Posts Member

Where would I draw the line in a race? Tornado. I think a race director would pull the plug earlier on though. There have been a few accidents in the last few years that most RD's are aware of. The liability on something like that would be huge.

Posts Member

I hate to bring this up, but this is exactly what happened at the ill-fated Ironman Utah 2002.

"3-foot swells and 40 mph winds turned the much anticipated moment into chaos--swim buoys scattered out of alignment and racers so far off course that it became nearly impossible to track their whereabouts."

http://www.agegroupsports.com/02Tri/02IronmanUT/02IronmanUT.htm

One athlete died.

Now you know why we have no Ironman Utah and rather why we have Ironman Coeur D'Alene instead.

Posts Member

That's the one I was going to bring up. The wind can be more of a concern for the swim, where there is more of a safety concern anyway, than on the bike. They are doing a half distance at the same place this year, but I would not sign up for it. I think the RD's for that one are much more responsibile, but I hate that lake and wouldn't want to do a swim in it.

Posts Member

You are right re: wind on the swim as the concern. RD's wouldn't cancel or modify a race because of wind on the bike or run. It is the swim that is problematic. And I wouldn't sign up at "that lake" again either. I'm superstitious, and not the Stevie Wonder kind.

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Wind makes you strong like bull. (as long as you aren't blown away like leaf!! :>) I don't mind riding in wind as I know I will be stronger because of it. The really gusty days scare me a bit because you don't know when the gust might hit.

Posts Member

Oh man! That sounds like an exciting ride.

I used to live in Calgary, in the foothills of the Rockies where we get Chinook winds. They come off the mountains and gust to 100kph with steady winds of 40-50kph.

I'd start out heading west into the wind. No matter what gear combination and tempo I tried I couldn't manage more than16kph! 20 kms of thatr and I had tears streaming down my face from the effort and the frustration of fighting the unrelenting winds, with occasional gusts that brought me to a standstill!

I rode to the Cochrane turnoff about 21kms at the brow of the hill, nearly exhausted. Then I crossed the median and remounted. THREE pedal strokes and I was doing 40kph!
I peaked at times doing 70kph on the flat boosted by that tailwind. When I got back my average time was only 3 minutes more than my usual 40km ride time. But what a brute that wind was!

PoC

Posts Member

Except most of those aero things will basically throw you right off the road if those huge headwinds shift (or if you turn) and then become huge cross winds.

Posts Member

I feel the opposite, being from the southwest ohio area, I don't get many opportunities to ride in wind, so when there's been some decent winds this past week, I've been riding near the rivers so I can feel the full effect. I just figure that next time it's still conditions I'll be that much faster

It could also be some additional motivation to get wind experience that my A race this year is along the Chicago waterfront and b/c my half-IM last year in the Southern Illinois farmlands, I felt prepared for the bike going in until I realized I hadn't ridden in much real wind and had to expend so much energy fighting through it that I had little left for the run

Grant it, the wind I've been riding in this year is nothing compared to the severity of some of the above experiences