Tucson Training Camp Day 7: Last Day

So here we are on day 7, the last day of training before I head back home. Adam and Emily have departed for the US Cup in Texas so for today it's just me and Kaitlyn. On Adam's recommendation we head for Gate's Pass - probably the most picturesque route I've done while here in Tucson.

We started the day with sleeping in :D

With us calling the shots today we get rolling much later, start time today was around 11:00 instead of 9:15. Our route to Gate's Pass again took us through the Univeristy of Arizona - the campus was a bit more hustle amd bustle than the last time we rolled through. It really is a pedestrian/bicycle friendly campus, bikes are litterally everywhere. Lots of students are out and about between the classrooms and just enjoying the sun. The temp is around 25 at this point which makes me laugh when I see people wearing hoodies. I swear people here complain about the "cold" whenever it's under 30 degrees. No joke I heard a woman say the other day that it "got chilly." It was 23 degrees with a slight wind. I am in awe

Once you turn onto University Avenue, the road smooths out and you come into no-car zones

I wasn't joking when I said bike friendly - this bike parking lot extends for an entire block and it's not the only one around. There are numerous tents set up today alongside the strip. Some are bike checkup tents and others are refreshment tents that offer drinks and hotdogs.

Once you get past all the academic buildings, you arrive at the party street. Restaurants galore along this strip with tvs aplenty. It's not even noon yet and some of them already have their patios packed. As much as I'd love to stay for beer and fried food, our journey to the Pass takes us outside the city

The road goes from super smooth to super suckage as we near the mountains. The good part is that we pretty much have the roads to ourselves. Since I've been here, I've seem numerous signs about "Watch For Ice" or "Bridge May Ice" and I can't help but wonder, when the hell are these things ever relevant? We're in mid February and it's still warm at the highest altitudes, not that there's ever any percipitation around here anyway. There are numerous dry river beds in Tucson.

The front side of Gate's Pass is a cinch to climb - maybe a couple of miles of easy grade and it certainly doesn't pose a threat after slaying Lemmon. Once over the pass we're greeted by some beautiful views...

The line of mountains drop away to the valley floor. The road to the right of this picture is the one that leads back up the pass. For our ride today, we're continuing to the left. It's a gentle down that winds through some more desert scenery. In the valley, we find "Old Tucson." I'm not sure if it's the actual, original settlement of Tucson or just a tourist village, but it's set up as an old western town so people can come in (for a fee of course) and explore the past. I just wanted to take a picture but the whole thing is walled off - I just held my camera up and snapped one off

More pictures of the valley...

The best part of his ride was just how abandonned the roads were. We seldom ran into anyone out here so we were pretty much given free reign over where to ride. After this last loop we headed for the pass once more. A word to anyone who comes here, the backside of this pass is WAY steeper than the front. It is really short and maybe because it's been seven days straight of riding, but it was tough climbing out of there. The relief for us was we knew that once we crested this climb, we were clear all the way home. 

Total ride time for the day was aproximately 2:30. A lot more up and down than what we've done previously as well

For the rest of the day, we're packing. Ready for the haul back home

Tucson Training Camp Day 6: Respite from the mountains

Day 5 left me wiped - I slept for about 10 hours and didn't want to go biking the first thing in the morning. But majority rules so we're meeting at 10am. (Yes 10am to me is first thing in the morning, it's a half hour ride to the meeting spot to boot(leave me alone I am not a morning person))

First thing Adam does whenever we meet is what any coach would do: How are you feeling? Cylcing is one of those sports where training based on feel is the way to go. Other sports might say, you're hurt? Get out there anyway and kill it! Cycling is more like ok so you're not feeling 100%? We're going to tone it back a bit today because the quality of the workout won't be high and your gains won't be as good. You're better spent off letting your body recover with an easier workout than kicking it while it's down. Cycling is about quality over quantity - don't get me wrong, you need to train a lot for cycling, but if you're always having shit workouts than you aren't making the most of your gains

My answer for Adam? ......meh...ugh. Yesterday left me wiped and I had absolutely no appetite this morning. I've been living with two people in close quarters for the past week and they've been sick since I've been here - I'm feeling a bit phelgmy. This means that we're not doing anything too hard today, keep everything at endurance pace and keep riding time closer to 3hours vs 4. Easily done

Our route today was to take us through Saguaro (spelled wrong maybe) Park. It's a one way road that winds through some Tucson countryside. I think it's only an eight mile loop, but it has plenty of pulloffs to the side of the road for people to get out of their cars and look at the dirt. Honestly it seems like this place charges you to drive through a part of the state that's no different than the rest. You can see cactus, and desert plants and... Well, there's a rock there too. Then again we have all that stuff in our back yard. Then again we're not here for the sights (nor are we paying.) We're here for a twisty, undulating one-way road loop that is plain ol wicked fun to ride. Here is the first road sign you come across as you join the loop...

