Ali van Yzendoorn: North Carolina Camp 2015!

There's nothing better than escaping these cold Canadian winter days for a much needed vacation. I had the opportunity to go to North Carolina for 10 days over the March break to attend an endurance training camp with Team Ontario. Man, was I in heaven! 10 days on my bike has left me wanting road season to come even faster. I can't express how awesome it was to leave my rollers and trainers, and feel the wind through my helmet and on my body (not just wind from an electric fan pointed on my face while i'm in my basement).

Our journey to Highlands, North Carolina started at 4am on March 13th. The drive down took about 17 hours, and included what seemed to be HUNDREDS of pee stops (us cyclists tend to drink waaaaay too much water). Arriving at around 10pm that same day, we unloaded our gear and headed to sleep, anxious to see the camp in daylight.

Our camp was located 4500 ft up, on the very top of Scaly Mountain. As you can imagine, the view below us was absolutely breathtaking. (breathtaking is really an understatement).

The sunrise from the porch on our cabin

The riding was challenging, as there were virtually no flat roads! We were continually either climbing, or descending. But despite burning quads, there was always something beautiful to look at. Whether that be a deer, beautiful valley, or just appreciating the sunshine.

A typical day for us started at 7am, and for me, with a bowl of oatmeal and some eggs. Our rides ranged anywhere from 55km-125km, which may not seem like much distance...but believe me..biking up a mountain for 25km at a time is NOT easy...

After burning an upwards of 1500 calories, we all met in the dining hall for lunch, and then had time to shower and rest our bodies.

On some days, a few of us would come together to do some yoga and stretching, but most of the spare time we had was used for napping.

This was my very first camp experience, and I had the time of my life. I am still in awe about how fortunate I was to be in an environment doing what I love, in an amazing place, with even more amazing people.

Thanks to everyone who made the North Carolina OCA endurance camp possible!