[Itc] Cold, wet, windy PLacid training trip//tinman roads

[Cunninghams]

Triple that...
Andy and I drove up Friday night to LP, to do the ride on Saturday and the
graduation for our son at Potsdam on Sunday.

We did 2 loops of the bike route with 6miles on the Hazelton out and back on
the second loop.  We started at about 8 am, after Andy's warmup of changing
a surprise rear flat.

The ride out of LP with the climb to the ski jumps is ok.  The drop to Keen
had horrible road conditions.  The wind was challenging in the morning,
worse in the afternoon.  It was a head wind/cross wind combo that in an
instant would blow me 2 feet in any direciton.  My answer was to ride my
brakes and call myself a wimp.....until we saw other people coming in at the
coffee shop in Keen talking about the "scariest bike ride of their life".
The nicest section was the flats from Keen to Upper Jay to Jay....the
slightly cross tail wind was refreshing.  But then the long climb out of Jay
towards Wilmington was horribly broken up.  The section we did travel out
towards Hazelton was ok, except for the bridge....we rode to the green
roofed farm.  The trip from Wilmington to LP was full of cross and head
winds, swirling.  Road conditions were mediocre.  The cherry's and bear's
road conditions were good.

After our first loop we arrived at our hotel to refill water bottles and
incidentally avoid a down pour.  Then out into the rain we went. Winds were
stronger, we were slower.

Part of our car  trip to Lake Placid was over the bike route for Tinman.
Those roads don't look so great either....there's a lot of patch work
needed.

Shaun graduated from Crane School of Music, Potsdam, on Sunday, as a Music
education and vocal performance major, with honors.  The ceremony was
outside (yes, outside!) in 50 degree temps with winds.....the chill is not
yet out of my system....but I will never tire of hearing pomp and
circumstance.....it's the end of our kids' college careers and the beginning
of our life without college tuition!

Have a good week....Lynn Cunningham

PS.....We recieved an email with reduced rates for the northwoods inn in
Lake Placid for those interested:

TRAIN ON THE COURSE FOR THE 2009 FORD IRONMAN LAKE PLACID
Lake Placid, NY - The historic Northwoods Inn is located in the heart of the
picturesque village of Lake Placid.  This 92-room historic hotel with two
restaurants has hosted some of the greatest athletes in the world and been
witness to many world-class athletic events including the 1932 and the 1980
winter Olympic Games, 2000 Goodwill Games, and since 1999, the annual Ford
Ironman Lake Placid.
As the official hotel we are offering training weekends every weekend prior
to July 26th at great rates for a standard two-room suite or a two-room
kitchenette suite.  Call and request the Ironman Training Special when
placing your reservation.

·    MAY 1ST - MAY 31ST $69.00 FOR A STANDARD ROOM, $99.00 FOR A KITCHENETTE
SUITE.
·    JUNE 1ST - JUNE 31ST $89.00 FOR A STANDARD ROOM, $109.00 FOR A
KITCHENETTE SUITE.
·    JULY 1ST - JULY 13TH $99.00 FOR A STANDARD ROOM, $119.00 FOR A
KITCHENETTE SUITE.

The Northwoods Inn has two restaurants with outdoor seating directly on Main
Street.  Each uses the freshest available ingredients, and special menus are
available for training athletes.  Kitchenette Suites at the Inn are offered
for guests wishing to prepare personalized dietary preferences.

Visit  www.northwoodsinn.com for pictures and to book your training weekend
today!





 © World Triathlon Corporation 2009





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Stocks" <rstocks3 at stny.rr.com>
To: "Ithaca Triathlon Club mailing list" <itc at icycle.org>
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 8:51 PM
Subject: [Itc] Cold, wet, windy PLacid training trip


> I went up to Placid this weekend to ride the course on Saturday and run 1
> loop of the run on Sunday. The weather was absolutely perfect until we
> mounted our bikes and headed out on the course. It started with 20 mph
> winds, then the rain started in and other than a few minutes here and
there
> didn't let up.
>
> It's a beautiful course but the roads are terrible. Coming down the hill
> into Keene at 51 mph in the rain dodging pot holes while getting hit with
a
> 30 mph crosswind was enough to test the nerves! The hills weren't nearly
as
> bad as I had imagined which made me feel better about the race. Jumping
from
> 60 and 4000' of climbing to 112 miles and 6540' of climbing on my 6th or
7th
> ride of the season made me realize that I have to get my fat ass going in
> these next 8 weeks!!
>
> Sundays run was beautiful and all I could say was that this will be the
most
> scenic marathon I will ever run! Everyone seems to worry about the "hills"
> at Placid. I think more people should train in and around Ithaca to
prepare
> for Placid! :-)
>
> Bob
>
>
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