台灣 Team Cinelli Ritchey 車隊

We had our customary Chinese New Year Training camp in Puli the last three days.

We got a six-hour window of no rain on second day. Wow. Heaven.

We wanted to do some quality k’s to top off the base we’ve been building this winter. The extended vacation was also pretty much the only days during the year that our families and friends can spend quality time together without the stress of racing or racing around. It was an excellent excuse to cook up some quality food. And put the espresso machine to some quality use.

Waiting for rain to let up a bit...

The weather this year, as opposed to previous years’ bright and sunny days, was perfect for some quality HTFU riding: rain, cold, cheerfully grim… Stijn Devolder would’ve loved it.

We did four hours in freezing rain the first day, doing hill repeats near Sun Moon Lake to keep warm (not too successfully). We traversed through Lake-bound bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic, and were surprised to find crazy tourists in plastic rain cloaks braving the elements on rented MTBs. We finally had to call it a day when shifting and steering became problematic due to numbed extremities. Rick shook so hard that he could barely negotiate the traffic on the fast descent down the lake.

Second day we were blessed. The sky threatened but held for most of the six-hour, 2100m-total-climbing, 300-plus TSS ride. I drank a hot Ovaltine during the only pit stop. We were able to work in TTT paceline on the ride (and found many deficiencies, so it was very useful). In the last twenty minutes it finally came pouring, but then we didn’t care, happily. By the time we got back in the building I was pretty knackered. My brain had trouble processing which button to push in the elevator. Coke and half a potato got me in the shower.

Ray joined the team last year as a total novice to road racing. At last year's camp, he could barely finish the rides. This year he's putting the hurt in rest of us.

So we knew we trained hard and went pretty fast. And we knew we lived well because we always woke up to espresso and came back to a table spread full of pasta (fusilli, penne, whole wheat vermicelli), potato shrimp salad, homemade tortilla, homemade bread, wine-marinated pork chops, cod steamed with ginger and rice wine, roasted curry chicken, stirred baby bean stalks, sesame paste-filled rice dumpling in ginger syrup… I mean really freakin’ awesome food prepared with much soul and love by Xiaoyu and Tina.

The third day was really much too wet to train outdoors, and the issue wasn’t forced. We decided to stay in and further our training of living well. We made cappuccino. We ate Tina’s banana bread and Monterey Jacked quesadilla. We rested some, talked about team logistics for the coming season, then ate a lunch of chicken fajitas and fruit salad.

Thus fortified, we broke camp.

I am really grateful that the team came together the way it did this past year, and that I was able to do all the great cool things with Rick, Inigo, Ray, Xiaoyu, Tina, Olive, Kai and Meimu. And in writing this I do not mean to make our friends and sponsors who couldn’t be with us envious (yeah maybe a little), but to share with all of you the joy that your support has made and continues to make possible. We’ll do some even better work this coming season. Happy belated Chinese New Year to y’all, wherever you are.

Down time is devoted to intellectual pursuit

... and trying to figure out the latest training gadget... hmm, how to get iphone to read power?

We decided the Team needs some Saxo-styled survival camp bonding to HTFU

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