Coach Carter

Perhaps starting a blog before spending the best part of 3 weeks out of the country was not the best way to begin a regular blogging habit but here I am a month later with my second installment. Nothing too insightful - just an update on what I've been up to.

First up was a week snowboarding in Andorra. Not much to say on that other than a top week with lots of time on the mountain and some great company in the evenings. Most importantly I managed to come home with all my bones in one piece! One notable story was seeing a snow plow having slid through the armco barrier on our return transfer. I can admit to a little panic that our coach would follow in similar fashion but the driver did a great job, even with the holiday rep begging him to slow down for the whole journey!

An incredibly busy 3 days at home followed, before returning to Gatwick for the flight to Mallorca and the beginnning of the 2011 PBscience training camp. We couldn't have asked for better weather, with temperatures into the late teens and sunshine with light winds each and every day - after the snow of last year to say I was relieved would be an understatement :-) Rather than bore you with the usual details of which rides we did and how much coffee we drank - I'd instead like to share some of the more 'peculiar' goings on...

First up (in chronological order) was the Saturday transfer from Palma airport to Port Pollensa. All seemed to be going swimmingly as Helen and I met the happy campers and their transport... until we spotted the minibuses get pulled over as they left the airport and the driver seemingly arrested...

Luckily all was resolved (at least we got another driver) which leads on to Bjorn's day one puncture. Now Bjorn is no stranger to punctures in Mallorca but this was something special even by his standards The ferocity of the explosion somehow split the inner tube in half and wrapped it around his hub and rear brake. Well done for staying upright.

That evening saw the world renowned engineer on camp fill the dishwasher with washing up liquid. The culprit will remain nameless but the occupants of appartment 16 were rumoured to be clearing up foam late into the evening...

Not to be outdone on the kitchen appliance front, Chef discovered that 25 minutes on a low heat was the perfect cooking guidelines to ensure your bibshorts were dry and toasty ahead of the days ride. Coach Carter's brain was equally crispy by the end of the day when Chef's request for a whisk saw a bottle of finest scotch return from the supermarket :-)

In all seriousness, the decision to abandon the typical hotel model of running a camp was not one that Helen and I took lightly but the willingness with which everyone mucked in, helped ensure the decision was the correct one. Obviously this would not not have been possible without Pete's expertise in the kitchen, so a big thank you on that front. Hosting the camp in appartments meant the nutrition and hygiene were many levels above that of the standard hotel buffet, all helping to support the hard training. Also, an added benefit of shared living space was the much improved social environment - everyone who had joined us in previous years remarked on how much better they got to know fellow campers and the sharing of experience that allowed.

That's all for now but I'll write again soon