Mellisa’s Crew – Victor- George- Ron- Melissa- Tom- Jamie- Doug- Dwayne- Ted rn

If you are looking to exchange the dead heat of a Las Vegas summerrnfor a cooler, more scenic venue, then the Vineman 70.3 Triathlon in thernRussian River Valley of Northern California is the race for you. Itrnfeatures a barely wetsuit-legal swim in the Russian River (virtually norncurrent) followed by a bike course that takes you winding through arnmyriad of vineyards and a run that, although hilly, is incredibly lushrnand green.

The logistics of getting there with your bike can berna little challenging since it is a 10 hour drive from Las Vegas. Thernclosest airports are Oakland and San Francisco which are an hour away,rnunless of course you have your own plane like some people we know, andrncan fly directly into the Sonoma County airport which is five milesrnfrom the finish line.

Register early for the race as it tends tornsell out and make your accommodations as soon as possible. Our grouprnenjoyed our stay at the Sonoma County Condos (Worldmark by Wyndham)rnwhich is approximately three miles from the finish line in Windsor.rnThis location is great as we found the need to travel back and forthrnbetween our condos and the expo multiple times. Windsor is a 10-minuterndrive from Santa Rosa and features a variety of quaint restaurants andrna Walmart for those last minute race supplies.

Our group drovernup early and previewed the course prior to race day, which I highlyrnrecommend. The weather was 90 degrees on the high end and 55 degreesrnfor the low. We were fortunate to have a cloud cover for longer thanrnforecasted on race day so we took advantage of the cooler temperaturesrnand had a fabulous time.

Also, if you like wine, then you cannotrnmiss the opportunity to put together a great post race party the nextrnday at the local vineyards. We did!rn

Itrnlooks like there are about 8 guys for every girl on this trip – howrndoes she do it? By the way Mellisa came blasting by me on the run atrnmile 7 – her leg turn over was great, she destroyed me with her energy.rnCongratulations – nice race. Dave Carlsonrn