January Camp

Today marks the final day of the US Paralympic Cycling Team's January training camp, based in Alpine, CA. After 6 days of epic rides, we (the tandem!) emerged at the top climbers in the group.

Every cyclist knows that tandem bicycles go downhill like a rocket, but rarely do they go uphill. One of the things I enjoy about riding with Clark is that we climb better than most single bikes - something that nobody expects. So hammering up the climbs at this camp has been lots of fun. And putting the hurt on climber-type teammates who talk smack.

As a sort of grand finale, today was supposed to be a 4+ hour ride with a long hard climb on a gated road that's closed to traffic. However, when we hit the snow line, groupthink took over and we "decided" to continue until the top. After 3 miles of pushing bikes through calf-deep snow, in cycling shoes, we emerged at the top to the surprised stares of a group of sledders.

Clark and I will be doing some European racing this year, and hopefully defend our World Championship in the 4km pursuit, to be held in Cali, Colombia in August. The first step of our title defense has begun - bring on the next camp!