I am looking at a job in East Setauket and dont know much about Long Island. What are the nearby towns where I might want to consider living, and what is the triathlon “community” and training like in those area’s.
thanks!
I live in Massapequa, actually I am at college right now but thats besides the point. I am more into triathons than real estate so I can help you out with that.
The best long island tri site is: sbrli.com . they have lists with clubs, shops and everything you want to know, also there is a very helpful forum.
Personally I race a lot off the island, but there are a lot of great local races. I am a member of Runner’s Edge Tri Club and work at Sunrise Tri, the only dedicated tri shop on the island that I know of.
If you have any more specific questions feel free to ask.
First, you need to edit your post. No one lives or trains “in” Long Island. You live or train “on” Long Island - or better yet, live or train on “The Island.”
noted…how ignorant of me
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East Setauket is relatively far East and North on Long Island. You might want to consider living in the Huntington area so your commute wouldn’t be too long but you would also would be within a reasonable distance from where many of the informal group training rides/runs start out. The best riding on Long Island is on the north shore or on the service road of the LIE. There is a Y in Huntington where many people swim, otherwise many people swim at Eisenhower Park or at the Omni pool in Uniondale. The Runner’s Edge is a good place to check out - all of the people who work there are triathletes or runners and they know about all the local races - in addition to being a great group of people.
There is a nice race series all within about an hour of Setauket. www.longislandtri.com I think that the training sessions are all in Nassau County, but if you email them they might have some info on Suffolk too.
It’s flat out there!!! You’re gonna have to hunt for some hills 
Also, if you are into off road, check out www.dirtyevents.com for some really fun events, quite close to Setauket. Somehow *that RD finds hills.
I have to disagree about the lack of hills on LI. While the south shore in super flat, the north shore of LI has some amazing, hilly terrain. While youre not going to find any 1 mile climbs, the topogrophy of the island is very hilly, and some areas, very steep. I love it here. The riding is amazing. the road rides on the north shore (Nassau and Suffolk); the 100 mile ride on the LIE service road from the Queens line out to the last exit with the service road, and back (perfect for IM training); the amazing singletrack and running trails, and the best indoor pool (50m, Eisenhower Park) Ive been to. The mountain biking in East Setuket, Glacier Ridge, and many others are very steep and technical, and go on for 20+ miles. Dont forget about the OWS, especially if you love jellyfish.
Runner’s Edge is great. And also check out Sunrise Tri in West Babylon. its a dedicated tri shop, and also has an excellent tri team.
PM me if you’d like some links.
live in NC now but grew up on LI (south shore though) Stonybrook, Setauket, Smithtown and Pt Jeff all have some great roads for cycling/running and I am sure you could find a good pool out there, here is a useful site for finding pools http://www.swimmersguide.com/ enjoy your time on STRONG ISLAND
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the 100 mile ride on the LIE service road from the Queens line out to the last exit with the service road, and back (perfect for IM training); and the best indoor pool (50m, Eisenhower Park) Ive been to.
And also check out Sunrise Tri in West Babylon. its a dedicated tri shop, and also has an excellent tri team.
My girlfriend is from Holbrook and I have been down to Long Island a number of times. Sunset Tri is a great shop and they recommended to me that I ride on the LIE service road. For those of you who have done it… is it really safe riding on the road? If you guys think it is safe then I will have to give it a try once the weather is warmer. Long Island seems like it could have alot of potential depending on where you live but at least in Holbrook there are way too many stop signs and intersections. Perhaps, I am just spoiled from living out in western mass where we have miles and miles of biking.
As soon as I saw “in Long Island” I was offended.
Personally I hate riding out here as every ride I take outside of my 3 mile loop I will definately have to take some type of evasive action to avoid be run over by some one not paying attention or more likely in too much of a rush to care that them saving .004 seconds on their trip is risking my life (seriously at least once every ride). I will say that compared to stories I hear from other part of the country people are more or less indifferent to you going around in spandex (ie have only had one or two incidents with people yelling things, Fag etc, at me although I did once have a group of high school kids toss a Taco Bell cup in my direction).
Yes the LIE service road is probably the best but 25a is more scenic if you don’t mind somewhat tighter spacing between you and the cars. However let it be known that no matter what route you take you will almost certainly be stopping for red lights (I use a standard of 4 minutes per hour to remove the time I spend stopped at lights when calculating my average speed).
As for East Setauket, while it is far out it is in a GREAT school district due in large part to the relationships the high school (Ward Melville) has with the college, SUNY Stony Brook which is located there.
With all due respect to the other posters … if you were to live in E. Setauket … I think it is rather unlikely that you would go riding on the LIE service road or 25A … at least I never do because of traffic and lack of nice hills. But there are small roads both heading east and west along the shore and they work very nicely for cycling unless you don’t like hills. I live in Port Jefferson … the next village. There are also a number of pools around and you can swim in the sound in the summer. And lastly … there is a substantial tri community in the area (no need to go to Huntington).
Stefan
I have relatives that live in Setauket, and have ridden out of there several times, almost always going east. There are a bunch of useful ride sheets available on the suffolk county cycling riders website - sbraweb.org. Several of the rides leave from the stony brook train station parking lot. I’ve never gone on an organized ride, just followed the cue sheets. It is a bit dull as most of the rides follow the same starting routes as you go east, but after that there is a good bit of variety; however it could be a lot worse.
No idea about swimming there, but running in/around old field area is quite nice.
good luck,
tom
Born and raised in Setauket, about 2 miles north of SUNY Stony Brook in Old Field. My area is hilly. Riding through Old Field up to the light house can be nice. PM me w/any questions about the area, tri or non-tri related.