Training Blog – by Helen Kelly

This week I have been training at altitude in Reno, Nevada in preparation for Tour of the Gila, in New Mexico.  I have been training with fellow team mates, Rachel, Laura and Amber.   I typically suffer for the first week at altitude so I was keen to train and sleep at altitude as ideal Gila preparation.

We have been staying with Amber’s parents at 4700ft (1430m) above sea level.  The weather was in the 70’s as we drove to Reno and I spent the 4hrs happily snapping away with my camera.

Knowing that I would feel ordinary (translation – below average) for the first few days at altitude, we only rode 2hrs the first day.  With winds of 50km/hr (30mph) we wisely chose to ride 1.5hrs into a headwind and then we turned around, and flew home in 30mins.  Amazingly, we found a 5% climb and with the tailwind if we sat up and held out our jerseys we could freewheel up it.

Coming from the southern hemisphere, I am one of the lucky riders that rarely trains and races in cold weather.  I leave Australia at the end of summer and arrive in the northern hemisphere in the spring.  At the end of the race season, I return to Australia for another spring and a long hot summer.  My last winter was in 2001 so you can imagine my excitement to see snow covered lawns on our second day in Reno.

After taking tonnes of photos of snow and watching it fall throughout the morning, I realised that this weather meant a trainer session for us.  We pulled out trainers and sweated it out in the garage.  With some good vibes and encouragement from each other, we succeeded in hurting our lungs and legs.  Surprisingly I could get my heartrate up to 180 (maximum is 203) which rarely happens for me at altitude.

The following day we decided to brave the cold and ride a 12km climb up Mt Geiger (6,789ft).  I was bundled up in my thermals, ear warmers, gloves and every other piece of clothing I could find.  My coach in Oz told me not to go too hard today so I climbed in my zone 2 (heartrate 160-165) and enjoyed the views over the Reno city.  The terrain reminds me of Arizona – very dry, arid and rocky.  With 1km to go, it started snowing really hard.  The snow was completely dry but was quickly covering the ground.  We decided to head down the mountain and seek drier terrain.

Yesterday we decided to do an epic 4 hour climbing day.  We met 3 local Reno guys and the 7 of us climbed up Mt Geiger and down the other side.  We passed through an old silver mining town called Virginia City, now a tourist town.  Next to the fudge store was a quick draw pistol competition in action.  It felt like we had just stepped back in time 100 years.

We descended an amazing canyon and found another 10km climb.  I did some 2 minute hard intervals up this with 2 minutes recovery between each.  I find these intervals perfect to prepare for attacking and surging up climbs.

So now that I have experienced snow I am definitely ready for warmer weather.  The excitement of riding all bundled up has dwindled and I look forward to wearing a sleeveless jersey and sunscreen again.  So now it is time to do a little stretching before dinner and bed.

Happy pedalling.

Helen.