Motor City Triathlon

l0wnsl0 - 2006-03-02 10:47 AM no, whats belle isle like on a saturday night? well, I emailed them and they reassured me (several times) that a good security crew is going to be out all night and that they do this all the time and it so routine that I have no reason to worry. so, i'm still kinda up in the air. how about this, post and tell me if you are going to be there, and if you have a nicer bike (which i'm sure you do) then i'll go and park next to you for extra saftey!!!

Saturday night on Belle Isle, no comment. I live about 20min from Belle Isle and am planning on doing the tri. If you need a pit stop stop by my place. I live in Wyandotte.

l0wnsl0 - 2006-03-06 11:11 AM

paragon - 2006-03-05 9:48 AM

l0wnsl0 - 2006-03-02 10:47 AM no, whats belle isle like on a saturday night? well, I emailed them and they reassured me (several times) that a good security crew is going to be out all night and that they do this all the time and it so routine that I have no reason to worry. so, i'm still kinda up in the air. how about this, post and tell me if you are going to be there, and if you have a nicer bike (which i'm sure you do) then i'll go and park next to you for extra saftey!!!

If I do MotorCity, I'll be doing it on a Huffy... Belle Isle on Saturday night is Thug Central...

now i'm all worried.....

I'm more than worried.  I'm out.  That's just bananas.

rkreuser - 2006-03-06 6:08 PM

l0wnsl0 - 2006-03-06 11:11 AM

paragon - 2006-03-05 9:48 AM

l0wnsl0 - 2006-03-02 10:47 AM no, whats belle isle like on a saturday night? well, I emailed them and they reassured me (several times) that a good security crew is going to be out all night and that they do this all the time and it so routine that I have no reason to worry. so, i'm still kinda up in the air. how about this, post and tell me if you are going to be there, and if you have a nicer bike (which i'm sure you do) then i'll go and park next to you for extra saftey!!!

If I do MotorCity, I'll be doing it on a Huffy... Belle Isle on Saturday night is Thug Central...

now i'm all worried.....

I'm more than worried.  I'm out.  That's just bananas.

Damn Oakland county pukes.

With all due respect Jim, I think people have a legitimate right to discuss and question security for the event since it is the first year of the event and Belle Isle does have a reputation.  Popping in here to say people who are expressing concerns "have no clue" and to tell people to stop with the "waaa stuff"  is probably not the most productive way to allay fears.  Do you have any specific information on how security will be handled that could be helpful to people considering this race?

Personally, I am more concerned about the water quality.  Anyone have any information on that?

Big picture:  Closed course, awesome location, 3D organizing it (a good organization), builds the tri community, and continues with Detroit's renaissance...what's not to like?

However, just like any other thing I'd buy or event I'd attend, if there are legit safety or event considerations, I'd be shortchanging ourselves by not asking about 'em.  And because of the venue itself and the fact that it's a first-year event - for better or worse - the event will get more scrutiny than most others.  That's just how it is...

So, even though I'm STILL not running it, I'll volunteer to be on point to dig for the facts, and I'll coordinate sending an eMail to the RD to ensure we've got the information straight from the horse's mouth (so to speak).

Topics that I'm cueing up in the eMail are below - and they're all either based on my personal experience OR the experience of a friend that ran the last tri on Belle Isle, so in my mind, they're all legit; please add other questions that might be of interest to you and I'll consolidate and send...and post the response when I receive it.

- Swim course:  Is it inside the breakwall, or outside?  This makes a different as inside is fairly weedy, and outside there's a current to contend with. 

- Swim transition:  How is the footing into / out of the water?   Rocky?  Sandy?  And has the ground been policed for foreign objects?  I haven't personally had this issue, but a friend that ran a tri there maybe 10 years ago said that foreign objects in the entry / exit to a swim were an item to be looked into.

- Swim water quality:  Comment on the standards for water quality / testing.  There have been instances of beach closure due to water quality in Lake St. Clair.

- Bike course:  Comment on the condition of the roads.  Parts of Belle Isle have been repaved for the F1 event, and parts haven't.  What portion of the ride will be on roads that haven't  been repaved recently?

- Transition:  Comment on the security measures to protect bikes the night before, and wetsuits / bikes during.  And if there is a theft, who's responsibility is it?  3D?  The athlete?  This is a legit concern as the last tri on Belle Isle several people had their wetsuits swiped DURING the race (again, long ago...and I assume this will be taken care of, but it's worth confirming).

- Spectators:  Will spectators be allowed onto / off of the island during the event, or do they need to get on the island by a certain time and will be held until a certain time?  Same with athletes?  Will the bridge be closed any part of the time? (this is a situation that happens with the marathon).

I don't see a problem with people voicing concerns and asking questions about race venues. Holding a triathlon in downtown Detroit and swimming in the Detroit river obviously races some issues, and it is better to raise these issues and discuss them than to pretend they don't exist.

I'm not overly concerned about security and leaving my bike in the transition area. Yes, Bell Isle can be pretty rough, but if enough security is provided it should be fine. There is only one access route to the area, which should help. However, I am still concerned about water quality. Generally when people say the water is clean they mean that the coliform counts are low and that visibility is good. I don't equate that with clean. I have done the Windsor triathlon just across the river several times and the swim there is pretty disgusting. The area is just down river from a large petrochemical industry, and chemical spills from Sarnia are very common. The zebra mussel population is high here, and I have been cut badly in the Windsor tri. The beach where the Windsor tri is held is one of the sites that is monitored weekly for coliform counts, it often has the highest counts of all the sites monitored, and it is often closed in mid to late summer.

I'm not going to trash this event for fun, but I have concerns and I am going to do some more research before I decide if I will enter. I hope that the event is successful and safe.

Dave