What an adventure the last couple weeks have been! We attended Training Camp in Fayettville, TX the weekend before last, which was absolutely amazing, on multiple levels. First off, the coaches were great. We had about 10 cycling professionals to help us with cycling form, nutrition, bike maintenance, and anything else we had questions about. We did 75 miles over a two day span, which was about as much riding I had ever done in a two day timespan. Felt pretty good at the end of it, save for some pain in my right knee, which I am continuing to feel a little bit; I think it is from a past running injury, but I am trying to curtail it with a mixture of strength training and physical therapy.

Getting to know a lot more people over the weekend was the other part of training camp that made it so great. There were a lot of people I really had not gotten to interact with up until that point, and it was great to learn some more names and make better friends with those I already knew. SInce then, the ride distances and times have been increasing; now I am used to riding 1.5-2.5 hours at a time, and I feel like my pace is getting better. You really come to appreciate riding in a large group, as it can get lonely and windy when going solo. The fitness committee has been really great about organizing group rides, and I don't think I have ever felt better about getting up so early on a saturday morning as I do to ride with the team.

As a member of the travel committee for the Sierra route, our role is moving along nicely; lots of people I have been speaking with on the phone from previous years are more than happy to talk about their past experience with the group, and are more than willing to help us out again.

Well, that is about it for now; stay tuned in the next few weeks for my next update!