Spring Break Training Camp: UW race weekend

Spring break is officially over. We are back at Whitman, unloaded and have separated back to our individual places of residence.

At the time I was writing this we were heading back to Walla Walla and I just woke up from a casual hour and a half nap…

Now that I’m back to feeling somewhat less about to pass out I’m feeling quite conflicted because on the one hand the past two weeks have been amazing, fun and full of biking and limited class work and we are returning to lots more classwork, but on the other hand it’s been a huge logistical, emotional and traveling marathon. The group was continually changing in composition and size as people came and went to visit family and friends (awesome, but also logistically tough to keep track of). We got in amazing rides with lots of miles and elevation, as talked about in previous posts, and that combined with this past race weekend mean that our muscles are well and truly tired (mission accomplished). Living with 11-15 people for two weeks has also been a good test of patience and introversion. Even though I absolutely love everyone on the team and spending time with them, spending time around any number of people in general is very emotionally draining for me-especially so in large groups. The one on one is better and the me time is even better, but given that we live in confined spaces and I’m in charge of everyone (also something I’ve chosen and love to do) the amount of alone time I can take is limited. With that said, I am so unbelievable excited to go back to my own room where I can shut the door and have nobody else around (yay!!!!). Speaking of my bedroom, it’s going to be amazing to sleep in a bed again. And I’ve also had enough driving for the moment… at least until next weekend, when we head up to Bellingham for the WWU race weekend.

Here are a few driving stats from the entire trip (riding totals are in the previous blog).

Total miles driven: 2200

Total time spent traveling: A lot. Lots and lots. Probably at least 36 hours

First race weekend of the season I always expect a little roughness as people get into the rhythm of a race weekend, but I was impressed by how the new people picked up cues from the returning riders about what to do and how everyone pitched in and we ended up sticking to the schedule quite well. Morning wake ups for the past weekend were 4.45 for breakfast crew and 5.15 for everyone else. We left the house at 6.15 and were at the course at 7.30 and 7.00 on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We told all the new riders to get used to the early wake up, because they are pretty typical of race weekends and actually we got to bed way earlier than normal because we had a short trip on Friday from Portland. Welcome to collegiate cycling!

Speaking of which, Dino, Maddie, Teddy and Adam (some of our new riders) did awesome this weekend and now have a good idea of what to expect for the rest of the season. We are so happy that they joined the team! I saw everyone putting their own best effort into the racing, which is all I could ever ask. I saw teammates cheering and supporting one another and acting crazy together, which makes me so proud and also grateful to be a part of such a wonderful team.

I will let others tell stories of their own individual experiences from the weekend, but I just want to express here how impressed I am with everyone on the team, how thankful I am for everyone on the team and how much happier you all make my life. Thanks for all the hugs, the support and the excitement.

The results from the races can be found here.

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Something incredibly sad occurred this Saturday during the road race that I have never witnessed in collegiate cycling before, but that I’d like to address as it severely impacted everyone who was present. A rider from OSU crashed really badly, was airlifted out and then a few hours later passed away. This death impacted everyone in the conference extremely strongly, including our teammates who were present. This death brought to stark attention the small but always present risk inherent in cycling and I think forced everyone to do some serious reflection. Why do we ride and race? What activities in our lives do we love enough and are important enough that we are willing to take the risk? How often do we express our appreciation and love to the important people in our lives? After the announcement was made of the rider’s death, the rest of Saturday’s races were cancelled and we took the rest of the day to decompress, relax and allow everyone to process and deal in whichever way people saw fit. I am impressed and gratified by the support and love in which the team came together to support each other in this time of sadness. I think many people on the team are still processing and will still be processing/dealing with this event for a while.

We are sending our heartfelt sympathy and best wishes to the OSU team, the family of the rider and everyone else in his life. We can’t imagine what you all must be going through right now, but know that we are here to support you as a conference, community and extended family. We are so very sorry for your loss.

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On that note, I would like to thank everyone involved with this team. Thank you to all my teammates. Thanks to the parents and supporters and alumni that have made this team what it is and who have enabled the current riders to do what they do. Thanks to my family for supporting me always and for the school for supporting this club sport and allowing us to do such amazing things like spring break in CA and be self-run. Truly this team would not exist if not for the continued support and effort of everyone involved and for that I am extremely grateful.

Now back to the student life and a recovery week before WWU next weekend.

-Mackinzie

Spring Break Training Camp 2016: week 2

The second week of training camp is coming to a close with the sizzling of veggies accompanied by the beat of the newest pop music and accompanying voices chiming in. Pretty much the whole team is clustered in the kitchen and dining room with half of them dancing, a couple clustered around the stove and the rest hanging around chatting, adding peanut gallery comments every so often and generally just adding to the rambunctious excitement filling the atmosphere. It feels as if we have just accomplished something massive and since tomorrow is a rest day and travel day, there seems to be a general consensus that relaxing and stretching can be put off for the moment in exchange for letting off a little steam and allowing our inner children loose for a bit.

