2013 IMTX (Page 2)

We also heard this, but a town further south was mentioned.  I am hoping they will get all the permit issues worked out so that it can come back to The Woodlands, I love having this race right in my backyard!

To heck with the woodlands, move the race to Austin!!  Swim in Town Lake, bike out to the hill country, and finish either in front of the Capitol or on 6th St. 

"complaints about traffic" that is a joke...it's the Houston area, what do people expect? 

Uh no.  Given the roads, or lack there of, used for Longhorn I would never do a full there. 

Roads would be alot different if the race were to go west towards the hill country instead of on the east side where the Longhorn race is located.

?  What's wrong with the roads at Longhorn?  I've done Longhorn and didn't remember anything crazy...

Edit:  Checked my RR and I mention (one line) that there is chipseal.  Is that what you're talking about?

Welcome to TX.  That's all they use here.

This is a very tense subject amongst folks who have done this race, especially for the out of towners who aren't used to the lovely roads of south central texas. 

Most complaints hover around the chip seal, but this past year there were large cracks and gaps in the road due to the drought.  A lot of people thought this was dangerous.  I didn't think it was too bad myself at the time.  (More to come on that in a minute).  Another chief complain about the race is that it was set on the east side of Austin, in a not-so-scenic part of town that didn't really showcase or highlight the beauty of Austin and the surrounding areas.

Now its been about 6 months since then, and my view has changed somewhat in that time due to a few factors.  First, I rode Longhorn on an older lugged steel road bike.  I have since bought an aluminum P1 and have gone back out to that same area to ride recently for a charity century ride.  The outcome of that ride was a numb left hand where I didn't gain strength back for almost a week!  So I can kind of see where the folks who complained were coming from.  I also can see how its a bit more difficult to navigate around large gaps/cracks while in aero, which I didn't have to do back in October.  And I can also see the point that people who come to Austin want to see what its all about!

So based on that, I would have to agree that if a full IM were to come to Austin,  I would hope that it would start and end downtown, and go towards the west side and not the east.  I think that would make for a better race and experience.

Now do I think the roads were horribly bad as that I would never race Longhorn again?  No.  But I think I might do Kerrville this year instead because of all the good stories I've heard about that one.

Yeah.  I'm used to chip seal.  The amount on the Longhorn course is too much IMO.  It's not a Texas thing.  It's an Austin thing.  Let alone the patch of road that wasn't even paved last year.  I honestly could care less about the scenery on a course.  Hell I'm not paying much attention to that on race day.  Not to mention there aren't any hotels in the general vicinity to that course, etc, etc, etc.  Put the finish where they finish the MS 150 and maybe, but not out in the middle of nowhere.

I heard Galveston. 

It's also a San Antonio and Hill Country thing, IMO.  All the roads around this area are similar to that course.  This past weekend I did a Tour de Cure that went from Boerne to Kerrville and back, and some of my teammates from out of town couldn't believe how rough the roads were.  The cracks weren't as bad, just the chip seal.

I need to get over to Houston to see what ya'll are riding on one of these days. 

Abilene has it too.  Chip seal galore.  Buffalo Springs Lake Tri goes on chipsealed roads and that's in Lubbock.  A friend of mine lives in Longview and mentions chipseal all the time.  It's DEFINITELY a Texas thing.  Chipseal is all over the place in this state.  It's what they do.  There are various grades of chipseal ranging from "can't read your HRM due to the vibrations" to fairly smooth.  If you want to do any riding in TX you have to accept that chipseal exists.

I look at it this way...what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and when you do a race outside of TX you'll feel like you're flying because of the speed you gain from a smooth road.

courtney_leone - 2012-05-23 5:18 PM I'm praying it's not Galveston. Main reason is I did my first olympic and my first HIM there so I don't want to do my first IM there. Another reason is I'd rather not swim in saltwater. The bike course is SUPER windy and I don't want to do a ton of laps around Moody Gardens. I keep hoping it stays in TW for purely sentimental reasons. That, and the fact my parents live about 2 miles away Speaking of parents, my mom is going to the town hall mtg so I'll let you know what happens. I signed up for the Austin half a long time ago before I knew how much it sucks! Oh well...

It's not as  bad as I made it out to be, I was only repeating what I had seen from other folks.  Hard, yes.  Bad, no.  I still enjoyed it personally as my first 70.3.

What has shocked me the past two years at this race is how much traffic was on the roads.  I've never been in or seen a race with that many cars & 18wheelers on the road.  Maybe I'm just spoiled racing around the Central TX area.

Some of the drivers didnt even care how fast or how close they were coming to the racers on course. 

Of course this comes from the perspective of water stop #2, so it might be much different further into the race.

Too bad there is no place to swim in downtown San Anotnio....how cool would it be to finish in front of the Alamo!

Tell me about it!  Every race around here has to either be up in Boerne or New Braunfels at the closest unless you want a pool swim.  You definitely do NOT want to take a dip in the Riverwalk, that's for sure!  Just ask the wife... (i'll let her share that story with ya'll).