, perhaps wearing only running shoes and plastic bags on your feet, and then racing back down the hill, trying to cut corners on the switchbacks to pass a few team mates.
Paul wore socks, plastic bags and running shoes!
Chip cannot go any further
The wheelsucker at the top
The rock formation known as "The Priest"
The wheelsucker – who as someone later pointed out should have taken advantage of any wisdom his advanced age had provided him – got caught up in this, and found himself running down the trail in pursuit of an agile, fit 23 year old. The agile fit 23 year old disappeared around a corner, stepped off the trail for a quick pee, and stayed silent as the wheelsucker went tearing by, risking twisting an ankle or falling at every step. By the bottom of the trail near the parking area, after sliding into a creek, falling several times, and covering his jeans in mud, the wheelsucker was nearly crawling with his back and every muscle in his legs reminding him that he had been foolish. But he was first back to the cars.
After the drive back to Wintergreen (for those staying there) everyone had trouble climbing out of Kyle's car and walking the short distance to the condo. The wheelsucker self medicated with ibuprofen, Goslings Black Seal rum and red wine (for medicinal purposes only).
Saturday breakfast at Wintergreen
The boys looking forward to a ride
It was just above freezing, and pouring with rain. The plan-for-the-day evolved into: meet at the ranch and ride from there. Strong man Doug Milliken decided to ride his bike to the ranch (this was a 35 minute drive by car!) and set off down the side of the Blue Ridge on his bicycle.
The ranch is at the end of a gravel/dirt road, so riders all looked like cyclocross racers even before they got to the paved road. The team headed out in a double paceline with the leaders taking short one minute-or-so pulls. Very soon after leaving, the team met Doug, who joined in. The wheelsucker noted that his socks were soaked through after ten to fifteen minutes of riding. The route was rolling initially, and the wheelsucker was able to suck it up and hang on the short climbs, but when the team hit the first climb longer than a couple of minutes he and another rider went OTB. The downhill on the other side was a series of switchbacks which felt very slippery in the pouring rain, so the two riders took it very easy descending and then worked hard to catch back on, with help from Kyle driving the SAG wagon. Once back on everyone was fine until the second longer climb which once again saw the same two riders off the back, chasing a third up the road that was losing contact. At the top of the climb Kyle and the SAG wagon were waiting and four riders took the opportunity to change some clothes in an effort to restore feeling in extremities. This took long enough that they decided they would not be able to catch on chasing, so they went down the climb the way they had come up, short cutting the route slightly. Once all back together, the team was hammering along in the pouring rain until the right turn towards Wintergreen. At one point the team crossed paths with the Coppi squad, who were also having a training camp that weekend. Everyone who was staying at the ranch except Chip, Eric and Stephen skipped the turn and kept going for the ranch, but Chip, Eric, Stephen, Mike Hefner, Ali Meller and Lance Lacy made the right turn and started up. The wheelsucker was miserable, he was soaked through, colder than he had ever been, and feeling the effects of the Friday hike and trying to stay with the elite team on the climbs earlier in the ride. Other riders were not much better, and one by one riders dropped out and jumped into the SAG wagon. The wheelsucker had no power left and was going slow and easy hoping to finish, and the gap between Chip, Eric, Stephen, Mike and the wheelsucker opened.
The riders came around one curve and found a fan dressed in a cockroach suit cheering them on from the side of the road. Check out the video.
omigod! That roach is enormous!
Then Stephen joined Paul and Lance in the SAG wagon, and it disappeared to ferry them up to the condo, leaving Chip, Eric, Mike and Ali on the climb. By the time the SAG wagon returned, Ali was more than ready to bail, and jumped into Kyle’s car to warm up while Kyle put the bike on the roof rack. Chip, Eric and Mike each made it to the top and rode to the condo. Kudos to these guys, it wasn’t just a very tough climb, the conditions were ridiculous, with pouring rain in near freezing temperatures, and very limited visibility (in the clouds). The only other rider who made it up the Wintergreen climb was ironman Doug Milliken, who had split with the team (recall that he had ridden to the ranch) and headed back at the Wintergreen turn. He made it most of the way up but managed to break his rear derailleur shortly before the summit, so disappeared in search of a bike store. Once back at the condo, the wheelsucker started self medicating with Goslings immediately, even taking his glass into the shower with him. After soaking in a hot bath, and several does of ibuprofen and Goslings, the wheelsucker regained enough strength to put some clothes on and make it down the stairs to the living room to sort through wet clothes.
