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Best Tri locations in Australia
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Hey all! I'm moving to Australia and wondering what the best cities are for triathlon and tri training. Any recommendations would be appreciated! Right now we're thinking Brisbane.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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South end of the Gold Coast was pretty great for me. Riding out the door to multiple good roads to ride, good pools, oceans right there and not too busy. Trails to run as well. No clue what's more expensive. They just hosted World Champs as well.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Its the most isolated city in the world but Perth is fantastic location for training. Bike paths everywhere, 100's of olympic length pools (beaches too but plenty of sharks) and the best weather in Australia.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Best city for cycling is Adelaide, hence the Tour Down Under. That and most drivers are pretty good around cyclists. You won’t find that in Queensland.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Brisbane is humid, I have never been a great fan of the weather there but each to their own. Not sure of the triathlon scene in Brisbane but obviously not far to the Gold Coast or Noosa.
Perth is awesome for triathlon, plenty of great Olympic Pools, great clubs, great cycling and plenty of running options, just a little isolated compared to the eastern states.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [pbnz] [ In reply to ]
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Adelaide is the best cycling city if you want to move to a major city. Otherwise Melbourne best tri and Cycling city just with such a huge cycle culture and so many tri clubs.

Regional areas like Geelong or Bendigo are brilliant place with way less traffic and plenty cycle and tri groups.

I live In a regional area about 3hrs out of Sydney with 50,000 people and we having amazing cycling and year round pool access so very lucky.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Depends what you are after.

I live on the edge of the Mornington Peninsula, just out of Melbourne. Bay beach is across the road. Three different trails within a couple of 100 metres from my house. Hundreds of kilometres of great riding routes, hilly and flat. Good climbing 30 mins drive away up in the Dandenongs (Rain Forest). And 3 hours drive to the Alpine Region with serious (TDF like) climbs. Heaps of Triathlons throughout Summer, Duathlons in Winter and almost unlimited number of running races all year round. However Melbourne gets cold and wet throughout Winter. It never snows, but I've seen just below freezing temperatures on the Garmin during early morning Winter rides. It would have the 2nd most days of rain per year after Tasmania. However most of the time the rain is light or just drizzle, easy to train through if you have the right gear. Races: Geelong 70.3, Challenge Shepparton (half), Challenge Melbourne (half), 2XU local Sprint/Olympic Triathlon Series, Trifest local Sprint/Olympic Triathlon Series, Altona (Western Suburbs Tri Club) Sprint Triathlon Series (and Duathlons in Winter), TriVic Duathlon series, plus the usual number of independent Triathlons in the surrounding country areas.

Brisbane doesn't get very cold over Winter, but can be quite humid in Summer. It has less days of rain than Melbourne, but almost 3 times the rainfall - when it rains it really pours. Races: Ironman Cairns (+70.3), Mooloolaba 70.3, Mooloolaba Olympic, Noosa Olympic, Luke Harrop Gold Coast and the local races. Note that Queensland is huge and Cairns is about 2,000 kms north of Brisbane (whereas Melbourne is 2,000kms south).

Sydney's weather and location is half way between Brisbane and Melbourne. Races: Ironman Port Macquarie (& 70.3), West Sydney 70.3, several independent Long Distance Tris and numerous local races.

Perth stays pretty warm all year round and has the least days of the rain and the least rainfall. But as mentioned, is very isolated from the rest of Australia. A long (and more expensive) trip to races in other states of Australia. Races: Ironman Busselton (& 70.3). Obviously a lot of other races that I'm unaware of.

Adelaide has similar weather to Melbourne, but about 1 to 2 degrees warmer. The weather patterns typically hit Adelaide a day before they reach Melbourne. Lots of good riding close to Adelaide. Local Sprint & Olympic Triathlon series, but no Ironman or Challenge branded races.

Of course, you might not want to stay near one of the major's cities. Good triathlon communities in Noosa and Port Macquarie
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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If you're from a location that has regular club based triathlons, Brisbane isn't like that.
There are plenty of clubs/training squads, but you'd get more club based racing at the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast, or other smaller areas - Hervey Bay/Bundaberg for example.
I'm in Brisbane, if all else was equal, I'd be heading for the Sunshine Coast in a heart beat.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [sjc166] [ In reply to ]
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sjc166 wrote:
Its the most isolated city in the world but Perth is fantastic location for training. Bike paths everywhere, 100's of olympic length pools (beaches too but plenty of sharks) and the best weather in Australia.

