Hi Everyone,
I have arrived safe in sunny Taupo. I flew directly into Taupo on a very small plane that Sam would hate. Two bikes were able to fit in out of three and my one made it. Let's hope the luck continues all weekend. Good weather by NZ standards has greeted me so far but is forecast to change for the next few days. Built the bike, did the test ride, and all good. Tv reports said the wind was getting up to 60km/hr+ and it was a tad wobbly on the road during the test ride. Water in the lake is crystal clear with no waves and without the usual NZ chill. Was quite warm actually but definitely a wetsuit swim. Everyone is out in their gear on the strip. Sensible ones though are inside watching the tv, internet, or sleeping. Taper is going well and I am looking forward to letting it all rip on the Saturday.
I am race number 38. You can follow the race on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ through either the athlete tracker or updates. Race day weather forecast is rain, 16-22 degrees Celsius, with a moderate northerly wind. Not sure what moderate wind means by NZ standards probably an Aussie cyclone. The wind pushed the waves on the lake up to 1-1.5m the other day which if it occurs on Saturday will make it interesting for a lot of competitors.
The pro briefing was today. They are going to hammer drafting, littering, and infractions this year. They even have a chopper with a tv to bust drafters and have them sit out their penalty on entering transition 2. Littering, including banana peels, will be a u-turn and pick up plus penalty. We have a 15min start on the age-groupers so that they can police the race better and also it is a new worldwide WTC rule change. This may change as the race director seems to want us to start with the age-groupers and may give us a late start 'due to darkness' but not change the age-grouper start time. We will find out race morning. Otherwise, it is as per normal and a good field of racers that should make the viewing interesting. I will touch base again before race day .
Cheers,
Bevan.
1 comment:
You're right! I would hate that plane. Look forward to watching on-line on Saturday. We miss you! Love from your girls. xxx
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