Goss Lake will host race

A toxic algal bloom in Lone Lake has forced organizers of the Whidbey Island Triathlon to move the swim portion of the event to Goss Lake. For bicyclists, the move will decrease the overall length of the bike loop by 800 feet. And due to the tight parking area at Goss Lake, shuttles will run racers and their bikes to the lake.

July 26, 2006 7:00 am

A toxic algal bloom in Lone Lake has forced organizers of the Whidbey Island Triathlon to move the swim portion of the event to Goss Lake.

For bicyclists, the move will decrease the overall length of the bike loop by 800 feet. And due to the tight parking area at Goss Lake, shuttles will run racers and their bikes to the lake.

Participant and spectator parking will be available at South Whidbey High School, Lone Lake Park and the trailhead parking lot to the Department of Natural Resources land on Lone Lake Road.

“From those areas participants can either ride their bikes to Goss Lake or catch one of the shuttles we will be running between 6:30 and 8 a.m. the day of the race,” said Jerry Wojtek, program coordinator for South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District.

Wojtek said the bicycle staging area is likely to be on a portion of Lakeside Drive.

Parks officials have been meeting with representatives of the Goss Lake Homeowners Association to devise a plan that will minimize the impact to local residents.

“The homeowners association has been very receptive to our plans, and they want to help us make the event go as smoothly as possible,” said Art Burke, director of the parks district.

Officials from the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District, the sponsor of the event, began juggling the logistics of the triathlon when the health department closed Lone Lake because of a toxic algal bloom.

Signs were posted last week warning people of extremely high levels of a toxin — potentially harmful to humans and animals — produced by the algal bloom.

The move to Goss Lake will require some improvements to the public parking area at Goss Lake.

Island County Parks has been planning on making improvements to the parking area. Now the time frame for those changes has been moved up.

The county will provide material to smooth out the parking lot and fill potholes in the driveway. Parks Commissioner Curt Gordon, who owns Island Asphalt, will supply the manpower.

Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com.