Totally disagree having lived there for 6 months. Swimming facilities are great but cycling is terrible: the bike paths are poorly maintained (or at least they were when I was there) and you can't ride at speed, and the city is so sprawling that if you want to get out you either have to drive with your bike or ride for ages down some hideous main road. I used to go for a Sunday group ride with one of the main bike shops in the city and it consisted of riding out to an industrial estate or a housing estate in Fremantle and doing laps. Awful. Running is OK but you really have to do it in parks and because the weather is so terrible in summer (phenomenally hot) it's really hard to get a good run in. Add the astonishingly high cost of living (and that's from someone who lives in London), the widespread racism, the generally massive levels of parochialism and the really poor public transport and you really don't have a great place to live, plus there are only about 3 races a year.

I didn't like Perth much, in case you can't tell.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [RobK] [ In reply to ]
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The bike path south continues uninterrupted for ages. Plus you can always cycle to the hills, depending on how far west your located. Racism? That shits everywhere. There are many races including club races. Two 70.3’s and one full. Granted they could do more with Ironman racing. I do agree cost of living and transport leaves something to be desired
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [RobInOz] [ In reply to ]
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Perth has more annual rainfall than Melbourne
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Adelaide is awesome.
As other have said, cycling is REALLY good.

I loved my 4:30am runs in the hills to beat the summer heat.

Pools are great in the summer, but you'll go through a lot of sunscreen.
Not much choice in the winter for swimming though.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [RobK] [ In reply to ]
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RobK wrote:
sjc166 wrote:
Its the most isolated city in the world but Perth is fantastic location for training. Bike paths everywhere, 100's of olympic length pools (beaches too but plenty of sharks) and the best weather in Australia.


Totally disagree having lived there for 6 months. Swimming facilities are great but cycling is terrible: the bike paths are poorly maintained (or at least they were when I was there) and you can't ride at speed, and the city is so sprawling that if you want to get out you either have to drive with your bike or ride for ages down some hideous main road. I used to go for a Sunday group ride with one of the main bike shops in the city and it consisted of riding out to an industrial estate or a housing estate in Fremantle and doing laps. Awful. Running is OK but you really have to do it in parks and because the weather is so terrible in summer (phenomenally hot) it's really hard to get a good run in. Add the astonishingly high cost of living (and that's from someone who lives in London), the widespread racism, the generally massive levels of parochialism and the really poor public transport and you really don't have a great place to live, plus there are only about 3 races a year.

I didn't like Perth much, in case you can't tell.

Mate you've described just about every big city in the world. Also living there for 6 months is more like having an extended holiday, so i'm guessing you didn't see it all. You can ride on a bike path from Perth all the way to Mundarah (140 km round trip) plus you can also ride up into the hills. Plus running paths also circle most of the Swan River.
As for the heat, well for someone who lives in London i'm not sure you are the best person to talk about weather :-)

Dont get me wrong, i did 5 years there and was happy to go....but for year round training its maybe one of the best locations in Australia for triathlon
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [Blacky] [ In reply to ]
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Blacky wrote:
Perth has more annual rainfall than Melbourne

A strange fact, but true. Although i would argue Perth gets the rainfall over 3 months, Melbourne has it spread out over 10 months.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for all the input! This is really great information.

I'm coming from the US so I'm not really familiar with the triathlon club scene so I'll definitely look into those wherever I end up. Also I'm currently based in WI so used to very cold winters that take up a large majority of the year. I'm excited for almost year round riding outside!

