"I Miss My Tennessee Home"

"I miss my Tennessee home, I've been away way too long"
-Brad Paisley, Southern Comfort Zone

Spring Break started this last weekend, and the timing was perfect with a few weekends off from collegiate racing. I was lucky enough to head down to Chattanooga, Tennessee for four days of warmer weather, mountains, and riding with some old friends. This marked the third time I have been down to Tennessee for training, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in the world. 

We got to Chattanooga late Thursday night, driving up the backside of the Suck Creek climb. The cabin we were staying in was something else, the decor was for sure interesting, but it was right on the river and close to some good climbing. Friday was sunny and after a quick trip to Whole Foods and the Trek store I found myself out on a winding road that followed the river with Mark (my coach) and my dad. It was fun to hear about the history of the area, and while the road had no massive climbs we were either going up or going down the entire time.

The Indian in the cabin.... just weird. 

Saturday dawned bright and early, we met up with Mark as well as a few new people and headed up the mountain to the valley on the other side. I started out with a five minute power test on the first climb, and then spent the second climb mostly by myself as everyone spread out to climb at their own pace. The scenery was gorgeous, with the blues and greens of the mountains really standing out in comparison to the dull grey we had left in Indiana. I was tired by the end of the first day, but not dead yet.

Looking up Suck Creek

Sunday, Kym (development camp coach and a close friend/mentor) was back in town and so we were able to meet up with her and Mark northeast of town for one of her favorite road rides. She had just done an epic mountain bike/ road bike race the day before and so was taking it easy on me, which was much appreciated. I managed to stay with her up the first climb, though I was outside of my planned zones for the day (whoops). It was a windy and long day in the saddle with another climb at the end, and a descent straight to the car. It was great to catch up with Kym though and hear from her about her doctorate program as well as get her advice on tons of things dealing with coaching, and racing from a woman's point of view. I am truly lucky to have her and Mark in my life.

The view from outside our cabin.

That night everyone came over for dinner at our cabin, and it was nice to catch up off the bike, as well as give my mom a chance to meet both Kym and Mark. It was a great way to cap off a long weekend, especially since the next morning was only supposed to be a short easy ride in the area, and there was a possibility of that being done in the rain.

I made friends with the lizards at the cabin...

Looking back on the weekend I am really happy with how it went. I feel like I really got the chance to push myself on the climbs, as well as just reset my mental health with the warmer weather. This showed, with my power test numbers containing new peak power records for the 5min and 4min marks (yay!). It is still going to be awhile before it gets warmer here, but at the very least it was nice to take a break and just focus on riding (and homework at night). 

Probably the best moment though, was when I was getting ready to drive back to my apartment from my parents' house. My dad and I had been talking about where I could go as far as cycling is concerned, and we had pretty much wrapped up the conversation as I got into the car. My dad said bye and then hesitated before he said "I'm proud of you, keep it up and you will get there". My dad very rarely says these things and so when he does it really means so much to me.

My response?

"I won't, I've come too far to give up now."