My take is that the race is in a fantastic venue, with an ideal lake for
swimming, very nice, scenic roads for riding, and they make do in a
limited-sized park to cram in a 2 loop 13 mile run without it seeming
terribly convoluted.

The bike is constant hills, but no single tough hill the entire course.
Total climbing is nearly identical to SavageMan, but I think anyone
who's done both courses would say SavageMan is much tougher because the
climbs are much more severe. SavageMan there is no easy way over the
steep climbs; you've just got to suffer, but the 1st 18 miles are mostly
downhill and the last 12 are flat so over half the course is actually
quite easy. Black Bear there are no tough climbs, just lots of easy ups
and down over the entire 56. I'd say it's on par with a 56 mile
Columbia course.

Keith Bohnenberger wrote:
> I was toying with the idea of doing black bear this year but my
> training just wasn't up for it.
> I grew up in that area and would like to do the race next year ...
> maybe as a relay with my wife kicking out the run.
>
> I heard the bike course was really really hilly.
> What's your take on that?
> Almost as bad as savageman?
> On par with Luray (but twice as far)?
> On par with Columbia (but twice as far)?
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Kyle Yost <kyleyost@...>
> To: stacyftaylor@...
> Cc: trirats@yahoogroups.com; teamz@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 10:10:53 AM
> Subject: Re: [Tri RATS] Eagleman 2009: You better sign up today
>
> Having raced Eagleman many times in the past and Black Bear this year,
> I'll say without hesitation that Black Bear is a superior event to
> Eagleman on all facets that should matter to partcipants: entry cost,
> quality of course, race support, scenic surroundings, food, climate,
> swim water quality, a fair course without drafting pelotons. You won't
> have as fast a time as at Eagleman and you won't get your autograph book
> signed with as many high-profile pro's signatures, and you won't qualify
> for Kona if you are good enough that that is a consideration, but if
> those factors don't matter to you then do Black Bear instead.
>
> stacy taylor wrote:
> >
> > If you are thinking about doing Eagleman next year you should sign up
> > today. It is filling up very fast.
> > Stacy
> >
> >
>
>
>