USA Cycling West Coast Women's Development Camp
USA Cycling West Coast Women's Development Camp
NorCal Velo Women's Cycling Team was able to send three of our athletes to the first ever USA Cycling West Coast Women's Development Camp: Mariko Fischer, Tanya Davis, and Alexis Marbach. The purpose of the camp was to educate women aged 15 to 25 with a week's worth of intensive on-the-bike clinics, and to supplement these practical skills with information on cycling-specific nutrition, USADA and UCI regulations, proper training principles, and mentoring from professional women cyclists. Read more about efforts toward developing the sport of women's cycling in
Many thanks to Kate Burgess for spending time in the follow vehicle taking so many awesome photos. Please visit her website: Kate Karwan Burgess Photography
The following is a camp journal from Mariko Fischer:
Sunday June 22: Check-in to camp!
We all arrived Sunday afternoon, well all of us expect for the Tardy-Tammy's, Alexis and myself. Alexis being involved in a wedding, and myself... well I didn't have the greatest excuse, but I arrived late nonetheless on Sunday afternoon missing the first ride that the campers did, just a little spin to loosen up the legs from all the traveling many of the girls did to get there. The range of skill and age at camp was really cool, girls from 15 to 25 were all going to be living and training together for a whole week. There were girls that were track racers, almost pro racers, just starting out racing riders, 15 bobble heads in all, everyone excited and curious about what exactly we were doing there.
Monday June 23: The real fun begins
The day started off with a doosey of a ride, 66 miles of Chileno Valley crosswinds, doing echelon and rotating paceline drills. We all split up into groups of 5 or so, each group (SO LUCKY!) having their very own, very accomplished, coach. A few of the girls from PROMAN cycling team had come to help with the coaching duties, and I was fortunate enough to be in the group that Rachel Loyd was assigned to. Can I just say that I am in awe of her? She has worked so hard, as seems to be a common thread among pro woman cyclists, but she just oozes strength and good bike handling skills. She's one of those people that I have big longing eyes for, silently saying, "I wanna be like her when I grow up." Anyway, back to skills drills, our group quickly pulled together and we soon had a beautiful rotating echelon paceline going with Rachel powering along behind us chirping out guidance and recommendations.
Sunday June 22: Check-in to camp!
We all arrived Sunday afternoon, well all of us expect for the Tardy-Tammy's, Alexis and myself. Alexis being involved in a wedding, and myself... well I didn't have the greatest excuse, but I arrived late nonetheless on Sunday afternoon missing the first ride that the campers did, just a little spin to loosen up the legs from all the traveling many of the girls did to get there. The range of skill and age at camp was really cool, girls from 15 to 25 were all going to be living and training together for a whole week. There were girls that were track racers, almost pro racers, just starting out racing riders, 15 bobble heads in all, everyone excited and curious about what exactly we were doing there.
Monday June 23: The real fun begins
The day started off with a doosey of a ride, 66 miles of Chileno Valley crosswinds, doing echelon and rotating paceline drills. We all split up into groups of 5 or so, each group (SO LUCKY!) having their very own, very accomplished, coach. A few of the girls from PROMAN cycling team had come to help with the coaching duties, and I was fortunate enough to be in the group that Rachel Loyd was assigned to. Can I just say that I am in awe of her? She has worked so hard, as seems to be a common thread among pro woman cyclists, but she just oozes strength and good bike handling skills. She's one of those people that I have big longing eyes for, silently saying, "I wanna be like her when I grow up." Anyway, back to skills drills, our group quickly pulled together and we soon had a beautiful rotating echelon paceline going with Rachel powering along behind us chirping out guidance and recommendations.
After riding back to campus, downing about two pounds of SSU cafeteria food, we regrouped in a class room and listened to Stacy Simms and her wealth of knowledge about female nutrition and physiology. She shared so much valuable information that is so incredibly useful to any female endurance athlete, I only wish I could have learned it sooner! But, I also can't wait to share it with the other girls on the team. Women really are extremely different from men, and it was great to finally get affirmation that I wasn't really crazy, and that my hormones really were affecting my performance.
