Latest / Zone2Speak Podcast / Climb With Confidence: Inside Josh Brandwene's Pyrenees Camps

Transcript

Climb With Confidence: Inside Josh Brandwene's Pyrenees Camps · Zone2Speak Podcast

0:00
Music.
0:10
This episode of Zone to Speak is supported by Peloton, the ultimate sunscreen for athletes.
0:17
If you know me, you know I never leave the house without sunscreen, and Peloton is my go-to.
0:23
It's lightweight, breathable, and designed for endurance sports,
0:27
perfect for any day out on the saddle.
0:30
And because they are supporting the podcast, you get 20% off your order.
0:36
Just head to the link in the show notes and use the code ZONETOSPEAK at checkout.
0:42
Protect your skin, feel your adventures, and support the pod while you do it.
0:48
Picture this. You are halfway up a switch back in the French Alps.
0:54
The air is thinner than you would like. Your legs are debating a full strike.
0:59
And then you hear a confident voice behind you say, You have got this.
1:04
One more pedal stroke. Well, that's Josh Brendwin.
1:07
Josh is the coach behind Climb with Josh, a cycling experience that's part training
1:13
camp, part adventure holiday, and part personal breakthrough session.
1:18
He wrapped up his latest Pyrenees climbing camp, and I wanted to get the behind-the-scenes
1:24
scoop on what it's like to guide riders through some of the most iconic and
1:28
intimidating climbs in the world.
1:31
We are talking epic goals, big breakthroughs, and the mental game of climbing.
1:37
And yes, those unforgettable summit moments when everything just clicks.
1:41
Josh, welcome back to Zone to Speak. It is. Thank you for having me.
1:46
It is wonderful to be back. It's been an incredible summer. Tell me everything.
1:50
So you just wrapped up the training camp in the Pyrenees. What makes the Pyrenees
1:57
such a special place for climbing, especially a camp, compared to anywhere else?
2:02
Well, you know, obviously it goes without saying that there are beautiful places
2:09
and beautiful climes all over France, all over Europe, all over the world.
2:15
To me, what makes the Pyrenees special is a couple of things.
2:20
There's stunning beauty that goes along with so many of the climbs.
2:27
It is what I would call slightly off the beaten path.
2:31
So when you're on the climbs, you're really experiencing very little in the
2:37
way of car or motorcycle traffic.
2:39
It obviously has altitude
2:42
to it but for someone that
2:45
tends to be affected by high altitude we're not
2:49
up at the alps we're not up at the colorado rockies in the united states you're
2:54
not going to deal with a whole lot of serious acclimation needed to experience
3:03
and succeed at the big climbs in the Pyrenees.
3:07
And you put all that together and it just, the whole region has captured my heart.
3:12
It really has. Amazing. Yeah, you're absolutely right.
3:14
There are so, so many places to ride, but the Pyrenees is truly magical.
3:19
Not everyone is really ready to show up and paddle long climbs.
3:24
How do you take a mixed experience group and get them all to the point where they have got,
3:30
what you need for those climbs, but also start to enjoy those climbs.
3:35
I mean, of course you sign up and know what you're signing up for,
3:38
but it can be quite intimidating. Absolutely.
3:41
And, you know, none of us are professional cyclists.
3:47
We are all age group, amateur, enthusiastic cyclists.
3:53
So, you know, folks do come, many of them super prepared and ready to go.
4:00
For many others, they're no fault of their own. You know, life can get in the way.
4:04
You know, training takes a backseat to family and the professional life and things that come up.
4:12
So it is, there's a couple things that we do to make sure and ensure that it's
4:17
a good experience for everyone. First and foremost.
4:21
We don't start the week with a cold tourmalade. We don't hit biggies right out of the gate.
4:26
So we start with something that is still going to be a challenge,
4:30
but is going to be a little bit more manageable.
4:33
And we also make sure, especially on any day, but certainly day one.
4:39
That you're getting a significant warmup through the valley before you get to that first climb.
4:45
And that really matters for every rider, especially so for someone who say came
4:50
in with a little less training under their belt.
4:53
Get the confidence back, get on your bike, pull at an easy pace,
4:59
get your legs underneath you.
