M2 REVOLUTION

Michael Wilburn's cycling passion comes in the form of endurance mountain biking events.  Although a veteran of the M2 program, Michael has increased his attendance and with it his performance in his grueling event of choice.

Here you see Michael, handsomely attired, speeding through a tight turn in the 24hrs of Adrenaline Event at Laguna Seca.  At Laguna, Michael opted for the saner 8hr version where riders compete to see how many loops they can complete.

Next up for Michael, an August 12hr event in Arcata - a slippery slope to the 24hr version?

I must say that hearing of Michael's race adventures has me tempted to try one of these events myself, though I will set the limit to 6-8hrs.

M2-coached athlete Nate Iden of Chicago uses an indoor trainer to practice many of the same power-based workout progressions that we practice at M2. Chicago's cold winters have not been an obstacle for Nate to methodically building the fitness necessary to reach the top podium spot on the Midwest Road Racing Circuit.

Check out this neat sequence of photos where Nate (black helmet) outsprints the field for the win.

Elizabeth Simpson uses consistent twice weekly classes to prepare for inspiring ambulatory adventures.  The year 2008 bore a Himalaya trek, last month it was a daunting run through the Grand Canyon.

This beautiful sunrise picture shows Elizabeth about to begin her morning jaunt, one that would take her from the south rim to the Canyon floor, aross the Colorado River on a suspension bridge, and eventually finishing with a 5500 foot climb back to the rim of the Canyon.

A mundane view of the outing shows a distance of some 23 miles with a time to complete of 7hr10min, but I think the pictures tell a better story.

Marcel Zamora Perez of Barcelona Spain joined us last winter for a couple of classes, and uses a Powertap for his road training.  Here you see Marcel winning last weekend's Ironman France, having ridden 4hr48min on a mountainous bike course, and even more impressively running 2hr43min in oppressive heat to secure the win.

Virginia Berasetequi of Bilbao Spain joined us for a class in May as well as for a Nicasio ride with M2, before biking away from the professional field at Wildflower and winning this prestigious event.

It was fun for me to reconnect with Virginia some 20 years after meeting at a Duathlon event in Gernika Spain, and 15 years after sharing training quarters at Madrid Spain's Olympic Training Center.

Note to the silly 3 week progressively waste fitness ultra-taper crowd: Virginia rode 2.5hrs with race pace sensation gathering on Wednesday, and enjoyed a beer/wine over dinner with M2 that evening - smart training no doubt. :)