I have heard great things about Noosa and Melbourne so am planning on investigating those locations as well. Melbourne has turned me off a bit just because it can get cold and I'm trying to avoid that for the time being!
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [sjc166] [ In reply to ]
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sjc166 wrote:
Mate you've described just about every big city in the world. Also living there for 6 months is more like having an extended holiday, so i'm guessing you didn't see it all. You can ride on a bike path from Perth all the way to Mundarah (140 km round trip) plus you can also ride up into the hills. Plus running paths also circle most of the Swan River.
As for the heat, well for someone who lives in London i'm not sure you are the best person to talk about weather :-)

Dont get me wrong, i did 5 years there and was happy to go....but for year round training its maybe one of the best locations in Australia for triathlon

Maybe I missed something, but certainly when I was there (2009) the bike paths were really not good to ride upon, with poor surfaces and randos walking around with baby buggies. I'm sure it's lovely there in the winter, but I just cannot understand how anyone could think it a good place to be in the summer when it's getting >40ÂşC a lot of the time... and regarding the other issues, maybe you've been living in the wrong cities. Perth is shockingly expensive, worryingly parochial and over-adorned with 1st and 2nd generation immigrants with no inkling whatsoever of how ironic the "No immigrants" and "Fuck off we're full" stickers on the backs of their shitty gas guzzling Holden utes are.

Want a city which actually does have perfect weather and also much better riding than Perth? Johannesburg... although there are some obvious other issues there. Want somewhere with terrific riding in beautiful hills an easy ride from your front door, more fantastic running than you can shake a stick at, some excellent open water swimming options and a choice of two or three multisport races every weekend in the summer? South London suburbs mate... and a nice bottle of Margaret River Cab Sav will set you back less than it does in Perth. Obviously this is getting a bit far from the OP's question so I'll shut up now :-)
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [RobK] [ In reply to ]
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You’re making comments based on being there 10 years ago? Things have changed a little....it’s still not perfect but it’s far from bad. But we’re getting off topic for sure so I’ll zip it too.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [sjc166] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, fair enough it was a while ago. On the brighter side I did IMWA while I was there and really liked it.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [RobK] [ In reply to ]
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RobK wrote:
sjc166 wrote:
Its the most isolated city in the world but Perth is fantastic location for training. Bike paths everywhere, 100's of olympic length pools (beaches too but plenty of sharks) and the best weather in Australia.


Totally disagree having lived there for 6 months. Swimming facilities are great but cycling is terrible: the bike paths are poorly maintained (or at least they were when I was there) and you can't ride at speed, and the city is so sprawling that if you want to get out you either have to drive with your bike or ride for ages down some hideous main road. I used to go for a Sunday group ride with one of the main bike shops in the city and it consisted of riding out to an industrial estate or a housing estate in Fremantle and doing laps. Awful. Running is OK but you really have to do it in parks and because the weather is so terrible in summer (phenomenally hot) it's really hard to get a good run in. Add the astonishingly high cost of living (and that's from someone who lives in London), the widespread racism, the generally massive levels of parochialism and the really poor public transport and you really don't have a great place to live, plus there are only about 3 races a year.

I didn't like Perth much, in case you can't tell.


I have no idea what you're talking about. We have one of the best climates in the world. We didn't have a day over 40 last summer and this year perhaps one or two. Even on hot days the temps drop right off in the evenings, so you run after work or in the morning. You came to Perth, which has some amazing riding and did laps around an industrial estate? That's beyond moronic... 3 races a year? WTF? Have you actually been to Perth? This season there were 49 races listed on Triathlon WAs calendar plus another 10+ community races. 2009 was no different. You sound like a typical Englishman and a very negative individual, come to Perth and moan that the beaches are shit, because there are no pubs there.... And BTW I lived in the UK for 7/8 years so more than happy to compare the two places :)
Last edited by: zedzded: Apr 20, 19 16:17
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [RobK] [ In reply to ]
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RobK wrote:
sjc166 wrote:
, some excellent open water swimming options and a choice of two or three multisport races every weekend in the summer? South London suburbs mate


London is better than Perth for triathlon training..... where are these "excellent open water swimming options" you refer to? And you also recommend Johannsburg, one of the most dangerous cities in the world....
Last edited by: zedzded: Apr 20, 19 16:14
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Brisbane has a very good triathlon culture but 80% of the local races are in summer. So you need to be good with racing in the heat and humidity. Open water swim opportunities are quite good(Ennogera Dam, Redcliffe) . Bike riding opportunities are great but there are some bad apples amongst the car drivers so be careful.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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zedzded wrote:
RobK wrote:
sjc166 wrote:
Its the most isolated city in the world but Perth is fantastic location for training. Bike paths everywhere, 100's of olympic length pools (beaches too but plenty of sharks) and the best weather in Australia.