5:01
And then some of the keys to that, and again, this goes for everybody,
5:06
but especially if someone sort of knows they're coming in with a little less
5:09
training, be very mindful of pacing,
5:14
especially early on.
5:16
We don't have time cutoffs. There isn't a broom wagon.
5:20
We're not here to sweep people off the road.
5:24
Everyone's going to have at least a few matchsticks in the back pocket,
5:27
in the jersey pocket. Don't burn any of them early.
5:31
Don't be afraid to take rest breaks. Make sure you hydrate. Make sure you're fueling on the climb.
5:37
And those things tend to make a huge difference in terms of even somebody who's
5:43
a little bit undertrained being able to get to the summit and go,
5:47
okay, I'm going to be okay this week.
5:49
It's going to be hard, but I can do this. Then the other thing that we do is
5:54
we always allow everyone to climb at their own pace.
6:00
And that goes for even, let's say, a subset of riders who are.
6:04
Well-trained and well-prepared. We all have different physiological characteristics.
6:09
None of us climb the same. Some of us are more fast twitch oriented.
6:14
They can get in and out of the saddle.
6:16
They're going to alternate power and sitting down.
6:19
If everybody tried to do that, if I tried to do that, I would blow up spectacularly.
6:23
I am more of a seated climber. I use high cadence to my advantage.
6:28
So we're all going to climb at a different pace. So we're all sort of spread out over the mountain.
6:33
I'm sort of at the back to start. I'll move forward. I'll make some U-turns.
6:37
I'm checking in on everybody.
6:38
And then once we really have a sense of the whole group, and this is both a
6:44
challenge and something I consider to be a huge, I really enjoy this part of it,
6:49
is sort of identifying when we get to the longer climbs, we're going to go about
6:54
it and not everybody's going to leave for the summit at exactly the same time.
6:59
And that tends to put a climber who sort of knows they're going to be a little
7:03
bit slower than everybody else at ease.
7:06
I'm not going to be the person holding everybody up at the summit.
7:10
It doesn't mean we're all going to get there at exactly the same time.
7:13
But if you use the cold, the tourmalade as an example, it's a 19 K climb. It takes a while.
7:18
And so instead of sending everybody up at the same time and being fully spread
7:24
out all the way over the mountain, we'll send a group who is going to go at
7:28
a little bit slower pace. We'll send them off with like a three or four K headstart.
7:33
That way we're getting to the summit in and about the same time.
7:37
It helps with the vibe. Everybody's cheering everybody.
7:40
Nobody's getting impatient at the summit.
7:43
That sort of timing with a time trial effect tends to make a big difference
7:48
in the experience for everybody.
7:51
And I've witnessed this firsthand, it tends to work pretty well.
7:55
You know, we had a couple groups this summer that were obviously very diverse,
8:00
both in terms of amount of training they put in, as well as their sort of core ability.
8:06
Everybody got to the top of the tourmalade. Every single one of them,
8:10
it can. Wow. Yeah. Must feel so good as a coach.
8:15
So who can sign up for those camps? And do you need to apply and talk about
8:21
like your experience? Do they need to be your athlete because you also coach
8:26
on a regular basis, not just the training camps?
8:28
No, certainly not. You don't need to be someone who I've worked with previously
8:33
in any way, shape or form to sign up and become a part of any of our trips and any of our experiences.
8:41
We want to bring as many people as we can from all over the world to the mountains.
8:47
So for instance, this summer, we had riders from France, England.
8:53
Spain, Netherlands, United States, Australia, Australia.
8:59
All over the globe, come to be a part of this experience.
9:02
So we want to bring as many people to the mountains and have this experience
9:06
as possible, because if you put at least a baseline of work in,
9:11
you can climb and you can enjoy these experiences.
9:15
Once they're signed up, then they have the option to take advantage of my coaching.
9:22
Really, at any level, it can be from a consultative approach.
9:25
I just want to do some Q&A with you, make sure I'm on the right track.
9:29
It can be, I would really like a fully baked program.
