I did Buffalo Springs in 2016 -- (and I am a back of packer- so don't get skeert!)! It has a unique vibe to it, great area for RVs, campers etc, although I stayed in an inexpensive hotel. Pretty West Texas scenery, good course for bike handling skills, hilly run, but cool lake. I drove about 7 hours west and lost count of the tumbleweed. Right before town, stopped at a hole in the wall restaurant/gas station for the best BBQ sandwich. We have some fast triathletes from our area that go to it and one is at Worlds right now...Galveston 70.3 (five hours south) is also very popular here, as in "everybody" wants to go it! and with the state having an Ironman as well, and Austin 70.3.?!....I should prolly just tour TEXAS! y'all come on down...
KEY RACE= Buffalo Springs over Austin. The top three EN choices, (just don't wanna shlep/travel to them!!) but Raleigh would be choice if I were...but there will be more people locally from my area that will go to Buffalo Springs, so makes sense to enjoy local camaraderie as well as EN vibe!
Thanks a lot for the insight on Buffalo Springs @ironmarianne ! I love Texas BBQ! I am very likely to do Austin 70.3, because Austin is my 2nd home (all my family lives there). I may do Buffalo Springs as well.
Carol and I vote for Steehead! Did it this year, loved it. Great course, area and people! Also very well run. Guess that's why they've been around 15 years!
I'm with @Al Truscott, let's do a West Coast race. Coeur d'Alene, Calgary, or Whistler would be good. Actually, I like all of Al's suggestions. Victoria would be good too.
I'm with @Al Truscott, let's do a West Coast race. Coeur d'Alene, Calgary, or Whistler would be good. Actually, I like all of Al's suggestions. Victoria would be good too.
I could definitely be talked into Coeur d'Alene even if it isn't a key race! We could always rally for an unofficial West Coast key race. I'm a little nervous about being enticed to descend mountains quickly on my TT bike because of the increased risk of a serious crash. But hopefully I'll be able to spend some time in the mountains in early June for training (I'm trying to get out of research this summer). If I do register for Coeur d'Alene as my 6/24/18 race, I'm hoping to spend the last two big volume weeks in the Boulder/Denver area staying with friends, and maybe stay in the area (or in Idaho) for the 2 weeks of taper. I'd be driving over. So if anyone is over there & wants to train in June, I'll keep you posted!
@Larry Peters - the "hills" in CDA are NOT steep, and more important, not technical - the drops are straight, no real curves. As a matter of fact, even though I have been descending like a grandmother since I turned 60, I hit my highest speed in the last ten years on that course in '14 - low 40s for the first time this century.
Awesome, that is great news!! Thanks @Al Truscott !! That sounds like a lot of fun (flying down a long straight hill on my TT bike). Glad to know they aren't steep and are relatively straight. Ha! Awesome that you got to break the 40 mph barrier! That is a lot of fun!
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