Dry shoes are a must have!
Dinner at Wintergreen was a couple of hours later. The team hung out at the condo after dinner, with an epic Wii tournament and Hef2 playing his Wii guitar.
The Sunday forecast was for more of the same, so the plan was to drive north towards 66, hoping to get a ride in, north of the storm. The first convoy arrived in Sperryville to find it raining almost as hard as on Saturday, so everyone bailed and went home. The wheelsucker did get in a rainy cold recovery ride with Doug Milliken, the Doetsch and James, once back on the Annapolis area.
This was a very interesting weekend for the wheelsucker. The team has some very strong riders. Yanni is a big strong Jens Voight type who’s only claimed weakness is longer-than-five-minute climbs; this is of course a major concern in MABRA racing. If there are any long climbs, Brian Fouche is going to gap everyone, the others seem strong all rounders, and Hef2 clearly has the strength to get the last points he needs to cat up to 2 very shortly.
Team Latitude/ABRT looks pretty good at the cat 1-2 level. The wheelsucker is less clear on how the remaining cat 3s on the dev team will do in cat 3 racing. Few of the masters riders were there, and it is not clear to the wheelsucker if any of the masters riders are going to try to win the 35+ BAR, though winning a number of races should not be a problem with the masters riders on Team Latitude/ABRT.
Thanks very much to Kyle and Doug for supporting the team. Having a warm SAG wagon full of dry clothes made all the difference on Saturday, and the cockroach costume was priceless.
OK, despite the tongue-in-cheek whining... While the weather may not have been ideal for cycling, it was a great weekend with the team, members now know each other a lot better, have a better idea of what each team member can do, and had fun together.
CSC camp: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/nov08/nov26news2
Liquigas camp: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/dec08/dec03news
Ex ABRTer Chris Larsen arranged to have part of the team stay with his grandparents, while the others stayed closer to the top of the Blue Ridge, at Wintergreen resort. While not all elite and elite dev team members could attend, the team had an excellent turnout with:
Chris Larsen (no longer with ABRT)
Chip Hoover
Eric Krause
Nat Thompson
Yanni Papadopolous
Brian Fouche
Stephen Koeble
Paul Beyer
Mike Hefner
Lance Lacy
Ali Meller
Supported by Kyle Jones and Doug Milliken.
The wheelsucker feels honored and privileged to be a member of the elite dev team, and is not entirely sure how he made it onto the team, and worries about being able to hang with this crowd, some of whom are young enough to be his sons.
Almost everyone managed to arrive Thursday evening, enjoying the freshly falling snow on the trip down. The drive up the side of the Blue Ridge up to Wintergreen resort was impressive. The wheelsucker was trying to decide if the gradient was 15%, 18% or 20%, all while trying to stay on the road, while following Mike Hefner (aka Hef2) up the road.
Chip had arranged for the Wintergreen resort condo; it was quickly apparent that most team members (those who arrived in time to score beds) were not going to be "roughing it".
How hard can this be?
A team bike really adds to the decor
Lance makes himself comfortable
Those arriving earlier scored beds, others did not 
The view from the loft suite
Nutrition is important to elite team members
Do NOT mess with Hef2!
Team members awoke Friday morning to find several inches of fresh powder on the ground, balcony, trees and roads. After some quick phone calls with those at Larsen’s grandparent's ranch, Plan A (a long hard ride with amazing climbs) evolved to Plan B, then Plan C and finally Plan CV2. 
Is that two inches? Three inches? More?
Winter wonderland?