9:33
And I have a 24 week, you know, learn to,
9:36
you know, really prepare you for the mountains type of program that you can
9:39
plug into training peaks and into Zwift or into Ruby or whatever platform you're
9:44
using to also sort of upgrading and having the full Josh, I want you to work with me,
9:50
customize the program, you know, meet every week, that sort of thing.
9:54
So there are varying levels that are going to make sense for the individual
9:58
and how they want to approach the experience. Because everybody's different.
10:02
Everybody has a different amount of time they can commit to training and how
10:05
they're going to go about this.
10:06
And really, if someone came and said, hey, I really want to sign up,
10:11
but I'm a pure beginner, I would probably defer them to a future year.
10:15
The answer is not no, it's just not yet. Because it could be a good experience.
10:21
But as long as you are into that, even the early days of intermediacy with being
10:27
a road cyclist and you have seat time under your belt and you have kilometers under your belt.
10:34
Then you are someone with the amount of time we have to prepare,
10:38
you are someone who can succeed at this.
10:40
Just not a pure beginner. It makes sense. And I think that's a great approach
10:44
because this way everybody has a great experience and maybe the ones that you
10:48
can filter that might be better the next year to join,
10:52
you You'll have a good time because it wouldn't make any sense to go and then feel...
10:56
Not have a good experience, not feel ready there.
11:00
It's never a not. It's just a not yet. And I think, per what I remember,
11:06
you also have different type of camps.
11:08
Like you created one for over 50. I think there was one just for women,
11:11
which I think is really cool because you can join a mixed group,
11:15
but you can also try to find something that fits more of what are you looking for.
11:21
Right. So this past year, we had an amazing experience with our women's group
11:27
and my co-leader in the women's group, Leonie Lawman, who runs her own personal
11:33
training business based in the United Kingdom.
11:36
She's actually been a cycling athlete of mine for a very long time.
11:40
And we co-lead trips together.
11:43
The group of women that we had was just the most phenomenal group of human beings.
11:49
So we have already announced our first offering for next year, which is June to July 4.
11:57
It's going to be our Women's Calls Week. We have an exciting location.
12:02
You mentioned the importance of the comprehensiveness of the holiday experience.
12:09
And we are going to be based out
12:11
of a very small, beautiful city in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
12:17
It's a city called Po. Wow.
12:20
And we have an amazing accommodation that we've partnered with.
12:23
So it's really going to be not just the cycling, but it's mountain days, city nights.
12:30
And so you walk right out of our accommodation. You've got restaurants, pubs, museums, tours.
12:36
One of our days in the region, because it's in a little bit more of the Pyrenees
12:40
Atlantique. It's a big winery area.
12:43
It's wine country. So we're going to commit a day. You know,
12:46
when you can't climb every day, you have to have a couple days that are more flat.
12:51
We're going to ride our bikes through wine country, come back. Magical.
12:58
And then we're going to do, we're going to take everybody on a wine tasting.
13:02
So it's a double winery type day, tour de vin, as it were.
13:06
Wow. So we're going to do a day where, you know, we're close enough where we
13:10
can get in our transportation and set ourselves up for a reasonably length,
13:15
mostly flat ride and go right to the Atlantic Ocean.
13:18
We're going to go to Baritz and we're going to spend the day at the beach.
13:21
So we'll have four climbing days, two days that are unique on the flats,
13:25
all of these other activities built in that are available for folks.
13:30
So we've got that first week that's about to go live on the web for registration
13:35
and for deposits for 27 June to July 4th, given the number of people who are
13:40
in on the pre-sale have a feeling that's going to sell out very quickly.
13:44
So we've identified a second week, stay tuned.
13:47
So we'll likely be offering two exclusively women's weeks for next summer, summer 2026.
13:55
And then we've got our eye, we'll have to wait for the Tour de France dates
14:00
to be released and when they're going to be in the Pyrenees.
14:02
But based on the rumors that we're hearing, we'll also be running a Tour de
14:06
France week, just like we did this past year.
14:09
Where we ride for the week and we
14:12
watch at least one day where we
14:15
go and ride the coals that the tour riders are going to ride and then we stay
14:20
on the mountain and watch them come through and it is how cool to be missed
14:25
so we'll be having probably at least three weeks based out of po in the pyrenees
14:29
this summer and stay tuned there might be more who knows we'll see.