We have indeed earned this break. With the past week and a half of huge rides and way more elevation gain than any of us have seen for the past many months, all of our legs are thoroughly thrashed. Not to mention the mental stress of living 24/7 with 13 other people, even if they are some of your best friends. Total stats for the training camp so far are as follows:

Riding miles: 380

Riding elevation gain: 24000’

Driving: 1100 miles

We’ve been fortunate with the rain so far. We’ve generally had sunny warm days that have provided just about perfect riding weather, pristine air conditions and glowing green hillsides.

Today was another choice day, meaning that everyone broke up into small groups depending on what last ride they wanted to get in and what their bodies could do after all the rides that we’ve already completed. After Alex and I dealt with some extra logistics this morning we went out for a gorgeous celebratory ride in the Berkeley Hills. With no plan in mind, we headed out to enjoy the sun and explore whatever roads looked interesting. We found a couple roads cutting across the side of the hills with widespread views of the bay, SF and Marin. I could have stayed there all day just drooling over the view. However by bike was calling me so we moved on.

A big thank you to Adam and his family for letting us stay at their house for the past week. The large space has been perfect for accommodating so many of us and the riding nearby has been absolutely fantastic!

Next up we are traveling to Portland to stay overnight at Kevin’s place before heading up to the race weekend in Seattle. This will be our first race weekend so it will be very interesting to see how everything turns out, especially since I expect all our legs to still be very sore from the past intense training block. Stay tuned for more updates about the races and our long travel days ahead.

Spring Break Training Camp 2016: Week 1

Well the first week of spring break has come to a close. And the second is well under way with some scattered showers during our first ride and some confusion in trying to figure out where to turn for our route while riding on unfamiliar roads.

Stats for the first week: we got in four large rides as a team and one easy day when everyone took the opportunity to get in some individualized riding and relaxation.
Total miles: 220
Total elevation gained: 13600'

Everyone is pink/tan to varying degrees from the many hours spent out in the sunshine. After being dumped-on last Sunday (our first full day in CA), it cleared up and became incredibly nice riding weather. Maybe a little too nice since we all just came from a much colder and cloudier Walla Walla WA and our bodies are not used to the heat or direct sunshine. note to self: use more sunscreen and make use of the team's jug of aloe vera

Fairfax was a wonderful starting point for some super scenic rides and meanderings through the small downtown and surrounding trails. Sonya and Chris were wonderful enough to allow us to stay at their house for the second year in a row. Thank you so much for letting us take over part of your house for a week, feeding us and accommodating the chaos of a group our size!!!

A few highlights included riding along the 1 (Shoreline Highway) and getting fabulous views of the Pacific ocean, SF and the bay; stopping at Bovine Bakery for mid-ride goodies; racing down the swoops of Panoramic Hwy and having a car pull over so we could pass; and the development of very significant tan lines (or burn lines depending on the person...)

Saturday we attended a high school mountain bike race. Our Monday riding buddy and Mackinzie's younger brother, Calvin, raced to the cheers of Whitman Cycling and got 4th! The team also got to experience the wondrous efficiency, massiveness, professionalism and community that is high school mountain biking. Thanks to Vanessa Hauswald for saving a spot for our Rig (trailer plus small bus) in a prime location!

We are now in Moraga where we are staying with Adam until Thursday. More rides and shenanigans to come so stay tuned.

Spring Break Training Camp 2016: staging and neutral roll out

Once again I find myself at the beginning of another cycling team season. This time we don’t start off with the jolt of a race weekend but rather with the relief of two weeks of spring break ahead. 14 of us are headed down to the Bay Area in CA for team training camp. We hope to take advantage of steep windy climbs and descents, new scenery and (generally) warmer sunnier weather. The goal is to get in lots of long, difficult and above all fun training days and be able to focus more attention on skills, form, strategy, confidence and joy of riding. Also lots of relaxing, sleeping, recovering and de-stressing in preparation for the busy season (of academics and cycling) coming after we get back to Walla Walla.

The plan for this year’s training camp takes us on a tour of five team members’ homes-which is super exciting! Our first stop is overnighting in Albany courtesy of Noah’s parents. Then we spend our first week down at my parent’s place exploring Marin County. Second week we switch over to the east bay to Adam’s place for a change of pace. Then at the end we head up to Portland for a night at Kevin’s place on the way up to Seattle for the UW race where we will be staying at Josh’s place. The UW race will be our first race weekend as a team! After that we head back to Walla Walla to finish out the second half of the semester and for some of us the last six weeks as a Whitman student (crazy!).

It has been a lot of logistics to get us to this place where we are finally setting out on this grand adventure, but we are finally rolling out. As is usual for the start of an adventure, I am a bit paranoid that I forgot something, a little worried about it all turning out well, but mostly in a daze of frayed nerves that haven’t had time to settle yet and with my brain not quite comprehending that the preparations are done. And underneath all the tiredness is a welling excitement for the upcoming two weeks.

A big thank you to all of our chaperones and homestay’s for agreeing to put up with us for a time and helping us out!!! We truly couldn’t make any of this happen without your support.

-Mackinzie