The Coach Summit is a great chance for me to see all my friends and make some new connections while learning some of  the newest science of coaching. Sam Callan, USAC Coaching Education Manager, asked me to present my Mad Skills curriculum to the Coaches attending from across the Nation. My classroom presentation had 20 Coaches soaking up information. The on-bike sessions were equally well received, as I explained and demonstrated the WHAT, HOW, WHY, WHERE and WHEN of teaching cycling skills to their clients and athletes.

It wasn’t just me teaching. I practice a very cooperative coaching style, enlisting feedback and observations from the student coach. The coaches were extremely qualified and experienced in their craft. Their input was valuable information for me to apply into my continuously  evolving skills curriculum. The overall consensus from all, “every coach should have the opportunity to attend this class and be certified”. My thanks to Sam Callan for asking me to present at the USA Cycling Coach Summit.

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Benjamin Sharp assembled  a top shelf staff including Renee Eastman, Barney King, Jon Heidemann, and Billy as we performed  field testing on Cheyenne Canyon and conducted classroom presentations for 40 Road and 5 Mountain Bikers. I got my paws on the 45 riders, introducing them to a couple days of my Mad Skills sessions. Check out the official news report published by USA Cycling.

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=5612

Along with the awesome weather this year, there was no sight of the Swine Flu that kicked a dozen rider’s butts, including mine, last year. Looking forward to seeing the rider’s results, in 2011, as they apply their experience from the camp.

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This year’s events proved to be another epic experience to log into the “Rich Valuable Life Experience” category. The courses proved to be demanding for the participating future “Rock Stars” of American cycling. And the riders came ready to conquer the courses and their competition.

The crit course proved all day long, in every category, that the course was going to have to be dealt with. The third and forth corners were the prevailing and deciding factors as all competitors tried to decode the technical section and their competition. All too often, the course would have it’s way, taming the riders. Only the strongest, smartest and courageous riders would spoil the best intensions of the rest.

The road race was no less merciful on the competition. Their were many heroic battles fought, but only a few could win the war. I was fortunate to be in the YAHOO Team car and witness one such fight for the podium unfold in the Elite category. EVAN HUFFMAN had raced the U23 road race the day before, but had a deep seated goal to contest the Elite race and help his Yahoo Team podium.

The Team meeting laid the strategy out, and Evan’s role was to go early with the break, making the other teams work and show their cards. Along with four other guys, Evan stayed away for over 4 laps. The five man break eventually exploded, and Evan was the last man to give the lead back to the angry field with 3/4 of a lap to go. The plan worked, putting two Yahoo riders on the podium.

Willo and I had a wonderful time seeing all our friends and dosing out our special blend of mojo. Some mojo rubbed off on Eric Volotzky as he won the 15-16 Crit. Morgan Ryan fought like a gladiator in the arena, as did his sisters Alexis and Kendal. I enjoyed a nice dinner with Kevin and the family afterwards. Overall, an amazing time, Willo was a trooper traveling… she wants a bike now.

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As the VeloHeitz Studio is strategically located next door to Eske’s Brew Pub & Eatery, this will ultimately ensure that our clients will have access to essential hydration and nutrition after their rides.

While the doors are open now, there is much work to be done to make the VeloHeitz Studio a premiere destination for cyclists coming to Taos from across the Nation.

Some projects on the work bench include, creating a 4 Day Olympic Sports Festival for Middle and High School students. Conducting Skills Clinics for the Taos Police Bike Patrol and USA Cycling Teams and Coaches.

Another goal of ours, is to develop a VeloHeitz Road Bike Tour service that introduces riders to the many Enchanting sites of the region, like The Water Tour to OJO Caliente Hot Springs, The Churches Tour, The Cafe Tour, and  The Photo Tour of the Enchanted Circle.

