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Wimbleball Bike Route
Rob
Posts: 209
in General Chat
If anybody is doing the 70.3 at Wimbleball you might find this useful.
I managed to get down to Exmoor & reccy the bike route from the comfort of my car. I'm new to Tri but not a novice cyclist. I have a background of mountain biking so I know what a hill looks like. Unfortunately I didn't do Longleat last year so am unable to compare the two courses. Wimbleball though, looks 'challenging'. These notes were made as I was driving round, & I intend to go back & do the course on the bike, when it gets a bit warmer (what a woose!).
You can split the course broadly into four sections:
1. A climb from the Lake to the B3224 - gets steeper as you go
2. B3224 - good new surface in places. Undulating & fast.
3. Turning off the B3224 it's (overall) downhill with a very long, tricky descent to the A396 (v. steep at the bottom - caution on bend). It continues downhill to Exebridge where you turn at the octagon shaped house (I reckon the low point of the route)
4. Then it's up, up, up. Then down. Then up; I have a note it's a 14%er up after Morebath. At the junction of the road for Skilgate there's a long steep climb to Haddon Hill & a 1:6 down to Upton, another drag up, & back down to the lake.
If it's a wet race beware, I noticed the roads were very muddy in places. There were also sheep grazing loose by the side of the road - you wouldn't want to hit one. Unless you had some mint sauce flavoured gels maybe.
Hope this is of some help.
I managed to get down to Exmoor & reccy the bike route from the comfort of my car. I'm new to Tri but not a novice cyclist. I have a background of mountain biking so I know what a hill looks like. Unfortunately I didn't do Longleat last year so am unable to compare the two courses. Wimbleball though, looks 'challenging'. These notes were made as I was driving round, & I intend to go back & do the course on the bike, when it gets a bit warmer (what a woose!).
You can split the course broadly into four sections:
1. A climb from the Lake to the B3224 - gets steeper as you go
2. B3224 - good new surface in places. Undulating & fast.
3. Turning off the B3224 it's (overall) downhill with a very long, tricky descent to the A396 (v. steep at the bottom - caution on bend). It continues downhill to Exebridge where you turn at the octagon shaped house (I reckon the low point of the route)
4. Then it's up, up, up. Then down. Then up; I have a note it's a 14%er up after Morebath. At the junction of the road for Skilgate there's a long steep climb to Haddon Hill & a 1:6 down to Upton, another drag up, & back down to the lake.
If it's a wet race beware, I noticed the roads were very muddy in places. There were also sheep grazing loose by the side of the road - you wouldn't want to hit one. Unless you had some mint sauce flavoured gels maybe.
Hope this is of some help.
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Thanks for the info. I entered for 70.3 before I saw the bike route and am now very worried - I don't do hills!! What do you reckon you'll be able to average over the course? Which is likely to be the worst bit? Are there any areas that are likley to be difficult in a strong wind (I don't do wind either!!). I'm doing this for charity so I need to be able to cross the finish line one way or another!
Thanks
What do you think your bike time might be - I'm a bit concerned about that 5 1/2 hr cut off .... and the swim's going to take me 45-50mins .....
Dont know the route that you are referring to but if you want some hills in the S Derby area try the area around Carsington Water / Ashbourne. I have done the Ashbourne Duathlon and its tough..I mean tough! The ride over the infamous Middleton Top is a real brute but the whole area is good for hilly routes... and Carsington Water makes for a nice day out too.
chis
I'm looking to finish the swim in around 50-55mins on current form. Is the 5 1/2 hr cutoff for the bike/swim or just the bike section? I reckon on doing the bike section in 3.5-4hrs.
Looks like I need to head north from here (Ashbourne/Carsington Water sounds just what I need - thanks Chis!) and find some hills....
Really cross today - it is beautiful outside here, a bit windy but very sunny - and I've had to cancel my long training ride for the week because some critical work has come in.... this would all be a lot easier if work didn't get in the way!
Just to complete my panic - any idea what the run is like??
YOU'RE worrying about the bike ride! This should make you feel better then, the longest ride I've done in the last 5 years is about 40 miles, & since Christmas it's been 28 miles. I've never ridden 56 miles in one hit in my life. Jeez, I was feeling OK until I read your last post! HELP!