Right at the beginning there is a steep down followed by a sharp turn to the right. The speed limit sign shows 5mph which is quickly ignored. No one fell onto any rocks like the sign shows...

The loop continues, up and down, left and right and you're steaming along at a pretty good clip. It's got a pretty good roller coaster feel to it. Eventually you come to the one and only climb on the loop - it's about a 6% grade that last maybe 10 minutes. Honestly it feels like a blip after what we did yesterday, nothing could feel easier right now. 

The loop takes you by a big rock (Oooooohhh)

And then you're pretty much done the loop. It's fun to do laps (so we did a couple) and finished up the ride in about 3:30. Adam and Emily are heading to the first US Cup of the season in Texas so we parted ways for the final time this camp. Kaitlyn and I have our pick of routes tomorrow and then that will be the end of my time here in Tucson. A lot of our post-workout time is spent at the nearby starbucks as it's the only place we can get wifi (it's still out at the house!)

After tomorrow's workout we'll have some cleanup to do around the house, then it's an early drive to Phoenix for the flight back to Canadaland.

Tucson Training Camp Day 5: Finally conquered the bitch

Day 5 was another attempt at making it to the top of Lemmon - no more mechanicals! I told the group that if I get another mechanical on my bike then someone is going to be giving me theirs so I can finish the damn climb. SO, the plan for the day: Meet at Le Buzz café and then make for the base of the mountain. Mile 0-14 will be max effort TT. Once we reach Windy Point, it's gonna be a cruise the rest of the way to the top. By the time we make it back down the mountain and back to the house it should be around five hours in the saddle. Off we go!

14 miles is not a long way to go, but when you've never done a climb that long it's hard to know how hard you can push and still have enough in the tank for the rest of the way. My TT effort was 75 minutes of 180bpm +. There was a bit of a headwind through the steep part of this climb so it didn't exactly help things along but I made it to Windy Point in 1:18. Made it to the top feeling pretty good, glad to just make it without any problems as opposed to doing it as fast as I could. Good to know I've still got some race pace in my legs as well, as shown my my HR map

So that first big block is obviously my TT effort to Windy. It tapers off a little bit which I attribute to my mind wondering and not staying 100% focused on the climb - It's hard work to keep suffering for over an hour, especially when you've got no one riding next to you to help you keep pushing (the others were doing their own ITT efforts)

Once we all regrouped at Windy it was time to hit the summit. We were at a cruising pace the rest of the way. The route upwards kind of throws some hope at you, making you think you've made it. You descend a kilometre or so, only for the road to turn up again and have you go even higher. Our finish line was the General Store at the top. Once we made it there it was nice to sit in the sun and eat our purchases from the store - FUDGE

You figure it's mostly downhill from here so why not eat 1/2 pound of mint fudge and a mini bottle of coke? No one provided any answers...

Stopped for a quick pic at the top...

Didn't get to do it on my own bike, but it was done none the less. Lemmon has only one paved route, so we begin back tracking the way we came. I saw a sign not too long after...

So, we're supposed to be on the look out for BEARS for the next 25 miles?! Is that who the poop on the roads belong to? Where the fuck was this sign on the way up? It's like only if you've been to the top of the mountain do you get to know that there are bears lurking around. Don't bring any picanic baskets.

Ok! So! Descent! The grade isn't actually that steep, an upright position might give you 50km/h on the descent but Adam and I were as low as we could go and pedaling like mad when we could. I only had one oh shit moment and it was when I entered a tight corner at 70+ and thought maybe it was too fast - we were dropping the crotch rocket behind us. The best thing about this climb is that you never need to hit your brakes - ever. Once you get your bike in high gear you never have to touch your levers again. That is until you come around a blind corner and there is a family of like, 10, slowly making their way across the road with their hands all linked together. You think a group like that might want to show some hustle, but instead they just freeze up and wait to see what you do next. Anyone who has used road bike brakes at 70km/h and over know that they don't actually work at that speed, you kinda have to wait until the road flattens out before they have any effect. And these people were taking up THE WHOLE road, I'm talking two lanes, no gap and they say it's our move. 