The VeloHeitz Studio is equipped with the state of the art technology for bike fittings from Computrainer, Fit Kit, Serotta Science, Trek and others of the industries premiere leaders in the bike fitting science . Michael has 25 years of experience of fitting knowledge melded with todays science of biomechanics to meet every cyclist’s needs. Please call to schedule your bike fitting appointment or coaching consultation today.

YOU’VE GOT TO TRUST YOUR BIKE

THE BIKE IS YOUR MIND

THE FOCUS IS THE RACE

VELOHEITZ STUDIO

POWERED BY MICHAEL HEITZ

PROVEN BY CHAMPIONS

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Dominic Galenti, the SCNCA Junior Program Manager, put together another top shelf volunteer staff. Dom was gracious by allowing me to borrow a bike and let me drive his Vespa… the only way I would be able to observe the 17-18 Elite riders. I rode with the 10-14 category on Saturday morning, conducting the skills session. And rode with 15-16 category on both afternoons. All three categories had their own follow vehicles for support. I conducted a 2K Time Trial on Sunday morning for all categories.

Overall, an outstanding camp with fantastic California weather, great ride leaders, friendly roads, volunteers, lunch food for both days, San Dimas Hospital classroom, and parents for getting their juniors to the camp. I would like to thank the SCNCA for the privilege and opportunity of assisting them in their vision of Junior Development. I’m looking forward to 2011 and continuing this legacy.    

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With the cooperation of the Cooper Clinic and Texas hospitality of Chris Gescheidle, this proved to be an excellent base to conduct a skills clinic, providing a great classroom, eatery, parking lots for skills and staging area for group rides, and a pool for unwinding afterwards.

Twelve coaches from across the Nation attended, receiving two days of professional instruction in the classroom and applying principles on the bike, which I called Mad Skills. The coaches gained a very clear picture of what, how, where, and why teach skills to their clubs and clients. The general consensus echoed by the participating coaches,” The USA Cycling Skills Clinic was a tremendous success… just wish for more time to cover more stuff”. I totally agree, I want to keep this program rolling, ultimately benefiting the USAC competitive, noncompetitive riders and sport of cycling.

Stay tuned, USA Cycling and I are scheduling more clinics in the future near you.  

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Sometimes, I just have to pinch myself. I don’t see how it continually gets better every year… I say to myself ” this was the best”. And what happens, uuhhh, it gets better. 2009 has been an amazing year, that has been built from skill, courage, speed, strength, wisdom and perseverance.  

I had a front row seat to some solid fields contending for the Stars and Bars. The Road races offered plenty of opportunities for the select, but the chosen ones would strike and leave all dazed. MAX DURTCHI thunders to a spectacular 1st place finish in the 17/18 Mens event.

Now, it’s not too often that I get excited about a criterium. But, it was meant to be that I would have a chance to watch a bit of modern day cycling history being written. The 17/18 Category was of my most interest. My wife and I walked the course as I explained what was unfolding and visited with friends. The last ten laps are when I positioned myself for the race to unfold. The last five laps proved to be an epic battle of gladiators in the arena. MAX, MORGAN and ALEX touching wheels as they hammer out of the corners wider and wider each time. No one backs down or slows. In the last lap, with two corners to go before the final drag strip, I see MAX look over his inside shoulder to check the gap. This is when I see the LIGHTENING strike twice. MAX holds off  a charging MORGAN and fading ALEX for another National Championship win. It has to be said that I also watched AUSTIN and ANDREW control, command and disrupt the chasing field, aiding in the win. The best was the group hug I was apart of at the end of the race with MAX, AUSTIN, ANDREW and Hammer guys… the girls got a kick out of that too. Sometimes, I just have to pinch myself.  

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I rolled into Lexington a day early to check out the race head quarters and also drive a couple of the race courses… find the short cuts and best parking spots. The next day was airport pick-up day, all of our riders and Mechanic (Mike Woodard) and 16 other teams were flying in for tomorrow’s check-in to race headquarters and the dorms at Kentucky University. It was during check-in that I would start to see the “first year” scenario play out. I made sure my guys were under control and then I volunteered myself to assist the promoters… my Mechanic knows why I do what I do. That evening, I was glad to the see the first Director’s meeting would happen with only a few glitches. The bottom line, the kids have no idea, they’re here to RACE their bicycles.

