A Review of the Granite Man Triathlon

I competed in the individual triathlon competition which consisted of a 3/4 mile swim in Applegate lake, a 13 mile single track mountain bike ride around the lake and finished with a 5 mile trail run back to the start.

Besides the triathlon, athletes could also compete in a duathlon (the triathlon without the swim) or a mountain run. There were also opportunities to compete in teams and relays for the triathlon and duathlon.

The website for the granite man triathlon stated that the race would begin at 8 AM. We arrived at 7AM, set up our bikes and our run transitions and went down to test the water.

The lake was a warm 75 degrees. Most of the athletes wore triathlon wetsuits, but others, didn't. It was warm enough not to wear a wetsuit, but the added buoyancy made sense for a faster swim.

The day promised to be hot. It had been in the high 90s for most of the month of July and today didn't look any different.

8 AM came and went but the race hadn't started. Athletes milled around wondering when things would get started. I couldn't help but wonder how hot the run was going to get. If the race delayed much longer we'd be running in the heat of the day.

Finally we entered the water about 35 minutes after 8. The swim was pleasant, the water warm and clear.

The course took us around 2 buouys but seemed to be longer than 3/4 of a mile. There were plenty of safety boaters and jet skis around to make us feel safe. The buoys were easy to see, the lake was flat and windless.

The transition zone from the swim to the bike was a 40 yard run up the beach.

The bike course starts off on a paved path, but quickly becomes dirt. There's an initial climb on a gnarly shale single track which isn't much fun, just work.

From there you ride on the paved road, cross the dam at the North end of the lake, and make your way to French glen where the real single track begins.

The road portion is a great place to pass any slower bikers. It becomes harder to pass on the single track.

The 13 mile single track is a fun, well maintained trail. There is some poison oak to worry about, but the trail itself isn't too technical.

This time of year the trail is dry and dusty. In many spots the trail feels like your riding on ball bearings. It's easy to lose control around the sharp twists and turns. I crashed twice on the course, both times on sharp corners with too much speed. As far as I know no one was seriously injured during the bike.

At around mile 11, there is a steep fire road you must ascend. I passed many bikers that were walking up this hill. Some competitors feel walking up is faster than riding, but no one passed me while I rode this section.

Once you're on top, it's a long descent down a bumpy dirt road to the bike to run transition zone.

Most of the competitors were locals, but I felt sorry for anyone that wasn't familiar with the bike trail. There were many spots where it wasn't clear which way to go. It wasn't well marked, in fact there were a few competitors that got lost and their times reflected the mistake.

The run starts on pavement. It is flat for the first part then angles up a moderately steep hill. The hill is fully exposed to the sun and is a bear.

Once you're past the hill you get back on single track trail. Thankfully most of the run is in the trees where it's a little cooler. The trail is mostly flat but there are spots you need to be careful of your footing.

Near the end of the run, I was really wishing the race had started earlier, it was getting hot.

The finish is at Hart-Tish park which is where the race started. It would have been nice if there had been some shade tarps set up. It was hot and difficult to remain in the finish area.

Luckily there were vendors set up in the shady areas giving away all sorts of goodies including a local distributor passing out glasses of micro-brewed beers. Ah, love the carbs-in-a-cup.

The granite man triathlon was a great experience. It was relatively small and felt very local. Hopefully this venue will be here next year and many years to come. It's a diamond in the rough, and could really take off if it ever gets discovered.