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Tour de Robbie 2009
A few months back Robbie Ventura (RV) asked me what we were going to do together this year. I suggested hosting a training camp together - RV was going to be in Vegas for Interbike so we built a route that started/finished from there. Tip - Be willing to travel to your teachers. Other than having fun (which is important), I like seeing Robbie each year for two reasons:
Being an extreme read/write learner and communicator, I am at a disadvantage when it comes to improving my people skills. To make improvement I need to get out there and interact! The coaching business has helped because I have a lot more telephone interaction than the past. RV on the other hand is the opposite - I suspect that he spends most of his time dealing with the person that is right in front of him. So if your success depends on his help then you'll need to figure out how to get face-to-face with him. That leaves you with two choices... travel to Chicago or attend a training camp with him. If you are dealing with me... then all you need to do is write up an article (single page will do) with the key points explained in a bulleted list... RV's director of operations is Dave Noda. If you combine the three of us then you just might have the perfect team! My tip for dealing with Noda would be to set up a conference call with a written agenda and track everything with a google document. We "ran" the admin of the camp over Google Docs and it worked really well for us. RV and Dave are lucky to have each other -- they are an effective combination. Communication
There is a lot of time invested in creating this infrastructure but... it will SAVE you time in the long run because people will make less mistakes during the ride. Lost clients are no fun! You can upload all of the above to the internet - it's a great service to the community. I think many people would be worried that they would be helping their competition. Nothing wrong with that! A successful camps business can be built around a core group of 40 clients. By becoming a hub of information for your routes, you will more easily reach people that want to train with you. Tip - the most effective form of marketing is helping potential customers with good advice. Remember... you need the maps, videos, charts anyhow. Might as well help folks. That's where our Endurance Library came from. What I Learned From Robbie The two most valuable things that I picked up this trip:
Similar to small things being good... we each have small things that can get to us. Never be late for Robbie! This camp we rented a 15-person van and transported bikes from Chicago to Vegas. It worked well. What I think would work even better next time would be renting a truck to transport everyone's bike and bag from Chicago. What's it worth for me to fly to/from a camp with only my carry on? I'd pay $250 for that. 15 athletes for $250 = $3,750 // you just financed your truck AND your clients are happier. In fact, I'd run the numbers and price the service at a breakeven -- make it a no-brainer for people to sign on (and be happy). One of the difficult aspects of point-to-point camps is "breaking-camp" each day. Set the camp so that the driver of the truck handles:
Let your clients know that it they choose to train all day then they are likely to miss their massages. While it is tempting to have your team work late in the night, I think that you'll end up with a better overall camp experience if athletes trim their volume to accommodate massage. Use massage as an incentive for self-preservation. In a group environment, many folks will work themselves straight into the ground. For a camp to "work" I think you need a financial model that will support 25 athletes, three coaches, three support and two mechanics. While it is possible to breakeven, or even turn a small profit, with a smaller structure... there are benefits to a bit of scale. A larger group increases the probability that the athletes will have people to ride with and gives you the budget to afford higher quality support people. The camps will work better-and-better each time you do them so you want to make sure that your coaches/support/mechanics enjoy the experience (fair compensation, reasonable hours and the opportunity to enjoy the trip). I don't know if it is a formal policy for VisionQuest coaches but I have attended two of their camps and have noticed that their coaches rarely... finish a ride first; win a KOM; or win a sprint. Hope I am not revealing state secrets... I think that this is an interesting approach, the coaches can get supplemental training by:
I need more practice on the pushing uphill bit but I tried all the other points on the final day and it makes for one HECK of a tough session! I'd encourage coaches to try it on your next group ride. Done well it lets you interact with the entire ride effectively. OK, that ends the knowledge part. What follows is bit of a brain dump from the technical aspects of the trip. If you are thinking about riding Utah then there's a lot of useful stuff below for your planning. Back next week,
Tip - Always get as much training done as early as possible. People do much better if they have down time at the end of each day. Day One - Vegas to Valley of Fire via North Shore Road, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (120K/75M) Aid One -- there is a parking area and toilet outside the entrance to the gate. Great spot for your first aid station. Once we entered the park, the pace was ON - all of a sudden it turned into a bike race and a number of the guys blew themselves to smithereens. It's a common issue at camps where athletes don't know the level of their fellow campers. While this was a long day, it wasn't so long that detonating was a huge issue for logistics. We offered the casualties a ride into lunch -- fun was had by all! Aid Two -- about 20 miles into the park, there is a parking area and toilet at the top of a climb, another great spot for an aid station. Mobile Aid -- have your sweep vehicle available (behind) the slowest riders so they can stop (at any time) and get fluids. We had reports of thirsty campers at the tail of the group. Despite the six foot high "Valley of Fire State Park" sign; written directions; two maps and a verbal briefing... we had coaches & campers miss the turn into the park! Aid Three -- we will shift this to the turn for the park entrance. Lost campers slow things down.
