Vancouver & Name-dropping

Here are excerpts from a description submitted by a fellow Age-Grouper for the upcoming Vancouver race (with my comments in blue):

VANCOUVER WORLDS BIKE COURSE

So you haven’t taken the time to go to Vancouver BC and test the bike course in Stanley Park? ... thought you might be interested in a description of the course.

It’s a six mile long loop, so we’ll be doing four identical laps. Expect this race to be very cold from start to finish. You’re essentially swimming in the northern Pacific Ocean, with an anticipated water temp of 62F. (Let's hope it is 62! That will be a bit warmer than my recent swim in Seattle). The first wave starts at 6:45 a.m. Since the average overnight low is 50F and daily average high is 65F, you have to figure that it will be a pretty cold air temp. (OK, I think I did that at last June's Cascade's Edge triathlon which is an earlier blog post for your reading pleasure). You might want to have a top and gloves next to the bike just in case you’re shivering uncontrollably when you get out of the water. If it rains consider staying in bed. (Stay in bed if it RAINS???? OK, home court advantage for us from the NW. Now I am seeing a purpose for the extra 7 lbs. I haven't yet shed: insulation.).

...The first thing to remember about a race like Worlds is that you are up against not just the best in the world, but also the most competitive Type A personalities you’ve ever seen. (Moi? I'm one of the most relaxed type A's you'll ever meet.) They’re not always as careful on the bike as you might hope. For that matter neither are you. (Who me?). On a course like this, one careless rider can cause a big pileup. So whatever else you do, pay careful attention to the bikers around you, but especially in front of you.

The first couple of miles of the loop are essentially flat but twisting. About ½ mile into the course you have a 90 degree blind left turn, where you go under a bridge, followed almost immediately by a hard right turn. This area has the potential for a crash... A little while later you hit two speed bumps that are fairly smooth but you likely won’t know they’re there until you’re riding on them. Two and ½ miles into the loop, you make a steep climb of about 500 to 600 yards (the fourth time around it’ll feel like a mile). There’s a sharp left at the top. The next mile is a moderate descent and you can build up some real speed. But the pavement has a few ruts and patches and the road twists left and right. This is the most dangerous part of the course, because this is where people will be trying to make the most speed, maybe around 40 mph.... (it goes on like this...).

This would be a great ride if you had the road all to yourself, but guess what, a couple of thousand other hotshots have decided to join you. I don’t know what the spacing of the waves will be, but if you do the math, at 100 racers per wave, every five minutes, over the course of an hour, you get 1,200 riders on the bike course at the same time. That would be 200 riders on each and every mile. If they do three minute waves, you get… a course so crowded that Sister Madonna might be heard muttering a few naughty words (You haven't heard of Sister Madonna??? Ironman, nun, 77 year old, triathlon rock star and role model from Spokane, WA??? I just googled her to provide a little filler for my blog and found her on Wikipedia of all things. You've got to check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_Buder ).

So Eeyore, isn’t there any good news? Oh heck yes. Not only is Vancouver a great city for tourists, but this is one of the most scenic courses you’ll ever race. Stanley Park is about 2/3 surrounded by water. It is a jewel of a park for being in a major city. The views are spectacular (not that you’re going to spend any time taking them in during the actual race). The bike ride isn’t flat but the run sure is. And you don’t worry about getting a heatstroke.