Day 3 of Penticton Training Camp - a girls perspective

This is a message from Paradise. After 2 days of hard riding and 2 nights of roughing it at the Ogopogo Motel the boys (Trev, Lockie and Tim) moved to the Breeze Inn. The Ogopogo was advertised as "clean and quiet". 1 out of 2 ain't bad. Ryan's wife, Kyla, had to pull out the Clorex wipes to disinfect all smooth surfaces, even Trev was reluctant to sit on the couch with ground-in oil stains from the back of someone's neck and there was a toilet paper dispenser that was stocked for a year. In comparison, the Breeze Inn is paradise. As Trev just said "I feel like we have rented a whole house!"

This is my first time riding in Penticton and it has been unbelievably hard and beautiful. This my third day of climbing. That is pretty much what it is all about here. Climbing until someone falls off their bike and lies in the middle of the road from pure exhaustion (Lockie). As one of three girls that is out here I have to say that the guys are amazing to ride with. Even though they could ride circles around me, someone is always saying a word of encouragment, helping me get ahead of the group, even waiting for me at times. Yesterday though, I returned the 'waiting' favour, by letting Frank catch up after a long steep ascent. That boy will be good when he learns to climb.

Today was a 'recovery' day. Whatever! We road up the Giants Head 3 times. Someone read that the grade was 18% but I can assure you there is a section at the beginning that must be 20%. As much as I was shocked each time they said "we are doing it again"... I loved it. It was 10 or so minutes of going as hard as I could. The best part of the ride was at the end of our 95kms when I dropped Dallas in my big ring on a long fast flat section along the lake. That boy will be good when he learns to push a big gear.

Any girls wondering if they should have come to the camp, the answer is YES you should have. Tanya, Cat and I would have loved some more girl presence. The rides have been manageable because usually there are extended sections of the ride that you can choose to leave out (like the Apex - an 11km relentless climb). Honestly, I am exhausted but I haven't stopped laughing since I arrived. It is a great trip and I encourage the girls to come to future camps and training rides. Represent.

One more important note. We did our traditional lowest pulse and blood pressure competion at the back of Safeway by the pharmacy. Subsequently, there was an announcement over the PA at Safeway that the winner of the Speed Theory Pulse Off was Marilyn Taylor.