The run doesn't look too bad. I've only had a look at the map on the Ironman UK website & it looks to follow the side of the lake for a lot of it, & the contours aren't too numerous or close together, maybe 20-25m vertical at the maximum(?).
Yeh, you're right, work is just an inconvenient diversion between training.
I don't mind crawling over the line but I do want to get there before they take it away!
Anyway, I think those of us at the back provide an important service - if we weren't at the back, the greyhounds couldn't be at the front.
PS 52 miles is the most I've ever done on the bike, I've never swum more than 1500m and a half marathon is my absolute max running distance (on a good day!)
More seriously, although it is very hilly I shall leave my tri bars on because I rode the course during a strong northerly wind, and I needed the most aerodynamic position I could find to try to maximise my average speed. I think a strong northerly or westerly could make that course even more 'challenging'!
Nearly gave up after that and pulled out of the race, but I've got myself together again (almost) and I'm training like crazy on every hill I can find.
I'd be really interested to know what you think of it - and take a look at the run too, cos I think it goes up yet another steep hill 3 times ..... and then there's the run to T1 which also has to be uphill!
Have fun
The positive side is that you now have a realistic idea of where you are and how hard you have to train, you are still in that race; well done.
Find those hills and make mincemeat of them, find that place in your head that won't let you walk, the place where you store all that unused adrenaline.
one session per week on the bike repeatedly hill climbing, if you can find one hill that takes 5 miinutes to climb and you can get to the top without walking the first time then use that hill to train on. repeat climb, relax down, until you can't complete the climb without walking.
When climbing a hill don't stop pushing the minute you hit the top, push over the top until gravity takes over then you can relax a little.
Stay in the saddle all the time you can, change down as you need to keeping your cadence between 70 and 90, don't change right down too early and don't just try to thump it out.
Only get out the saddle for the short steep hills where you can put in a sprint effort to top the hill fast.
Do the same for your run training, but don't do a hill bike session within two days of a hill run session.
Remember: Everest was tall until Hillary climbed it and now more people go to the top each year than go to Tescos. You will be victorious.
David
Thanks for the advice - it is very welcome. I'll try the 'climb til you can't' technique - there is a hill 100 yards from my house and although it's not very steep it may well do for that sort of session.
Don't know if you're one of the mad bunch going to Exmoor this weekend but I'd love to know how you all get on.
Thanks
good luck
fatmatt
Serious question:
My husband always goes much, much faster downhill than I do - we're about the same height but he weighs nearly 5 stone more (and has a slightly more rotund shape - hope he's not reading this ...) but he says it can't be his weight that makes him go faster because of Newtons laws of motion. I can't see what else it can be - I can get a much more aerodynamic position on the bike but he still beats me by miles. Any scientists out there who can help??
DAvid
never been there before (mid 40s on a MTB) but a friend of mine on a road bike when upper 50s so I know the hills are good enough...
p.s.Fatmatt that is damn quick btw...
a few more weeks of washing up (for him) might help your cause for fair play.
madnurse
technical bollox coming up
its all about the way that a larger mass over comes the forces preventing decent and forward motion easier than a light mass
..
friction air resistance etc
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
Another Link
Your husband would be correct about the weight if he was in a vacuum but i bet he would't enjoy the demonstration.
The other variable not mentioned is the wheel bearing in your bike and his; better quality ones will roll much more easily and faster. Size of tyres will affect ground resistance and weight of wheels will affect rolling resistance.
David
Here is the polar chart: http://www.rollings.info/images/Polar.jpg
Have also tried suggesting more washing up to husband - but somehow he's not enthusiastic .....
Ho hum - back to hill climbing!
every one else who bettered my record attempt!!! damn damn damn erm i mean well done!!! bugger it!!
right i'm taking the day off sick and going to find a big hill
60+ mph that must be fun, well they say do something everyday that scares you, oh and they say always wear clean pants, the two sort of don't go together
fatmatt
fatmatt, you say do something scary everyday. Does that include going to work? If you make it on Saturday I'm just going to sit behind you on the bike. 15 stone of fatmatt in front of me should create a nice hole in the air for me to sit in & get sucked along.
So let's revise my 63 down to 41mph! OK so i 'm a light weight: it's all this training, i'd tried eating but my belly just got in the way.
David