Austria Ironman 70.3 - May 30th

27th of May saw some slightly rearranged flights, borrowed bike boxes, concerns over getting there, getting around, getting back and generally staying in one piece all come to a head with the arrival of 11 BTS'ers (and 1 loyal partner/supporter/camera man) in Vienna, Austria.

We were there to take part in Austria Ironman 70.3, one of the series that has grown from 11 races around the globe to nearly 40 over the last 4 years, and (for the un-initiated) would involve us doing a 1.2 mile swim, 56 miles of riding and a half marathon run to finish.

The 6 days of our trip went something like this:

Thursday 27th and Friday 28th

People arrived at various times of both days, and during evening, it was a large Italian meal for some, after a late afternoon run.

Friday morning was bike building, and then a ride to check that they had been put them back together in such a way as they weren't going to fall apart during the race to come.

The group took off round Vienna, looking for a way to get out of the city and to somewhere 'in the country', which Michael H was convinced was "just up that hill" Problem was that hill normally ended in a deadend!

Meanwhile a potentially race missing incident occurred with Gemma coming off her bike when the front wheel dropped into a tramline. A few scrapes, including one that looked like pac-man on her hip, was sore but was not going to stop her racing.

The afternoon was largely spent doing some sight-seeing, with Vienna's old town being a popular place to go walking.

Friday night the group split into two, with some going looking for a local brau-haus, and others aiming for curry. Apparently, british bravado on what is classed as a hot curry became tested when John, Chris and others found their mouths on fire!

After finishing their curry, everyone regrouped back at the Brau-Haus for litre steins of beer, with Lynda and Tom leading the way on 5 pints! (36 hours before the race!)

Saturday 29th

Registration day, and a group train ticket from Vienna to St Polten took everyone plus bikes to the event destination. After a lengthy, multi-queue registration process, and a safety briefing, the group prepared their individual Swim, Bike, Run bags and hung them in the correct spot on the rails in each transition.

It was great to see all the various pieces of kit on show, and certainly a far cry from Eton Supersprints, with not a shopping basket or knobbly tyred mountain bike in sight.

They journey back to Vienna, via bus and train, left everyone fairly drained, especially as the day was so warm, so after a quick change, it was straight our for our own pasta party in a nearby italian. Copious amounts of Bruschetta, Pasta and Pizza (and a few red wines dotted across the table) we headed back to the hotel to pack final essentials for the next day, and get an early night.

Sunday 30th - Race Day!

Alarms went off between 3.30 and 4am, to be outside the hotel and awaiting our taxis, booked for 4.30. They arrived on time, and despite one of the drivers practically dozing off at the wheel on the motorway, getting to the venue was, like all the logisitics so far, fantastically organised by Sarah and Lynda, with the odd well appreciated clarification from our native speaker, Tom.

With Michael going in the first wave at 7.05am, followed by all the girls at 7.15, and the rest of us going over the next hour after that, it mean't that with the exception of an early finishing Michael, the rest of the group finished over a period of around 40mins, either side of 1pm.

The course itself was odd with two lakes split by a 200m run over a bridge. The bike section was fairly flat, but with the exception of a couple of proper climbs that certainly slowed the field. The run was an out and back loop, completed twice, with the finish in a small stadium area, allowing for much opportunity for friends and family to see the competitors.

Tired but happy, the group regathered for post-mortems, what-ifs, free pizza and tshirts! Finally at 4pm, we gathered all our stuff together and loaded up a coach with bikes and kit to get us back to Vienna.

Sunday night was more beers at the Brau Haus, but somehow didnt really turn into a heavy one, as the day's exersions started to take their toll.

Monday and Tuesday

A very late start for most on Monday, with no-one really getting their act together until close to midday, after a lazy coffee to start the day. Most of Monday afternoon for 8 of the group was spent at a local spa, playing with the hydro jets in the pool to soothe aching limbs, or generally just lying around and reading.

A tram and tube journry brought the 8 to the local funfair, which was definitely less than busy and seemed to be full of rides brought from Alton Towers circa 1990.

Monday night was another large italian, this time with plenty of red wine flowing, follwed by drinks in a late bar, partly to celebrate Lynda's forthcoming birthday. We finally got kicked out at 2am, a much better show! :)

Tuesday, was bike packing and check out, before squeezing in one last trip to a little restaurant for some, after seeing the Lipizaner stallions going through their training paces.

To view two lots of photos, taken by Julian and Lynda, click on their names.