Wow, does Sonoma County have a lot of grapes! That was just one take-away from the Vineman 70.3 Tri, a great Northern California 70.3 ("half") and full Ironman event. On the day of the 70.3, the weather was extraordinarily merciful and it was really fun to roll through grape fields for a few hours on the bike.
A word to the wise: Contrary to the race fact sheet, Guerneville does *not* have a lot of parking. Arriving 40 minutes before my start was not enough. I barely made it in the river before the next wave, probably garnering a 5-minute penalty in the process!
The river current was very mild. Swimming up the river on that darkish morning, with its deep shade and gorge, green, overgrown banks and an older, rather ornate bridge seemed like going into some remote region where the river was the only way in. Parts of the river were quite shallow but I never had a problem scraping my hand.
I wasted an ungodly amount of time at the second transition. I had thought it would be easy to find my stuff, and did not have any extra spot-marking items. However, it was almost impossible once everyone else's stuff was there. Next time I do a tri with two transition areas, I am bringing plenty of unique-marking items such as an extra beach towel, little flags, etc.
The run was rolling and like, I suppose, all Ironman events very well-attended by fluids stations and restrooms. At the turn-around point they had a very nice cool-water mister set up.
The Nor-Cal spirit was great, as this event is powered by many local volunteers. If you don't have a personal attendant with a separate car, the two transition areas make for a long trip back to Guerneville to pick up your car after the event. But all in all, well worth it!
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