Totally disagree having lived there for 6 months. Swimming facilities are great but cycling is terrible: the bike paths are poorly maintained (or at least they were when I was there) and you can't ride at speed, and the city is so sprawling that if you want to get out you either have to drive with your bike or ride for ages down some hideous main road. I used to go for a Sunday group ride with one of the main bike shops in the city and it consisted of riding out to an industrial estate or a housing estate in Fremantle and doing laps. Awful. Running is OK but you really have to do it in parks and because the weather is so terrible in summer (phenomenally hot) it's really hard to get a good run in. Add the astonishingly high cost of living (and that's from someone who lives in London), the widespread racism, the generally massive levels of parochialism and the really poor public transport and you really don't have a great place to live, plus there are only about 3 races a year.

I didn't like Perth much, in case you can't tell.


I have no idea what you're talking about. We have one of the best climates in the world. We didn't have a day over 40 last summer and this year perhaps one or two. Even on hot days the temps drop right off in the evenings, so you run after work or in the morning. You came to Perth, which has some amazing riding and did laps around an industrial estate? That's beyond moronic... 3 races a year? WTF? Have you actually been to Perth? This season there were 49 races listed on Triathlon WAs calendar plus another 10+ community races. 2009 was no different. You sound like a typical Englishman and a very negative individual, come to Perth and moan that the beaches are shit, because there are no pubs there.... And BTW I lived in the UK for 7/8 years so more than happy to compare the two places :)

Well said, I was thinking the same thing.
Perth has one of the best climates in the world. Yes, in summer it can get hot but never got in the way of training as I just train early in the morning and are home before the heat is too bad.
There is a reason we are ranked one of the most liveable cities in the world....
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [pbnz] [ In reply to ]
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A few perthites in here.... who’s doing busso ?
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Unless you like it hot, steer clear of Queensland.
It's nice in winter for training but in summer you have to be done training by about 6am as it just gets too dag hot.

A better question is what will you be doing for work? How long are you planning on staying.

Geelong just south 45mins of Melbourne is excellent but winter gets cold. Not snow but cold. 6c-13c however summer autumn and spring are spectacular and there are a few awesome tri groups there and also good cycling groups and races. You can ride for 200km without a traffic light along the great ocean road. google that.

Rhymenocerus wrote:
I think everyone should consult ST before they do anything.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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zedzded wrote:


I have no idea what you're talking about. We have one of the best climates in the world. We didn't have a day over 40 last summer and this year perhaps one or two. Even on hot days the temps drop right off in the evenings, so you run after work or in the morning.


OK, perhaps I was there on an exceptional year, but the time I was there it was ferociously hot for long periods of time. Maybe that's not normal, but I assumed that it was.


zedzded wrote:
You came to Perth, which has some amazing riding and did laps around an industrial estate? That's beyond moronic...

This was the Sunday morning ride from one of the main bike shops in the centre of town. I thought it was moronic as well but that's what they did.


zedzded wrote:
3 races a year? WTF? Have you actually been to Perth? This season there were 49 races listed on Triathlon WAs calendar plus another 10+ community races. 2009 was no different.

Sorry, I recall there being very few. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the number there are here. Pleased to see that you're sufficiently annoyed that you counted them though.

zedzded wrote:
You sound like a typical Englishman and a very negative individual, come to Perth and moan that the beaches are shit, because there are no pubs there.... And BTW I lived in the UK for 7/8 years so more than happy to compare the two places :)

Nothing like going for the ad-hominem to make your argument sound more convincing. Well done mate.

zedzded wrote:
London is better than Perth for triathlon training..... where are these "excellent open water swimming options" you refer to?

There are plenty. I'm not going to count them for you.

zedzded wrote:
And you also recommend Johannsburg, one of the most dangerous cities in the world....