This was red rover extreme edition. Thankfully we spotted a bike wide gap on the other side of the road that we might have a chance with. We took it and continued the descent. As far as we know, no casualties. The descent from the Palisades took us 34 minutes. Not the record but still a lot of fun. Half an hour downhill is unheard of back home. Probably the highlight of riding so far

It's a 26 mile climb (42km for pretty much everyone reading this) The elevation profile isn't that steep, it's all about the distance. This day marks the end of Mt. Lemmon for me here is Tucson, I've got two more days of training here and I've already spent three on this climb. 115km on the day has left me wiped, bed time comes veeery early tonight

Tucson Training Camp Day 4: Rest and Relaxation

Day 4 is the middle of training camp and thus a rest day. Overall objective is quite simple - make sure your mind and body is ready to go for the rest of the training camp. For us that means sleeping in, eating, napping, stretching, rolling, eating, and basically doing SFA all day. 

Normally such a day would be welcomed eagerly, however we're presented with a few obstacles...

The cable tv hasn't been working here since we moved in. It hasn't been an issue because we've had this wonderful thing called internet, which for some reason decided to shit the bed late Saturday evening. Our situation isn't helped by it being Sunday - any kind of fixes are going to come Monday at the earliest.

So today we'll make do with lounging about in the 25 degree, sunny weather. I'm getting well aquainted with our backyard and its fake grass...

We've made a trip to the nearby starbucks to make use of their wifi and we'll likely make another before the day is out. On our first trip there I was able to catch up on all the hockey action we missed from this morning (I say catch up loosely, Nikki was texting me updates at 6 in the morning...) Certainly wish I could have been there to see the win

We're not sure of the complete plans for the rest of camp, although I do know that at least one day will involve summiting that damned mountain

Man today is boring

Tucson Training Camp Day 3: Lemmon conquered! Wait....

Today was the first day on my Cannondale rental bike and today was also the day I take another crack at the summit of Mt. Lemmon. Adam had given us a choice of workout today - the first one being the Shootout group ride. (which Kaitlyn and Elyse did) Personally I wasn't up to waking up at 5:00am in order to have time for breakfast and making my way over to the starting point. Kudos to them though, they got there and did the ride. 

The option I chose was Lemmon - I didn't get the chance to see the top yesterday due to the whole bike breaking thing, so today was going to be my day. The workout was as follows...

1) 1 hour low endurance warmup to base of mtn

2) Max TT effort from mile marker 0 to 14 (Windy Point)

3) Endurance rest of the way to the top

4) Total time should be around 4:30-5:00 hours of riding

So I set out, an easy spin to the base of Mt. Lemmon pretty much gives me a perfect one hour warmup. 

This is the road that leads up the mountain. I've got three bottles with me and I've pretty much finished one off before I get to the base. This is also a good time to take some feeds that will kick in in about an hour so you don't start getting hungry halfway through the climb. You see that peak on the right side of the image? Yeah, that isn't even close to the top. We're going higher

Mile 0 and I'm finding an early rhythm, already much faster than yesterday's summit attempt. Around mile marker 2 I see a familiar pair coming down the mountain in the opposite direction - Adam and Emily! Give em a quick wave and it's back to head down with my legs pumping. I'm feeling freaking awesome at this point, I'm moving along at a great clip, enough to elicit a "whoa" from another cyclist as I pass him. Speed is moving between 18-23km/h on this segment. I could be going faster but as my baseline ride was cut short yesterday, I'm not actually sure what kind of pace I can sustain. For the time being though I like it. 

Around mile 6 the road gets a wee bit steeper. I'm still maintaining a good pace and I feel good to keep pushing hard. Suffice to say I'm in the zone. A convoy of cars start to pass me on the road and they've got oncoming traffic as well so I'm stuck on the shoulder. That's why there was no way I could avoid the mass of glass that was covering the road. I do my best to avoid it and as I clear the glass-field I think I've made it out... Pssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ok rear flat. It's not hard to find the culprit - chunk of glass right smack dab in the middle of the tread. I quickly extricate it and go about replacing the tube. Miles Ahead bike shop provides a flat repair kit with their rental bikes, so in goes the new tube and a CO2 cartridge takes care of the rest. 

