BC Blog | Volume 7 | Training Camp

BC Bike Blog Vol. VII is mainly about the ‘training camp’ we hinted at last week. We spent four days based in the Western Maine wilderness with none of the following; cell phone coverage, internet, and paved roads. Sound like a good place for multi hour mountain bike rides, you’re right! The weather was perfect. Sunny and 70 every day! We even remembered to bring a fully charged camera this time. The pictures do some of the talking.

The whole point of this training camp was for us to be in an environment where we could ride our mountain bikes for multiple hours every day, regardless of the weather, and simulate BC Bike Race stages. When we planned the trip we weren’t sure what the weather was going to be, and we didn’t want to base it around a trail network that could be closed if it rained for four straight days. This location was a sure bet. We could ride the fire/logging roads in any weather.

Our ‘training camp’ got a slight expansion beginning Thursday with a ride at Bradbury Mountain State Park. We ripped the Island Trail taking corners as fast as possible playing “Tom and Jerry,” cat and mouse, or what ever you want to call taking turns chasing each other around, minus the anvils of course. This went on for 4 consecutive times in one direction and then in reverse 4 more consecutive times. There are no straight sections on the Island Trail. It is constantly turning back on its self. It’s very tight, narrow, and perfect for honing our corning skills.

Friday we departed for the mountains of Western Maine. The car was loaded up and we were on the road by 9am.

Four hours later we arrived at camp. We ran into a little traffic.

We were able to log in 3 hours exploring the surrounding terrain Friday afternoon. We both liked what we saw.

Fueling for Saturday’s ride, everyone enjoyed a family style French toast breakfast.

Saturday was a longer ride, four plus hours of riding. Our speed and effort was way up in the last two hours. The goal was to make our bodies hurt as much as possible. We did manage to take a few stops to enjoy the view.

We spent the remaining afternoon hours lounging around, enjoying the sunshine, and the lake.

Sunday morning we left the camp and headed west to East Burke, Vermont, and the 100+ mile trail network Kingdom Trails. Kingdom Trails is simply world class single track. We had planned to meet up and ride with our friend Mike Joos, but we didn’t plan on running into our friend Brian Firliet and his buddy Chris. We’ve come to realize if you can’t get a hold of your friend’s, all you need to do is drive to East Burke. You’re bound to run into some there! We decided to let the VT boys, Brian and Chris, guide us around. Chris gunned it out of the parking lot setting a wicked hard pace for the next four hours. We even played the ‘big ring’ game, seeing how long you can stay in the big ring no matter what the terrain. It’s as simple as that. The “J-Bar” descent and “Sidewinder” were the day’s highlights.

Monday was the last day of ‘training camp’. We had to be back in Yarmouth by 3:45. Since we didn’t have much time in the morning, we were limited to a 90 minute ride. This was by far our shortest ride of the training block. Even though the ride was short we didn’t let up on the gas.

On our drive home we passed this pie stand in Newry, Maine. We’ve passed by this place tons of times, but we’ve never seemed to actually stop and see what is available. Only in rural New England do people have this much trust. Payment is done by the old honor code. Very cool stuff.

Hopefully all those long days in the saddle will pay off when we arrive in Vancouver for the BCBR.

Nutrition Quickie:

Some people were asking about our nutrition so we thought now would be a good time to talk about our on bike nutrition. Expect a more in depth food blog next week.

In terms of on the bike nutrition we both use a variety of items. Since neither of us have a food sponsor the following are personal choices we purchase.

Burns: powder Gatorade mix, Powerbar Endurance drink mix, Cytomax, Nuun electrolyte tablets, GU Vanilla Bean gels, Pepsi, and Burns’ homemade ‘Go-Go Bars’. Approximately 40oz fluid per hour.

Andrew: powder Gatorade mix and Clif Bars while training. PowerBar strawberry-banana gels during a regular cross country race, Melaleuca’s Sustain Sport drink mix, Melaleuca’s Access bar, and Coke.

Other on the bike food consists of: Fig Bars, Granola Bars, Peanut Butter &Honey Bagel, Whoopie Pies- the ultimate bonk reverser, and of course lots of water!

Just in case you missed that “choice of the new generation” versus “classic” Cola battle above, weigh in on the comment section with your choice. We’ll see who comes outs number 1.

***You know we bought a pie. The work for Volume 7 was fueled by Puzzle Mountain Bakery Blackberry pie and some ice cream. Yes, we have a slight “bakery problem.” Treats are good!

[Note: See more pictures from their training camp HERE]