Thanks to our bike club, Alta Alpina, Nick Ruana and I recently got to go to a national level training camp for cyclists in Colorado Springs, Colo. It definitely improved our bike handling skills and motivated us to train harder.
The basic layout for the camp was a sprinting test, where they measured the amount of wattage we put out, and two uphill time trials, where we raced up as fast as we could go and tried to get the best time, plus a whole lot of easy pace riding to work on skills, and the velodrome.
In fact, the velodrome, which is a banked track, was on the schedule more than once. We had a few appointments there and worked with professionals on how to ride on a track bike (which is a single speed with no brakes or freewheel), how to ride in a group with others, and how to properly work together with a small group.
The time trials, on the other hand, were much harder than the track. The first one was a short but hard effort. It was about three minutes with every rider going out every thirty seconds. The second one was even harder than the first with it being about a seventeen minute effort on a steeper road. Nick and I both got good results on the time trials and I definitely learned how to pace myself and not go out too hard in the beginning.
The last highlight was the sprinting test. For this test we were put on a stationary bike machine that measured, then calculated the power we put out while transferring the information into a laptop. The agenda was to warm up for about 30 to 40 minutes and then hop on the machine and ride for a few while they hooked everything up and then informed us on what we were going to do.
The first was a 10-second sprint, standing or sitting, as hard as we could go. The other one was 30 seconds. It only made for 40 seconds of hard riding that day, but it was definitely not easy.
All in all, the food was excellent, the staff was incredible, the other riders were pleasant to be around and the coaches worked their butts off for us.
Without the club's generous support it would not have been possible for Nick and I to go. It is an experience I will never forget and hope to have again.
-- Micah Herman rides for the Alta Alpina Cycling Club junior team and has enjoyed a successful summer on the racing circuit.
