Carmichael Training Camp (very long)

I just got home from a 3 day Women's Beginner Cycling Camp at Carmichael Training in Asheville, NC. I thought I'd share the experience.

As background, I started cycling about 1.5 years ago. Got my road bike 1 year ago. I'm pretty much a weekend cyclist and I take spinning classes and do weight training during the week. I'm 57 years old and this is really my first venture into any sport, so I'm not very fit.

There were (7) women signed up and we worked Friday, Saturday and today with (3) Carmichael coaches. All of the coaches have great credentials, education and experience. They were all fabulous riders and super patient with us. There were 2 rides on Friday, 2 rides on Saturday and 1 ride today. In between the rides was classroom type training in Nutrition, Training Programs and bike care. We learned all the components of the bike, how to do some basic maintenance and of course, we had to let the air out of our tire and fix the flat.:p

We started out on Friday in a parking lot doing braking drills, cornering, and other basic skills so that the coaches could assess us. Then we took off down NC-25 for the first ride on Friday which was a FitnessTest/Assessment. We road out to the Blue Ridge Parkway starting at the French Broad River. To assess my fitness, they set their own heart rate monitor on me, gave me a push and had me ride up a 7 degree climb as long as I could. I have never ridden anything this difficult in my life. There was zero relief from this climb... no flats, etc. A coach rode behind me. It felt like I was crawling up this mountain - 4 mph and on some of the steeper parts I even dropped down to 3 mph. I only made it 2 miles until my heart rate went to critical mass and I had to stop. They downloaded the data from the heart rate monitor and can use it to build a Carmichael training program around this data. That ride ended up being 27 miles... lots and lots of climbing. Then we went back for lunch (included) and classroom training. Friday afternoon we went back out for a group ride in some beautiful country and received instruction and practice riding in a pace line. Most of the girls didn't mind the climbing on this ride, but it felt tough to me. I made it up all the hills, but at a very slow cadence and slow speed (4-5 mph).

Saturday morning we were back out on the road for instructions on climbing, descents, momentum and cornering. There were some short, but fairly steep hills with "S" curves and we would climb up and practice riding down and handling the curves. Each time we came down there was a coach about 1/2 way down and one at the bottom and a coach rode down with us. This was great, because we were able to get feedback about speed, braking, leg position etc as we took the curves. Now I LOVE going 25 mph down a hill in the drops and working those curves!! We were out for about 3 hours on that ride... back to the office, lunch and classroom training on bike components and maintenance, by our bike mechanic. The Saturday afternoon ride was through beautiful Biltmore Forest. We did some cool bike handling drills (about 2 hours). It was supposed to be a recovery ride, but there was sufficient climbing in it to drive up my fickle heart rate, so I didn't really recover.

This morning one of the coaches took out the less experienced/fit riders on a fairly flat ride. I was finally able to ride at a lower heart rate and let my legs spin a little. It was a gorgeous, fast 20 miles.

I've heard some say that the coaches are constantly pushing you to purchase coaching, but I did not find that to be the case. Yes, they filled us in on their coaching programs, but there was no pressure to sign up. It was just information that they provided to us.

Even though this was the most difficult riding I've ever done (5 rides in 3 days :eek:) and there were a few times I was suffering from dead legs, I loved this training. The coaches were warm, helpful and patient. Even if I fell to the back of the pack, there was always a coach with me. I received excellent feedback and learned so much!!

Included in the fee is a great Carmichael Training jersey, a shoe bag, lunches and all the GU Gel, Chomps and sports drinks you wanted. We rode with a support vehicle and always had fresh, cold bottles of water and sports drink. There was a fantastic bike mechanic who tweaked and tuned our bikes if there were any problems.

This camp was worth every penny and I will do it again. They also have advanced courses in bike handling, climbing and other skills as well as a full suite of testing/assessment services. If Chris Carmichael can't setup a good training program, who can? :D

Sounds fantastic! :)

Thanks for the report. I guess. Now I want to go! Love the Biltmore :)

The only thing negative I will say is that if you truly are a beginner (ie: just started riding) and you are not fit, that the hills out there are tough. I only managed them by slow cadence/slow speed. But there were 4 or 5 girls in the camp who were really powerful riders and the hills seemed easy for them.

The good news is that the coach/student ratio is so good that you always have a coach riding very close to you and talking you through gearing, handling, etc.

If you aren't pretty fit, be prepared to sweat. Don't get me wrong -- I would do it again next week if I had the chance!

Sounds like a great experience!

Wow, that sounds like an excellent experience! (color me jealous!) :)

I was wondering how that went. I'd read your previous thread and was wondering...

My DH gave me a nice monetary gift for my 50th. I would like to do something next spring and am debating one of those CTS courses or riding in Solvang http://www.solvangtriathloncamps.com/resources.htm

I have been riding seriously for 3-4 years, doing duathlons for 2. I have never serious instruction or feedback on bike handling skills, hill climbing etc.

Thanks for the report and your evaluation on the camp.

Hope I was clear that I am a newbie and was in a Beginner Cyclist camp. But Carmichael has many advanced skill camps and programs. They train extreme athletes. Their offices are in Asheville, NC and Colorado. Both mountain locations with extremely challenging terrain. The instructors have all raced and competed and are all degreed in exercise physiology.

Here's some of the camps they have: http://www.trainright.com/info.asp?uid=3507

Here's some video:http://www.trainright.com/news.asp?uid=4321&p=1649

All the camps are a solid 8.5 hours per day - 5 hours riding, 2 hours classroom and 1.5 hour lunch/time to change chamois, etc.

I am very happy to hear they accomodate beginners! I haven't known anyone to take their sessions, so assumed they marketed mostly to the elite cyclists. It's a good thing to know they will patiently work with you regardless of skill and ability. I live in NC, so riding the Blue Ridge is something I do several times a year. The hills are formidable, but my motto is "I've never met a hill I couldn't walk up!"

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Originally Posted by mrhughes

I live in NC, so riding the Blue Ridge is something I do several times a year.

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That's my long-term goal. I'm ok on the flats and LOVE the descents, but I'm not fit enough for the climbs on the Blue Ridge Parkway yet. I'm determined to get there.

The training sounds worth it. Glad you enjoyed it.

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Originally Posted by tctrek

Hope I was clear that I am a newbie and was in a Beginner Cyclist camp.

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That's probably where I would put myself. I still consider myself relatively new (riding seriously means I commit myself to my training program - I do not do 5,000k or miles in a year...that's seriously serious in my eyes! :D). I have never had any feedback on bike handling, how to climb hills, how to descend, cornering etc. Just read about "how-to" and then ride or run. But that is only one way to get better. I have no idea of anything that I may be doing that is taking away from my ability to be faster and stronger.