After spending the past few team camps in the comfort of AirBnBs, tent camping on the shores of beautiful Lake Cuyamaca was an awesome way to kickstart this year's team building! A challenging, yet fulfilling weekend was in store, with overnight temperatures estimated to dip to the low 30s. 

Night one was spent setting up camp guided only by a starry sky of headlamps. Resident chefs Alessandro and Cameron helped get 3 gallons of water to a boil on the camp stove, which we used to cook several kilos of spaghetti (note that within our team there is an ongoing academic debate about whether or not salting the water helps the water boil faster). 

On Saturday morning, the team split off into a couple of groups; the road riders planned to complete a scenic 100-mile loop through Julian and the surrounding valleys, and the mountain bikers did a technical 20-mile exploration of Noble Canyon. The road riders, unfortunately, suffered a few mechanicals along the way but were lucky to be supported by Cameron who was driving the sag car (thank you, Cameron!!). The mechanicals pushed the ETA for the century riders past dark. Luckily the executive decision was made to order pizza for dinner, which was a pleasant alternative to making burgers from scratch. 

Sunday morning brought more great weather, so the road riders opted to do a shorter, more scenic route, and grab breakfast in the adjacent canyon. The mountain bikers this time went to Cuyamaca Rancho state park to ride some more legendary SoCal trails. After regrouping later that afternoon, the team hung out for a little while before packing up the cars to head home. 

This team camp was one of the first times that our team got to bond in such close quarters since before the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was amazing to see so many new and returning members come on this year's trip! We're already looking forward to more amazing weekend adventures for the rest of this year and for years to come.