To the apex at Apex

Above, the Tour de France podium of Cadel Evans, (2nd) Alberto Contador (1st) and Levi Leipheimer (3rd). Only 31 seconds separated them at the end of three weeks of racing! (Casey Gibson photo)



I am over two weeks behind in posting, but there was this bike race in France you might have heard of, that kept me preoccupied. The Tour was rocked by doping scandals, but when the dust settled, there was some good racing, and one of the most exciting time trials ever. Let's hope all the tests come back negative.


Training Camp - Friday July 13th


Back to the Ironspirit training camp. On Friday morning we swam the 3800m Ironman course, complete with race-day marker buoys and support. That was followed by the usual breakfast buffet feast at the Lakeside resort, and more discussion about race day strategy.

Typically in these training camps, athletes are divided into three or four different groups, depending on current fitness level and race goals. Then, athletes can choose the appropriate length and difficulty of training rides or runs being offered that day. If your fitness level is high, there is plenty of opportunity to test yourself in the Penticton area, with so many roads leading upwards.

One of those roads is Green Mountain Road. At the top of a gradual 15km climb, there is an intersection with one road going down the backside of Green Mountain, and the other pointing upward to Apex Mountain Ski Resort. The latter is a 10km thigh-burning series of switchbacks that snakes up to Apex village. The ride to the top of Apex is about 33km from Penticton, with an eleveation gain of 3500 ft. Five of us set out in the muggy Friday afternoon heat, for our last tough ride of training camp.

As we were cresting the top of Green Mountain Road at the intersection, a summer squall was rolling down the mountain toward us. We took on refreshments from our support car, and drained some, before turning up the imposing stretch of asphalt that pointed directly into the angry grey clouds. A gusting wind hit us hard in the face, and I wondered what more could happen to make the climb any harder. Some rain answered the question shortly after. At about 3km, I turned to my climbing partner, Penticton local/Ironman hardguy Dave Matheson, and said, "At least it's not hot!" We got bucked occassionally by the headwinds, but by the 6km mark the worst of the squall had passed over us, and the main opponent was gravity.

Coach Kev said that without the wind, it typically takes fifty minutes to climb the 10k to Apex. Today, it took 1:15. By the time we crossed the cattleguard that marks the summit of the climb, it was sunny and calm. After high-fives all around, we set off for the reward: A delirious descent back down the Apex climb, then down the back side of Green Mountain Road.

On the way up to Apex, the 180 degree corners of the switchbacks are marked by "sharp corner" signs, complete with a suggested speed limit of 20km/h. As a cyclist climbing the road, you laugh to yourself and wish you could climb at that speed. On the way down, at 80km/h+, you better obey those signs, and well in advance. I had a couple of sphincter puckers on the way down that made me think long-term, like about living to see Penticton again.

The road bottoms out at the start of the climb to Yellow Lake, the last climb of the Ironman Canada bike course. This climb feels completely different without 150km in your legs, such as on race day. We regrouped and had a good yak on the way up, then enjoyed yet another delirious descent back into Penticton.

Back in town, you would never know what weather had passed thru just to the west. It was 35 deg C under cloudy skies, but it cleared up in time for a fun night out a the KVR Pub. Nobody that I know of drank more than a couple of beers, but the food disappeared at an alarming rate! After all, there was more training tomorrow, then the Peach Classic on Sunday! More to come...

BTW, pictures and video of the Desert Half, training camp, and the Peach Classic are available here. Many thanks to Van Pratt, who was everywhere:

http://www.bikebarn.ca/desert/desert028.html

http://www.bikebarn.ca/desert/desert070.html

http://www.bikebarn.ca/desert/desert119.html

http://www.bikebarn.ca/alumniswim/swim.html
http://www.bikebarn.ca/alumnibike/bike.html
http://www.bikebarn.ca/alumnirun/run.html

http://www.bikebarn.ca/impact/peach024.html

http://www.bikebarn.ca/impact/peach082.html