My training camp

For my team/riders we have three training camps. These are geared towards riding and team bonding mostly. For me it a light amount of work to be done. No pressure to do things as it is not a race day.
Today I had my personal training camp. I’m in Visailia, Ca helping Andy Stone and his Shimano crew including his wife Glynis. Eric Brandt (mechanic), David (motor driver) and Stella (helper) round out the crew.
This was a great way to do two things at once. Primarily it was to help Andy as he was instrumental in helping me get to where I am now. Second it was a great way to practice what I have not done in a while. That is doing wheel changes. It was Philly/June 2001 since my last wheel change. That’s good because it makes it a lot less stressful (not having to do many) but the other result is it does not allow me to keep my skills honed.
So after following the women’s race, a little rest for a lap of the men’s race, and most of the Pro/1 race, I got 140 miles to practice my skills. In the end, I changed only a couple of wheels but it was enough to feel comfortable doing it. Back in the swing of it after only a short while.
My personal training camp out of the way and it is now off to Redlands for our first (US) race for 2002. I have to leave tonight to drive a bit so I can arrive in Redlands by Sunday AM as some of our riders will be arriving from Europe a few days in advance.