14:33
Wow, how cool. It's really dream vacations.
14:41
Yes. Like Pyrenees, wine country, Tour de France.
14:46
It's the whole experience. It is a vacation experience where you're riding,
14:53
you're getting this sense of accomplishment, and you have those late afternoon,
14:57
evening hours to really have the celebratory and the vacation type experience.
15:03
So it's going to be an amazing summer, 2026.
15:07
Awesome. Well, anyone listening interested, make sure to check the description of the episode.
15:13
All the information about the camp will be there for you to sign up.
15:17
So climbing can be very challenging, both mentally and physically.
15:23
Sometimes the mental can be even harder because you can be strong and just break
15:28
it for whatever reasons.
15:30
What's your go-to coaching strategy when you
15:33
see a rider hitting that mental wall it is
15:36
such an important piece and it's a it's a
15:39
piece that you know no coach is perfect obviously but i
15:41
take great pride in this particular part of how i support riders in any scenario
15:47
but especially as we talk about the intensity of climbing and that sort of mindset
15:52
mental side of it you'll see and i'll send it to you so you can share it with
15:57
your listeners we had a testimonial from one of our riders who was on women's week,
16:01
who was just so wonderfully honest about how she felt when she first got there.
16:09
Like I, she literally said, I was so up in my own head about, can I do this?
16:16
We give our riders permission to feel that way. If you're nervous about this,
16:20
if you're unsure, be okay with those feelings. Because if you fight them and
16:25
deny them, you're only going to make them worse.
16:28
So embrace it and then take a deep breath.
16:32
And then we work together to accomplish the climb.
16:36
And so this particular rider felt that emotion and felt that anxiety very early
16:41
in the week on our first climb, first couple climbs. I've been so proud of this
16:47
athlete because she smashed the tourmalade.
16:51
And I think she smashed it. So as a coach, you can really, you sort of see the
16:57
physiological, the mental signs of a rider who may be struggling a little bit.
17:03
In the first two kilometers of watching her on the tourmalade,
17:06
there was no doubt in my mind she was going to absolutely smash the tourmalade.
17:11
You could see it in her body language. you could see it in
17:13
her cadence you could see it in her very circular
17:17
pedal stroke i'm like she's got it and she
17:20
did other riders need you know in the moment a little bit more of that sort
17:26
of in the moment feedback and it's funny sometimes the mental piece of it will
17:31
show physically and so if we identify the things that are sort of tight physically
17:37
it can create a relaxation effects.
17:40
So for instance, one of the things I'm always looking for with a rider,
17:44
are they too hunched up? Are they too tight in their neck?
17:48
And I'll use the tongue-in-cheek line, like, hey, your shoulders aren't your earrings.
17:53
Let's drop them a little bit. Relax the shoulders.
17:57
You want to obviously have a nice, safe grip on your hoods when you're climbing,
18:04
but you don't want to be choking them to death.
18:06
I'm like, go a little easier on those hoods And by relaxing the arms and relaxing the shoulders,
18:13
it sort of puts them back into being able to have a rhythm because climbing
18:19
is all about finding your own rhythm.
18:21
So those sort of things help.
18:24
The other thing that I like athletes to tune into anytime, especially when you're
18:29
climbing, is your breathing.
18:30
There is all sorts of evidence coming out now that breathing rate is a very
18:39
good indicator of relative effort level.
18:42
So it's not a magic pill. It doesn't mean slowing down your breathing is suddenly
18:47
going to make you climb like, you know,
18:50
Demi Ballering or Tadipodotra, but it has a relaxation effect and it just sort
18:57
of tunes you into finding your rhythm.
18:59
Slow yourself down mentally and anxiety-wise a little bit.
19:04
And that can make a difference. And then the last piece that I love helping
19:09
riders tune into, and it's interesting, it's like you hear this,
19:14
and this was my first reaction to it.
19:16
I actually read this in a very old book about climbing.
19:19
It was sort of before the wearables era and before heart rate and watts and all those things.
