Peloton's Women On Wheels

On Saturday, August 27th, Peaks Elite Coach Julie McKenzie teamed up with the Peloton Cyclist Club to lead their inaugural “Women on Wheels” program.  30 women showed up at 0-dark-thirty to attend “The Art of Climbing”, starting from Coach McKenzie’s training camp home in Clermont, Florida.  Athletes of many endurance disciplines train in Clermont year-round, due to its gently rolling terrain, beautiful rural roads and proximity to the National Training Center.

The clinic started with a 1-hour PowerPoint presentation covering the basics of zones, gearing, shifting, pacing, ascending techniques and descending techniques.  After Q&A the gals climbed aboard their loyal steeds and proceeded to do repeats of Buckhill Rd. and Sugarloaf Mountain, Florida’s steepest paved road.  They finished up with up to 8 repeats of a downhill sweeper-left followed by 90-degree right turn, practicing corner-steering and going increasingly faster as they became familiar with a good line.

Feedback was very positive – could it have been Peleton’s catered champagne/mimosa brunch, or the pride of leaving their comfort zones and doing things they never thought possible?  Likely a little of both!