After listening to Stacy, we had a short break before listening to Tom Simonson educated us about the UCI regulations in bike racing. Although I had never really expected to be exposed to it so soon, I realized that the regulations that people talk about in bike racing are actually real, and that one day (lets hope one day soon) my bike may be subject to inspection. Some of the things that they check really aren't a threat until one goes pro, but, if it ever saves me from being DQ'd for a stage race or a big race period, I will be extremely grateful. Thanks Tom!
Tuesday June 24: Hill climbing what?
The day started off with a big threat about hill climbing intervals. Well, we did, but they were educational and not as vicious as they sounded. This camp was definitely skills based, we started every day with the "what are we learning today" feeling, not so much the "here we go to suffer doing 2-a-day's and not being able to walk afterwards." Although it was a little tricky going up and down the stairs to our dorm room most of the time, damn those quads. Coach Craig Upton (Performance Labs HC) had us go up and down the last section of Lichau Rd. and looked at our climbing form in various states, seated, standing, alternating, etc. In general the advice was to keep the upper body still, and climb with a high cadence to save power. What I haven't mentioned yet is that Christine Thorburn of Webcore Builder's Pro Women's team was also there, and we got to talk to her and pick her brain. After I got over worrying whether or not Claire was going to pee her pants (almost an understatement about how excited and starry eyed she was :)) I got to soak up what an amazing woman Christine is, the more time I spend in cycling, the more I meet these phenomenally strong and inspirational women. Every question she answered was so well spoken and exactly answered what the person was asking, I couldn't get over how smart she was and how well she carried herself - never boastful, just confident, and very concise.
Tuesday June 24: Hill climbing what?
The day started off with a big threat about hill climbing intervals. Well, we did, but they were educational and not as vicious as they sounded. This camp was definitely skills based, we started every day with the "what are we learning today" feeling, not so much the "here we go to suffer doing 2-a-day's and not being able to walk afterwards." Although it was a little tricky going up and down the stairs to our dorm room most of the time, damn those quads. Coach Craig Upton (Performance Labs HC) had us go up and down the last section of Lichau Rd. and looked at our climbing form in various states, seated, standing, alternating, etc. In general the advice was to keep the upper body still, and climb with a high cadence to save power. What I haven't mentioned yet is that Christine Thorburn of Webcore Builder's Pro Women's team was also there, and we got to talk to her and pick her brain. After I got over worrying whether or not Claire was going to pee her pants (almost an understatement about how excited and starry eyed she was :)) I got to soak up what an amazing woman Christine is, the more time I spend in cycling, the more I meet these phenomenally strong and inspirational women. Every question she answered was so well spoken and exactly answered what the person was asking, I couldn't get over how smart she was and how well she carried herself - never boastful, just confident, and very concise.
In the evening we spend a few hours picking Giana Robereg's brain (world champ time trialist, among other things), she talked to us about racing in Europe, and how hard it is. Europe has always been something that I had never considered even on the horizon... not that I have now put it directly in my life path, but listening to Giana talk about it really made me realize that cycling is a sport where if you are smart, dedicated, and somewhat talented (which I believe most humans are if they allow themselves to be) it is possible to go and do something like... well... race in Europe! You may get the piss beat out of you (excuse my terminology), but you will emerge smarter, faster, quite a bit more agile, and better able to deal with life, sans lame excuses that usually litter my daily slog.
Wednesday June 25: MAD Bike handling skills
Day 4 started with a long ride, we went out to Two Rock and learned what "power bottles" really meant. We went back and fourth on a 6 mile stretch of road taking feeds from Craig's car, grabbing onto water bottles and getting a thrilling boost back to the pack. We also practiced moto-pacing and some more pacelining, jumping, and bridging, all the while enduring West County sections of road that were like training for Copperopolis when it came to keeping the hands on the bars, the speed up, and multi-tasking like mad. All in all, a whole heck of a lot of fun :-D
Wednesday June 25: MAD Bike handling skills
Day 4 started with a long ride, we went out to Two Rock and learned what "power bottles" really meant. We went back and fourth on a 6 mile stretch of road taking feeds from Craig's car, grabbing onto water bottles and getting a thrilling boost back to the pack. We also practiced moto-pacing and some more pacelining, jumping, and bridging, all the while enduring West County sections of road that were like training for Copperopolis when it came to keeping the hands on the bars, the speed up, and multi-tasking like mad. All in all, a whole heck of a lot of fun :-D
In the afternoon we had a BLAST practicing bike handling skills. three relay teams competing against each other to complete a course that consisted of no-handed riding, taking a vest completely on and off (including the in and out of pocket part), taking a feed from a standing person, picking a water bottle up off the ground, and being shoulder to shoulder with a team mate (bumper bikes) through the whole course. After the relay we did a cornering relay with two opposing teams, and then played "SHARK" which involves being in a very small area with a very large number of people and going round and between trying to knock people off their bikes - tons of fun. Rachel Loyd however, got official Sharkiest Award because she has the craziest bike handling skills I've ever personally witnessed.
