Training Camp

Rocket Science Sports is a proud supplier of the team with our Elite Bags and Rocket Bottles. The guys on the team are blown away by the bag's design and are excited to start using them.


On Thursday Feb. 7th I arrived in Dahlonega Georgia for the Toshiba-Santo Pro Cycling Team presented by Herbalife training camp. Dahlonega is an insanely hilly area. Mostly all the climbs are at least 2-5 times longer than most in Austin and are all squashed together giving no rest for the out of shape Austinite (me).

Friday morning we went out for a leisurely stroll in the hills. The first few hills went by without a hitch on my part. Yeah, I've been training real hard for the for the past three weeks! So I guess it wasn't much of a surprise that my lungs gave out and I removed myself from the group. As I drifted backwards I thought I'd just pull to the side waive my hand and have the team car pick me up. So I turn around and the vehicle that I was hearing behind us went around me and sped off. It wasn't the team car! Where's the car? Oh no! Where's the team car! I looked up the road and already the group was around the next bend and I was breathing like a fish out of water. All I could do was keep on the main road and hope they wouldn't turn off or the team car would come rolling up. As things would have it, Mike Gann came back for me when they realized they were short a duckling. I guess I wasn't too far behind because we caught up with them pretty quick because they had stopped for a nature break. Lucky me!

So as we all got rolling again Mike alerted me to the option of making a right turn and getting back to the base camp. I took it. I'm not crazy. After checking my computer when I got back I could see that I was in working at 94% of my max heart rate for most of my hour ride. I can't wait to get back to Austin, it's going to be soo easy after this!

Saturday was a big day of handing out team kits, taking individual and group pictures and interviews of the athletes by VeloNews and Road magazines. Ravi then dragged the guys back and forth over some very scenic climbs and decents so we could get some cool pictures of the guys in action. For the action shots all the bikes were fitted with our Rocket Bottles. It was a proud moment. I didn't get any riding in this day. I am looking forward to giving it another shot on Sunday. Maybe I'll be brave enough to talk about it later.

Keith Norris, 2007 U-23 National Crit Champion

BTW, the guys were staying at a place called the Hiker Hostel. If hostels are graded by stars, this one is a 5 star for sure. It's very clean, beautiful and has some awesome amenities including a hot tub and a great backyard deck with a nice fire pit. If you are ever in the area and looking for a place to stay you've gotta give this place a shot. Super friendly hosts Josh and his wife Leigh are the best. They'll take good care of you.

I'll try to get out another update soon. Cheers!