Santa Rosa camp recap

We're finally finishing up the second Trek-LiveSTRONG team camp here in Santa Rosa, California after a solid 8 days of training, sponsor meetings, massage, and of course eating. The staples of any cyclist's diet should include plenty of rice, fish, pasta, and oatmeal - and I've no doubt consumed my share of the works this week.

On top of all the experiences this week, the one most prominent in my mind is Axel Merckx's guidance on a daily basis. The guy is a class act in every way, and I'm honored and proud to work for him. Axel keeps us U23 guns in line every day with a mix of good natured Belgian humor, friendship, and laying the verbal smack down on us when need be. Luckily that hasn't been often!

Second on my list of cool experiences was the riding company. Between Levi, Lance, Contador, Bart, the Saris guys, SRAM, Beaker Concepts, and the rest of the Astana team we have been in the best of company all week long. Lance laying down the law the first day got the hard efforts out of all our systems, and really prepared us to work hard "in our zones" the rest of the week long.

Of course I can't forget to mention our title sponsor Trek in all this buisness - they really stepped up to the next level and made this camp phenominal for us. I just packed my bags of gear - almost half of what we get for the year - and I'm astounded. The kits are top notch, the bikes are better than ever, and our staff is dedicated to our success.

Back in Tucson tomorrow, recovering and training until next weekend's Valley of the Sun stage race in Phoenix. Looking forward to the next challenge,

-b-