In the PM - post dinner - we got to be in the presence of some great, great women, all in the same place at the same time. Nicola Cranmer, Amber Rais, Shelley Olds, Gianna Roberge, and Rachel Lloyd all in Claire's dorm room with us, just there to talk about what they've gone through and answering our questions. I would qualify all those names but really there's no way to do it in this report, so just look them up - and as we were told to do continually throughout the week - educate yourself, be a student of the sport, and see who has come before you. These women have paid their dues, and they were there to talk to US, little girls who were doing all they could to race their bikes, having no idea how much easier it is for us because of how hard these women (and many others) worked to make a women's field even exist.
Thursday June 26: Attempted coffee shop ride
Whenever someone in Sonoma County says, "Oh yeah, lets just do a mellow coffee shop ride," I would recommend raising at least one eyebrow. Since we do live in Sonoma County and unless you're literally on your cruiser with heels and a string of pearls on, chances are you're not just doing a "mellow coffee shop ride." We chose Freestone as our coffee shop destination, and being that we were in Rohnert Park, this coffee shop ride required about 20 miles of pedaling just to get there. Upon arrival we determined by the CLOSED sign in the window that they weren't really welcoming us with open pastry and coffee bearing arms. So, since there was no coffee or snacks seen in the near future unless we sloughed up to Occidental, we decided to re-route back to Rohnert Park in time for lunch. I guess either from the lack of caffeine or snacks (although neither one is logical as you will soon see), everyone seemed to have some sort of ants in their pants. We ultimately ended up going home over Middle Road and landed smack dab back on Gerickie Rd.where we had practiced feeds and jumps the day before. At this point I was pretty much at Mariko-rode-too-hard-already-and-she-has-spontaneously-combusted phase of my ride (which it has, somewhat suddenly, dawned on me as a consistent pattern in my cycling life), and the ants in the pants that I mentioned earlier must have really gotten excited because all the sudden girls started attacking out of nowhere. On the first roller there was a huge surge and the girl from Rock Racing took the KOM prize that was apparently in existence (unbeknownst to me), from there Webcor and Claire House staged a counter attack on the descent, and for the next 6 miles there continued to be rapid fire attacks which, after the first few that I barely hung on to, I watched from my little hurt locker as I tried to keep the gap minimal on that blasted road wondering when they were going to get tuckered out and stop with the silly behavior.
Thursday June 26: Attempted coffee shop ride
Whenever someone in Sonoma County says, "Oh yeah, lets just do a mellow coffee shop ride," I would recommend raising at least one eyebrow. Since we do live in Sonoma County and unless you're literally on your cruiser with heels and a string of pearls on, chances are you're not just doing a "mellow coffee shop ride." We chose Freestone as our coffee shop destination, and being that we were in Rohnert Park, this coffee shop ride required about 20 miles of pedaling just to get there. Upon arrival we determined by the CLOSED sign in the window that they weren't really welcoming us with open pastry and coffee bearing arms. So, since there was no coffee or snacks seen in the near future unless we sloughed up to Occidental, we decided to re-route back to Rohnert Park in time for lunch. I guess either from the lack of caffeine or snacks (although neither one is logical as you will soon see), everyone seemed to have some sort of ants in their pants. We ultimately ended up going home over Middle Road and landed smack dab back on Gerickie Rd.where we had practiced feeds and jumps the day before. At this point I was pretty much at Mariko-rode-too-hard-already-and-she-has-spontaneously-combusted phase of my ride (which it has, somewhat suddenly, dawned on me as a consistent pattern in my cycling life), and the ants in the pants that I mentioned earlier must have really gotten excited because all the sudden girls started attacking out of nowhere. On the first roller there was a huge surge and the girl from Rock Racing took the KOM prize that was apparently in existence (unbeknownst to me), from there Webcor and Claire House staged a counter attack on the descent, and for the next 6 miles there continued to be rapid fire attacks which, after the first few that I barely hung on to, I watched from my little hurt locker as I tried to keep the gap minimal on that blasted road wondering when they were going to get tuckered out and stop with the silly behavior.