19:24
It was a former pro rider talking about, you almost want to feel like there's
19:29
an invisible string pulling you up the mountain.
19:32
And I was like, okay.
19:34
It really gonna work and then i tried it
19:37
myself and i'm like oh my goodness here's what
19:41
it does it's not a trick it improves
19:44
your pedaling efficiency because you're imagined being cold up and i have found
19:51
that sharing that and broadening it a little bit so imagine there's this imaginary
19:56
string and imagine it divides off in two and the string is attached to the very
20:02
tips of your cycling shoes.
20:04
Imagine that every time you come forward, it's pulling you a little bit forward.
20:09
And what it does is, you know, if you've been cycling long enough,
20:15
you know, pedaling circles versus pedaling square.
20:18
And if you're pedaling squares, it really means you have a very inefficient
20:21
pedal stroke. You're getting tired.
20:23
You're sort of very choppy. You're pushing up, pulling down and not being very fluid.
20:27
I have found, and it's amazing. And I tell out is I'm like, just hear me out on this.
20:32
Imagine the imaginary string, imagine it pulling your, the top of your shoes forward.
20:37
And I'm like, just give it a chance. And they go, oh my goodness, that works.
20:41
And what it's doing, it is creating a different effect in your pedal stroke
20:45
because simply pedal circles, don't pedal squares.
20:49
If it's a really experienced cyclist, who's had cadence training and,
20:54
you know, sort of pedal technique training,
20:56
they're going to clue in and that's a good cue they're going to know that but
20:59
if somebody's new to it this sort of note
21:03
it's tongue-in-cheek i don't mean this to be a physics thing string
21:05
theory so to speak is it's i
21:09
found it to be a game changer with riders when they're climbing
21:12
because you're now going as fast
21:14
as you were or maybe even a little bit faster but you're putting out much less
21:19
physical effort because your pedal stroke is that much more efficient efficient
21:23
and then obviously the last piece is you know parts to whole break it down all
21:28
these climbs have kilometer signs we're going to celebrate every kilometer we tick off.
21:33
Keep going. Trust your fitness. And this is, you know, I'm preaching to the choir with this.
21:38
If you've put a base in its own too, you know, trust that you're clearing lactate. Yep.
21:44
It's going to be difficult. Yep. It's going to hurt a little bit,
21:48
but you will get there because your body's clearing the lactate.
21:51
And then when you do that, it's just, it's magical guiding a rider for the entire
21:56
time they're going up, let's say the tourmalade and just watching them shed
22:00
tears of joy when And they cross the finish line and they go,
22:03
oh, my goodness, I didn't think I could do this. Thank you.
22:06
Thank you for your help. It's what gets me up in the morning.
22:08
And it's why I love these 15, 16-hour days doing this in the mountains with people.
22:13
As you were saying all this, I'm here nodding, nodding, nodding, nodding.
22:16
And I think a lot of us these days, because of time, we train at home, outside or at home.
22:25
It's just more of like you fill in training peaks or an Excel and you are doing
22:29
your work, which is super important.
22:33
There is a huge advantage of doing this type of camps and having your coach
22:40
or a coach like you with so much experience that you can not only the physical,
22:46
but you can also see the mental as well and have those type of conversations
22:51
like you had with this writer that crushed the Tourmalet.
22:55
But a lot of times, and I speak this from experience, you don't know what you're
23:00
doing. I mean, you don't know what you're doing wrong.
23:03
You're doing your best, but you don't know what you're doing wrong.
23:05
And sometimes it just takes someone like you and going to a camp like this,
23:09
and you just say a tiny adjustment, like relax your shoulders,
23:14
take them off your ears, and it makes all the difference.
23:18
And I love the stream pulling you up, the climb. I haven't tried, but visualization is.
23:26
It's also something that it's been studied a lot and it works.
23:30
Even for you to do the whole visualization before race day, imagine everything
23:35
going right, imagine things that would go wrong. So when it happens,
23:39
you are more prepared, you are not freaking out. So it makes total sense.
23:42
And those are amazing tips.
23:44
And the breathing, obviously, every little bit helps to get you up the hill.
