Southwest Singletrack: Climb higher this season

Earlier this spring, we asked members of the SWMMBA community what they wanted more of this year. Some popular responses were shuttlefests, trail-work clinics, and races, but we also had a lot of interest in bikepacking, which was a bit of a surprise.

Bikepacking is hard, requires a lot of time, and pushes even the fittest riders to their limits. But you asked and we listened.

We’re stoked to announce that Lone Peak Performance will be sponsoring a series of clinics and info sessions focused on endurance during longer, bigger mountain-biking pursuits and how to build skills and endurance on and off the bike. Sam Van de Velde and Tom Cuddy, two exercise physiologists from Lone Peak, will lead the program, so we thought we’d take a moment to introduce them to you. They have worked with your friends and neighbors, and Lone Peak has trained some of the area’s elite cross country and enduro racers.

Here are some thoughts from Sam and Tom. 

What are Lone Peak’s goals? Why is it important to be involved with SWMMBA?
LP: More than anything, we want to foster an engaged and passionate mountain-bike community, while improving the on-trail experience for mountain bikers of all experience levels. In that way, SWMMBA and Lone Peak’s goals are exactly the same, just coming from different directions.

What we hope to contribute is to share our passion and knowledge base of exercise physiology, applied specifically to the mountain-sports recreationalists and athletes, with the overarching goal of helping our community move, feel, perform, and ultimately live better. 

Why performance training? Isn’t it just for elite athletes? What can new, beginner, and intermediate bikers get out of it?
LP: While Lone Peak does work with elite-level athletes, we’ve found that beginner and intermediate bikers have so much to gain from working with us. Simple changes such as following basic heart rate recommendations, changes to bike fit, or improvements in mobility/strength/stability make all the difference for your experience on the bike.

These simple changes can be the difference between getting out for a weekend ride and having to recover on the couch for several days due to fatigue and stiffness, and being able to get out for a ride and feel great the day after.

What are some personal goals you have on a bike in 2021?
Sam: Compete well in the Butte 100 and the Big Sky Biggie, link-up multiple bikepacking trips throughout Montana, then share the routes with SWMMBA members to grow the local bikepacking community. Lastly, not have to use my bear spray all year! 

Tom: Some of my personal goals for 2021 are focused on being more versatile. I’m currently training for the Butte 100 and Big Sky Biggie, but I also hope to get some days in lapping the bike park and get out for some bikepacking adventures with friends!

What have been some highlights of your cycling life so far?
Sam: Passing 50-something-year-old Lance Armstrong on the first descent of the Carson City Off-Road Race. Of course, he ended up crushing me. Ultimately, I love sharing my knowledge and experience within the sport, and celebrating cycling with my community.

Tom: The highlights of my cycling career really come down to the connections I’ve made with the mountain-bike community. I’ve had the opportunity to race competitively in some awesome events, but I also have had the opportunity to coach NICA, both youth and adult cyclists, and see incredible progress.

One other highlight was putting on the Gallatin Traverse event last summer with Zach Tondre. We organized a virtual challenge and had 50+ riders successfully complete a 50-mile, 7,000-ft. singletrack route in the northern Gallatins on 100% singletrack! With less community engagement in summer 2020, it was so incredible to see everyone out on trail pushing themselves and collectively enjoying our access to our National Forest lands.

If you’re interested in learning more about bikepacking, how to prepare for multi-day tours in the mountains, how to train for some of the areas bigger single-day events, or just become stronger overall on your bike, check out lonepeakperformance.com. Stay tuned for details about upcoming info sessions and clinics with Sam and Tom.