There’s a very good chance that I’ll be taking a job in South Norwalk, CT. I live in NYC (Harlem) and will be taking Metro North - so no car.
How is this area for tri training? Just trying to figure out how this change will impact my tri training–and whether working outside of the city would be a positive or a negative thing.
‘m guessing there might be some good riding areas–I actually did the Bloomin’ Metric Century up there a couple of years ago–I could potentially bring the bike with me on the train a couple of times a week, and do some training rides after work before heading back to the city (or potentially I could even invest in a cheap road bike I can keep in the office).
Not so concerned about running (since you can pretty much run anywhere)–but if anyone has any good local routes they can share, it would be great.
My biggest concern is swimming. I was just finally able to find a great masters team to swim with (for the first time ever!)–the workouts are 7-8:30am in NYC–so there’s no way I can continue going to those. What are my options? Are there any pools in South Norwalk or any masters teams? (hopefully with evening workouts). Also, looks like this town is right on the water–any chance for open water swimming opportunities around there?
Any tips/insights/suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!
Welcome to Fairfield. Think you’ll find that you definitely have upgraded your riding options if you leave from the office. Your biggest challenge will be managing the time lost to the commute and hours of daylite.
Things to check out:
Norwalk triathlon club: http://www.teammossman.com/ (don’t know them since I’m in Greenwich but heard good things)Nearby triathlon shop/training center http://www.targetraining.com/ (organize a lot of training rides, swims, etc.; you can store a bike there, unfortunately don’t think they are within walking distance of a train station)Organized riding group: http://www.soundcyclists.com/ (very active community of cyclists of all skill levels – leave the aero bars at home)Most towns have a very good YMCA. I swim in the Greenwich Y which has an olympic size pool. Clubs also do open-water swimming in the sound (Greenwich tri and other clubs often go out at Tod’s point in Greenwich). Might be a challenge though without access to a car. Target training can probably point you in the direction of other good local pools.
There are a ton of routes that go around Fairfield/Westchester. Mine all leave from Greenwich but surely can be tweaked to come from Norwalk or other towns. Happy to share or answer other questions so feel free to PM me.
I live in South Norwalk and would be happy to show you around and connect you with some groups. There is a YMCA in Norwalk but I swim in New Canaan (next town over and nicer pool). There is a new pool on the Wilton/Norwalk line at LA Fitness and another pool close at Darien YMCA. We do indoor rides during the winter on multirider computrainers at a bike shop in Darien (about 2-3 miles away from SONO). The Bloomin Metric is a great route. From SONO, I either go east towards Westport (flatter ride along water) or north toward New Canaan and Pound Ridge (hillier). There is a group that does open water swims in Westport or Greenwich. Feel free to PM if you want more info.
I am the head of triathlon training at TARGETRAINING. We are only one metro stop from SoNo. We swim out of Norwalk HS and have indoor/outdoor rides and runs all year long. We also have a tri retail shop. check out www.targetraining.com and send me a PM. Welcome to the neighboorhood!
First- I love gnocchi
Second- I’m in Fairfield- have ridden the Bloomin, regularly ride pretty much all of ffld county…
The guys at target are great- I cant afford to train with em full time, but have done some rides with their people, and they know the roads like the back of their hands.
You’ll be fine as far as cycling goes. Tons of nice roads around there (once you’re out of the center of SoNo).
Swimming should be OK too- theres a bunch of YMCAs around- and many tri groups like everyone else has said.
good luck
How is this area for tri training? Just trying to figure out how this change will impact my tri training–and whether working outside of the city would be a positive or a negative thing.
My biggest concern is swimming. I was just finally able to find a great masters team to swim with (for the first time ever!)–the workouts are 7-8:30am in NYC–so there’s no way I can continue going to those. What are my options? Are there any pools in South Norwalk or any masters teams? (hopefully with evening workouts). Also, looks like this town is right on the water–any chance for open water swimming opportunities around there?
Any tips/insights/suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!
Welcome to the area. I used to live in Norwalk but now Wilton.
For swimming you might want to look at the Wilton Y. They have a 50m pool and at 5:30am you will see a good number of other fitness swimmers, triathlete and swimteam/masters there.
Of course the crew at Target Training is top notch but there’s also a every Sat Group Ride by Team Mossman that meets at Exit 41 in Westport and takes a 2.5hr ride through Westport/Easton/Redding/Bethel that is great fun and work.
Great riders, not alot of ego but some super fast rabbits too in the A group.
I think you will like the area if you for tri training. I am south of Newark and there are plenty of nice back country roads. As one of the other replies mentioned Mossman is very good- http://www.teammossman.com/ and the Greenwich Tri club is newer but has training rides and runs which head out close to the train station in Greenwich so that might help getting back into the city afterwards, they were running a.m. winter swim workouts at the boys and girls club last winter/spring which is right by the greenwich train station if that helps http://www.greenwichtriclub.com/
Huge thanks to everyone who has responded. Looks like it’s a great area for training! The company I’ll be working for (I’m planning to officially accept their offer tomorrow morning) actually has a satellite office in NYC (ironically only one subway stop away from my current job on the same train line), and they gave me an option to work from either one.
I’ve decided to work in NYC–for now. I’m training for IMAZ, and kind of have a nice “routine” going… don’t want to change things for the time being if I don’t have to (plus it’s nice to be able to take the subway instead of Metro North that runs only 1-2x per hour. And as sad as it makes me, it’s starting to get dark so early–not like I’ll be able to get much cycling in after work outside… Hellooo long forgotten Kurt Kinetic!
I am however seriously thinking of working out of the main office in South Norwalk when the weather gets nicer and days get longer next year (it appears that I’ll have that flexibility… which is soooo nice!!!)–maybe starting next April or May (especially after reading all the info on the rides and swims in the area). I’m doing IM Austria next year, and hopefully working outside of the city can take my cycling to the new level. Having easy access to open water swims during the week will be amazing too. I’ll definitely check out all the groups you have directed me to (and maybe will PM you guys as well with additional questions).