TSO Training Camp 2014 – Blogged Down By Life

The month of June was incredibly hectic for me. My job decided it wanted to try and take over my life and then my daughter, Celeste, decided she wanted to enter the world. Only one of the those events was a priority in my life and it definitely wasn’t my job. My training as a result suffered and I barely managed to get a handful of short rides under my tyres before our second Team Soldier On training camp came around. The second training camp was based out of Kingscliff, just south of Tweed Heads near the NSW/QLD border over the weekend of 28-29 June 2014 . The plan was simple; coach Scott Sunderland was going to make us climb some hills and ride some big kilometres akin to what we will be facing in France for the Trois Etapes. I don’t enjoy flying and certainly don’t enjoy flying with an expensive bicycle packed inside an expensive bike bag that screams “stack as much heavy crap on me as possible”. While the flights to Coolangatta went off without a hitch (top effort QANTAS) – the flights home came very close to being labelled a cluster-f**k (thanks VIRGIN Australia) complete with delayed/cancelled flights and high-end bicycles being sent to the wrong state and being ignored by the Virgin airport staff!

After arriving at the Peppers Salt Resort & Spa at Kingscliff we headed off to the local restaurant strip for dinner before heading back to our rooms to ready our bikes for the next day’s riding.

Tweed 002 — .:Bikes ‘carefully’ stacked in the van for the first day of riding:.

On Saturday we set off about 20 minutes out of Kingscliff with coach Scott following us in the support vehicle and photog Matt zooming past us in the search for optimal photo locations.

MCP 065 — .:Team Soldier OnRiding around the Gold Coast Hinterland:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

The ride started easily enough with a few short climbs before suddenly becoming a decent 8km climb followed by some very sketchy (for me) descents. I was definitely in the red zone early on in the ride and was finding it very hard to regulate my breathing and lower my heart-rate.

MCP 029 — .:Slowly but surely, up the winding road we climb with Scott close behind:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 031 — .:Eventually what goes up must come down … Thankfully:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

The months of training was certainly evident in the other guys, but as the ride progressed I knew I wasn’t keeping up. Some more sketchy decents saw our driver Bruce (this time on a bike) overshoot a corner and meet the bushland up and close.

MCP 030 — .:The views would have been more impressive if we were able to take the time to enjoy them:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

As the day was drawing to a close and we were heading back to Kingscliff, I was steadily dropping off the pace and eventually pulled over and jumped in the SAG wagon with Matt.

Tweed 004 — .:My bike having a lay down, just like I wanted to do:.

The evening culminated with a group dinner and short presentation to coach Scott.

Tweed 006 — .:Thank you Scott Sunderland – cyclist/coach/ball buster:.

Sunday saw us step off from the hotel nice and early for a brisk ride before tackling some more climbs. I pulled up reasonably well from the day before and was looking forward to some more riding.

The morning air was cool and very nice to ride in. We eased into our first 20km at a nice quick pace with all riders taking turns at the front.

MCP 002 — .:Such an easy pace Dan found the time to flex for the camera:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

At around the 35km mark I knew I was in trouble. In just two short days I had ridden further and harder than I had in the past three weeks. My troublesome knee wasn’t the issue this time; it was my hip. I had ridden past being uncomfortable and was now experiencing some fairly acute pain in my hip and glutes. I made the hard decision to stop riding and once again jump inside the SAG wagon with Matt.

MCP 045 — .:Not quite happy/not quite upset/Just very disappointed:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

I watched the other guys ride from inside the van as Matt drove the van and took photos. I was quite disappointed in myself for not riding through the pain; but considering I’ve just spent a week of intense physio and rest I’m glad I didn’t injure myself any further.

MCP 021 — .:The rest of team with Bruce continuing on with the ride:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 022 — .:Oh look it’s another photo oppertunity! – The greyhounds made it to the top of another climb:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

At the end of the weekend we were all tired (some sorer than others) but more determined for the Trois Etapes in August.

