Chiang Mai Winter Training Camp 2019/2020

Summary

Days biking:                     16

Climbing days (up the mountain): 6

Distance covered:                1188 km (74 km per day)

Total ascent:                    13524 m (845 m per day)

Time biked (movement time):      63 hours (almost 4 hours per day)

Sick days:                       1

Strava KOMs:                     8

Races:                           1

Crashes:                         0

Arrival

My pal Johnny Hård was kind enough to pick me up at the airport really early. We he headed home to his place in Chiang Mai where I assembled my Trek Top Fuel.

The next day we were racing together, as a team, in the Chiangmai MTB Epic 2019. It's a three stage race with all the stages in one today. Basically the first stage is a road stage, the second stage single track, and the third stage is a hill climb.

We then went out and tested the race course and I made sure my bike was still working after being transported by plane.

Chiang Mai MTB Epic

We won the race!! Race story here

Benchmarking

I have a "Benchmark hill" outside of Chiang Mai that I ride each year. It's a 8.6km long climb with 893 meters of vertical ascent.

Strava link to segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/11422742?filter=overall

I beat my personal best up Benchmark hill from two years ago and set a really quick time. Last year I was unable to come close to that time. This year however... I set a new personal record!

300W average power for the 55 minutes that the climb took.

2019/2020: 55m14s
2018/2019: 57m14s
2017/2018: 55m16s

2016/2017: 1:01:18

Top of Benchmark Hill

I have a cold!

Yeah, I caught a cold after a few days in Chiang Mai. It passed quicker than any cold that I've ever had though: I day off the bike and two low intensity bike ride days is all it took!

The most beautiful ride of the year - Stairway to Heaven

South west of Chiang Mai there's this loop in the mountains that's called Stairway to Heaven. I had never ridden it before but my friend Tim recommended it. The "loop" up in the mountains is 40km outside of Chiang Mai. I decided to ride there and back on my bike. It's not too bad, really. As always, listening to my audio book.

It was really worth it though. The trails are amazing. Wonderful singletrack, small mountain villages and technical downhill. And, also, escaping baby elephants :)

https://www.strava.com/activities/2969553177

All the Sala Cake I can eat

My favorite place in Chiang Mai, outside of the jungle, is Sala cafe. This is where I go for all my after ride cakes.