Anybody ever do IM Lanzarote? Was it as brutal as they say? What were the travel considerations? Is staying right at the race site a good idea or are there other locales that make sense. I’m kicking around the idea of doing it in '04. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
I did Lanzarote last year. Travel wasn’t that bad, but I live in Switzerland. If you can get to Madrid, then you have your choice of several airlines (Iberia, SpanAir, etc) that fly to LZ on a regular basis. For me, EasyJet-SpanAir was perfect.
I stayed in Puerto del Carmen and had a great time; many housing options are available there. On the day of registration/race meetings/carbo dinner, several busses were available to take us to the other side of the island to Club la Santa, and getting around was no problem.
Yes, the bike is brutal. The constant winds (from all directions at once) reminded me of Kona, but then you start climbing… and descending… and climbing… I didn’t spend much time in the aero bars that day. The views are incredible, but be prepared to work for them. The swim seemed quick, I think the currents helped us out a bit. The run is interesting; on one side you’ve got a beautiful beach, and on the other sunburned tourists hoisting a pint and cheering from the many streetside pubs…
If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to help out; shoot me a message: drew.smith@bluewin.ch