Training Camp

Training camp is coming to a close after me, Wyatt, and Matt spent over a week in the Big Horn Mountains at 8,500ft. There were only 3 rides you can do and each involves a major mountain pass that you must go over. It was amazing with 3 mountain passes no more than 30miles from where we were staying. We spent most of our time on the pass from Dayton up to our camp 27 miles away. The hardest ride by far was the climb from Lovell, WY up to our camp which was one giant climb with over 6,000 vertical feet of climbing. My average speed going up this climb was inbetween 6 and 7mph. The grade is 10% for 13 miles and the rest varrying from 3 to 9%. This is with out a doubt the hardest climb I have ever done, period!!! Today I did a time trial starting in Lovell where I used my tt bike to the base of the mountain, there I switched bikes to my road bike and went to the top at 9,430ft and switched back to my tt bike for the final 20 miles. I have to say although I enjoyed my time, it is a bad idea to do a tt up that mountain. The traffic was fine, but the grade and length (52miles) is just too much. Right now I feel like I got hit by a truck from that time trial.

A couple days ago a terrible thing happened as me and my teamate Eijai were descending the mtn pass down to Lovell, Eijai crashed at 53mph into a cement wall. After putting him in c-spine we waited for the ambulance to come. He was transfered to St. V's Hospital in Billings where we are told he was diagnosed with a broken back, severe neck injury, torn rotator cuff, and a major cuncussion. It was definitely the scariest thing I have seen on a bike when he went into the wall going so fast. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family after a horrific crash.

Next on my schedule will be training until the Tour of the Bitterroot in Hamilton, MT which is on July 19. After that will be the Tour de Bozeman, which is shaping out to be a huge race.