2010 Season Starts with Bike Camp
It’s good to have the 2009 season of injuries and set backs behind me! I am looking forward to a successful 2010 cycling season! For the last 10 years I have been privileged to start my season off with a training camp is SUNNY San Diego. This year we are actually holed up in a hotel in Alpine, California. The goal of this National Team Camp is to get in some good base miles and climb!
Personally, I have been waiting for this camp since I have not been able to ride with many folks, and I’ve been wanting to test myself since making my way back from injury to fitness. This whole comeback thing has taken many forms in the last ten months. I have had moments of greatness and moments of deep disappointment. One moment of greatness was riding the PINHOTI Trail with my good friends Cleve Blackwell and Trey Woodall. We rode our MTB bikes for about 8 hrs and climbed over 13,000′! I felt great on that ride and my mind was happy and clear. A moment of disappointment came on the first day of bike camp yesterday. The first day is always a measuring stick…all the guys are excited to be together and everyone wants to test themselves. I am no different and I personally needed this day of judgment.
I am the oldest male rider on the team and I am happy in that role as I feel that I bring the team leadership and experience. That title starts to get real heavy though when you race up a 30 minute climb with a couple of 20 year olds! It was about 20 minutes into this climb when I had to let the boys go and enter into my own personal pain cave! It’s been years since I have been there. When I was in the cave I started to think about a lot of things…am I too old? Where is my fitness? Do I still have something wrong with my lungs? How are those guys climbing so well? Then I said… all that is BS! I am out in California riding my bike, I have a beautiful wife, a successful career, and countless blessings, and not I am NOT too old! At that moment the pain was not as great… my mind was clearing and motivation came storming in.
I think Brooke (the wife) has been trying to motivate me and I didn’t even realize it! Since we returned from our NYC trip she has been planning meals to cook at home. She has also been going to the gym in the mornings before work. Each time she goes she asks me if I want to go to the gym with her, and I have been saying no!? Well now, I am going to say yes! This change has been building for many months and I have been making excuses and making some bad decisions.
Thanks Brooke for leading by example and giving me the time to attend bike camp! Thanks to my teammates for taking the National Team seriously and raising the bar!