Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

What you need to know before climbing Caesar's Head Distance:  The actual climb from Hwy 11 is 7.83miles. Elevation gain:  Start at 1078 feet and finish at 3228 feet (total gain = 2084 feet). Grade:  According to my Garmin, the average grade is ~5%. There is nothing crazy steep on the climb but there are two or three segments (right after a switchback) where the grade switches to over 8%. Around 5 miles into the climb, there is a short section that is "flat" - which provides a nice change and a great place to actively recover. It doesn't last long as within a few minutes, you are back climbing again. Road condition:  The road condition is ok but not great. There are several bumps and cracks. There are a few smoother sections that have been recently repaved, but it's more bumpy than smooth. While it's fine for climbing, there are some rough patches in the switchbacks - which requires excellent bike handling skills when descending on a switchback. ...

When we told our campers that day 2 of camp included a ride up Caesar's head mountain, we had a few campers that smiled with excitement and others looked at us with big, worried eyes....and maybe a few with the look of "are you freakin' crazy??" This is exactly what we love about our training camps. With every camper, there are strengths and weaknesses. The positive energy is contagious in a group training environment so when one athlete is fearful or worried, another camper can pass along his/her positive energy to someone else. With this team approach, everyone has the opportunity to excel. We divided the campers into two groups. Assistant coach Joe and I lead one group at 7:30am and Karel and Thomas lead another group at 8:15am. We modified our original route  just slightly so that we didn't exhaust our campers too much before the start of the 7 mile climb. The first 20 miles to get to the base of Caesar's head included some rolling hills...