With just a little understatement, 2020 has been a funny old year. Back in March we were due to go to Wales to recce some routes for an upcoming training camp we wanted to put on. However, literally just as we were about to start packing our bags, the pandemic bought it to an early halt and we had to wait. Of course, in the grand scheme of things having to hold off our recce of routes and planning was just a minor issue. Fast forward to late September and we were lucky enough to get out to Wales and Derbyshire to check out some routes and do some planning.

What are the benefits of a Training Camp?
Training camps allow you to get in a bunch of quality riding away from home and the stresses of work or school, etc. A concentrated block of riding can help to push your fitness on, and coupled with plenty of rest, good nutrition, and new roads to explore the camp can be used to take you to new levels. Often, camps will focus on getting in plenty of volume or climbing, and these are generally really useful for building all-round fitness.

Where did we go?
For a week we were based near Hay on Wye and the Black Mountains. A lot of our rides went up and over the Gospel Pass. We found three different ascents to climb up to the summit: the short side from Hay on Wye, the long side from Abergavenny, and an uber steep side, which must have had short pitches of up to 25%. We took in a ton of climbs; The Gospel Pass, The Tyla (adjacent to The Tumble), and a host of steep pitched roads, around Hay, and Rhayader (the latter including a slightly panic inducing walk across a rope bridge when we went off-road, on an aero-road bike!).

From Wales, we travelled to Wildboarclough on the Cheshire/Peak District border (Derbyshire). The roads were no less easy here, and we had to climb out of Wildboarclough, either to Macclesfield Forest, or into the Peaks. Notable climbs included Standing Stones, Winnats Pass (chapeau to Claire making it on her first attempt, while I failed!), and the Old Mam Tor Road (which has to be walked over due to the fact that large sections of it have collapsed).

Training
The roads were slow and we took things steady. The climbing was severe with grades up to 25%. And, well, you just can’t go fast when you have to pack a lot in. Our longest day was around 10 and a half hours (including stops) and a TSS score of 426 points (which made it bonkers and epic all in one) and took place in Wales.

The next hardest day was around 6 hours in the Peak District and accumulated 303 TSS points, and this too was severe. My CTL (sometimes called ‘fitness line’) jumped from 106 to 123 points in 12 days, equivalent to a ramp rate of ~10 points/week, and which resulted in a TSB of -69 at one point.

In regular terminology, our longest ride, which racked up the most points wasn’t as severe (per unit of time) as the next hardest ride. 10 points per week ramp of CTL is large and unsustainable (3 or 4 being a more usual increment) - but you’d expect such an increase from a training camp as you ‘overreach’ and push your fitness to the next level.

Of course, we also had some easy days, and on one day I just rode for 40 mins on my MTB, albeit we also went on an almost 3 hour walk afterwards! We had one easy spin in Cheshire (on almost flat roads), an easyish spin in Cheshire (although we had to climb Standing Stones to get home), and a flat and fast ride around Cheshire.

The Terrain
If you’ve never been to either Wales or the Peak District you’ll be in for a treat. The scenery is stunning. From long and winding climbs through to steep back breaking ascents, you’ll be in for a climbing treat. At the summit of The Gospel Pass, you have stark beauty. It’s epic. Although there’s no high mountains ala the Alps or similar, it really does feel like you’re high up. There’s lots of beautiful, technical, narrow lanes, and out at Rhayader was some of the most stunning scenery I’d ever seen.

I grew up in Cheshire and did a lot of riding there and the Peaks. It’s beautiful, and ranges from the gorge at Winnats Pass, to being able to see all the way to the north Wales peninsula from the top of Macclesfield Forest (over a 100 miles away). We did a few rides around Jodrell Bank (my favourite place to see on a bike); the radio telescopes look amazing. We also rode along multiple dams and reservoirs in Wales and Derbyshire. I love the architecture and the mechanicalness of these and Jodrell. But I don’t recall seeing any great railway lines (and restored train stations) which was a shame (and something else I love to see while riding my bike). In both locations we saw plenty of castles, and of course we had a few coffee stops as well.

CycleCoach Training Camp
If this has whetted your appetite for epic rides and hard training then fear not. We’ll be putting on a camp next year for you. Most of the routes will be off the beaten track, so that there’s low traffic volumes. This tends to reduce the speed of the rides (as often the roads aren’t suited to riding at high speed), but that doesn’t mean it’s easy riding. On the contrary, there will be a mix of hard, moderate, and easy rides to complement your fitness and push you to the next level. We’ll have daily yoga, quality food, fitness testing, an epic ride or two, and some great fun. We’d love to see you there, and while we haven’t quite worked out all the details we’d be delighted to hear from you if you’re interested in coming along.

It’s extremely difficult to pick out favourite photos from the recce, but here are some!