I just commented that it has perfect weather and excellent riding, both of which are true. Of course another advantage it has over London is that it's not full of whining Aussies :-)
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [RobK] [ In reply to ]
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RobK wrote:
zedzded wrote:


I have no idea what you're talking about. We have one of the best climates in the world. We didn't have a day over 40 last summer and this year perhaps one or two. Even on hot days the temps drop right off in the evenings, so you run after work or in the morning.


OK, perhaps I was there on an exceptional year, but the time I was there it was ferociously hot for long periods of time. Maybe that's not normal, but I assumed that it was.


zedzded wrote:
You came to Perth, which has some amazing riding and did laps around an industrial estate? That's beyond moronic...

This was the Sunday morning ride from one of the main bike shops in the centre of town. I thought it was moronic as well but that's what they did.


zedzded wrote:
3 races a year? WTF? Have you actually been to Perth? This season there were 49 races listed on Triathlon WAs calendar plus another 10+ community races. 2009 was no different.

Sorry, I recall there being very few. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the number there are here. Pleased to see that you're sufficiently annoyed that you counted them though.

zedzded wrote:
You sound like a typical Englishman and a very negative individual, come to Perth and moan that the beaches are shit, because there are no pubs there.... And BTW I lived in the UK for 7/8 years so more than happy to compare the two places :)

Nothing like going for the ad-hominem to make your argument sound more convincing. Well done mate.

zedzded wrote:
London is better than Perth for triathlon training..... where are these "excellent open water swimming options" you refer to?

There are plenty. I'm not going to count them for you.

zedzded wrote:
And you also recommend Johannsburg, one of the most dangerous cities in the world....

I just commented that it has perfect weather and excellent riding, both of which are true. Of course another advantage it has over London is that it's not full of whining Aussies :-)

Sorry was a bit harsh, but I get defensive when people attack my home town :)
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Don’t rule out Sydney. Fantastic riding in the south with great TT training by Kurnell and climbing around the Royal National Park and down to Wollongong. The climate is also great, without the miserable winters that Melbourne has or the sweltering summers in Brisbane.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [IamSpartacus] [ In reply to ]
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IamSpartacus wrote:
A few perthites in here.... who’s doing busso ?

I will be flying from one of the worst locations in the world to do Triathlon, Mongolia, back to the best Tri location in the world for Busso in two weeks.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [irongirl101] [ In reply to ]
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irongirl101 wrote:
Don’t rule out Sydney. Fantastic riding in the south with great TT training by Kurnell and climbing around the Royal National Park and down to Wollongong. The climate is also great, without the miserable winters that Melbourne has or the sweltering summers in Brisbane.

Come on. There are hardly any races in Sydney compared to melbourne Brisbane Gold Coast and Perth.

Rhymenocerus wrote:
I think everyone should consult ST before they do anything.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [irongirl101] [ In reply to ]
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Sydney can be fantastic if you live in the right area. I'd highly recommend the north. Hornsby and the suburbs a little further south, extending east to St Ives and Terrey Hills.

You would have easy access to excellent cycling with plenty of scenic hilly rides (often through national parks) with 10 climbs of 3 to 5km on popular cycling routes.

You're also spoiled for choice with trail running in the national parks of the northern suburbs, (Ku-Ring-gai Chase, Lane Cove, Garigal, Berowra Valley National Parks) and can even follow the Great North Walk for 250km all the way to Newcastle.

There's an abundance of 50 metre pools open all round.

Also the northern beaches are not too far away for ocean swimming, with Sydney's most popular swim group swimming every day of the year at Manly. The Bold & Beautiful swim even attracts at least 50 swimmers on wettest weekday is the middle of winter and over 400 on some weekends. It's popular because it's friendly, free and you swim in a marine reserve with abundant marine life. On days when the visibility is good, it's like swimming in an aquarium with beautifully coloured fish, rays, sharks (friendly ones), giant cuttlefish and occasionally turtles. Water temp only drops to about 15 or 16 C in late winter, maxing around 23C in summer.

It may or may not compare favourably with the swimming south of London.

The northern beaches is also a popular area among triathletes, though there are not as many riding options as the northern suburbs.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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I don't know suburban Perth as well as Sydney, but again the amenity of the city depends on where you live.