I'm off riding again but trying to restart my effort at one of the steeper parts of the climb. I've lost all my rhythm and everything seems more laboured now. This sucks. I try to find the groove again but it aint coming. Oh well, to the top as best I can.

The girls have talked about how the vegetation on Mt. Lemmon can get interesting - at the bottom it's typical Arizona desert, a bunch of cacti and dirt. As you ascend higher, you get something more familair...

All of a sudden, around mile 10 (where my bike broke yesterday) you start seeing fir trees. All of a sudden the trees ascend faster than you and put you in a tunnel, rock face on one side and forest on the other. Soon, the road flatens out as you pass some campgrounds so you can get some reprieve from the incline and turn the speed back up to the mid 20's. It's short lived however, as mile 12-14 are the steepest and you also have to deal with a headwind. 

The last two miles to Windy Point are steep and the blind corners make it difficult to see cars coming. Finally though, after a quick roll over some cobbles, you arrive at Windy Point

That road way down there? Around mile 9, so five miles before where I took the picture. That peak you see in the top middle of the picture? That's the one I pointed out in the first picture of this post. And we're STILL not to the top yet. I hang out around for a bit as the hard effort is over. The Palisades are the next pitstop, six miles away. Time to start climbing again

And here's the part where I wish I could share a picture of the absolute peak of Lemmon. I cannot, because around mile 18, as I shifted into my granny gear, the chain jammed into the spokes. The rear wheel locked up in the same fashion it did when I cracked my frame so after a momentary freak out, I got chain free but was confronted by a wobbly wheel - one of the spokes was bent. I decided to turn back. I have never been more tense on a bike than on this descent. Every bump made me think the wheel was going to explode, the loads on the wheel are far higher at 50km/h + than 15. Everytime I leaned into a corner, I could feel the rear wheel wanting to break away. Everytime I used the rear brake the bike would wobble. I gingerly made it down and into the rental shop. They quickly realised the limit screw had not been adjusted and assumed all fault. They gave me a new wheel and quickly sent me on my way. 

Sunday is a rest day. No long rides, just time to focus on stretching, nutrition and recovery. Monday we start another 3-day block before heading home on Thursday. And we'll probably start with summiting Mt. Lemmon. I will see it before this trip is over. 

LYRBST

Tucson Training Camp Day 2: Disaster Strikes

Day two and it's the moment I've been waiting for! Today we're going to establish a baseline up Mt. Lemmon. It will still be considered an endurance ride so we shouldn't be pushing too far outside of our aerobic thresholds. 

Plan was to meet at a café called Le Buzz for 9:45am. It's near the base of the Mt. Lemmon highway. 

7 of us were in the group today. We would all make our own pace up to mile 20 of the climb, regroup and then bomb the descent together. The climb itself isn't all that steep, we all found an easy rhythm at around 14-17 km/h and stayed together for pretty much the whole thing. I was definitely noticing a difference with the thiness of the air - it wasn't like it was making things WAY more difficult, it just made it feel like each breath was a little bit less full. The road starts to turn up a little bit more around mile 11. It was around this point that disaster struck...

I was in the middle of our group when I stodd up just to give my butt some reprieve. All of a sudden my crank stopped turning and the rear wheel completely locked up. My bike quickly came to a stop and the others had to scramble to avoid riding into the back of me. I assumed it was chain suck so it would just be a quick matter of reaching down and resetting the chain. Alas, this was not the case...

A cracked chainstay - this is a ride ender, there's no way around this one, ESPECIALLY considering that the way home is a 1000m descent, with speeds potentially reaching 80km/h. This damage is not the result of a crash - if you're a bike mechanic, you've heard the explanation "I was just riding along" or JRA for short. 9 times out of 10 their JRA explanation is a crock of shit and they were actually doing something stupid. This was one of those 1/10 instances. No one in the group, all experienced racers have ever seen anything like this. One of the most bizarre equipment breakages we've ever seen.

