Alabama Cycling Camp entry 14: Fin

At LAST! I've made it to the end of base training for 2007. Look out world!

Today we were treated to weather that was almost as good as yesterday's. I got a little fooled and was a slightly chilled for the first little while in just my shorts and jersey, but the sun caught up and it was all good. We stayed in one big group today instead of splitting off. I rode for four hours and then decided that the extra hour and a half back to Ramer (as opposed to getting in the parked support van) was going to do nothing to improve my season, so I put my aching shoulders and legs into the van and got home early for first dibs on showers and lunch.

That was the upside--the downside was that I missed the group sprint for the Ramer town limits. This is fine though because it would have probably been bad for my moral. The way I'm told it went down is like so: three guys jumped the group at an intersection while the others were forced to wait for a passing car. Just when they thought they couldn't make it to close the gap, the eventual winner gave chase and closed their 300 metre lead reaching a heartrate of 205 and top speed of 65km/h. So, i have of course been telling everyone that I can do that too, I just don't want to. just goes to show though: cheaters never win and winners never cheat. It made for good stories at lunch at least.

So camp is over. all that's left for me to do is put the bike in the travel box, throw my stuff in my suitcase and wait for departure tomorrow morning. This might SHOCK you, but I'm really ready to head home. My legs gave out yesterday and complained all day today. Not a great feeling, but I am pleasantly surprised at how long it took for the miles to catch up. I'm not sure what the final score is, but it doesn't really matter anyway. i don't think the girls I line up against have had the same kind of advantage.

Tomorrow morning I'll have to say goodbye to all my good friends here. there maybe be tears .... of joy from them. There are a few people here who are actually displaying signs they may be afraid of me. this amuses me. Anyway, it will be nice to get back to toronto and train with athletes as opposed to the tourists we ended up with here. you can't "buy" speed. Just because you have the fanciest equipment, or the newest model bike does not mean you are going to get out there and kick ass. A Powertap doesn't make you powerful.

anyway, I've learned a lot about tolerance, and what I lack in that department. It will be nice to get back to work (did I just say that?!)

So goodbye Alabama. Thanks for the ups and downs (both in elevation and temperature) and here's hoping for my best season yet.

Cheers.