The hills east of the Perth attract a number of cyclists on the weekends, though I'm yet to cycle there as it's a crappy ride from where I live close to the city. Perth's freeway bike path heading south is safe but is monotonously flat and not an overly inspiring ride if it's usual training option.

If you're living in the right suburb in Sydney, I'd rate Sydney as far superior to Perth for cycling (and trail running). However, there are many heavily congested areas of Sydney where you would drive to a safer, more pleasant place to ride.

If you don't like hot weather and intense sun, Perth isn't for you. Compared to Sydney, there is a harshness to the sun in Perth, and a high frequency and consistency of days over 35C. Perth is also the windiest city in Australia. Depending on where you live, your small chain-ring may get more use in headwinds than on climbs.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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zedzded wrote:
(Perth has)... one of the best climates in the world. We didn't have a day over 40 last summer and this year perhaps one or two.

I'm guessing you work in a air conditioned office? That wasn't my memory of the past summer.

Please sell that "best climate in the world" line to my partner. Perth's summer is a major reason why she refuses to move here.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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zedzded wrote:
Have you actually been to Perth? This season there were 49 races listed on Triathlon WAs calendar plus another 10+ community races.

To be fair, of those 49, 17 are kids races, a few are women only, one is for emergency services personnel and the vast majority are sprint of shorter.

Also, WA is a big place. No one is going to drive a round trip of 1000 miles from Perth to Kalgoorlie for a 30 minute triathlon.

What are the 10 "community races"? I'm interested, but I couldn't see them. I only managed two ODT this summer, largely due to injury and work roster.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Lived in Brisbane, gold coast and currently Port Macquarie (ironman australia)

Brisbane was crap for cycling but really good for running. Lots of groups to train with.

Gold coast has some amazing rides, hinterland just behind the coast makes for some awesome climbing as well as plenty of flat country roads for uninterrupted tt efforts.
Running was ok but I found to be kinda boring vs Brisbane.
Lots of groups to train with here too.

Port while being the home of ironman is crap all round. Good for a holiday to train on the course though.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [Brett runs] [ In reply to ]
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Brett runs wrote:
Port while being the home of ironman is crap all round. Good for a holiday to train on the course though.

Plenty of good cycling from Port Macq if you head west of the Pacific Highway. Miles of quiet country roads and a sweet climb up to Comboyne.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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satanellus wrote:
Brett runs wrote:
Port while being the home of ironman is crap all round. Good for a holiday to train on the course though.

Plenty of good cycling from Port Macq if you head west of the Pacific Highway. Miles of quiet country roads and a sweet climb up to Comboyne.

Yeah but road quality and width of road + quality of drivers mean you want to limit time out there especially solo.

The running around town if you want flat limits you to basically doing loops of settlement point and canals.

One pool that's 6 lanes and full 90% of the time really limits swim enjoyment.

Don't get me wrong I love living here but for tri training the gold coast was awesome compared to this place.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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satanellus wrote:
zedzded wrote:
(Perth has)... one of the best climates in the world. We didn't have a day over 40 last summer and this year perhaps one or two.


I'm guessing you work in a air conditioned office? That wasn't my memory of the past summer.

Please sell that "best climate in the world" line to my partner. Perth's summer is a major reason why she refuses to move here.

your partner is soft. This summer just gone was really mild.
As for races, my local club puts on 10 per calender month. Other than that you have Karri Valley in pemberton which is basically an oly+, shoalwater another oly, bunbury another. Mullalloo has an oly, coogee is an oly. Mandurah has state interclub sprint, Allbarnone has several sprint races as a series. IMWA and 2 70.3's. Heaps of running events. Your not really short on races here.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [Brett runs] [ In reply to ]
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Brett runs wrote:
satanellus wrote:
Brett runs wrote:

Port while being the home of ironman is crap all round. Good for a holiday to train on the course though.


Plenty of good cycling from Port Macq if you head west of the Pacific Highway. Miles of quiet country roads and a sweet climb up to Comboyne.


Yeah but road quality and width of road + quality of drivers mean you want to limit time out there especially solo.

The running around town if you want flat limits you to basically doing loops of settlement point and canals.

One pool that's 6 lanes and full 90% of the time really limits swim enjoyment.

