Honestly, I find it amazing that so many people get DQ'd on this section each year. The race director and everyone involved could not make it more apparent that they take this section and this rule seriously. If you get DQ'd for speeding here, you absolutely have nobody to blame but yourself.

Is this really an "no speeding" zone or a no passing zone? If it is no speeding, what is the speed limit? How do they measure your speed? How is a racer supposed to know how fast he or she is going at that exact moment?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I believe the speed limit is 35 mph and they use a radar gun to enforce it.

Sup GLindy,

I know. Santiago got DQed last year, but I think he had already qualified for worlds. I guess people want to go as close as possible to the 25mph limit, but they mess it up. After all, they use GPS to calculate their speed, no? Not the best way.

I believe it's actually 25mph.

It is a no speeding AND a no passing zone. The pros are regulated at 35mph, and the AG'ers are regulated at 25mph. This rule is enforced through the use of a combination of timing mats and radar displays to aid the athletes in assessing their average speed.

It is no speeding and no passing. There is a big radar there to help you. I use my bike computer and just don't go over 25 mph in that section - pretty easy way to keep under 25mph average if you don't go over 25.

And yes, it is 25 for AG and 35 for pro.

And it is not an exact moment - it is your average speed over a 0.4 mile or so downhill, turning section.

AS I went through this zone, we were going about 17-18 MPH. On one hand it was frustratingly slow, on the other hand I wasn't worried about a DQ! I personally would preferred to have gone about 22-23, and feel that would give enough buffer, but as I said no worries of a DQ and couldn't pass anyway.

If it's manned by military police, they'd DQ you for not having a turn signal on you bike. Those guys are pricks.

At what point do they DQ? Is it like base traffic, speeding 25.1, or road traffic where you can push it some?

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just your average age grouper . no one special . no scientific knowledge . just having fun.

They don't DQ you on the spot - it's all analyzed by your timing chip crossing the mats at the beginning and end of the speed zone so the official DQ happens later.

As for how much over it takes to get DQ'd, your guess is as good as mine, but I would expect it to be extremely small, if anything, to account for error. My average each year is about 22mph because there is no way I'm flying all the way out to a race to get DQ'd for something so avoidable. Is pushing it close to 25 worth the risk for some people? Maybe. For me? No way.

I have no information on the course....what's the issue and why is it a slow zone? I've only ever done races where there were no passing zones going over 1-lane bridges or aid stations are turn-arounds. What's the story behind the slow zone at oceanside?

Someone died there.

Timing mats time the start to finish of the 25/35mph zone. If the average is 25.1, it's a DQ.

Sure, it might be slow, but it's a very clearly spelled out rule of that race. It's very public that there is zero tolerance. It's the athletes responsibility and blame is on no one but the athlete.

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New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com

Race driver's gonna race.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

jarret_g wrote:

I have no information on the course....what's the issue and why is it a slow zone? I've only ever done races where there were no passing zones going over 1-lane bridges or aid stations are turn-arounds. What's the story behind the slow zone at oceanside?

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-competitor-dies-in-bicycle-accident-during-2001may20-story.html

This seems like a lot of equipment and confusion and moving parts when there is a simple solution - Slow people down at that spot by making them get off their bikes. Or touch both feet to the ground and a volunteer says they can go after he counts to 3. Make the barricade they have to go around something big and inflatable so when the eventual dumbass thinks he can sail through the area hits it, he just goes pfffffffft.

Something simple like that will just work, none of all this radar gun and timing matt crap and HOPING people will slow down and not get hurt. Make two inflatable walls that overlap and you get off and walk your bike around the left side of one, then the right side of the other. By the time you get back on your bike and up to speed, the downhill is over. Charge sponsors to put their logos all over the walls and make some money off of it, too. I think Target would be a great one, right in the middle. ;)

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Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
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i think this is a good solution. that being said, i bet you'd have pile-ups/crowding at this part of the course unless there's plenty of room.

the target inflatable might be too tempting for some jokers to resist, though. :)

Agree 100%, we do the timing here and its the same story every single time.

You WILL NOT WIN by speeding in this section, the best example is Lionel Sanders was the 2nd slowest PRO in this section, yes SLOWEST. The biggest gain by the front end (close to 35mph) was about 8 seconds gain. Why risk it.

If Lionel Sanders can slow down to 25mph and he is a PRO there is NO reason any age group cannot do the same.

More cyclocross obstacles please!

For the life of me, I don't have any idea why that is is a "speed zone". (well, I do, Perry Rendina died on that descent, but there is nothing inherently more dangerous about that descent than many on the IM70.3 circuit other than someone died there....people die on bikes traveling at 20 kph on the flats and land the wrong way). Make that decent a speed zone, you should then do it on a bunch of descent at Zell Am See, IM France, Lake Placid, Tremblant, Switzerland, Whistler, Tahoe (RIP), South Africa etc etc etc. But there are no speed zones on those courses because no one has died there. I appreciate that Perry passed away there, but not sure why this descent is inherently more unsafe. If we want to have a speed zone simply to honor a fallen comrade, then sure, let's honor him and have the speed zone for that reason alone. But not because it is unsafe.

I'm one of those that was DQ'd on that section of the course. I found out later in the day while getting my bike out of transition. I thought it was an april fools joke when a buddy texted me.

Yes, AGer speed limit is 25 and pros is 35. I believe about 50 were DQ'd for speeding. They use two timing mats and calculate your average speed between the two timing mats. My mistake, I came in a little too hot, and even though the radar showed I was going 22 at the bottom, I still ended up with an average of 28. I spoke with what the head Ironman official after the race and basically learned that if I was one second slower over the 0.4 mile stretch, I would have fallen within their allowed margin of error. Yes, I screwed up, and should have been way more conservative, but wow, one second cost me my results, hard pill to swallow. There goes my AWA gold


If I were to make a suggestion, it would be to have a radar speed display at the top and bottom of this section. Oh, and tell my I DQ'd in T2, so I don't have to run 13.1 miles for nothing.

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TEAM F3 Undurance

Not defending it, but it's not a straight downhill, it's a negative radius curve (if I have my terms right) at the bottom of a decent slope. The speed trap section actually starts in the middle of the descent, and stops just before where it bottoms out. The no pass zone starts a few hundred yards behind the speed trap start. There is another descent that is much longer and faster after the first major climb at mile 30 ish and there is no speed trap there, this one is simply the shape of the curve. The speed trap aspect is also a newer development. Been doing this race since 2007, this section has always been no pass and under 25. 2014 was I believe the first year they put in timing mats.

As others have said, if you blow this it's on you. There is absolutely no secret about it. And not having them give your speed isn't an excuse. I flooded my 910 last weekend, which was my bike computer, and I raced blind. I somehow seemed to be able to keep it slow enough, just rode a consistent position behind someone else.

And frankly, it's not a big deal. My split was 40 seconds. Slowing down for 40 seconds. Even triathletes can deal with that I would think.

It's possible that being on a Marine base (Camp Pendleton), they have set the speed limit requirement. When things go wrong, involved entities get nervous. After a paralyzing bike accident years ago in the Orange County Triathlon, the City of Mission Viejo would not allow the race anymore. The new race organizers convinced them to allow it by moving the bike ride nearly completely out of their city.

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

Whats crazy is I think this was the dude who was walking his bike up San Mateo hill that day.
Then he would come flying by at light speed only to get caught up on the next hill.
Im guessing his DI-2 or whatever went out and stuck him in the big ring.
He was charging thru the flats though.
*edit- article mentions the battery issue...