XC Racer Blog Post

A week in Spain with Lee Craigie and Ride Sierra Nevada

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BY: Katie Carmichael

Published: 19th April, 2015


Two months ago I saw this post on facebook:

There are 2 places remaining for this training camp with Lee Craigie in Spain. Kickstart your 2015 season with some likeminded women and get faster the fun way! 



Women's Specific Mountain Bike Training Camp in Spain
April 4
Ride Sierra Nevada in Granada, Spain


It’s not often that you get the chance to spend a week riding with a former British Champ and Commonwealth Games athlete. I was on it right away. After a chat with Lee, some flight searching and two days of justifying a second Spanish bike trip in as few months to myself and anyone who cared to listen to me (no one was that interested), I was booked up and ready to go.

Having spent all winter on my cross bike, ignoring my mountain bike altogether, I got cracking on getting some mtb miles in and riding downhill for more than ten metres. The first time I descended Spooky Wood was a bit of a shock. By the time I reached the bottom (some time after my riding buddies) my arms and legs were aching and I had cramp in my feet. I had a bit of work to do to prepare myself for a week in the Sierra Nevada! 
 
I got out on my trail bike as often as I could and was beginning to feel like I might be ready to take on the Spanish trails. That’s when I had my off at Cathkin Braes, less than two weeks before the trip. With a few broken ribs anda bruised and battered shoulder, thoughts turned to whether I’d go or not, and if I did, whether I might take a road bike. I thought there was little chance of making it out on my mountain bike. Eventually I plumped for the MTB, and thank goodness I did.

Armed with a stash of pain killers I made the less than comfortable trip to Malaga where I met the 7 girls with whom I’d be sharing the week and we made our way into the hills with Shaun from Ride Sierra Nevada, to their base in Monachil.

Most of the group were members of Petalpower Biking, an all female mountain bike club based in the Cairngorms. Experience ranged from those with over 10 years of biking to those with just a few. Some of us had raced a lot while others had raced a bit and wanted to do more. What we all had in common was that we loved being on our bikes and wanted to get better. With 7 days ahead of us, Lee had her work cut out, not least because trying to get us all together in the one place was like herding cats. We eventually managed it for a group photo a couple of days after arriving.



I rode with the group on the first day and initially all the broken bits of my body felt fine. As soon as we left the smooth tarmac though, things began to hurt. I tried out a couple of trails but the smallest amount of shoogling hurt, and I was riding very defensively, holding back and going far too slow to clear even then smallest of obstacles. I had to walk my bike down the final tricky descent, and wondered whether I would have been out of my comfort zone even if I’d been able to ride.

For the next couple of days I stuck to the fire roads while the rest of the group headed off to tackle some more challenging terrain. I got in a fair few miles and a lot of climbing, and was able to practice the cornering technique that Lee had shown us, so I felt that I was making progress. 

 
One of my solo climbs 

I was sorry to miss the ride from Monachil to Granada on day 3, but on our allocated rest day 4, one of the girls kindly said she’d do the ride again with me. This was going to be a little test to see if I could manage some singletrack for the rest of the week. With some flowy, smooth trails, a great view of the Alhambra Palace, and a coffee and panaderia in Granada, this ride set me up nicely for the following days.

I managed out with the group for the last three days. Day 5 saw us riding around Mount Travenque, and descending down a dried up river bed which - a bit like riding on snow without the soft landing. Lee’s advice – ‘stay loose and if you want to make a turn, book it two weeks in advance’. We all pulled it off and had a blast. 
 



On day 6 we got an uplift and Csilla from Ride Sierra Nevada guided us down stages one and two of Ride Sierra Nevada’s enduro which is being held later this month. There was much trepidation at the beginning of the ride but after a few turns in the forest we all found our mojo. We met at the bottom of each section with big grins and tales of the turns we’d made and those which hadn't quite gone to plan. We sessioned a few sections, and let Lee showed us what we could aim for. 
 



Making it look easy

On day 7, our departure day, two of us headed out early with Lee to get a climb in before we met the rest of the group for our final descent and skills session. I had imagined a gentle spin up the hill, but what I got was 9 miles, a bonus descent and 700 metres of climbing. No complaints from me! 



Top coach!

My aim for the week was to improve my speed on descents. In the time I was with the group I picked up so much from Lee, listening to her and watching her ride. I felt it all coming together on our final descent through the forest. Rather than taking my usual position at the back of the group, I got myself up front with the speedier girls and kept with them, using the trail in a positive way to get grip and speed. We finished up on the tricky descent that I’d had to walk on the first day. I rode it with confidence and couldn’t have been happier.

http://leecraigie.com/
http://ridesierranevada.com/
http://www.petalpowerbiking.co.uk/









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Katie Carmichael

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