Don't get me wrong I love living here but for tri training the gold coast was awesome compared to this place.

Sounds like the traffic has become significantly worse since I used to training weeks in Port.

The roads out through Beechwood through Pappinbarra or winding back to Telegraph Point used to be near deserted. Yes, they were narrow in places, granular and you had to turn around when they became unsealed, but you pretty much had them to yourself. Way safer than riding the IM course.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [IamSpartacus] [ In reply to ]
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IamSpartacus wrote:
satanellus wrote:
zedzded wrote:
(Perth has)... one of the best climates in the world. We didn't have a day over 40 last summer and this year perhaps one or two.


I'm guessing you work in a air conditioned office? That wasn't my memory of the past summer.

Please sell that "best climate in the world" line to my partner. Perth's summer is a major reason why she refuses to move here.


your partner is soft. This summer just gone was really mild.
As for races, my local club puts on 10 per calender month. Other than that you have Karri Valley in pemberton which is basically an oly+, shoalwater another oly, bunbury another. Mullalloo has an oly, coogee is an oly. Mandurah has state interclub sprint, Allbarnone has several sprint races as a series. IMWA and 2 70.3's. Heaps of running events. Your not really short on races here.

Which is the point. Even a "really mild" Perth summer is consistently hotter than many other capital cities considered in this thread, (certainly Adelaide excepted). And that type of weather doesn't suit everyone.

While you may enjoy it, there's little value to the OP if we don't at least try to put aside parochialism and offer some objectivity.

And yes, my partner doesn't cope well with the heat.

BTW, 10 races per month? What club are you with? That's certainly sparked my interest.

And yes, there's certainly no shortage of running events around Perth with a healthy choice of events every weekend, from track and field, right up to 350km of ultra goodness at the Delirious WEST 200 Mile.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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It doesn’t really matter. He will move to Brisbane. Hate the heat and them move south.

That’s clear from the first post.

Rhymenocerus wrote:
I think everyone should consult ST before they do anything.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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not per month, per season. Super sprints, 300/15/3...fun but rather painful.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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satanellus wrote:
zedzded wrote:
Have you actually been to Perth? This season there were 49 races listed on Triathlon WAs calendar plus another 10+ community races.

To be fair, of those 49, 17 are kids races, a few are women only, one is for emergency services personnel and the vast majority are sprint of shorter.

Also, WA is a big place. No one is going to drive a round trip of 1000 miles from Perth to Kalgoorlie for a 30 minute triathlon.

What are the 10 "community races"? I'm interested, but I couldn't see them. I only managed two ODT this summer, largely due to injury and work roster.

I can’t remember what community races are listed on the triwa site, but races in gingin, Lancelin, Beverley, Albany, Gero plus a lot of the tri clubs have their own smaller races that are only listed on their Facebook page. You could probably race most weekends if you wanted to.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [Brett runs] [ In reply to ]
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Interesting - I haven't heard much about Gold Coast in terms of riding so that's a location I'll add to my list. My knowledge about the area is limited to watching WTS racing and the city looks pretty flat so I wasn't thinking much about good riding there.

A little more background on me - 29 year old woman moving to Australia for a year. Focused on 70.3 distance right now (but have done Ironman and Olympic distances too). I'm in the healthcare industry currently but I am also a part time coach so looking for an area with lots of triathlon potential for clients, group rides, etc. Brisbane was higher on the list due to location, industries and also price point. I've heard Sydney & Melbourne have an insanely high cost of living and I'm not planning on having a car while in Aus so was worried about public transport.

I plan to spend the first 4 weeks or so of the trip looking into locations to settle so will add a lot of these cities to the itinerary. Although Perth is a little remote so that may take it out of the running!
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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I'd be looking toward the gold coast. Southern end from Broadbeach to currumbin is a great spot and easy access to lots of pools, good riding and plenty of groups to train with.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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TMR wrote:
Interesting - I haven't heard much about Gold Coast in terms of riding so that's a location I'll add to my list. My knowledge about the area is limited to watching WTS racing and the city looks pretty flat so I wasn't thinking much about good riding there.

