Anyone doing XTERRA - Tsali 06/03/2012 this weekend?

[Lotus]

If so wanted to ask a few newbie questions. Thanks!

[k2biker]

Not doing Tsali but I've done a few and have a few more planned this season. Glad to help ya out -- you can either email me or post up your questions here.

charles at atlantaoutfitters dot com

[Mc Q]

I'll be there. First time at Tsali though and 3rd Xterra tri so I have questions of my own... so interested to see your questions and answers.

My question - I am planning on camping Saturday night. The campground has 42 spots which are first come first serve. Any idea if I'll be able to get a spot (i.e. does it normally fill up the night before an event?)

I saw that the course is using the right loop, which is only open to bikers on MWFSun with horses on TThSat. Since I don't own a horse, I can't do a pre-"ride" on Saturday, but may hike a few sections.

[Mc Q]

I'll be there but first time to Tsali and my 3rd Xterra Tri.

I plan on camping Saturday night, hopefully there will still be space as the 42 spots look to be on a first come/first served basis.

All I know is the limited info from the GoneRiding Website, course = Right loop clockwise. And since Tsali only allows bikers on the Left/Right loops on MWFSun, I won't be getting a pre-ride in.

[Lotus]

I'll be there but first time to Tsali and my 3rd Xterra Tri.

I plan on camping Saturday night, hopefully there will still be space as the 42 spots look to be on a first come/first served basis.

All I know is the limited info from the GoneRiding Website, course = Right loop clockwise. And since Tsali only allows bikers on the Left/Right loops on MWFSun, I won't be getting a pre-ride in.

How did you do? I got killed on the swim (4th from last) but made up about 50 spots on the run/bike. Awesome day and goneriding surre knows how to put on a great race.

[Mc Q]

How did you do? I got killed on the swim (4th from last) but made up about 50 spots on the run/bike. Awesome day and goneriding surre knows how to put on a great race.

Had an absolute blast for the whole weekend, got a spot in the campground (it didn't fill up either), met a bunch of new people, and had a fun race. That Right loop is FAST & furious. I wish my legs were in better shape after the race to be able to ride the other trails in the afternoon but I was completely shot.

Tsali has some nice trails with some fun sustained climbs. Definately a destination place, the campground at the trailhead is fantastic.

The race went well and I love OpenWaterSwims, especially wetsuit legal swims so ended up near the frontend initially, held steady on the run and got passed by a few on the bike. All in all, a fun day.

That's the second GoneRiding event I've done and have 0 complaints, on time, organized, etc. I am looking forward to Clemson in a couple of weeks.

[DustinT]

I also did this race and really liked the course! The fort yargo was my first tri ever and I got 48th overall and this one i moved up to 13th overall. I barrowed a friends wetsuit for this race and its incredible how much easier it makes your swim. My back was floating on top the whole way which sped up my swim sooooooo much! I really expected this race to be a bigger turnout than fort yargo. Very surpised on the small turnout. Goneriding does a great job and i'm looking forward to more of their events.

[k2biker]

So wait...am I understanding right that they went swim > run > bike? That's a little backwards. Did Gone Riding do that at Yargo as well? Is that their little spin on the sport? If so, that changes training plans and transition planning.

[Lotus]

So wait...am I understanding right that they went swim > run > bike? That's a little backwards. Did Gone Riding do that at Yargo as well? Is that their little spin on the sport? If so, that changes training plans and transition planning.

Yes, they saved the best (bike) for last!

[doodlybob]

So wait...am I understanding right that they went swim > run > bike? That's a little backwards. Did Gone Riding do that at Yargo as well? Is that their little spin on the sport? If so, that changes training plans and transition planning.

Yargo ---- Swim>bike>Run

[Mc Q]

So wait...am I understanding right that they went swim > run > bike? That's a little backwards. Did Gone Riding do that at Yargo as well? Is that their little spin on the sport? If so, that changes training plans and transition planning.

For this venue, Swim/Run/Bike made some pretty decent sense given where the Bike transition area was, which was basically up the hill a good ways. There was no "natural" good place for bike racks close to the water that would have not required at least a 1/4 mile run over rough gravel. This made the run feel more like a duathlon and definately got the field spread out by the time you got to the bike.

I really didn't modify my training plan or transition plans, other than you had 2 separate transition spots, which was no big deal. I think doing a few duathlons this year was helpful though (speaking to the training plan) plus the calves seemed to really not like the idea of running then biking, especially on the later climbs!

Yargo was SBR, traditional.

[DustinT]

coming from the fort yargo race i thought this was a welcome change because I had a bad swim at yargo and hopped on my mtn bike to find myself very frustrated at the long line of mtn bikers on the trails with minimal passing. its tough going through single track when you come up on a line of 10 bikes riding single file. granted, this taught me a very good lesson... Get better at swimming!