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Over the weekend of 10-11 May 2014, I was lucky enough to attend the first Team Soldier On cycling training camp at Thredbo NSW.

Thredbo? Really?… Well that was my first reaction when I saw the week before the training camp that it was in fact snowing in Thredbo Village; exactly were our base camp was to be. Combine this with one of the worst weeks of my working life as a civilian and I was not exactly enthusiastic about attending a Scott Sunderland training camp.

I drove down on the Friday night after work (in retrospect this was a very bad idea) and met up with some of the other guys at Cooma before heading to our accommodation in Thredbo; the Navy Ski Lodge. The drive was itself was uneventful, white line fever had set in and the alpine roads were starting to look like a rally track. Luckily we arrived at the lodge, unpacked and headed to the pub for some late night beverages.

Let’s get something out of the way early. Thredbo is a very small town in the off-season. The locals are young, in their early twenties and all work at the resort in some capacity. The moment we stepped into the pub we stood out more than the bollocks on a bulldog. This was fact not missed by the locals; both male and female. After a few quick drinks we left and retired to our rooms for the night.

The temperature was colder than Canberra and the weather was expected to take a turn for the worse the following day. The change swept through in the early hours of Saturday morning in the form of howling winds and pouring rain/sleet. By the time we woke up it was apparent the rain was set in for the day and that the last thing anyone wanted to do was go outside and ride bikes.

Breakfast was a sombre affair and I soon took over the TV room and switched on RAGE; my usual Saturday morning routine. The general (un-official) consensus was that riding in the rain and cold was not the preferable option against a warm ski lodge. We broached the subject with coach Scott, who while enjoying a coffee, was in agreeance that riding in the terrible weather was not a good idea and we should get through some required administration and team tactics instead.

After a couple of hours spent in the TV room discussing our next few months and future Soldier On Cycling plans; it was time to break out the trainers and don the lycra. What better place to set up than in the kitchen?

Thredbo 004 — .:Big Shane and Little Adam getting their sweat on:.

Thredbo 002 — .:Scott coaches Dan & Andy:.

I sat in the kitchen, ate my risotto for lunch and awaited my turn on the bike. As I watched the other guys sweating profusely I regretted my decision to eat just prior to riding my bike.

MCP 008 — .:Chad vs Matt – IRL Matt wins:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 010 — .:With great beard comes great responsibility:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 011 — .:Chad vs a very excited Adam:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

After my turn on the bike I spent some more time with my hand in a box of BBQ Shapes and headed to the pub….to rehydrate. Andy cooked an awesome pasta dinner for everyone and we discussed the next day’s plan. Option A: Good Weather – drive out to Jindabyne and ride for a few hours including the climb back to Thredbo or Option B: Bad Weather – pack up, head to Canberra and ride around the Brindabella’s.

When we woke up to clear skies and relatively warm weather it was clear Option A was a goer.

A quick coffee stop in Jindabyne and it was time for some rolling in the Jindabyne hills with Scott dishing out some quality coaching.

MCP 017 — .:Putting on the layers & tearing them off:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 024 — .:Scott smiling thinking about the pain he can dish out:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 026 — .:I may have forgotten to join the bunch at the start of the ride:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 028 — .:Rolling down one the rare descents:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

The ride was enjoyable and we were quickly warming up on the climbs; but the flats and rare descents reminded us that we were still in alpine country.

The climb up to Thredbo was a quad burner and an exercise in heart rate management. We took turns at the front and found our rhythm all the way back to the Ski Lodge. Our first real test as a cycling team tackling some decent climbs similar to what we will be facing during the Trois Etapes later in the year.

MCP 039 — .:Andy leading out on one of the climbs:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

MCP 042 — .:The bearded MTB’r/wannabe roadie representing CORC:. https://www.facebook.com/matthewconnorsphotography

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Category: TSO Training Camp 2014

TSO Training Camp – Tweed Heads

TSO Training Camp – Thredbo

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