Camping

        When you think of cycling team training camps you think wine country, coastal views, mountains and extreme team-building exercises- which all immediately lead you to think of Winfield, Illinois, right?

        This afternoon we kick off the Verizon u25 p/b ABD Team camp and since more than half my team is in school and the other riders have jobs, we’re taking a pass on glamour and scenery and sneaking in a four day weekend to focus on the basics. Those basics include riding (leadouts, attacking, handling), team discussions, one-on-one meetings (me and the riders), learning more about Verizon and our Droids, and plenty of cooking and eating. (Based on this weekend’s forecast it looks like Saturday and Sunday will be heavy on the meetings.)

        Since Rosa and I are still housesitting next to my parents and Dad happens to be in Arizona for 10 days, we’ll be taking over both houses (and garages) for the next four days. That means it’s a quick stroll for the guys down to the ABD Indoor TT on Saturday and as an added bonus, staying in the ‘burbs makes it easy for Verizon superstar/hammerhead/chef extraordinaire Mark Swartzendruber to come out and pound all the guys into submission (on the bike)- then teach us all how to cook. The last time I had Mark’s cooking was when he joined us for the ABD camp in Tucson in 2003, and that was possibly the best salmon I’ve ever eaten.

        My training has.... ummm... sucked the past year or so, so I’ll be playing the “I’m just the manager” card quite a bit this weekend. Since all the riders’ schedules are still pretty hectic this week with classes, travel and work, I’ve split most of the days up into two rides with intensity in the morning and endurance in the afternoon. That makes it easier for them to jump in when they can and for me to jump out if I have to. (I’m also hoping to make a run for the border in the next day or two because the team car will be ready to be picked up in Wisconsin).

        Time for me to straighten up the place and go do some carbo-loading... it’s not too late for that, right? Stay tuned to www.verizoncyclingteam.com and the team’s Facebook and Twitter pages for stories and pics from camp.