By the start of the first stage, Mike (arguably one of the top 10 race mechanics in the US) and I were so prepared that we are looking for things to do, the guys are rested, fed breakfast and given a race plan for the two stages on this first day. Stage 1 is a 1 mile TT, half a mile out and turn around. We had one mechanical, Jordan Campbell. Stage 2 is a 99 KM road race, we had one rider (Stephen Leece) get caught up in a crash with 20K to go, but bravely makes the time cut with a couple gears. Stage 3 was the ITT, the guys rode well, but we had another rider (Griffin Easter) get a flat half way into the 22.7 KM TT. At the end of the 3rd stage, Arizona Select Team GC 12th.

I recall thinking, “we’ve had our share of bad luck, it’s time for someone else now”. The next morning, before the most difficult Stage (113 KM of hills) of the Tour, is the only time I have to “remind” the riders of “why we are here”… “to race our bicycles”. And race their bicycles they did. These guys have earned a great deal of respect from Mike and I all week long… but most importantly, they have done it for themselves. Young men grew up that day, and that day will be with them forever. At the end of the day and 4 stages, Arizona Select is 8th in Team GC. The final stage 5 (criterium 90 minutes) was the icing on the cake, the guys rode hard, taking turns mixing it up at the sharp end of the peloton.

The ARIZONA SELECT Team was a solid 8th in Team GC out of 17 starting six man teams. A high Team GC was my major objective for the race outcome, selling the strategy to the guys was paramount at this time in their cycling experiences. The ARIZONA SELECT composite team finished with all six riders and raced against HOT TUBES, HAMMER/CMG, HPC Cycling, Florida Development, Young Medalist, Hincapie Development, Team Specialized, Borah Development, Baraboo Sharks, ISCorp Jr. Team, SC Velo (all funded junior trade teams) and four other Regional Teams. It was great watching all of the other Juniors race, particularly the South Central Regional guys with TIM REDUS and my friends from Southern California Velo… I saw a bunch of these guys race their hearts out. 285KM, 5 Stages, 4 Days.

Hats off to the race promotor, Cliff Cantrell and the Lexington cycling community’s hospitality. I am looking forward to fielding another ARIZONA SELECT Team in 2010.

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The first USAC Regional Camp on my schedule is in Lubbock, TX. I have done this camp since 1998. This is the most relaxing camp for me, Tim Reedus and David Mayor-Oakes are two major influences and partners in the Junior Development arena. A great deal of the USAC Standardized “CAMP MODEL” is born from this long established camp and staff. Tim Reedus, Camp Manager, brought together a top shelf staff. Had a creative and challenging curriculum for the riders. And a severe storm experience that will be legendary for years. Other highlights include the additional MAD SKILLS (caravan feeding, etc…) we could incorporate into the week of activities. TIM had a great bunch of riders that were eligible for the UCI RRG and Tour de l’Abitibi Teams. I watched them race their hearts out for TIM at the UCI Red River Gorge in KY. Guys like Alex Battles-Wood, Tucker Gerald, Ethan Moorhead, Alex Parks, Patrick Davis, Steve Liguori… and Cody Foster.

