The 2016 Endurance Nation Tour of California Training Camp
After an incredible successful reboot in 2015, the camp is back, much improved, registration is open again for 2016!
Go here for complete description, prices, application process, and deposit instructions.
Improvements for 2016:
- One day added to the Camp: we have extended the camp by one day to (1) have a more relaxed experience on Saturday and (2) to watch the final stage of the Tour.
- Two VIP Passes: the cost of the camp will include VIP passes for the Time Trial and Final Stage of Tour, a $300-400 value!
- EN Swag: Each camper will receive 2 x EN cycling jersey, water bottles, visor, and a camp t-shirt, a $300 value.
- EN Sponsor Swag: we will be working closely with our sponsors across the year to put together an incredible bag of sponsor discounts and products.
- Hospitality Van: I have purchased and I'm working to customize a van to provide a high quality SAG experience at key locations of each stage.
- Two Ride Leaders/Guides: finally, I'm going to hire two quality cyclists to provide leadership for the A and B groups, oversee the smooth running of the logistics of each van, etc.
Rollout Schedule
2015 campers, as stakeholders in the revived and improved ToC, have been given a significant discount that expires on October 15th. TeamEN members receive a discount that expires on October 31st. At the same time, I intend to market the camp heavily to the local cycling community by working with a title sponsor bike shop, etc. I expect this camp to sell out quickly but not that all funds, except the deposit, are fully refundable until March 1st 2016.
Application Process
As anyone who has attended this camp can attest, it's a serious, serious challenge. Note that three of the campers (Jeremy, Peter, and I) used the fitness built in this camp to achieve 9:52, 10:12, and 10:07 performances at IMWI. More importantly, I simply have to require a minimum level of fitness to ensure the quality of the camp. I can't assign one van to watch over 1-3 riders who don't meet the standards of the camp, as that severely impacts the logistics and the experience of the other campers. Thanks for understanding.
Thanks again and I look forward to hosting you for the most epic training experience you can imagine!
Comments
The IN List!
Camp closes at 26 total riders
Stage Cities Announced
The ToC cities have been announced, see the image below. This schedule is 100% completely opposite of how every other ToC has worked, that I've done a camp for anyway. The logistics of the ToC are always formidable but this increases the degree of difficulty several notches. Specifically, ending the camp in Sacramento vs SoCal means that I have to figure out how to get 20+ bike boxes from my place up to Sacramento, to meet us, figuring out a place to store them, where to pack the bikes, etc.
I gots some thinkin' and plannin' to do.
Added 3/8/16
The stage routes were announced a couple weeks ago so I know have a plan for each stage. That said, understand that the Tour of California Camp is a VERY fluid environment. We have to be flexible to make changes mid stage, if needed. So don't worry about the exact plan for each stage or how far/long we're riding each day. Just know that you'll be completely shelled at the end of this camp, having had a week of cycling like no other!
Saturday, May 14, Day 0: Camp Assembles
All campers and the support vans will assemble at the hotel in downtown San Diego by 4pm on Saturday. Anyone in LA wanting a ride down should be at my place by 1pm. We'll get everyone checked in and then have a camp dinner to kick things off.
Before I begin talking about my plan for each stage of the Tour, this is how each day of the ToC generally works:
Got it? Let's talk about the stages1
Sunday, May 15, Stage 1: San Diego
Our hotel will be in "Old Town" San Diego. We'll ride the route probably to the Intermediate Sprint on Navajo Rd. Our alternate bailout are at the 8 or 5 freeways, or at one of those little canyon roads to the east that get us off the course and onto the 8 freeway. I'm ballparking this day at about 75 miles. We then drive north to Pasadena.
*Don't worry about mileage for now. When the race publishes the cue sheets for stage we'll get a better idea of the mileage at that time.
Monday, May 16th, Stage 2: Pasadena to Santa Clarita
This is my backyard and I look forward to showing our mountains to you! We'll ride from the hotel to Angeles Crest Highway, and ride the stage probably to the sprint in Placerita Canyon, so we can use the 14 as our bailout to get to our next hotel. If the day is longer than expected we can bail when the route drops back town, in that Foothill/Osbourne area. This is your day to experience looonnnngggg continuous climbs. Nothing on the route is steeper than 7-8% but there are just extremely long grinds of 5-6%. For perspective, from the bottom of ACH to that second KOM is probably 90'+ of nearly continuous climbing.
At the end of the stage we drive to our next hotel in Thousand Oaks, not a long drive at all.
Tuesday, May 17, Stage 3: Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara
Another long day in the saddle with a good mix of terrain and some riding on the coast. We'll ride the stage route as far as we can, probably to the right on Gibraltar Road, which is mountain top finish. If we're hammer we "might" be able to get up it before the Tour gets there, so we can see them finish. Or we may use the vans at the front of the day to start the riding in Ventura so we can all get to the finish at the top of Gibraltar Road. If we do this, the vans will stay at the bottom of the climb and we'll ride down to them at the end of the stage.
