Hi All
I appreciate in the last newsletter, I said it’d be the last one, but I wanted to get out a quick update on the weekend
The weather at the lake this week has been pretty rubbish, as it has across most of the uk, so there’s a couple of things I wanted to get out to you all in advance of the weekend as the forecast for the weekend is not looking amazing either. I’ve had a lot of concerned emails, so I thought it best to get a quick email out to everyone now before the weekend
In this email, I’ll cover the following :
Water temp update
Advice on what to bring and how to prep
Possible weekend changes / updates
Water temp update
The water temp today was around mid 19’s, and that’s after a good few days of really quite heavy rain.
If you have been checking the lake 32 website, which from the many worried emails I’ve been getting, a fair few of you have, you will have seen a really low number which is a direct result of their lake thermometer stopping working a few weeks ago, and it’s not now updated properly since then or thrown out some really random numbers, so please don’t fret.
We’re due a not too bad day tomorrow, and then a fair amount more rain on Saturday, so I don’t expect that temperature to change much between now and Sunday, potentially it’ll drop maybe 1deg at most.
We will still very much be in the wetsuit optional range
The only change you might see to the swim, and this will only effect those that follow our social media, is that our Huge new Swim Buoys, or rather their anchorage, may not be totally wind proof for the amount of wind we’re due on Saturday night, so as much as it pains me as I’ve been very proud of our new purchase, we might have to roll out our previous ones for this race to give us time to source an anchor suitable to moor a small house sized inflatable or 6.
Advice on what to bring and how to prep
Most of us think of triathlon as racing in the Sunshine, but this being British Summertime means that it’s often not
Many of the more experience racers will have raced in wet or windy conditions beforehand, and most of us have spent many hours training in them.
However, there’s often a few that haven’t, and as we have lots of first timers, which is great, this is more aimed at those of you
Firstly, it’s looking like it might be occasionally wet and not super warm on Sunday. With that in mind, please ensure you have enough clothing on during the bike section to keep you warm and dry. I am always amazed at the amount off people that set off in a tri suit and find themselves shivering 4 miles later and need recovering in one of our vans.
As I’ve touched in previous stuff, the BTF rules say you have to finish the bike leg with the clothing you started in. However, due to the number of first timers we get at our races, we have an agreed exemption to this rule, and you are more then welcome to shed a layer and leave it with a marshal or a friend/family out on the course
We would much rather see people with way too much kit on, and having to shed it, than seeing people shiver themselves around our courses and feel terrible in doing so, and have that ruin their day.
It’s amazing the difference even a light rain jacket can make on the bike, and they’re light and easy enough to stash in a pocket or to give to someone on the course if you’re starting to cook.
Please also prepare to make puncture repairs incase the worse happens and you need to make a roadside repair. It’s always worth carrying a tube, tools and a pump/gas canister, and knowing how to use them.
As with all road courses, the rain can wash thorns and flint into the road, and it also hides surface imperfections, which although we go to great lengths to paint and are easy to spot in the dry, are much harder to spot in the wet, especially if you have wet or steamed up cycling glasses, and can sometimes results in pinch flats.
We will try and sweep the course as much as possible Saturday night/Sunday AM, but completely clearing 28miles of tarmac is largely impossible.
We have 4x moto support riders who are there to help, but if it’s wet, they will be exceptionally busy and may take a long time to get to you
Ultimately, you as a competitor, are responsible for your own bike, and our guys are really only there to help out if you’ve come completely unstuck and to get you out of a pickle when they can.
The run course has dealt with the rain pretty well over the last few days, and although there is now a couple of pretty muddy isolated spots, on the whole it’s really not too bad. If you’re unsure on shoe choice, I’d suggest you have a walk around parts of it on Saturday. The most effected parts are in Neighbridge Country park at around mile 3 of the lap, and it’s a ten minute job to have a quick walk on the Saturday to make a decision. It’s still well over 50% tarmac, and 90% of the lakeside paths are still solid and good.
If you’re unsure, come and see me or the team on Saturday and we can offer what advice we can
Possible weekend changes / updates
We’ve been spoilt for the last 4-5 years with some really good weather conditions at our Cotswold 113 and Classic races, but we have had some shockers in the past and have quite a lot of experience around this area.
With that in mind, if the rain is very heavy on the Saturday, the two briefings which happen at 13:00 and 16:00 normally by the Swim exit, we will move over the headland by the swim start, where there is a canopy area. It’s not massive, but should just about accommodate the amount of people that normally attend our Saturday briefings, but will be cosy and largely out of the rain if it’s as heavy as the forecasts are telling us.
Typically, the heavy rain, as it has been this week, necessitates a number or emergency utility infrastructure repairs, which result in road works and the dreaded traffic lights.
We work very closely with Wiltshire and Gloucester Highways departments, and those guys are great with ensuring the road network is clear of planned works during our races, or in the case of the current temporary traffic lights at around mile 2 of our bike course, they have them manned and turned off during the race, and returned to traffic chaos and frustration on Monday morning 🙂
However, emergency works are by their very nature, unavoidable, and we do plan around pretty much every eventuality.
Therefore, please accept that if we have to make a diversion or tweak to the bike course at every late notice, it’ll be unavoidable and our plans B,C,D,E,F etc etc are all thought out by our team in advance. I’m hoping/Expecting that there’s going to be none, but I wanted to warn you all in advance just in case we do. We will, of course, notify everyone as soon as we know, and it’ll be correctly signed and manned with both marshals and TM Contractors.
This sounds all doom and gloom and the forecast for Sunday currently looks much better than Saturday, but in the interest of total transparency, which is what you all deserve, I wanted to keep you all in the loop of what poor weather on Saturday could result in for the race on Sunday.
Final Point
Our marshals are the beating heart of our races, and without those guys and girls out there cheering you on and looking after you, the race simply could not happen at all.
Please can I ask, if you can, that you all take them time to say thank you to a few of them on the way around as it’s a thankless task and times, and I’m sure they’ll appreciate it
The forecast for Sunday is (fingers crossed) not too bad after a rubbish Saturday, but I wanted to get you all prepared for the worst conditions, and enjoy any improvement over that on the day
Anyway, us Brits love a good challenging weather day, and it won’t damper our spirits, so we’ll look forward to seeing you all this weekend
Cheers
Graeme, Nicci and the 113 Events Team
07595 591612
graeme@113events.com
