2006 Strawberry Fields
86
Member
1080 days
bluetri posted 2 years ago.
I was there too. I got a funny picture of the crowd reacting to the first wave hitting the water.
http://www.trifuel.com/forums/showthread.php?p=40086#post40086
Personal site: [url=http://www.triathletestuff.com]www.triathletestuff.com
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1
Member
970 days
trisocal posted 2 years ago.
Although I was disappointed they cancelled the swim at first, it was the best decision under the circumstances. The majority of the racers would have been in trouble; even the life guards were getting tossed!
I don't think I'll be signing up next year unless they move the swim location or time. I heard the waves were bad for the 2005 race as well.
648
Member
1059 days
deepbluex posted 2 years ago.
I was "warming up" in the ocean when I realized I kept getting carried down the coast by the strong currents and I just spent the whole time ducking under waves and bobbing up to the surface to duck under the next wave.
The waves were pretty darn big and came in at a fairly high frequency so you were ducking more than you were swimming. Between the cold icy water and the tossing action of those waves and the strong currents, it was a challenge to even just breathe, let alone swim. I was glad to have a neoprene cap under my rubber cap. Ear plugs and neoprene cap = warm head.
That waist-deep water run was actually pretty evil. My calves were killing me by the time I got to T1.
Once on the bike, the ride got really nice. I had a good time on the bike course. No equipment problems and straight flat paths.
My run was kind of weak. I'll have to work on that.
Yep, I ran into Effective Pull and started up a conversation because I noticed he was wearing his official Trifuel jersey. We racked our bikes on the same row.
A couple of dudes ran the course wearing pink tutus and rode a couple of hot pink beach cruisers with neon pink fur glued on the frame.
If there is a better time of year where the currents and waves aren't so dangerous, it would be a pretty good race.
4
Member
1346 days
gymrat6423 posted 2 years ago.
This was the second year for Strawberry Fields for me and the Surf was HUGE last year also. 20+ minutes in the swim and I was blown back to shore once or twice. However, this year it was Whitewater and 6 foot waves 200 yards off shore. I has VERY serious doubts about doing the swim, even if they did not cancel it.
Being a better biker and runner this was a pretty good setup for me! I saw someone on the bike course with a Tri Fuel jersey on.
The bike was nasty fast and since there was no swim, I am surprised we did not have any 30+ mph experienced triathlete vs 15 mph mountain bike 1st timer accidents.
The guys in the pink tutu's could flat out run!! I did not see them on the bike, but I was passed by 2 of them on the run. They probably did the run in sub 18.
Overall it was a great fun day!!! Sun, fun, and no swimming to ruin a perfectly good bike ride and run.
Pete
648
Member
1059 days
deepbluex posted 2 years ago.
gymrat6423 wrote:
The bike was nasty fast and since there was no swim, I am surprised we did not have any 30+ mph experienced triathlete vs 15 mph mountain bike 1st timer accidents.
I did see some poor fella lying flat on his back, his road bike on the ground with a couple of cops standing above him. There was a fire truck coming that way a few minute later.
50
Member
910 days
effectivepull posted 2 years ago.
One of the LA Tri guys got hit by a car. His name is Brian Fong. He suffered a fractured forearm, concussion, acute head trauma and fractures of the cheek bone and occipital area around the eye socket.
His brother Darryl has asked if any member who was there and witnessed the accident to contact him so that he can get an idea of exactly what happened. Darryl Fong 415-218-6030
Let's keep him in our prayers.
247
Member
1376 days
o2Ripper posted 2 years ago.
Yea, thats what I noticed when I went to support some of my TNT people last year. They did a TERRIBLE job with cars and such, stopping traffic, some bikers had to actually come to a stop to make the left turn into the parking lot.
-Branden
"Its an addiction"
I did Strawberry Fields yesterday.
After letting the first wave of swimmer off, they decided to cancel the swim because the current was too strong. The 1st group were an young-elite group. The swim should have taken about 10 minutes, but 1/2 hour later, it appeared only a handful had made it around the buoy. The rest were swept south of the buoy so they had to negotiate the 5 foot waves AND swim up current to the buoy.
Realizing that the swim would be dangerous for most, they cancelled the swim and they made us run about 400 yards in knee to waist deep water instead of the swim. It was harder than actually swimming. The bike portion was fast even though not all streets were closed to traffic. The 5 k was very blah as most of it went through a condo/residential area. Although the run was probably a few hundred yards from the water, it was not very scenic.
I'd do it again, if they can straighten out the swim portion. Maybe find some protected water somewhere around???
I actually met deepbluex (a fellow trifuel member) that was next to me in the transition area (we both were squeezed out of our supposed section so 2 skinny asian guys (us) had to set up in the clydsedale section).
It would be interesting to hear what others thought about the race.