Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
It depends from where you leave, but 278 miles sounds much more correct. 320 is definitely wrong. It might be a little more than 278 depending on the starting location, but never 320.
But I think he's screwed.
The Ironman triathlon involves 3 tough elements: Swimming 2.4 miles (harder than you think), biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles.
Each one also has a time limit. You have a maximum of 8 hours and 10 minutes to complete the biking portion.
The athletes competing in this are world class. Only the very very best and in shape athletes can complete the Ironman. Each individual portion is considered hard by itself. For example, the running portion is identical to a marathon, which is considered a tough race to complete without a lot of training.
Here Bilzerian will have to complete about 2.5x that in 48 hours.
8 hours and 10 minutes isn't a great time for biking 112 miles, but it's also not slow. You're still averaging about 14mph.
Dan has to do this 2 1/2 times over just 2 days, and of course rest/sleep during some of those hours.
And then of course there's the soreness factor. After the first 112, you aren't likely to be able to do another 112 any time soon, unless you are a very experienced long distance biker.
So Dan is fucked. His best bet is to bike 98 in 10 hours, rest/sleep for 8, bike 90 again in 10 hours, rest/sleep for 9, and bike 90 again in 10 hours. That will leave him an hour to spare.
LA to Vegas is harder than Vegas to LA, because there's an altitude gain of about 1200-2000, depending from where you leave.
Also, you will rise up to 4700 feet at one point, and 4400 feet at another.
Bilzerian's best bet is to pick a starting point in northern Granada Hills (which is still Los Angeles), and bike through Palmdale to connect to the 15. That will be shortest.