Next we drive to Cambria.
Wednesday, May 18th, Stage 4: Morro Bay to Monterrey
This is the Queen Stage of the Tour, a monster day of epic riding up the coast. We'll shorten our ride by staying in and starting from Cambria vs Morro Bay. We'll go as far as we can, at least until Carmel and maybe into Laguna Seca Raceway, to the finish.
We then drive to our next hotel in Sutter Hill
Thursday, May 19th, Stage 5: Lodi to South Lake Tahoe
Another big day of riding, but we will start our day from the hotel about 30-35 miles into the course, in Sutter Hill, to shorten it a bit. This looks like another mountain top finish for the Tour but we'll see if we're able to get to the finish, or pull the camp out in South Lake Tahoe.
Next we drive to Folsom for the Individual Time Trial.
Friday, May 20th, Stage 6: Folsom ITT
This will be an off or very, very light day for us. Instead of riding, or after a very short ride, we'll check out the pits, watch the race and generally enjoy the vibe of the time trial stage. We will have VIP passes for everyone so you can enjoy the stage in style!
Next we drive to Santa Rosa.
Saturday, May 21st, Stage 7: Santa Rosa
Today the stage starts and finishes in Santa Rosa. We'll ride from the hotel, get in as much of the route as we can, but skip the 3 laps through town at the end. The loop that starts and finishes in Occidental is incredibly scenic, you'll dig it.
Next we drive to Sacramento.
Sunday, May 22nd, Stage 8: Sacramento
Our final day of the camp, we'll either have very light day of riding (all the roads in the area a very flat), or a day off, but either way we'll enjoy another VIP experience as we watch the finish of final day of the Tour of California!
At the conclusion of the camp we'll use the vans and hotel shuttles to get your to the airport and will transport your bikes back to us in LA. I'll have a bike shop pack and ship your bikes back to you.
Will everyone be furnished with body spray for the post ride van trip?
Accommodations will go up a notch and Axe Body Spray will be the title sponsor of the camp!
Accommodations will go up a notch and Axe Body Spray will be the title sponsor of the camp!
Juan, not a problem to hook you up closer to the camp, Dino may haven have something for you. No worries, we'll get you taken care of!
Showers are highly over-rated.
Scott is IN, and adding him to the list now!
Deposit sent in.
"We're getting the band back together" Jake & Elwood. (Blues Brothers).
Hoping that some of the usual suspects will again join us along with some new meat. Remember freshman must take the seniors backpacks to their rooms as part of the initiation ritual.
jim is officially on the list!
Jeremy Behler is IN again for the ToC!
Endurance Nation / TwoWheelsGood (my handle in the moto-world) ToC Support / Adventure Van is at the dealer and will go to the builder later this week!
Jonathan Rothberg is in!
Camp is about 50% full and I'll begin marketing it to the interwebs and locally shortly.
SHOTGUN!
Izzit gonna have lights in the wheel wells?
Danielle Santucci and Teri Cashmore are IN for the camp!
Van Update: I spent 2hrs with the builder yesterday, with my motorcycle in the back. We finalized plans, took measurements, etc. I'll drop it off with him in 2wks then it will take about 5wks to finish. Bummed I won't have it time for IMAZ but I'm already planning to haul the KTM to San Luis Obispo this weekend to do some exploring.
Oh, and Mariah Bridges will be working the camp this year, rockin' the EN Adventure / Hospitality Van!
Just one issue....its come to my attention that a certain camp participant isn't fond of Axe body spray. We may need to reassess the qualification requirements. After all the attention I got from Dino last year I'm not sure I can give it up. Yeah...at first it was a little creepy how much he liked it and always wanted to sit next to me but after a couple days I really came to like it ??
Yesterday I did a driveby of the Amgen ToC site and it appears they have rolled the dates of the Tour backwards one week. Notice that they don't have the dates of the actual Tour but they do highlight 4 days of the women's race, May 19-22.
So the new dates of the ToC camp will be Saturday, May 14th through Sunday, May 22nd. Hopefully this hasn't impacted anyone's ability to attend the camp. If it has, please reach out to me ASAP and I'll give you a full refund of your deposit.
Sorry about the friction!
Yesterday I did a driveby of the Amgen ToC site and it appears they have rolled the dates of the Tour backwards one week. Notice that they don't have the dates of the actual Tour but they do highlight 4 days of the women's race, May 19-22.
So the new dates of the ToC camp will be Saturday, May 14th through Sunday, May 22nd. Hopefully this hasn't impacted anyone's ability to attend the camp. If it has, please reach out to me ASAP and I'll give you a full refund of your deposit.
Sorry about the friction!