23:50
And I think just really want to highlight the importance of going on a training
23:57
camp if anyone can because it does make a huge difference to have someone there
24:01
that will pick up on those tiny little adjustments that make big differences.
24:07
Absolutely. It's sort of the comprehensive nature of what we offer.
24:12
It's not about, hey, these are the routes we're doing.
24:15
Hey, we'll cut you loose. It's you get to learn on the way. You get to make
24:21
these micro adjustments that are not only going to allow you a better experience
24:25
and more success while you're here for the week, you get to then make them habit at home.
24:30
And, you know, if you happen to live somewhere in a hilly area,
24:33
then you can now be very proud of the skills that you've learned to go along
24:39
with the confidence you've developed summiting these goals.
24:43
Yeah. And speaking of this, all those things, you wear so many hats on the strips.
24:49
You are a coach, you are a cheerleader, you are the right leader, logistics, wrangler.
24:57
What's the part of running a camp like this that most people don't realize what,
25:02
you know, what they see it in until they see it in action? Right,
25:06
right. That's a really good question.
25:07
I think the thing that flies probably under the radar is the route planning and the route recon.
25:19
So for instance, I've already had the experience of spending time on the new
25:25
coals that we're going to be taking folks up next year.
25:28
We're still going to be doing the Tourmalet, so I've obviously had plenty of
25:32
experience summiting the Tourmalet,
25:34
but me being knowledgeable about the nature of the climb is really important,
25:41
and it goes way beyond just looking at a profile.
25:45
I've done Nicole d'Hobisque twice. I've done Nicole de Portolette,
25:49
and one of the things I learned about Nicole de Portolette is when we do this
25:53
climb, we're riding to Spain.
25:55
You cross the French-Spanish border at the summit.
26:02
I couldn't learn that from the profile.
26:06
So it's a neat kind of experience for a rider to have to do a longer climb.
26:13
This one does not have a ton of steepness to it.
26:17
It's just the views are otherworldly from up there. And all of a sudden you're
26:21
like, oh my goodness, across the border, I'm in Spain.
26:23
So it's learning the routes. It's understanding really where the challenging grade sections are.
26:30
And you can only learn so much from looking at a route profile online.
26:35
I really want to be, because knowledge is power. I really want to be able to
26:39
tell our group and we do sort of a very low key, lighthearted ride brief the
26:45
night before the next day's ride.
26:49
Here's the length of the climb, here's the time we're starting,
26:52
here's the length before we get to the climb, all those are the details that go into it.
26:56
But I also want to be able to share, okay, so for the cold of this,
27:01
it starts off relatively tame.
27:04
Make sure that you're not getting carried away and burning too many matchsticks early.
27:09
And then it's going to go through a small mountain town. It's going to kick up there for a while.
27:14
It's still early days. manage your effort going through
27:17
the town it'll level off again the steepest stretches
27:21
is often the case on a lot of clients are late
27:24
but i also share with them the other side of
27:27
it because it's easy to build something up
27:30
in your head to make it bigger than it is
27:33
and we talk about factually all
27:37
right look the steepest hundred meters is let's
27:41
say ten percent and i'm i can tell them
27:44
reflect that yesterday's climb had a steeper section on
27:47
it so yes this climb might be a little bit longer yes
27:50
this climb the average grade may be a little bit higher but this is not going
27:55
to challenge you the way yesterday's climb did it's just a little longer feel
27:59
yourself a little bit better so i really relish all of that knowledge is power
28:06
ability to plan in advance the clock Yeah,
28:10
and I think this prepares the riders to really adapt and adjust in real time when they are climbing.
28:16
That's really, really good. Now, I know...
28:20
This is to climb, but people have to descend.
28:28
Is there any nervousness as well? Because I know a lot of riders do freak out on the descend.
28:32
Because I think going up, of course, there's technique, but it's also power, mantle.
28:38
But on the downhill, you don't need the watts, but you really need to be more technical. Yes.
28:45
Abilities, you need to have more ability to descend. we talk
28:48
about and then there are some specifics too especially for
28:51
riders who are a little new to descending the broad
28:55
ones we always talk about safely confidently and
29:00
efficiently notice there's no word in there about speed because when you bring
29:05
speed into the equation it adds an extra layer of stress to really all riders
29:11
if you're a good descendant on my goodness i have to go fast down.