For the triathletes, figure out a way for the runners to drop their bikes at the Visitor's Center and run the 10K to White Domes. I was the only one to partake this year but with a bit of marketing... I think that I'll be able to lead a hearty group of runners. It's a TOUGH run... I cracked at bit at five miles! There was a lot of hanging around at the end of the ride - everyone was pretty whipped! With two vans to transport people, it will be possible to send folks to the hotel in two waves. However... the hotel we were staying at didn't have check-in until 4pm! So it was total confusion (in a smoke filled casino) when we arrived. The solution is to take everyone to the Mesquite Rec Center and let them shower (and/or) swim there. Set up a recovery station outside and let folks further chill/recover until the luggage truck confirms rooms/bags are in position. Note, if every passenger van is a mobile aid station then you'll always have snacks/fluids for your clients. Food -- whenever possible go buffet-style with the food. Ask for double protein as well as supplemental rice/pasta for folks. First impressions count! RV got a little freaked out from the Saturday night clientele at our casino-hotel. I don't blame him. However, it turned out that the buffet was fine and the rooms were clean (with better aircon than the Vegas Hilton). For next time, we should book a section of the restaurant so we can all sit together. ++
There is a beautiful frontage road that runs to Littlefield (Old Hwy 91) -- I'm glad that I asked the locals about it. Last time I did the ride we rode on the Interstate! Aid One - 20 miles into the ride. I would leave this ride the same for the Friendly Group. For the Peppy Group, I would offer the option of finishing with a (2/3rds) loop of the Ironman St. George Course. The descent down Old Hwy 91 runs right into the Ironman bike course. This would put another ~2 hours on the ride for the Peppies. It would also allow the Friendlies to "win" the day by arriving at the hotel first! NOTE - the entire camp was pretty shelled from the 50 mile ride so, perhaps, the longer option isn't required. However, if we had campers that were racing St G then I'd want them to have the opportunity to check out the course. Aid Three - should be at the top of the switchbacks on the IM St G course. Let folks know that there are toilets available at the State Park before they reach Gunlock (easy to see because you'll be crawling up a STEEP roller).
For the triathletes, I'd recommend that they take the shorter ride and I'd arrange to take them out to Sand Hollow State Park -- EXCELLENT open water swimming and a road/trail around the reservoir that's about 5-6 miles in length. Great Aquathon venue. There was some talk about swimmers itch being present in the water but none of us had an issue. ++
I will write up my course recon thoughts for my next article on XTri. This ride tired everyone out - I offered supplemental swimming but the triathletes opted (wisely) to recover and grab a massage. ++
I told RV that we'd need to budget four hours for the group to cover the 45 miles from St George to Zion. He took this as a personal challenge and many riders had their highest average power with this ride! Result? Three hours to cover 42 miles in rolling terrain. Time budgeting - In challenging terrain, 10-12 miles per hour is normal for the Friendlies. The Peppies end up covering 12-15 miles per hour. At Epic Camp, we end up 15-18 miles per hour, have very short stops and nearly every rider is a Kona qualifier. Certainly puts the speeds of elite cyclists into perspective! I had a good recommendation for this day - modify the route so we ride inside Zion Park (early) then ride the bike path to Bryce Canyon (later). This provides a (needed) regroup day with beautiful scenery. For the triathletes, I'd offer an open water swim (Sand Hollow Reservoir) and (optional) runs in Zion/Bryce. We did takeaway hoagies from St George at that took the pressure off the support crew for lunch. I smashed myself a bit on this day by running from the Zion Visitor's Center to the East Entrance. It took me three hours... whoops! As well, the camp fell into disarray due to gusty crosswinds on a narrow shoulder on Hwy 89. The way that I'd modify the run would be to take the Zion Shuttle to the end of the park (Temple of Sinawava) then run (downhill) to the Weeping Rock and take the trail to Echo Canyon/East Entrance. Route finding is tricky and this run would still be 2+ hours for an athlete in 1:35/3:30 off-the-bike triathlon run fitness. It would take a mid-pack triathlete 3+ hours and likely significantly impair their performance for a few days. So... Second run option (which can also be a nice hike for the cyclists) is to access the bottom of the Bryce Amphitheater from Tropic, UT. There is a road that will take you to the park boundary and you can cruise around inside the floor of the canyon. Next year this would become Day Three and would offer a re-group opportunity for athletes that were feeling a bit tired. Note: I don't recommend riding North on Hwy 89 from Carmel Junction - while, I have done it myself, it is a bit dangerous to have tired athletes on the road. Even with wide shoulders, I noticed a fair amount of weaving when fatigued. One option that RV suggested was to stay at the Best Western at Carmel Junction and let the Peppy riders head up to the East Entrance of the park for their second ride of the day. While that might work, with only six days... it's not as beautiful as the other options. Tip - Now that you have transitioned to the high desert and mountains, I recommend that you always carry extra clothes and a wind proof jacket! We spent Day Four in Panguitch, UT. There is a pool here but the filter has been broken for over a year. If they get it running again then this would be a great stop-over option for triathletes (very limited swimming once you leave St G). If you are passing through then Cowboy's Smoke House is a neat little restaurant. It was popular with the camp and handled our large group easily. Tip - Never leave a man behind. Tri-Scot was left behind at a souvenir store on Hwy 89! Fortunately, Scott (our support-ninja) spotted him when driving me back up to the group. This was an example where a trailing vehicle saved HOURS of time. Lesson: print multiple attendee lists - they are super useful. ++
I was a bit disappointed with my ride performance this day as RV was toying with me! Accelerate gradually, let the gap open, lay down a 100m burst, spin and video my suffering with his head cam. I decided:
That said, the group dynamic did result in 2.5 hours at Half IM race wattage the day after a three hour run. So, once again, the group environment achieved training that would have been impossible for me at home.