So here was my dilema - Day 2 of a 7 day bike training camp and all of a sudden I have no bike. Also I need a way downt he mountain. While some of the group continued on the route, Adam kept me company at the side of the road while Emily went to get the truck

Once I got back to the house, I had to figure out getting a rental bike. Prices per day seemed to range from $55 to $88 a day. Five days at $55 plus tax and that's a $300 expense that I really don't want. Elyse mentioned that a friend of theirs rented a bike from a shop called Miles Ahead. I checked their website, which to be frank, wasn't the most informative. I decided to check it out anyway. BEST DECISION EVER. They're a relatively small shop but they're everything a bike shop should be. The guys I dealt with there all provide amazing service and really go out of their way to get you riding. Right now, there are loads of people renting bikes, for which they need to make a reservation. I walked in and they were able to get me on a properly sized bike and so I could have it for the rest of my stay here. They had me bring in my old bike, from which they took all the important measurements and copied them onto the rental. They also swapped over my seat and pedals all free of charge. Oh yeah, and they told me to help myself to the beer fridge while I wait. (I did) 

Now here's the kicker - They gave me a rate of $40 a day, and he further discounted the tax so I only had to pay an even $200. They're a seriously good shop. Upon my return I think I'll bring em donuts :D

So now for the remainder of the camp I shall be atop this...

A Cannondale SuperSix! It'll be interesting to see how it compares to my Venge.

So after only 2 hours on the bike today I'm feeling pretty rested. Today we'll have a few options for what we'll be doing. Until then, more food and sleeping!

PS: So jealous of everyone back home getting to watch the hockey game! The tv where we're staying isn't working properly and the cbc streaming app doesn't work in USA! Wish I was there to see it

Tucson Training Camp Day 1

For training camp this year, I am much more preapared. I've been diligently completing my trainer rides back home in preperation for this camp - I'm only here for a week so I have to make the most of my time here.

Adam met us at the house today for 10am and we were were ready for him. The three of us (myself, Kaitlyn and Elyse) had woken up at 8 am to ensure we had time get eat breakfast and digest - we knew it would be around 4 hours in the saddle today.

So we step outside to get a move on and lo and behold, Emily is here too, just back from the Canadian national team camp in California. Adam gives another quick run down on today's plan (endurance ride, high rpm and throw in some paceline work to keep in fun

Our route out of the city took us along the popular university bike path. Tucson is littered with bike paths and this one in particular is used by all university students who bike into class. The road eventually leads into what can only be described at their main strip - think UofT St. George only 90% of it is a pedestrian only zone. The first half of the strip comprises classrooms and such, and the second half is clearly their Part Zone. Restaurants and bars galore and not a single one of them without a patio. This is the place to be on gameday..

Our route continues to A Mountain. Yes that is "A" Mountain, as the side of the mountain has a large letter A carved into it. It's an easy climb, short and sweet but it gives you a great view of Tucson.

And it provided us a moment to snap a quick pic!

And yes, Kaitlyn and I are rocking the new Wired For Performance kits! Love em! (I'll feature them in a later post)

 A quick descent down the way we climbed up and we took a road that led south of the city towards Green Valley. This entire road south is one big false flat. The grade is very gradually increasing all the time so when you think your legs are hurting because of an extended effort, it's actually because you're going a lot more upward than you think you are. This road we did some rotating paceline work - superquick pulls to the front and immediately moving over for the next person. We did that for about 20 minutes on the false flat before the road really started to turn upwards

We eventually peaked and made our turn towards Green Valley, it was a fast descent but somewhat hampered by the headwind. Once we made our turn to go back towards the city the wind shifted and decided to hit us straight on in the face. (For you experienced riders, you know this is normal wind behaviour, as no matter what you do on a ride, the wind will always be against you on the way home. For the uninitiated, don't think that if you start your ride into the wind, you'll have it at your back for the return trip. Wind is a fickle bitch and just doesn't work that way.)

As we reached the Tucson city limits I had my first hunger stab. Almost 4 hours into the ride and my stomach decided to throw a hissy fit. When you're riding for this long and you start to feel hungry, your stomach adopts the demeanour of an infant child. You can coddle it and give it everything it wants but it's still going to whine and complain regardless. 

Finally made it back to the house where I commenced the feasting. Thank god for chocolate milk. 

