A local triathlon will be affecting some road traffic in Courtenay later this month.
The Shoreline Orthodontics Tri-K Triathlon is an annual non-profit sports event where adults and children swim, cycle, and run in two separate courses in the Valley.
Having run this event for a decade at the Comox Valley Sports Centre, race director Terry Hooper says it’s a good location.
“This early in the year when we hold it, having it at the Sports Centre means we can use the pool, which means you don’t have to worry about weather, and the area has the track right next to it, so we set up all the bikes there and go out on the road” said Hooper.
“You need to have someplace where you can have the bike take place on good road conditions without having a lot of traffic, and also not interfering with major things like hospitals, so the area offers that feature for us.”
He says the first course will have participants aged 10 to adult riding their bikes onto the public road from 8 am to 12 pm, affecting traffic.
The cyclists start on Vanier Drive, then go to Headquarters Road, continuing to Piercy Road and up to the Condensory Road intersection. There they will turn right onto Condensory and go up to the Dove Creek intersection, turning right again before coming around to the Piercy Road intersection.
Hooper says the Dove Creek part of the road will have traffic cones set up for cyclists and motorists.
“Because of the bike traffic at the Piercy Road and Dove Creek intersections, and to avoid vehicle collisions, that intersection would be closed too,” said Hooper. “Entrance to and from the Dove Creek Road area would just be from the intersection with Condensory.”
He says traffic controls would be set up at 6:30 in the morning, later to be torn down around 12:30.
While the cycling portion in the morning affects traffic, the second course won’t affect it as kids 4 to 9 will be cycling in the Sports Centre parking lot and the Vanier School Browns Roads.
The morning course will start at 7:00 a.m., while the afternoon one starts at 1:30, according to Hooper.
It’s happening at the Sports Centre on Sunday May 26.