The photo above is a make-shift emergency shelter I created while I waited for our support vehicle to track down a couple of athletes (one chilly, one lost). If you do this ride as an out-and-back then place an Aid Station at Panguitch Lake as well as at the stop sign at the T-junction. The high point is over 10,000 feet so pay attention to the Brian Head weather forecast. Next year, I want to make this the final ride for the camp (100K/60M) and descend to Cedar City. This would eliminate a long transfer from Torrey to Vegas and let us include Cedar Breaks National Park. There's a pool in Cedar City so that opens up a swimming possibility for the triathletes. After we rounded up the survivors from the morning ride (!), we offered a choice of driving/riding to Bryce. While I'd change this for next year, the ride from Panguitch to Bryce is REALLY nice. You have a wide shoulder on Hwy 89 then (one mile up Hwy 12) a bike path starts. It looks like this bike path will run all the way to Bryce by the end of next year. I HIGHLY recommend the bike path! Tip - it costs $12 per person/bike/hiker... to enter Bryce but there is a fixed fee per vehicle. Factor that into your budgeting. The ride to the canyon is pretty short and there are toilets/parking at Ruby's Inn. So that's a natural place to end the ride. Depends on what your group wants. You could probably let your stronger triathletes from from the Canyon Rim down to the motel in Tropic if you wanted. Make sure they stick together and have a run leader that knows the route! ++ Day Six - Tropic to Torrey
The best places to put aid... Your faster riders are only going to need #2, #5 and #6. However, I think the everyone will appreciate the chance to take a breather, and photos, at these locations. The scenery is spectacular! We stayed at the Best Western Capitol Reef and the photo shows the view from the motel rooms. The food was good and the hot tub well used! For next year, I would stay two nights here and offer a regroup day before the Panguitch-Cedar City route. For the regroup day, the Friendlies could ride the Scenic Drive in Capitol Reef and check out Grand Wash. For the really keen you could schedule a climb back up Boulder Mountain from the Torrey side. By not moving, you'd give your support team a chance to organize gear before the final day and catch up on camper massages. Triathletes could put together a nice run option inside Capitol Reef - we didn't have time this trip but I grabbed a trail map for next year. With the new schedule, we are looking at a 2.5 hour drive from Torrey to Panguitch. However, given the likely temperature at 10,000 feet, I think that a later start makes sense. Especially, when the following day's transfer to the airport is more than cut in half. This schedule change opens the option for people to leave the evening of the final night. We had a couple of requests for this that were logistically challenging from Torrey (Noda/Audette stepped up with a MegaDrive). Oh yeah, the full century saw (net) ride times in the 6:45 to 7:15 range for our strongest riders. Leaving at 7:30am, it will take your strongest riders all day to cover the route. So I highly recommend that you encourage more normal folks towards the Metric Century route. Something that I noticed is that the roadies enjoy faster, rather than longer. Done "quick" Escalante to Torrey is a lot of fun. Once again, the Friendlies held off the Peppies. We will be running this camp again next year so if you are interested then drop me a line.
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This week's article covers: (a) thoughts on how to run a camps business; (b) my trip report from our Fall Canyons and Deserts Camp; and (c) tips that I picked up from a master of people skills.
Have your massage people run the aid stations (in passenger vans) and leap frog the athletes. Your sweep vehicle should contain a mechanic with tools and fluids.
Camp Recap
The ending of this ride (to White Domes) is very challenging and the VQ coaches did an excellent job of bringing all the riders in from the course. While tempting to make the ride ending easier... nearly everyone made it and the challenging bit makes for great stories!
Day Two - Mesquite, NV to St. George, UT (80K/50M)
Day Three - Ironman St George Course Recon (150K/95M)
Day Four - Zion National Park
Day Five - Panguitch to Brian Head, return (120K/75M)
As a coach I learned a lot on this day:
This ride includes Escalante Canyon (4 miles at 14% to exit) as well as Boulder Mountain (~4,000 feet of climbing). Needless to say... with a hot tub and beers waiting at the end of the ride... nobody tacked on!