This is a cycling camp?
Plan C Version 2 was hike a section of the Appalachian Trail, specifically a hike called "The Priest", and described as "Hike the toughest part of the Appalachian Trail: This is the arguably the hardest section on the Appalachian Trail with a 3,000 ft vertical rise in about 4 miles." See: http://www.trailheadfinder.com/trail_editor/show/205 for more information.
What fun! A hike!
Plan CV2
Though not in the Burma jungle, this hike was a full-on "Bridge on the River Kwai"-style death march up the side of a mountain, in wet slippery snow, and then a race back down. With the possible exception of Chris Larsen, who seems to enjoy hiking and apparently does a lot of it, and who felt so strongly about cycling in the cold rain that he left the camp early Saturday morning and went home, just about everyone on the team swears they will never go hiking again.
March or diePicture yourself hiking up the mountain at a threshold-crossing-into-VO2-max pace, soaked with sweat, muscles-not-used-in-cycling in pain, perhaps wearing only running shoes and plastic bags on your feet, and then racing back down the hill, trying to cut corners on the switchbacks to pass a few team mates.
Paul wore socks, plastic bags and running shoes!
Chip cannot go any further
The wheelsucker at the top
The rock formation known as "The Priest"The wheelsucker – who as someone later pointed out should have taken advantage of any wisdom his advanced age had provided him – got caught up in this, and found himself running down the trail in pursuit of an agile, fit 23 year old. The agile fit 23 year old disappeared around a corner, stepped off the trail for a quick pee, and stayed silent as the wheelsucker went tearing by, risking twisting an ankle or falling at every step. By the bottom of the trail near the parking area, after sliding into a creek, falling several times, and covering his jeans in mud, the wheelsucker was nearly crawling with his back and every muscle in his legs reminding him that he had been foolish. But he was first back to the cars.
After the drive back to Wintergreen (for those staying there) everyone had trouble climbing out of Kyle's car and walking the short distance to the condo. The wheelsucker self medicated with ibuprofen, Goslings Black Seal rum and red wine (for medicinal purposes only).
The stronger ones made it to the hot tub, the rest collapsed in the condo
After a shower and short rest the wheelsucker was barely able to make it up the steps to Kyle’s car for the ride to Chris' grandparent's ranch, and dinner. But dinner was worth the effort, and several more glasses of red wine did seem to ease the stiffness in the wheelsucker's legs. While all the food was both excellent and plentiful, some of those participating were particularly taken with the extensive dessert selection.
It was a pleasure for the wheelsucker to meet the team members he did not already know, and everyone really enjoyed dinner and hanging out. Major kudos to Chris' grandparents for hosting many of the team for the weekend, and everyone for Friday dinner.
Saturday morning was harsh; everyone had stiffened up overnight. The wheelsucker was hobbling around getting ready, but noticed that Paul was having at least as much trouble walking up and down stairs.
Saturday breakfast at Wintergreen
The boys looking forward to a rideIt was just above freezing, and pouring with rain. The plan-for-the-day evolved into: meet at the ranch and ride from there. Strong man Doug Milliken decided to ride his bike to the ranch (this was a 35 minute drive by car!) and set off down the side of the Blue Ridge on his bicycle.
