How it All Began

I started this season on the cycle team with Team in Training for something to do while recovering from one of my many running injuries. I'd never owned a road bike before and never ridden for more than maybe 20 miles at a leisurely place. My plan was to learn how to ride properly (shifting, descending, riding in a group, etc.) while training for a metric century, the 65 mile Medio Fondo. I briefly considered a century ride, but the two options were one in Moab with a fairly steep fundraising minimum and the other one local but with a ridiculous amount of climbing (i.e. 9,000 feet as I've probably mentioned before). To quote the event website: "We don’t suggest this is your first century. Hoo boy."

The first several weeks of the season I rode 20-30 miles each weekend with the Team, but it became evident that I was faster than the other Medio riders. Week 8, my coach informed me that he was being moved up to the Gran team and that he would be replaced with another coach who turned out to be slower than me. So when I arrived for a training ride on Week 9, the head coach sauntered over and asked me how I felt about training for the Gran so that I wouldn't end up being a ride group of one. I hemmed and hawed but finally agreed to try it out. My principal fear was that I didn't have enough time for training. In addition to the Saturday team rides, for the Gran, the calendar calls for 3 more days a week of 35-40 miles. I was riding maybe 2 additional days a week but only 20 miles or less, and I just didn't have time for anymore mileage between the running, swimming, and boot camp I was also doing. The coach told me most people didn't follow the calendar anyway.

Well let me tell you, the first ride with the Gran group was tough! 44 miles (a jump from 30) including 4,000 feet of climbing up some very steep hills and I still had not switched over to clipless pedals. I was extremely tired following the ride. However, it had been nice to ride with a larger group including some wonderful people who assured me that the ride had been hard for them too. My mentor suggested that I probably hadn't eaten enough, and that saved the rest of my season. I had no idea how many calories you have to intake on a bike - it's a lot!

So the weeks went by and I kept training with the Gran group. The rides got easier and I got to a point where I felt I couldn't turn back. The Gran was a grander goal, and my ride group was so much fun. I freaked out on a fairly routine basis about rides and the actual event, and I'm fairly sure I developed an anxiety disorder for awhile. My coach was also the same one from the Medio and assured me week after week that I was doing great and was up to the challenge.

The last few weeks of the season were fraught with problems - crashes, specifically. My coach crashed two weeks before the event on a slow downhill descent that sent him to the hospital on a body board. The week before the event a teammate crashed after catching her front wheel in a paceline in a parallel ridge and also went to the hospital. Both were well enough to attempt the Gran this weekend, and one finished, but they both had concussions and the crashes were quite traumatizing for those of us who saw them. It is a little scary to watch your coach crash and then not get up or speak. But these crashes also were quite a team-bonding experience.

I had such a different experience on the cycle team than on the run team. Cycling really is treated as a team sport and no one is ever left behind. Each ride group (of up to 10 or so) has an assistant coach and at least one ride support/voluntary staff. Our group was lucky enough to have 3 ride supports including an ER doctor and a very helpful bike mechanic. The coach, ride support, and teammates were all extremely supportive and inspiring. It was like a little ride family. This is something that I have not found on the run team, and it was an amazing experience. I am so glad that I expanded my horizons to the cycle team, and I thank each and every person in my ride group, and of course the head coach and all the other supportive people with us.

I know I always try to promote Team in Training, and I definitely recommend the cycle team. Each experience differs with coaching or management, but I think the ride group philosophy runs throughout the sport. Go Team!