Well it’s March break for high school students across Canada, and while most of them are taking the opportunity to relax and put their feet up, about 16 eager beavers are training hard in my backyard. Jeremy Storie is once again hosting a cycling development training camp located here in the Fraser Valley.
I saw the group out racing over the weekend in the Spring Series events, and on Monday I took part in the camp myself. I was asked to join one of the rides as a “guest Pro Rider.” Monday worked out well, as the riders in the camp were out for a two-hour easy spin to recover from the weekend. When I left my house it was a monsoon and 4 degrees, (one of the nastiest mornings I’ve ridden in all winter) but an hour later when I met up with the camp, it was almost sunny.
I found it really great to get out and ride with all these young guys, (and one girl) most of whom are very new to the sport. We talked a lot about racing, training, and of course, eating. When you take a group of teenagers and make them exercise all day food becomes a pretty hot topic.
The level of enthusiasm was pretty awesome to see. It’s hard to believe I was riding in a very similar training camp only a few years ago. Now I’m racing all over the world. (It must have been the all-you-can-eat pizza-eating contest we had back in my day)
Well, I definitely thought it was a good ride and thank the riders for boosting my own motivation. Many of these young riders are working hard to get to where I am currently at in the sport. I won’t be surprised when I start seeing a lot of them next to me at the local races. In fact, one of them is racing as a part of my team this season! (Cody Campbell)
As for my ride home, I personally had to round out a four-hour day, and funnily enough, it started pouring rain right after I left the young lads, those dirty dogs. |