The ranch is at the end of a gravel/dirt road, so riders all looked like cyclocross racers even before they got to the paved road. The team headed out in a double paceline with the leaders taking short one minute-or-so pulls. Very soon after leaving, the team met Doug, who joined in. The wheelsucker noted that his socks were soaked through after ten to fifteen minutes of riding. The route was rolling initially, and the wheelsucker was able to suck it up and hang on the short climbs, but when the team hit the first climb longer than a couple of minutes he and another rider went OTB. The downhill on the other side was a series of switchbacks which felt very slippery in the pouring rain, so the two riders took it very easy descending and then worked hard to catch back on, with help from Kyle driving the SAG wagon. Once back on everyone was fine until the second longer climb which once again saw the same two riders off the back, chasing a third up the road that was losing contact. At the top of the climb Kyle and the SAG wagon were waiting and four riders took the opportunity to change some clothes in an effort to restore feeling in extremities. This took long enough that they decided they would not be able to catch on chasing, so they went down the climb the way they had come up, short cutting the route slightly. Once all back together, the team was hammering along in the pouring rain until the right turn towards Wintergreen. At one point the team crossed paths with the Coppi squad, who were also having a training camp that weekend. Everyone who was staying at the ranch except Chip, Eric and Stephen skipped the turn and kept going for the ranch, but Chip, Eric, Stephen, Mike Hefner, Ali Meller and Lance Lacy made the right turn and started up. The wheelsucker was miserable, he was soaked through, colder than he had ever been, and feeling the effects of the Friday hike and trying to stay with the elite team on the climbs earlier in the ride. Other riders were not much better, and one by one riders dropped out and jumped into the SAG wagon. The wheelsucker had no power left and was going slow and easy hoping to finish, and the gap between Chip, Eric, Stephen, Mike and the wheelsucker opened.
The riders came around one curve and found a fan dressed in a cockroach suit cheering them on from the side of the road. Check out the video.
omigod! That roach is enormous!
Then Stephen joined Paul and Lance in the SAG wagon, and it disappeared to ferry them up to the condo, leaving Chip, Eric, Mike and Ali on the climb. By the time the SAG wagon returned, Ali was more than ready to bail, and jumped into Kyle’s car to warm up while Kyle put the bike on the roof rack. Chip, Eric and Mike each made it to the top and rode to the condo. Kudos to these guys, it wasn’t just a very tough climb, the conditions were ridiculous, with pouring rain in near freezing temperatures, and very limited visibility (in the clouds). The only other rider who made it up the Wintergreen climb was ironman Doug Milliken, who had split with the team (recall that he had ridden to the ranch) and headed back at the Wintergreen turn. He made it most of the way up but managed to break his rear derailleur shortly before the summit, so disappeared in search of a bike store. Once back at the condo, the wheelsucker started self medicating with Goslings immediately, even taking his glass into the shower with him. After soaking in a hot bath, and several does of ibuprofen and Goslings, the wheelsucker regained enough strength to put some clothes on and make it down the stairs to the living room to sort through wet clothes.
Dry shoes are a must have!
Dinner at Wintergreen was a couple of hours later. The team hung out at the condo after dinner, with an epic Wii tournament and Hef2 playing his Wii guitar.
The Sunday forecast was for more of the same, so the plan was to drive north towards 66, hoping to get a ride in, north of the storm. The first convoy arrived in Sperryville to find it raining almost as hard as on Saturday, so everyone bailed and went home. The wheelsucker did get in a rainy cold recovery ride with Doug Milliken, the Doetsch and James, once back on the Annapolis area.
This was a very interesting weekend for the wheelsucker. The team has some very strong riders. Yanni is a big strong Jens Voight type who’s only claimed weakness is longer-than-five-minute climbs; this is of course a major concern in MABRA racing. If there are any long climbs, Brian Fouche is going to gap everyone, the others seem strong all rounders, and Hef2 clearly has the strength to get the last points he needs to cat up to 2 very shortly.
Team Latitude/ABRT looks pretty good at the cat 1-2 level. The wheelsucker is less clear on how the remaining cat 3s on the dev team will do in cat 3 racing. Few of the masters riders were there, and it is not clear to the wheelsucker if any of the masters riders are going to try to win the 35+ BAR, though winning a number of races should not be a problem with the masters riders on Team Latitude/ABRT.
Thanks very much to Kyle and Doug for supporting the team. Having a warm SAG wagon full of dry clothes made all the difference on Saturday, and the cockroach costume was priceless.
OK, despite the tongue-in-cheek whining... While the weather may not have been ideal for cycling, it was a great weekend with the team, members now know each other a lot better, have a better idea of what each team member can do, and had fun together.
CSC camp: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/nov08/nov26news2
Liquigas camp: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/dec08/dec03news
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