February 19/08 11:38 am - Neal Kindree's Blog, Cory Wallace at Trans Mexicana Mountain Bike Race, OCA South Carolina Training Camp Reports

Posted by Editoress on 02/19/08
 

Neal Kindree's Blog

Neal Kindree has cancelled his personal website and switched over to 'blogspot'. If you are interested in following his racing throughout the year you can view reports, results, and photos at nealkindree.blogspot.com

Cory Wallace at Trans Mexicana Mountain Bike Race

Cory Wallace and friend Doug Hammell are in Mexico competing in the first annual, 7 day, 750 km, Trans Mexicana mountain bike race from Vera Cruz to Huatulco.

This race is put on by Original Extreme Experience and has the structure to be (potentially) as big as La Ruta one day (says Cory). This season there are 30 competitors from 5 different countries including Travis Macey from Team Merrel and 2 time Mexican National Champion Lupillo Cruz.

Travis is also posting daily updates on his blog and Cory will be posting updates on his blog.

The race website is www.original-extreme.com

Tthe first two days the Canadians have done quite well with Doug Hammell finishing first in the Master Category on day one, and 2nd on day two. Cory finished tied for 2nd on day one with Travis Macey behind Lupillo and managed to win the threeway sprint between Travis, Lupillo and himself for the stage two victory.

OCA South Carolina Training Camp Reports

Day 1
By Jamie Riggs

After an 18 hour drive that passed remarkably quickly, the crew for the OCA's February training camp arrived in Seneca, South Carolina.

Day one started with a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some much needed supplies before getting down to what everyone really wanted to do - riding. An easy two hour ride to spin out the cobwebs was on the schedule. Just as we headed out on the bikes, Andrew Lattimore commented, "I'm really not sure where my form will be this early in the 2008 campaign, but I am hoping the sensations will be good."

The opening kilometers were spent getting recovering group riding skills while following our experienced ride leaders Matt Guse, Dave Vukets, and Evan Mundy. Soon enough the pace settled down and everyone enjoyed their first day in the sun for a long while. Other than the legendary South Carolina canines, the ride may be best summarized by Erik Box who said "There were miles of smiles out there today."(Note: We ride miles, not Kms.)

Upon returning, several groups realized that their grocery shopping skills were severely lacking. Rumors circulating in the house have the prices of certain staples currently pegged at many times the market value. The day was capped off with the miraculous discovery of ping pong paddles, although at present time no balls have been located. Lounging in what some have called a doll house, and others term a mansion, the OCA delegation is looking forward to laying down the miles in the next 10 days. We approached Denise Ramsden for closing remarks and were met with, "Not now chief, I'm in the zone." That pretty much says it all about the dedication exhibited by the group at this camp. Stay tuned for more.

Lesson of the day: There is a reason why chocolate drink is $4 less than chocolate milk.

Day 2
by Kyle Fry

After yesterday's easy spin in the sun, it wasn't hard to understand why the members of the training camp had lowered morale when they woke up to cloudy skies with a serious threat of rain.

The riders down here at the camp have varying levels of fitness, so today they were split into three groups to ride. Less then an hour into the ride the skies opened up and the temperature dropped significantly making for a long, wet day in the saddle. This was compounded when the first group took a wrong turn and ended up riding further then originally planned!

Tomorrow the group will be entering the mountains for the first time, and hopefully the weather will be much more cooperative.

Day 3
by Erik Box

t's days like today that reminded most of us why we ride.

After yesterday's endurance ride in a down-pour, that had only one true 'Euro-Pro' go gloveless (Kyle Fry), we were blessed with clear blue skies and a high of 16˚C. This was also the first day to include a serious climb that lasted 10 miles, pitched to 18% in some corners and took most in the group approximately 45 minutes to complete. At the base of the climb the group was split into a "fast" and "less fast" group, however thanks to the steady efforts of track star Steve Meyer, the "less fast group" caught the front group 2 1⁄2 minutes in.

The climb soon became the highlight of the day for most and found such riders as Joe Veloce "digging deep into his suitcase of courage" as the climb tilted upwards. The learning lesson of the day also came from the climb, which was: Sub-lactate threshold seemed to be 5 beats higher than their actual.

After the climb up Whitewater Falls, the groups descended the other side, which most agreed was far more difficult than the
ascent due to a surprising number of climbs on the way down. The group split again to finish out the day. The 'Boss of the Peloton', Kyle Fry (also known as the "gloveless wonder"), was pleased with the outcome of today's ride and looked to another day in the sun.

Tip of the day: When the road goes up, go home, rip up the hardwood flooring and build a velodrome (Joe Veloce).