The Kiawah Triathlon is Sunday, October 13, 2019. It consists of a .7-mile swim, 25.1-mile bike race, and 6.1 run. The swim and run part of the Triathlon will be within the Kiawah properties, but the bike race will go up to Freshfields and back. The event starts at 7:30 am with the swim and then the bike race follows after that.
Bikers will be traveling from Kiawah, through the traffic circle at the Freshfields roundabout and back to Kiawah. There will be deputies at all entrances of the roundabout to help with traffic, so expect some longer than normal travel times. The first biker will be there around 8:50 am and they will continue to arrive until around 10:30 am.
Kristen Lococo, Nature Program Manager, Kiawah Island has provided us with the following hints:
How to Safely Pass a Cyclist on the Road:
- Slow Down– Ensure that you have enough time to fully access the road and traffic conditions prior to executing a safe pass. Lower speed also gives you more time to react, should conditions change.
- Look and Wait for Other Traffic– You’ll need space in the next lane in order to pass, so look for a safe gap in that traffic and wait as required. Some bicyclists will hug the right edge of the road in an effort to stay as far away from other traffic- don’t misinterpret this as an invitation to pass in the same narrow lane.
- Change Lanes to Pass– Once you have an adequate gap in traffic in the next lane, move completely into that lane. This will give the bicyclist a safe buffer and the room they need to maneuver for maintaining balance and avoiding surface hazards.
- Do Not Honk at Athletes– If the need does arise to honk your horn to alert a cyclist that you are about pass, do so at a respectable distance. If you are too close, the noise itself can cause a cyclist to lose his or her bearings and create a hazardous situation for both you and the cyclist.
This Tri-Kiawah is a USAT sanctioned intermediate distance competition so there will be many participants as well as family members and friends. Packet pick-up started Wednesday and will probably peak on Saturday, which means additional traffic coming down to the islands, as well as in Freshfields. For more information about the race as well as a complete map, click here.
–Tidelines Editors