Arizona Training Camp

5 days into Arizona Training Camp and it is going very well.  This is truly the place to train.  Beautiful scenery, great roads, awesome weather, and a great bycling community.  It's cool to see that bikes are part of the road here.  Every road you travel has bike lanes and most cars respect your space.

When you're are here and your only reservation is to ride it makes for good days.  Wake up to the sun rising, the heat rising quickly and jump on your bike from your back door.  The first week offered some good base training and Chris Chase has showed us some great roads.  The daily crew consists of myself, Chris Chase, and Tyler Jenema.

This first week was exactly what I needed, miles and hours in the saddle.  Wednesday was 2:20, Thursday 3:20, Friday 2:20, Saturday 3:30 and Sunday was the first trek to the top of Mt. Lemmon.  Mt. Lemmon is quite the sight.  You start in the dessert, climb to the evergreens, and finish in the snow.  You would never know by this picture that I'm in Arizona.  You can find snow here in March you just have to climb 5000 ft to see it.

 
Every mile climbed, 27 to the very top, is worth it.  Not only for the sight seeing and training but because of the 40 minute descent that follows.  It's quite experience to ride 40 miles an hour down hill for 40 mintues while passing vehicles on the way.  By the end of the day it offered 5 hrs, 80 miles, and 6700 ft of climbing.  A solid effort on the bike was a awesome way to finish the week.  It also makes me look forward a scheduled off day.

It seems it is going to set me up for a great 2nd week with tempo training on tap.  I'll top it off with the local shootout which will no doubt offer it's fair share of pain regardless of where you are in the group and give me a good indication of how the legs are coming along.  It will for sure set up a great first block of training and a good way to start the season.