Middlebury, VT – After a solid two months of racing, the MetLife Cycling Team took a break in the form of a training camp held in the glorious Green Mountains of Vermont. The goals were to regroup, reflect, and revitalize, to pick ourselves up off the ground from our mistakes and to pat each other on the back for the successes achieved thus far this 2009 racing season. Nothing elicits rejuvination like a little trip to Vermont and the team took full advantage of the state’s cycling-related offerings.
To say, however, that this “little trip to Vermont” was rejuvinating is, of course, grossly misleading. The challenge of convincing most of the team to make the drive from southern New England and even New Jersey was indeed difficult and to say 200 miles of hard riding in the legs by the end of Sunday was refreshing is just plain stupid. The team worked their collective butts off, is what needs to be said, but it also benefitted from a stress-free, relaxed environment, far removed from the anxieties and preparations of racing, somewhat exclusive to the tranquility of Vermont.
On Saturday, June 6, the team gathered at Charles’ house in East Middlebury, a small neighborhood just southeast of Middlebury proper, a town which had never seen so many uniformed cyclists. Had we alerted the press, we definitely would have made front page, at least in the sports section. We headed west for a photo shoot, organized by Brad, photographed by the lovely Caroline Damon, the much better half of Andrew. Perfect sunlight, a gentle breeze, open farmland, and a covered bridge presented perfect photogenics and after forty minutes, the team had a veritable treasure trove of photos that would make even famed cycling photographer Graham Watson envious. Thanks Caroline!
Next, we headed north to begin the real work. We practiced pacelines and strategy and immediately began to work on our apparent mistakes. The rolling hills of the Champlain Valley offered a variety of terrain on which to simulate race scenarios. Far off in the distance, the backsides of Stark Mountain, Mount Ellen and Mount Abraham of Sugarbush fame, dominated the eastern sky. Eventually we made our way toward Vermont’s most famous alpine road, Appalachian Gap, which, being a beautiful late spring Saturday, was swarming with sports cars, motorcycles, and other bike riders. Just as the team ascended the steepest pitches at the top of the 2200′+ gap, a parade of late model Corvettes powered by us, leaving us coughing in their exhaust. They were pretty to look at, though.
A quick bite to eat back at the Jerusalem store and a word or two with some motorcyclists from New York and it was back down into the Valley for leadout work. Four hours into the ride, the riders’ tired legs began to show and by the end of the leadout work, some of the guys decided to throw in the towel and rest up for tomorrow. Others would climb both sides of Middlebury Gap, a perfectly excrutiating way to end a huge day of riding. The night was capped off with a delicious barbecue at Chez Gardner/Damon where the revelry accidentally morphed into a meeting of sorts to voice concerns about the team, to note performances and strengths and to recognize many areas in need of improvements.
On Sunday, we headed toward Route 53 around Lake Dunmore, a quiet, wooded road with fantastic pavement and serene beauty to ceremonially rip the legs off one another. We broke into two teams of five and after a couple of warm-up rounds, turned the first part of Sunday into a race. The goal was to deliver the two teams’ sprinters-Nick on one side, Vinnie on the other-to a led-out sprint. Unfortunately, overzealous riding got the the best of some of the riders and a three-man break consistening of Charles on one team, Ryan and Tim on the other, got away, with Tim eventually sneaking in for the win.
The climbfest began shortly thereafter with the west side of Brandon Gap looming right next door. Some of you may remember last year’s Green Mountain Stage Race ascending the east side of the gap as a flatter, gentler experience. The west side is an entirely different animal with a two-part climb, the steepest pitches of sustained 12-14% at the top, and curves that leave you wondering when the beast will end. We soldiered up, everyone looking much more prepared for the long pedal upwards than they did the day before. We conquered Brandon.
Down in Rochester the team grabbed some food and split up. Many had to get back to their lives “down south,” cutting the ride short by heading homeward over Middlebury Gap, while others were content to continue the climb party by taking on Rochester and later the other side of Brandon. When all was said and done about 200 miles of structured, difficult riding was accomplished, but even more importantly, a sense of team and community, of trust and friendship, of strength in numbers was achieved.
Look for a very strong and motivated team at our next race, the Giro di Jersey beginning on June 17th in Flemington, New Jersey.