When we all got back to campus, showered, and inhaled cafeteria food, we listened to our gracious mechanic Rob Dillion teach us about many important things. Among these things were bike care, bike washing, mechanic-rider relations (beer and respectful behavior will get you in many doors), bike packing for travel, and all sorts of little mechanical questions - headset tightening being at the top of the list. A three-way allen and little torque key will pretty much get you to Europe and back :)
Friday June 27: Last day of camp!
This ride, slated to be about an hour long, was probably closer to a true "coffee shop" ride. It was a nice gradual spin, out around RoPo and back to campus, then we pretty much packed up and went home.
Final Thoughts
One of the reasons that I ride my bike, and I think a lot of people share this sentiment, is that when you are riding, and you're riding hard, there isn't anything else to think about. You have to breathe and you have to pedal, you have to keep your eyes up and your limbs ready to react, there's no wondering about the grocery shopping or the meeting you were in all afternoon. This camp was the opportunity to do that for a whole week! It was like a return to middle school when your biggest worry was whether or not you liked the other girls in your class. We were living in the dorms and it could be as messy as we wanted since we were only there for a week, all our meals were pre-planned and cooked for us, we were so tired that we passed out by 10PM every night and we had to be up by 730 to go to breakfast. All we had to do was sleep, eat, and ride bikes!! I felt like such a privileged athlete, and all of us whether we wanted to be or not, were treated as professionals in training. It was assumed that all of us were there because we wanted to go pro, and because of that I allowed myself to wear those shoes, to feel like that was there if I wanted to go get it. Almost like we were obliged to do so for the sake of all the girls to come after us, responsibility is empowering. And for some reason, whether it was the way it was presented or just a personal overture I don't know, but it seemed like everything that was taught was meant to encompass not only one's skills on a bicycle, but in life. I have now realized that Cycling for me is a part of my body, it isn't my whole body or existence, maybe it's a leg or a particular bone, but it's an essential part of the whole that is my life.
This ride, slated to be about an hour long, was probably closer to a true "coffee shop" ride. It was a nice gradual spin, out around RoPo and back to campus, then we pretty much packed up and went home.
Final Thoughts
One of the reasons that I ride my bike, and I think a lot of people share this sentiment, is that when you are riding, and you're riding hard, there isn't anything else to think about. You have to breathe and you have to pedal, you have to keep your eyes up and your limbs ready to react, there's no wondering about the grocery shopping or the meeting you were in all afternoon. This camp was the opportunity to do that for a whole week! It was like a return to middle school when your biggest worry was whether or not you liked the other girls in your class. We were living in the dorms and it could be as messy as we wanted since we were only there for a week, all our meals were pre-planned and cooked for us, we were so tired that we passed out by 10PM every night and we had to be up by 730 to go to breakfast. All we had to do was sleep, eat, and ride bikes!! I felt like such a privileged athlete, and all of us whether we wanted to be or not, were treated as professionals in training. It was assumed that all of us were there because we wanted to go pro, and because of that I allowed myself to wear those shoes, to feel like that was there if I wanted to go get it. Almost like we were obliged to do so for the sake of all the girls to come after us, responsibility is empowering. And for some reason, whether it was the way it was presented or just a personal overture I don't know, but it seemed like everything that was taught was meant to encompass not only one's skills on a bicycle, but in life. I have now realized that Cycling for me is a part of my body, it isn't my whole body or existence, maybe it's a leg or a particular bone, but it's an essential part of the whole that is my life.
-Mariko Fischer
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