Northwoods (Nevis) Triathlon

You know I'm in. Can I borrow your bike?

It's too big for you Jeff. Besides, the idea of a Ferrari at 15 mph with a squirrel tail streaming from the antenna is too much to pass up.

Hi,

B-One - sorry about the Lyme's but maybe you needed a cutback year - sounds like your attitude is excellent right now - hope you have a lot of fun.

So - yesterday I got up at 4:30am to drive up to Nevis so I could bike the route at 5:30 when it got light but when there wouldn't be any traffic - went ok and I ran a couple miles on the trail also.  My one concern (besides a flat tire, of course) is that last turn - it goes downhill a little, then right turn, then uphill a little.  I made it ok but I turned pretty wide.  If I have to stay right and make a sharp turn, I'm in trouble.

This is my 1st tri and I'm very excited.
LadyNorth

The last turn is a concern if you enter it too hot. To ease your concerns a bit, the portion of the road that you will be riding is coned off to about the center line. Approach the corner hugging the cones (not so close you will hit them). Scrub excess speed as you approach the turn. Lean early, stomp down the outside pedal, hit the apex (inside edge) of the corner and allow your momentum to bring you back to the outside of the corner. Be very cautious of other riders that are inexperienced at cornering; they are likely to enter the turn wide and stay wide rather than going wide-apex-wide as they should. Stay to the inside of other riders and be very aware of what they are doing. Here are two articles that may help: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Training/Cycling/Descending_203.htmland here: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Training/Cycling/Want_to_speed_up_Slow_do...

The corner that worries me is the turn from Co 7 to Co 50. There is less volunteer control, more likelihood to have loose dirt, and it is more of a hairpin. Well prior to entering the turn, check your 6 for traffic. If you are confident, you can "take the lane" and most cars will yield, but you are relying on someone else for your safety. You will be safer approaching the corner in the turn lane rather than entering the corner hugging the yellow line.

See you at the race.

Hey B-One.  Thanks for all the info and advice.  I'm one of the "inexperienced at cornering" riders.  I will practice "apex cornering" this week.  I'll be back-of-the-pack so riders should be thinned out by then.

LadyNorth

Bump

I'm heading up to Nevis this afternoon. See you up there B1. Lady - look for the yellow QR Kilo and stop by and say hi.

JR

Good luck guys!

Hi,

So I get to Nevis and I'm taking my stuff to the transition area and a very friendly guy starts talking to me.  After we've been chatting a bit,  I notice he's got a yellow bike.  So I say "Oh! Oh! you must be leapdog" - and he was

Leapdog - thanks very much for the support and encouragement - it was much appreciated.

I did much worse than I expected.  The 1st sighting I did, I found myself swimming perpendicular and heading toward the shore.  The bike and transitions were horrible and the run was not real great either.  However, I did get a 1st place age group plaque (only 2 in my age group).

I had a blast.

LadyNorth

Good to meet you and congrats on the first of many AG plaques!

Hey B-One,

Sorry to hear about your bad fortune. I can relate on a number of levels. Northwoods was also where I got my start (in 04), and I have been back every year since. Living in Northwestern Minnesota, the triathlons we have here are special. My training also is far from where is should be as a major home project has taken almost any spare minute I have.

I went in just to have fun and actually put in a somewhat respectable time on the run -- probably due to a bike leg that was slower than when I did it on my mountain bike.

Missing out on all the training time and finishing a lot further back than where I am use to sure has given me a better appreciation of what i kind of took for granted. it also has given me motivation to get back to it for next year.

Hope you had a fun time at the race, that you recover quickly from the Lymes , and have a good offseason. Maybe we'll meet up at an event this year or next.

I have never been more satisfied finishing a race. I had a big grin for the entire 5k run. Perspective is the key.