Roll Call : rural triathletes

Triathlon Forum
1

It seems like most people on the board live in large urban areas. Just wondering if I’m the only hick on the forum.

There are definately some triathlon advantages/disadvatages of rural living. The advantages are great rural roads with very little traffic for cycling/running at your doorstep. The disadvantages are a lack of a swimming pool facility and nobody else in the immediate area being involved in the sport. No LBS either.

Who else lives in the boonies? What are your thoughts about advantages/disadvantages?

2

and probably no chipotle:-)
.

3

I luck out: I live in a town of 9K but am only about an hour away from ABQ (500,000). I also have two pools in town and an active running club. Whodathunkit?

New Mexico is weird like that, though. There are a lot of sprints all around the state in smaller towns.

4

I live in Chicago, but I would gladly return to my rural southwest Michigan roots. I went riding there last weekend and it was fabulous. Hardly a car on the road. Miles without intersections.

Sigh.

5

"and probably no chipotle:-) "

No fast junk food chains in the entire area. Guess that’s why I can proudly post that I haven’t been to a McD’s in eight years, the amount of time since I moved here.

6

SW MI here. Busy beach town in the summer and quiet bedroom community (but with a vibrant “downtown”) the remainder of the time. Always great for training - I can be (i) in the middle of nowhere, (ii) on a wooded trail/park or (iii) on the water within minutes. Ask anyone of the 550 participants in the first annual Grand Haven Y Tri/Du held two weeks ago.

BTW, none of you may move here without my permission.

7

My thought exactly…

I trained many of the local managers for the MN Aids Ride (Sponsored by Chipotle). No pay, but I rec’d good benefits!

http://www.redribbonride.org/

Providing you don’t eat the tortilla sour cream, cheese or guac…it’s a nice meal!

I used to work for a software company in Cincy and they used to take me to Skyline on my visits. EEEEK!!!

8

can women ride alone? :smiley:

9

North western Michigan here on the shores of lake Michigan. Hilly place to ride without a lot of traffic. Great places to run. Pools are a little bit of a journey, one is 10 miles away and the other is 15, but lots of lakes for swimming.

Good people to train with is a big plus, I just wish I had some.

Gar

10

i’m sort of rural in SW Michigan.

Kalamazoo is closest “big city” to home. i teach and train at the largest facility in the region with a pool, which is still only 15 minutes away. office is about 20 minutes from home. training however is right out the back door for the swim, and the area roads are very accomodating for long riding/running. large tri club here and a great LBS. i have more events to choose from within a reasonable drive radius its silly. hence, sort of.

Chicago and Detroit are only 2.5 hours either way. great for day or weekend trips. Lake Michigan is 45 minutes away. awesome trout and salmon fly fishing is also really close. hard to beat.

11

For real is your name Bob Parr? You may be a distant relative. My father’s side of the family is from farmland in northeast Indiana. Angola area. Ton of Parr’s around there, not so much down in NC where my family and I now live.

alicia parr

12

I live in a town of 1,000 people in central Vermont. Nearest decent pool is about 30 minutes away. Beautiful running and riding, though. Also, a regionally known tri shop/fitter is 6 miles away, and there are a surprising number of triathletes, including Ironman vets, in the area.

13

Cousin Alicia,

Alas no, Bob Parr is the name the Hero Relocation Program gave me. I do not want to blow my cover by giving out my real name on the internet.

Yours truly,

Mr. Incredible (oops)

14

Although I live in a very small town (Winthrop, WA pop. 360), it is a tourist town in the mountains so we have more amenities than most towns our size. There is a pool but it is only open from mid-June to Labor Day and lap swimming is limited to 1 hr. Fortunately, there are 2 good swimming lakes close by but, again, the season is limited.

We have 2 LBS’s and a very active, but small cycling community - mt. bike races/tt’s alternating Tuesdays from May to Oct. As you mentioned, the cycling is great in rural areas. I did a 100 miles Saturday with about 5000’ of climbing with not 1 traffic light and just one stop sign.

The trail system (mt.bike/running/hiking/xc skiing) is 200K not counting forest service roads and has any kind of terrain imaginable. We have trail running and xc ski race series.

Franchises are not allowed, so the nearest McD’s is 45 miles away. The quality of the local restaurants is much better than almost any franchise.

Downside. Without the internet, it would be difficult to live here. A lot of my tri stuff is bought on line because it is 200 miles to the nearest, fully stocked store.

The deer population is almost out of control. I have yet to get in my car or on my bike without seeing a dead one along the road. Gardens and landscaping are constantly in peril. I see more deer than cars on many runs/rides.

We have other wildlife (bears, mountain lions, coyotes, wolves) but they do not bother us very often. Pets have been victims, however.

Not many single women. The town is totally dead in November and April. Even in the summer, everything closes fairly early. Nearest movie theatre is 40 miles away. Without a treadmill, computrainer and recently acquired Medallion Swim Spa, tri-training would be severely limited by the weather.

Due to the location, real estate is somewhat inflated yet it takes a long time to sell for the same reason.

Very few employment opportunities other than tourist related minimum wage type jobs.

All that being said, I moved here from LA and I would do it again in a heart beat. When my time comes, my ashes will be scattered from a nearby mountain top. In the meanwhile, I am overwhelmed by the scenery on a daily basis.

“You know you are getting old when you see your father in the mirror.” anon

15

I live in a town of about 15,000 deep in the flatlands of South Georgia. Total population of our county is about 38,000. I’m two hours north of Jacksonville, Fla., and three hours south of Atlanta. Our local junior college has a brand new indoor pool, and I also live near a large lake. So I’m minutes away from a lap pool and open water swimming. I have a variety of lightly-traveled roads to ride on. Last weekend, I rode 95 miles from my house to my grandmother’s house on two-lane backwoods roads with few cars and a lot of hills.

Unlike your community, we do have quite a few fast food restaurants to choose from, including a McD’s. The advantages of my community far outweigh the disadvantages. I am within driving distance of races of all distances – from sprints to Ironman.

Worst thing is the lack of a LBS. The closest bike shop is an hour away, but the one I consider “my” shop is 95 miles from home.

RP

16

I promise I won’t tell anyone. ;0

A

17

Lots of michigan folks on the forum, good to see…I envy you, I grew up in Grand Rapids (Wyoming actually), and, after spending the last 10 years in SE michigan, dream of living on Lake Michigan for the rest of my life.

18

Thanks. Michigan is a great State. I spend lots o’ time around the entire state (save the UP). Call me for an application : )

19

Yeah, I spent the first years of my professional life in St. Joe Michigan after growing up just over the border in Michigan City Indiana. Left because of the winters but the summer and fall you just can’t beat. Some of my best training memories are from those areas.

20

That’s funny as shit. BTW - wait till I tell Deeg you want some real training partners : )