# Bellingham Ski to Sea 2005



## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

Did anybody here do the Ski to Sea road leg this year? I was going to, but my team evaporated and I ended up subbing for another teams mountain biker. Good fun, but hardly a "mtb course" by any stretch. 

Anyway, I'm just curious to hear what people who did the road leg thought of the race. I want to give the road leg a go next year, it sounds like an interesting format. For those who were there, are the guys who were on TT bikes riding solo? I couldn't figure out if it was legal to draft with TT kit in that race..but several people were finishing the 36 miles in 1:15 which sounds decent. Also, I heard certain divisions prohibit use of TT bikes....true? which ones?


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## Wildstar87 (Apr 5, 2005)

*Depends on the division..*

The fastest guy on the leg finished in around 1:15, and its for 37 miles, I know they say 36, but my computer has always said 37.

The Recreational division can't use aerobars or wheels. All other divisions can use it. Some people will say this course is all downhill, which is BS, there are some climbs in it. However there are some good downhills, since you are on the road coming down from Mt. Baker ski area.

Its not a TT, so you can draft. In fact that's how you get the really good times, is if you can work with others on the flats, false flats in some of the course. I even saw a guy wait for two other guys this year, when they passed me.

I have done the course in 1:30, with some group help in one of the false flat sections. This year was a lot windier than I remember, and I didn't really find a group that was riding around the same speed as me, so I ended up doing it in around 1:50.

It is a pretty fun course, though the road gets a little rough in some sections. I always have fun, and the racers have all types, from the ultra serious, to the guys wearing costumes.


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

thanks for the response. 1:30 sounds like a good time, if the top guys are finishing in1:15 with a field of around 400 riders. 

i hope to do that leg next year, it sounds like a pretty unique racing environment.

The mtb leg was ridiculous. Some guys showed up with full on cross bikes with 26" wheels, aero bars, etc. which i thought was a bit weak for a "mtb" race. They definitely had the advantage this year though, as there was a ~12mph headwind most of the way. I'd definitely like to see a real mtb couse for that leg of the race with more dirt and less pavement.


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## Wildstar87 (Apr 5, 2005)

*mtb course won't change..*

It has been that way for as long as I have known it, and I don't think they will be changing it unless they have to for some reason. I think part of it is a limitation that they have to get from the Canoe leg to Kayak leg, there might be only so much terrain you can go through before you have to go on the road. Still I might want to do it at some point, just to see. I do like the Road Bike though, its a fun, and IMO challenging to an extent.


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## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

well there was that talk of swapping the mtb leg for the downhill run leg, since many runners have complained about the downhill course and mountain bikers complain about the current mtb course...but that idea got shot down for some reason (I can't really remember why). I think it had something to do with a conflict of building bike trails in the Mt Baker national forest or something. I definitely think it would make a lot more sense to have the run go from the canoe to the kayak and have the mtb course on some sort of off-road singletrack constructd up near Baker, near where the DH run currently is.


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## Wildstar87 (Apr 5, 2005)

*That would be different...*

Never heard of that proposal, though yeah I can imagine getting license to build something just for the MTB course would be difficult, as well as just getting the course down to the road bike section, it would only be 9 miles, and would be downhill, could be a bit dangerous if the sections are steep. Bike to bike might be bit weird too, and logistics of all the bikes being hauled up and down the mountain could be ugly. Dunno, maybe they will change it one day.


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## mattv2099 (Aug 27, 2004)

Wildstar87 said:


> Never heard of that proposal, though yeah I can imagine getting license to build something just for the MTB course would be difficult, as well as just getting the course down to the road bike section, it would only be 9 miles, and would be downhill, could be a bit dangerous if the sections are steep. Bike to bike might be bit weird too, and logistics of all the bikes being hauled up and down the mountain could be ugly. Dunno, maybe they will change it one day.



At the 2004 Ken Meyer Memorial criterium in downtown bellingham there was a lady who had a table set up and was giving out brouchures of some sort. I did not read any of her propaganda, however, she was telling me about how her group was trying to get trails built from the ski area so that leg of the ski to sea race would be mountain bike in the future.... That was the only time until now I've ever heard it mentioned...


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