116km distance covered on the first day is not bad in my book, not bad for climbing either.

Tucson elevation is about 700m above sea level. The first spike you see is the A Mountain climb. From Km 15-30 was our false flat where we did our paceline training. From 70-End the elevation shows we're descending but ny god with that wind it felt like we were climbing all the way home too. (Uphill! Bothways!)

Tomorrow's plan is another 4 hours ish only this time we'll be working on Mt. Lemmon. This mountain is pretty much why Tucson is worth coming to for cycling. I mean it's great that it's warm here and all but if there was no Mt Lemmon, I doubt many people would bother making the trip...

It's an odd feeling to look at the clock, see that it's 9:30 and be ready to sleep. (Even after napping earlier in the afternoon) What's great about training camps is that while you get to do amazing rides, you don't have to worry about doing anything else all day. You ride, then eat, then nap, eat some more and then sleep. 

Good night for now!

To Tucson, Arizona!

Last year Oxnard, this year Tucson!

I have arrived in sunny and warmer-than-Oxnard Tucson. Temperature is aproximately 25 and calm winds. I am so freaking ready for training this week. 

First off, I can go outside without

1) shoes

2) a jacket

3) a shovel

Don't get me wrong, I love winter but damn is it good to get away and do some real riding in the middle of winter. This week I'll be riding with Adam, Kaitlyn and Elyse on the roads of Tucson, working on my cycling tan and generally doing nothing else but eating when not on a bike

This training camp will also be the debut for the new kits so we're going to look pretty pro when we're doing group rides. 

Drove down to Tucson with my dad so I am super prepared to stretch the legs! Also did my initial grocery shopping for the week. Stopped in at a Safeway and tried to buy food that works with several different meals.

Everything laid out, ready for riding tomorrow

This is probably the least coherent post I've ever done

LYRBST

:D

Goodbye Trainer, Hello Rollers

It's a well known fact that I abhor the trainer. It's a necessary evil to maintain form throughout the off-season but it takes all the fun out of riding - I'd barely call it riding actually.

That's where the rollers come in. No longer are you locked in at the rear axle, and no longer are you driving just the rear wheel. Overall your position is no longer fixed - you can move to side to side much like on the road. Here's where we get the inherent danger. There's nothing but yourself to keep you from flying off the thing. Coupled with the fact that due to less resistance on these machines, you could fly off during a sprint and your wheels are spinning at 60km/h

Tacx Galaxia - Bicycle Treadmill

Screw the danger though, this thing is a million times more fun and engaging than a trainer. If you're riding indoors and just want to ride, accept the learning curve and go with rollers. The model I'm using has some unique features as well...

Rolling rollers

The frame that supports the rear wheel sits on a rocker. At the front end the frame sits on wheels so the whole unit can move back and forth with the bike. When you go for a sprinting effort on fixed rollers, the acceleration can fling you off the bike. The design on mine uses the rocker to absorb that acceleration and keep you from riding off into your tv

Makes for an awful rolling pin

Another unique feature are the concave cylinders - the higher edges act as a warning for the rider that they're riding the edge, as well as nudging you back the middle.

Best piece of training equipment I own, makes indoor riding during the winter actually tolerable

I think it's about time for an update

Right so I may have failed to update this thing for a while but rest assured, I am still here and still racing.

Long story short, I didn't achieve the results I was looking for last year. This year though I've re focused and I'm really excited for 2014 :D


Here's a quick preview of things to come over the next couple of weeks...

1) Some of the new equipment I've been using in the off season. It's 100x more dangerous but 1000x more satisfying than that pesky bike trainer I've been using before now.

2) Everyone knows Gatorade. Love it or hate it, most people would view it as the de facto "sports drink," despite the fact that it has as much sugar as pop. I've been introduced to a drink that does everything Gatroade does, minus the cavity-inducing sugar. (And yes it tastes good)

3) Adam at Wired for Performance Coaching has completed the new kit for this year's team, they look awesome and we'll be debuting them at.....

4) TRAINING CAMP! One of my favourite times of the year. This year we'll be in Tucson, Arizona and I already know that I'll be loving every minute of it. Southern Ontario this year has been dipping into the -20's while Tucson has been enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures. The weeks worth of riding will be accompanied by daily updates and pictures as the training camp in Cali was last year. 

That's all for now