That'll learn ya...

All right, let's talk Heart of the Valley triathlon. More to the point, let's talk Heart of the Valley triathlon bike leg. Let's see, how can I put this? As usual, I'll try to be delicate and understated.

It's freaking brutal.

Here's a quick rundown: Three blocks out of T1, you hit the first uphill, and it's long. Then a short downhill and another fairly steep uphill. After that follows a screaming downhill that has you praying that no deer will scamper across the road. Then a fairly flat section with a slight uphill. After a right and a left, you head up another long, shallow uphill and a nice downhill...that ends at the turnaround - a horrible spot for it - as you turn around, lose all your speed, and immediately head back uphill.

So there you have it, at that point you turn around and have to ride up all the downhills we talked about earlier. It's a tough, tough bike course for a sprint tri. And for someone like me - a triathlete that suffers through the bike leg - it's exactly the kind of course that should be avoided.

So why am I racing the HOTV when there's so many other tri's to choose from? Simple...I signed up before I rode the course.

That'll learn ya, indeed.

Ah well, no time like the present to kick up the bike training.