A Daily Re-Defining of Epic
Now that St. George is in the can, we turn our attention to our next team event: our Tour of California training camp! Like the swallows to Capistrano, every year TeamEN athletes assemble themselves at EN West Coast HQ for this camp, our signature “Epically Cool Training Experience.” This year, 16 Team EN members will ride Stages 1-6 of the Tour of California, just hours ahead of the race.
That’s right, we clip in at about 8am every day and try to stay ahead of a 150+ man peloton of pro tour riders…for as long as we can! In past years, with sub-par weather, campers have put in 20-25hrs of saddle time during the Tour. This year we expect to be close to 30hrs — on a marked, semi-closed course complete with intermediate sprints, KOM’s, and rabid cycling fans cheering us on. Yep, they sometimes mistake us for the peleton and we are happy to oblige them!
Rich and Patrick will be videoing, picture-ing, podcasting, blogging, and tweeting updates daily. Camp updates will also be published on Xtri.com, our media partner for the camp. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for live updates!
The History
Learn more about the camp by reading our 2009 Lessons Learned, why Sometimes Our Own Route is WAY Better, and the real “Lance Effect.” 2010 promises to be equally off-the-charts amazing, as you’ll soon find out. If you want to get in on the 2011 edition, please note it’s open to Team EN members only. You can join our WaitList here.
The Players:
3x EN ToC:
- Bill Truax
- Lynda Neuman
2x EN ToC:
- Chris Malone
- Brian Massey
- Leigh Boyle
- Dave Boyle
- Dave “The Halligan” Halligan
1st Timers:
- Kitima “Kitiboo” Boonvisudhi
- Helen “Nemo” Brauch
- Scott Alexander
- Kevin Walter
- Mike Allen
- Trent “Drillbit” Prough
- Larry Gilbert
- Margaret Bishop
- David Corso
The Crew
- Rich “Dick” Strauss
- Patrick “Coach P” McCrann
- Dan “the Arbiter of All Things Pro” Socie of Soigneur Embrocations
- Joe O’Flaherty of Santa Barbara Bikes to Go
- Marvin Fong
- Joanne “Uber Hostess” Strauss
- Riley “The WonderPup” Strauss
Riley working his mojo on the LiquiGas Girls in Solvang, 2009
Nemo Helen Brauch
Stalking the Schleck brothers with my EN Chicas, daily epic rides, and simply hanging out with some of the coolest & funniest peeps ever. I can't wait!!! Be sure to follow the Endurance Nation posts next week to find out how I survive a week of cycling in the hills of California!!