29:14
That's fine. No, you don't.
29:15
And if you're a less confident descender, it's like, it's okay to go a little bit slower.
29:22
Obviously you can't just grip the brakes the entire time.
29:28
There's all sorts of trap doors for that. I won't get into that now,
29:31
but then it becomes for a less confident descender, giving them some basics
29:37
without trying to teach them too much.
29:40
That's going to help them as fluidly as
29:43
possible get down the mountain and
29:46
it starts with feathering your
29:49
brakes you are in control yes feel like
29:52
you're out of control feather on feather off feather on
29:55
feather off that's one two helping them
29:59
to understand reduce your speed
30:02
before you get to the switchback before you
30:05
get to the turn it's then going to allow you
30:08
to sort of not a coast is the right word but
30:11
ease your way through the turn without putting
30:14
yourself in a position of losing control of the
30:18
bike things like look through the turn where instead of looking at the tip of
30:22
your wheel you're angling and looking where you're going and people go oh my
30:26
god that really works and you don't want to overdo it you can't tell me yank
30:30
your head to the left you'll go to the left no that's going to be too scary
30:33
for somebody look towards the turn those sorts of things.
30:38
Then there are all sorts of things about how you properly lean and those things.
30:43
And I assess that on the go. If that's too much information for somebody,
30:47
we're not even going to go there because that's going to make their life worse.
30:50
It's about giving them just enough information that's going to provide them confidence.
30:56
The other big thing is if someone is comfortable in the drops,
31:00
it is a little bit safer to descend in the drops.
31:04
If you're used to being in the drops.
31:09
And then talking to them about, okay, if you've done it, you know,
31:13
really are going to stay on the hoods, you have to make sure a bump doesn't
31:17
throw your hands up over the hoods. That's when bad things happen.
31:21
So it's about the safety, having an instructive set of safety items to go along
31:29
with a little bit of, okay, these are things in my toolbox I'm comfortable doing
31:33
and they will give me. Those are great tips. Yeah.
31:36
And especially on the feathering on and off on the brakes, because a lot of
31:39
people just hold on for their lives on the brakes and then their hands freeze
31:44
and you can't move. Yeah, all sorts of stuff.
31:48
Yeah, it locks up. And then the other thing that we do, again,
31:50
we climb at our own pace. We reconvene at the summit.
31:54
We descend at our own pace. And we also send a quicker descenders down first.
31:58
We do it in reverse because we don't want people to have to overtake each other
32:02
on the descent. not putting people in a position to have to do that. And then I descend last.
32:08
That way, you know, if a rider, oh my goodness, and I had a rider do this,
32:12
they needed to take a deep breath on the side of the road where it was safe
32:15
to put us. There's nothing wrong with that.
32:17
We don't need to be in a hurry. We're on vacation.
32:20
Let's get down safely, and then we'll carry on with our ride.
32:25
Yeah, amazing. And once the week wraps up, what do you hope your riders carry
32:30
with them, Not just in their legs, but also their mindset and confidence once the camp is over.
32:36
It's been wonderful to keep in touch with the groups that we had this year.
32:41
And just first, it's the memories that they made.
32:45
It's the connections of so many new friendships that have been developed among
32:51
riders and riders and myself and the riders.
32:55
It is, it's such a shared experience.
32:59
And so I really want them to leave with sort of the celebratory memories,
33:04
the connections that they've made with the people, the entire group of us.
33:08
We sort of imagine ourselves as a little family during the week and supporting each other.
33:14
And then, you know, take that confidence home where, yeah, you can do this and
33:19
maybe come back and join us again, especially if we're going to be in a different
33:22
place and do it all over again on some new climbs.
33:26
And so that's, that's a really special, special part of this is that,
33:31
you know, we're, we're all so busy in life these days between family and work.
33:38
These experiences that you get to share with other people are priceless. They really are.
33:43
And none of us have enough time to do massive amounts of these.
33:48
But from a well-being standpoint, experiencing things like this with other people
33:54
can really have just such a positive kick-on effect for their mental well-being.
