7 years ago by Sam Wiebe

Here Comes the Rain

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Toughness On Display in the Cold, Rainy Santa Monica Mountains
If anyone questions the toughness and resilience of Rally Cycling athletes, this grueling day of training in the Santa Monica Mountains should sway their opinion. After a solid week of sunshine and temperatures in the 70s, the weather turned for the worse on Friday. Weather doesn't stop the team's gears from turning, and the women headed up to the "Camp Champ" loop, a technical sequence bridging sections of Encinal Canyon Road and the Mulholland Highway for some breakaway drills. 

The drill encompassed four laps around the roughly 10 mile loop, charging through dense fog, rain and across slippery pavement. It was set up with two groups of four, launched roughly a minute apart. The goal for group one was to stay away, and the goal for group two was to catch up. Easier said than done. Every corner was a blind corner with the thick blanket of fog. It didn't stop cars from moving fast and it didn't stop the team from doing the same. Between laps, Team Director Zach Bell recapped the efforts and gave some tips for the next round.

 

During a recovery period between laps, the women, caked in mud and shivering from their efforts, ate down what food they could and were somehow still beaming with happiness and full of energy. 

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