Beth and I rode our bikes in a local race called the Kinzua Tango, which begins with a 13.5 mile run that transitions into a 20 mile bike ride that transitions into a 2.5 mile swim in the lake, then a 6-7 mile orienteering section through the woods, then another 4.5 mile run, finishing with an approximately 12 mile canoe race down the Allegheny. Athletes can do the entire race as individuals or in teams of up to six people who each do one or more sections. As the official team member of a Northwest bank team, Beth rode the bike section and I provided company. We had ridden her section several times beforehand, which consists of macadam and dirt roads rambling up and down the mountains near the Allegheny Reservoir, and finished in a respectable 2 hours. No doubt elite athletes who train regularly do it in less time-the best finishing in an hour to an hour and a half- yet a twenty year old college kid who runs and bikes regularly only beat our time by 5 minutes, so with serious training we could likely cut 20-30 minutes off our average. The race began at 7am and our canoe team touched shore at 8:08 pm, which put us last overall but better than that in individual sections, and in the end everyone had a great time. The team ( most of them are under 30 years old...)are already strategizing for next year, for this was their first race and they feel they can easily improve their showing.