My bike and I jet up to Portland for the second USAC Camp. I camped out in Jacob Rathe’s room for a couple nights… Thanks JAY and MEL. The Forrest Grove Camp is a first time event. JIM Anderson, Camp Manager, bravely embraces the task of coordinating the many duties and responsibilities for a safe and successful experience. He’s pretty good at it… he happened to have been promoting a very cool Criterium in downtown Portland, the weekend before the start of his Regional Camp. JIM’s expert attention to detail helped shape the camp with legendary staff like Russell Cree, Phil Sanders, Jeff/Jeannette Rose, and Butch Martin. The dorms at Pacific University were an amazing highlight, along with the weather and good roads. My ultimate goal at this camp, was to implement and assist the new staff with the USAC Standardized Camp Model. To help make the field testing protocol uniform and therefore fair for the athletes attending all the camps. For a first year USAC Regional Camp, this went fantastic. I met some new friends and I look forward to being asked back to build on the experience. Some notable riders to keep an eye on – Andrew Bennett, Kristo Jorgenson, Willy Zellmer, Joe Prettyman, Phelan Kostur, Colby WaitMolyneu, and Christina Norwich.

The final Regional Camp is awaiting my arrival in Flagstaff, AZ. I have been asked to attend this camp since 2004 by Barney King, Camp Manager. Barney King is one of the THREE major influences on my coaching experiences and success, and he always has fresh pretzels waiting for me. The Flagstaff Regional camp has a rich legacy and is regarded as the most competitive, attracting some very gifted riders from the entire western US. On the opening evening of the camp, it became apparent, during the introduction, that most of the riders had specific goals, “I want to make the TEAM and learn some skills”. The only minor challenge of the camp was the fact that the primary road we have used for years, was closed for renovation. As Barney said, “it made us think outside the box”. We had an outstanding camp and a very deep quality rider pool. As Barney will direct the National Junior Team, I have been able to direct the Arizona Select Team at the UCI Tour de l’Abitibi in Quebec, Canada 5 times and the 2009 UCI Red River Gorge Junior Elite. Some awesome talent from the camp included – Ian Moir, Connor McCutcheon, Connor Oleary, Tanner Putt, Griffin Easter, Ryan Morgan, Steve Leece, Erik Volotzky, (TJ)Taylor Eisenhart, and Ivie Crawford.

Next stop, National Camp in Colorado Springs, CO. Oct. 8-12, 09. It will be a short drive. But I plan on bringing it. See you guys and gals there.

FYI  http://velonews.com/article/93993/not-all-us-rider-development-is-taught-in-belgium

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It was during one of the evening presentations when Grant contributed his input to the conversation with a single word that instantly grabbed me to the core, it was “HUMILITY”. The conversation was about “what are the ingredients of a good rider and teammate?”. At this point of the camp, Grant had already earned his 1st place GC status with his results in the field testing ITTs. At the conclusion of the camp, Grant was invited to race with the Arizona Select Team at the prestigious UCI Tour de l’Abitibi.

Grant was training in preparation for the Tour, when on an early morning session of intervals, on a familiar road, he has his head dropped down after an interval… Grant crashes into the back of a trailer truck parked on the shoulder of the road. Grant was care flighted to the hospital were after three days of intensive strives to save his life, his parents had to make the decision. I drove down to Tempe, AZ. for the funeral, were I met the entire DAVIS Family. I was instantly introduced to the foundation of what contributed to such a gifted young bicycle rider, son, brother, student, friend and amazing human.

During one of my 2009 USAC Regional Camps (Portland) I get an email from STU DAVIS. He shares a letter that Grant has written with me. I almost fall out of the chair I’m sitting in… because the night before, I had shared Grant’s story (as I often do) as a life lesson during the evening presentation. The letter is filled with color that paints a picture of a young star that will shine with me forever. Allow me to share this representation of HONOR in the PELOTON.

“DON, I am submitting my results in the hope that I can upgrade from 4 to 3. My results are attached. However, in the Superior Road Stage Race, a Cat 3 rider was drafting off of me for minutes at a time, and at one point, I let him go through and was intentionally in part of his slipstream, but for no more than 10 seconds, and further away than about two meters, as the UCI rule book says is allowed. This did not effect the outcome of the race, but I wondered if I should not be awarded the points from that race.”

Grant Davis / Southwest Hand Cycling Team

A ghost bike was erected at the site in memory of STUART GRANT DAVIS November 8, 1989-July 3, 2006.

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