This weekend I ventured south of San Francisco to Lake San Antonio for one of the greatest long course events in the sport of triathlon. Wildflower has been termed the "woodstock" of triathlon. There are over 7000 competitors and 30,000 spectators. Lake San Antonio is miles from a major center so everyone camps. The race is volunteered largely by Cal-Poly-Tech university students. To say the event is awsome would be a good word. I wish I was 12 years younger and remotely cool, it would be a good place to be every May weekend!
The course is tough! Hilly hilly hilly with an off-road run that winds around the lake and finishes with a 1 mile steep downhill that is like a really bad joke.....I will be sore for days I think.
I raced well, basically my first big event since a stress fracture put me out last year so it was good to get back racing....well, good in the way that when i finished it was good to be done. I finished 7th....good run, good swim, got shelled on the bike....I won't even dress the bike up in something else, I just plain got shelled....so back to the drawing board.
Speaking of bikes, super stoked to have my new Felt bikes this week and to meet the man behind it all Jim Felt at the race. Cool guy, and his friend had one heck of an RV with motorized bar stool and all. We enjoyed steak and peanut M&M's after the race....good digs! Can't wait to be riding the new wheels!
Speaking of fast people, Torenzo kicked it this weekend....I say it in terms of him kicking all our butts! I tell ya, that was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen...crazy fast. The thing with Torenzo is that he's just a great guy so it's hard to hate him for kicking our butts....thanks Torenzo, it was a pleasure to be part of you kicking all our butts! (I actually mean that...I think people will talk about that performance for a long time).
Speaking of great people, the best part of the weekend was reconnecting with some of them. The Kwaz made a guest appearance from Thousand Oaks as the official cheering squad and best support crew a guy could have. Then there's Sam and Cliff, recent exports to the USA but we all know how much they miss the homeland. Hangin with them was a good old laugh and great to catch up.....racing is a great way to connect. Then there's uber swim-biker Tom Evans the dentist who gave me a root canal after the race. And finally, a chance to meet Torbjorn Sindballe, the most feared cyclist in our sport, also known as "Thunder Bear" because he sounds like thunder when he rides and he can beat up bears.
Next, it's off to Alcatraz to get eaten by sharks. Then to the east for some more racing.
Until next time, keep fit and have fun.