A little more background on me - 29 year old woman moving to Australia for a year. Focused on 70.3 distance right now (but have done Ironman and Olympic distances too). I'm in the healthcare industry currently but I am also a part time coach so looking for an area with lots of triathlon potential for clients, group rides, etc. Brisbane was higher on the list due to location, industries and also price point. I've heard Sydney & Melbourne have an insanely high cost of living and I'm not planning on having a car while in Aus so was worried about public transport.

I plan to spend the first 4 weeks or so of the trip looking into locations to settle so will add a lot of these cities to the itinerary. Although Perth is a little remote so that may take it out of the running!

A reliance on public transport will likely have a considerable impact on your choice.

Sydney and Melbourne probably have the best public transport infrastructure. I lived in Sydney's north (4 different suburbs) without a car for at least 15 years. You just have to be relatively close to a train station.

Canberra may be a consideration for you too, with the first line of a new rail system is opening this year, heading north of the city. Athough other public transport isn't so efficient, so it would effectively rule out living in many suburbs. It's a fairly cycle-friendly city with a good network of bike paths to get around and relatively little traffic. Canberra also has a healthy endurance sport culture. Not just tri, but also running (road and trail), orienteering, etc.

I don't use public transport too often in Perth so I can't really vouch for what i's like to use on a regular basis, (walk to work, often ride MTB over the bridge if I'm going out in the city, often drive if I'm going further afield), though the buses and rail system has worked OK for me when I have used it.

I doubt that the Gold Coast would be much good for public transport.

Others may be able to add more regarding the other cities.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [PJC] [ In reply to ]
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And Sydney's probably the worst place to ride a bike in Australia.

Wollongong on the other hand has the Wizards and is just fine.

'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [georged] [ In reply to ]
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georged wrote:
And Sydney's probably the worst place to ride a bike in Australia.

Wollongong on the other hand has the Wizards and is just fine.


Parts of Sydney are probably among the worst. Other areas are fantastic. As I say, it really depends on where you are based.

In the early '90s, John Howard (Olympic cyclist, Hawaii IM winner, cycling land speed record holder, not the former Prime Minister) visited Australia. John was impressed by the quality and beauty of the rides we took him on. Over a quarter of a century on, they're still great rides.

We're trying to help the OP here. There's nothing helpful in inaccurately slagging off other cities.

If you want to be constructive, contribute some insight into Wollongong's public transport system or what the Gong's work prospects would be for the OP.
Last edited by: satanellus: Apr 22, 19 7:16
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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I would steer clear of Sydney and Melbourne. They are overpriced and overrated.

Queensland is truly the greatest state in the country. The weather is great for training year round, the people are friendly and housing is more affordable.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Canberra:

Endless trails for running

Lots of pools

Ride options every end and side of town from Big hills in the south to flatter stuff North of the city.

Winter gets cold for two months
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TIT] [ In reply to ]
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Not going to deny the overpriced bit about Melbourne and Sydney. But Brisbane weather is an acquired taste. It's either too hot, or it's too humid. Or both. Plus they haven't figured out daylight saving so in summer the sun comes up at 4 am.

Canberra is either -10 degrees or 30 degrees, plus it's full of politicians.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Another vote for Canberra. Best riding this side of Tasmania, has it all, Road, MTB, endless fire trails for Gravel, extensive network of bike paths, you hardly need a car unless you have kids as everything is close by especially if you live in the inner south or inner north. Added bonus of being close to ski in winter.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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Move to NZ, its way better than Australia.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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Bendigo ... Swim -Run_ride till your hearts content .. AGs , Pros , its training camp heaven !
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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TMR wrote:
I'm coming from the US so I'm not really familiar with the triathlon club scene so I'll definitely look into those wherever I end up.

If you're planning on spending time in Sydney, I'd recommend getting in contact with Northern Suburbs Triathlon Club. http://www.nstc.org.au/Home.htm

They'll be able to introduce you to some of Sydney's best cycling, and you'll probably be able to work out fairly quickly if that part of Sydney (or Sydney at all), is the kind of place you're looking to settle.
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Re: Best Tri locations in Australia [TMR] [ In reply to ]
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It's no contest, Melbourne because our coffee is better....and our pubs/clubs.....
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