I can’t say for certain what caused this.
Maybe it was that the Tour de France started, or that I came away from the Shoppers Drug Mart Ride Don’t Hide 60km fairly unscathed. I’m not sure, but somewhere along the training for my 60km ride, I realized that I wanted to keep training. I like having purpose to my rides. I have fun mapping out the distances I need to cover in a week. I enjoy taste-testing flavours of Sharkies and Nuun tablets. And coming home to a bottle of red after my long rides certainly hasn’t hurt my love of training.
And so, here we are. And when I say “we” I mean me and the 99 other riders from MEC* who have committed to riding in the 2013 RBC Whistler GranFondo as part of the MEC staff team. I know. It’s a bit zealous of me to think that an obvious follow-up to a flat 60km route is to leap into 122km of straight uphill. But the Fondo is all about leaps of faith, right? I mean, who actually thinks that climbing 1700ft of elevation is going to be easy-breeze? (I’d like to think no one.)
When gearing up to a goal like this, you couldn’t ask for a better place to work than MEC.
A few reasons why:
1) Everyone is game. A large number of staff are doing the ride, so whether it’s a conversation about cadence had over the coffee carafe or a posting on the staff intranet about a group hill climb, it’s impossible to not be somewhat sucked into everyone’s fervour for these “why-the-heck-am-I-even-doing-this?” type of events.
2) Everyone’s doors are always open. I have come to realize that not only are me and my bike on a perpetual streak of bad luck (falling over on my bike while still clipped in, catching my laces in my chain and jamming up my derailleur, riding on a scored wheel that was destined to explode, driving a nail through my inner tube, etc.), but I also have a sizable list of cycling neuroses (fear of putting a spoke through my knee, hitting a raccoon when I’m going downhill, and/or falling over at the start line, etc.) that would exhaust most people. But not here. Here, people go out of their way to save me from myself, equipping me with knowledge about hydrating and refueling, educating me on how to dress, giving me simple maintenance tips, suggesting routes, and even offering to ride with me. And thus far, all I’ve had to barter by way of thanks is a Slurpee.
And so, true to MEC form, I’ve been offered the wisdom of Allan Prazsky, certified road coach, MEC Envoy, and Executive Director of Triathlon BC, to help iron out some of the issues that come along with tackling larger mileage on a more aggressive course. Check back here on July 18, when Allan walks me through pacing, hill grades, and cadence. He’ll also put me through a lactate threshold test. A what? Exactly. I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into.
If you have specific questions about your own training, post a comment via your Facebook or email account and we’ll get back to you. Because we only have 8 more weeks to go, fellow Fondo riders.
Eight.more.weeks.
With cycling gusto,
Jess
* The MEC Fondo team is made up of riders of all levels (or so they’ve told me…) and is comprised of staff from all MEC store locations, as well as Head Office. 2012 was the first year MEC put a team in the Fondo (finishing fourth overall as a team). For 2013, the hype and interest in the race, and road biking in general, has grown so exponentially among staff that the team has increased from 43 riders in 2012 to this year’s team, which is 100 members strong.
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