training near Lake Geneva

PrudenceR - 2009-08-10 9:38 PM I'll be visiting my parents in southern Wisconsin (it looks like their farm is on the HIM bike course for the Lake Geneva triathlon) next week. I live in Colorado and am training for a HIM in Austin in October.  To the extent that it's possible while visiting, I'd like to continue with my training.

I have some questions for the triathletes in that area:
a) open water swims in Lake Geneva -- are these possible?  Reasonable?  Are there any groups out there with buoys and support on weekly swims, and could I pay a few dollars and join in?  If not, can I do laps parallel to the beach (in Fontana?  Williams Bay?) to get my swim time in? 

There was a thread about this a while back.  I was told that you can swim at both Bigfoot State Park and Williams Bay if you do it early.  My plan is to head to one of those Parks in the next couple of weeks.  I will be by myself so plan to swim parrallel to the shore.

b) what's the water temperature in Lake Geneva?  Do I want a wetsuit?  If so, is there somewhere I can rent one?  If it's not terribly cold, I'll probably just try to go without, as my goal race will most likely not be wetsuit legal and I need to practice this!

I swam in LG yesterday not too far from Reid Park and I wore a wetsuit, but that was strictly for comfort.  My coach did not and had no problem with the temps.  The water is amazingly clear so you can see all the way to the bottom.

c) does anyone know of a bike shop in the area where I can rent a road bike?  Borrowing from the family would mean a kid's mountain bike or an adult's cruiser, and if necessary I could try one of those, but it'd be great to get some miles in on some skinny tires.

I cannot help you here, but if need a good bike route, check out the Lake Geneva Triathlon or Big Foot Triathlon websites.  I have done the LG HIM bike course twice and it is NOT hard.

Thanks for any info you can give me, or for pointing me in the correct direction to find this out...

PrudenceR - 2009-08-20 6:58 PM Thanks for the tips!  I'm here in Wisconsin and training.  I ended up renting a road bike from Backyard Bikes and Ski up at the LaGrange general store, which is by Kettle Moraine -- the bike is a decent one, and fits well (it's a 49cm Alpe d'Huez).  That was the only place I could find that rented actual road bikes.

I've been swimming in Geneva Lake twice, at the beach in Fontana, doing laps parallel to shore.  I'm paying, since I've been there when there's a lifeguard on duty, but there's hardly been anyone else there.  You're right, the water itself is REALLY clear, although the lake weed at the bottom is a little daunting -- I can't get my 10yo niece to join me beyond where the lake weed starts.  The lake also tastes much better than the Boulder Reservoir (I always sample, although I don't intend to).  I ended up calling the Water Safety patrol before I came out here, and they said the water was 72 degrees -- that sounds about right; I'd say it's a little chilly, but fine without a wetsuit.

I'm going for a longer ride tomorrow or Saturday, so may try the long course route (more likely, I'll do most of that route and lop off some chunk, depending on time available).

Thanks again