33:58
Yeah, it's not just cycling. Absolutely.
34:02
It's such an incredible experience. And I think anyone listening and starting
34:07
to picturing yourself there, maybe it's time to make it happen.
34:13
You won't regret it, I promise. And what's next?
34:18
So you wrapped up the summer camps and then next year you are in a different location.
34:25
And you're also saying there's so many people already interested in coming back.
34:29
You might be sold out and you might open second, more weeks of camping training.
34:34
Can you tell me a little bit more? Is there anything I missed from what's next
34:38
and who can join your camp? No, it's a great question.
34:41
And really the change in location is all about the holiday nature of it.
34:47
Like individually, you know, just as a individual rider, I have no issue with
34:54
riding for eight, nine hours, riding my brains out, showering up,
34:57
having dinner and let's do it all over again.
35:01
It's the well-rounded, as you so eloquently
35:04
put, the comprehensive holiday experience has led us, Leonie and I.
35:10
To Pau, France, where we can offer that full, well-rounded experience.
35:16
So 27 June to 4 July, we are literally about to start taking deposits probably the end of this week.
35:24
So it's second week of August right now. So by the end of this second week,
35:28
at the latest beginning of next week, we'll be taking deposits for that week.
35:33
And that's limited to 10 riders.
35:35
And we're basing the interest level that we've had on folks who are like,
35:40
include me in on the presale.
35:42
We have every confidence that that's going to sell out.
35:45
We already have the infrastructure built for a second women's week.
35:49
So I'm very confident that we will get to the place where we will have two women's
35:56
weeks going in summer of 2026.
35:59
You know, the Tour de France rumors are out, but nothing firm in terms of the
36:05
route, but there's a good chance it's coming to the Pyrenees pretty early.
36:09
So that would be a third offering because who doesn't want to go climb the mountains
36:14
the same week the Tour de France riders are coming through and have the opportunity
36:18
to watch them? And we just can't fully announce that until the ride schedule is out.
36:22
And then we're going to see where it goes from there.
36:25
There might be the potential for a fourth week in the Pyrenees.
36:30
And then stay tuned for 2027 because we're taking this thing broader in the EU.
36:36
There'll be some other locations that we're going to be targeting to take riders
36:40
to outside of the Pyrenees.
36:43
Exciting. and I'm glad you mentioned something that I didn't think about asking
36:47
which is the number of people per camp but you said 10 so usually every week
36:51
it's 10 riders every week it's 10 we want this to be an experience where we
36:56
can really provide that hands-on service and if we,
37:02
and the best intentions allowed the groups to get too big, we're not doing that anymore.
37:07
We really want this to be that type of experience where not only we're giving
37:13
the hands-on attention and the hands-on guiding, but we're getting to know the riders.
37:17
Riders are getting to know other riders. It's that real family experience.
37:22
Having an entire dinner of 12 of us in the evening is very doable.
37:28
You really feel like you're a part of the group. And it's so important.
37:33
That's that collective experiencing something with others, that if you allow
37:39
the root to get too big, then you lose some of that.
37:43
And we will never be in a position where we want to lose any. Yeah, it sounds great.
37:48
It sounds like the right amount of time and people, of course, with you.
37:53
I think you're a great coach. I love having you on the podcast.
37:57
You are so eloquently with your words.
38:01
It's really easy to understand everything that you're explaining and actually put in practice.
38:06
So I cannot even imagine what's the experience I'm spending a week with you,
38:10
how much one can improve.
38:12
I really hope I can be part of the camp next year Because it sounds truly,
38:17
truly amazing As do I, it would be amazing to do this together I would really enjoy that Yeah,
38:24
big, big, big thanks for sharing the stories And the lessons from the Pyrenees
38:28
camps And I hope to have you back again soon I will always jump at the opportunity
38:35
to sit and chat with you It's a wonderful experience and I will look forward
38:40
to more opportunities in the future as well.
38:42
Thank you so much. You are welcome.
38:47
And that's all for today's episode. I want to thank the listeners for tuning in.
38:52
Your support means everything. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider
38:56
following, leaving a review and sharing it with your friends.
38:59
Music.