Base Camp 2011

To help boost my early season fitness, I decided to participate in a cycling base camp. The triathlon team that my coach runs, Fit2Train, organizes the camp Presidents' Day weekend annually in Fredericksburg, Texas. The camp leaves out of "the Ranch" and features three days of riding through beautiful, challenging Texas Hill Country.

131/265:  Jimmy's "art".  There's a small crack near the chainstay.  Still beautiful.

I arrived in Dallas on Friday morning. After lunch and a few errands, Michelle and I headed south. Our five hour drive was uneventful, save for some traffic and a detour. We stayed at The CycleHaus which is only a five minute bike ride from the ranch. The place is a small house on Jimmy's ranch. In addition to ranching, Jimmy is also half owner of a bike shop in Austin and is retired from the rodeo. We got settled and headed over to the Ranch. Supper that evening was at Hondo's in town.

Saturday we started with a pre-ride meeting at 8:30. The weather was overcast, 60, with mist. We rode out a few minutes after nine for an 84 mile route. The terrain reminded me a lot of St. Clair County in that the climbs were quick and steep, many of them stair steps. It was very much like riding up Triple Lakes Road from Stolle Quarry. We had great sag support, and only made one wrong turn! I also learned about cattle guards. These are sets of metal rods in the road that keep livestock from crossing. And boy did we see the livestock: cattle, steers, goats, sheep, alpacas, and llamas. By the end of the day I was tired but my legs felt pretty good. My lower back was tight, and my lady business hurt though. After a quick shower we went back to the ranch for Coach to talk on nutrition. As a group we headed back to Hondo's for a protein heavy supper. Knowing Sunday brought another long day, I opted for an early evening.

132/365:  Our first stop on Saturday.  Beautiful riding if not for the mist.

Sunday was a tough day for me mentally and physically. I didn't sleep well due to my icky cough, and the wind made the biking conditions less than stellar. To add to it, Chuck ended up with the short route group, so our long group lacked focus. Moreover, Rocky joined our band of cyclists. (think Bollwinkle and you'll figure out why I named him that). On the way to the tunnel, we faced a longish climb. Midway one of our girls faced a mechanical. A few of the group waited, but most pressed on. That's where I began to get crabby and fatigued. The wind was brutal on a smaller group, and Rocky just sucked wheel, doing no work, until he leap frogged to the next few riders. We finally all made it to the top and my legs and attitude were toast. I wanted to quit but knew we had some downhill on right ahead so I stayed on the bike. Finally at mile 36, I saw Michelle stopped and pulled the plug. My chest hurt, my legs were like pulled pork and my lady biz felt the red butt baboons' hineys look. We put the bike in the car and moved down the course. Luckily Michelle knows me well enough to know that I shouldn't quit so easily. She let me rest for a few miles, take some meds, and asked me if I was ready to go again. I hopped back on the bike and started pedaling. I should have been caught by the group within two minutes but wasn't. I kept going and looking back, no pack. I climbed a hill that reminded me of the ones on the Branson TT, still no group. Finally Michelle pulled back up and said there had been a crash. Jaime and two of the more novice riders were sent on and should reach me soon. When they got there I helped Jaime work with the girls. We rode as a foursome for about 15 minutes until the group caught on. The rest of the ride was good, and I even took a pull or two. I ended up with 68 miles for the day. My legs were tired. My back was great. My sugar cookie....it still hurts to even type about her. The hills for day two were more like the Monroe County Hills, D Road to be specific. They were longer, but more sweeping, with a few good pitches.

Sunday afternoon brought a quick 20 minute massage, a trip to town, and another nutrition talk. Supper was at Alamo Grill. The fried food proved a bit too much for me as I revisited it around midnight.

133/365:  One of the shops we visited in town had license plates all over the floor.  Never fournd a MO or IL.

Monday all groups rolled out at eight. The weather was perfect. It was overcast and 60 to start with the sun coming out by nine. Our first segment was an 11 miles stretch with a good hill and a fun descent. The route choice was to turn around at the end of the road for a 22 mile out and back, or to head on for a 42 mile ride. In spite of the fire down below, I pushed on. The route had some challenging climbs and some great descents. I learned that I am not as confident of a descenders when I don't know what lies ahead. I spent a lot of the ride solo, or with Katie and Marianna. They're both strong cyclists with steady wheels. I pushed for a while to catch the group of six in front of us, but could never quite make it on.

Within 30 minutes of getting off the bike, I was showered and we were headed back to the Metroplex to see if I could catch on earlier flight home. While we made it to DFW with time to spare, AA had overbooked the early flight as well as my flight, so we had some time to kill. A little sushi, wine, coffee and conversation made the time pass quickly. Unfortunately bad weather in Chicago and Minneapolis caused my flight to leave 45 minutes late. Wheels touched down at 9:406 St. Louis time.

134/365:  The beginning of a biker's tan.  I have a feeling it will fade before it's truly set in for the season.

I truly enjoyed the entire experience. I've never had the opportunity to devote so much time to my training in one chunk like this. It taught me a lot about my abilities, mentally and physically. It also gave me a chance to ride with other people and quickly learn their strengths and areas for growth.