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Margaret Cameron
What previous life events do you credit for piquing your interest in cycling and racing?
I grew up watching the Tour de France every summer with my parents, who both loved watching the race, though neither of them rode much at the time. In high school I was an alpine ski racer and after a few bad crashes someone told me I should really get a bike to help rehab my knees. I joined the road cycling team that spring and I've been riding in some capacity on and off ever since. I was a collegiate rower and I used cycling to support my rowing career, then after graduation wanted a way to stay outside and stay fit and came back to cycling again.
How did you get into bike racing?
I used to race road but stopped after high school, and after that wasn't really interested in racing again for a while. My memories of high school racing involved a lot of group crashes, but I still loved the sport and followed road and CX racing as a spectator. I went to Rochester Cyclocross in 2018, I had been following racing for a while and thought it would be really cool to see race in person. I had so much fun spectating and learning more about 'cross racing I went out and bought a used gravel bike a month later and signed up for a clinic. Eventually I got a 'real' CX setup and I loved racing again, I met Jessica Blake and some other women on the team in 2019 and they were incredibly welcoming and helpful. I recently got a mountain bike thanks to some encouragement from the team and I'll work my way up to my first MTB race over time!
What do you do by day?
Financial analyst, number cruncher and spreadsheet guru, and I am currently working on my MBA in the evenings.
What does an average training week look like?
I shoot for a mix of shorter interval and medium length sweet spot work on the trainer during the week and longer rides outside during the weekend when I can swing it! I end up doing most of my week-day training either or the trainer or even running depending on the amount of time I have after work. Then whatever I can do getting outside on the weekends! I'm going to be working on mixing in some skills work with the mountain bike this summer, I'm definitely looking to improve my technical skills! I've been mixing it up recently with some running and yoga too for some variety. It can be a struggle depending on the course load I have with my masters, but I'm working on finding a balance.
What are your plans this year?
No solid plans this year due to COVID in terms of events... hoping to do some local gravel events and would love to race some 'cross again this fall if the opportunity arises. Other than that - getting better at mountain biking! Eventually I'm planning on mapping out some longer bike trekking trips to do when traveling is a thing again. I'm trying to plan a 3-4 day in Vermont this year as practice, but we'll see if that gets off the ground.
What are the biggest challenges you face for meeting your goals?
I broke my collar bone this past year and while it's mostly healed up it's got me a bit nervous to ride anything more technical. I'm gonna take some time to work on getting over that. I've had some other health challenges recently I'm working through so I'm in a bit of a rebuilding phase, but I'll get back up to speed. Other than that - time management with grad school!
What 3 pro riders would you want to shred with and why?
Ellen Noble - I've been following her racing career for years and her resilience and honesty with the process is incredibly inspiring
Kate Courtney - it's Kate Courtney. She shreds and she's super passionate about getting more people into bikes, which is something that resonates with me
Payson McElveen - I've been listening to his podcast for a while and based on all the wild adventure stories I think any ride with him would be a blast
What are your favorite ways to fuel during a race or very long ride?
For longer rides I'm a big fan of mixing up energy gels with the Picky Bar fruit and nut bars as well as Honey Stinger waffles. I'll also go with bananas or rice cakes because they're easy to digest. I'm a big fan of Skratch Labs for hydration
What is your favorite way to recover after a ride?
A banana, a PB sandwich, and cherry juice :) oh, and naps. Ride hard, nap hard.
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