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What to look for when checking out the bike route?

Title says it all really - what should I be looking out for? Is it just to make sure I know the way?

Getting very nervous now and need any advantage! Thanks

Comments

  • Barny51Barny51 Posts: 16
    Hills!

    you can get an idea of where you can hammer it and where you need to conserve for an upcoming hill.
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    Hills, hills, hills!
  • risris Posts: 1,002
    hills, road condition (where is good, where is bad), any odd cambers or corners that sneak up on you. where hills start, grade off, start again. make sure you know the turns you have to do - i completely missed the first left at marlborough and a chap on sunday shot straight across a roundabout he needed to go left at!

    landmarks that give you an idea of how far you have gone/have to go.

    try and make sure you actually follow the course, the reccie i did for bath was somewhat compromised by getting lost and missing one part of it!
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    As above,but possible run offs at the bottom of descents,gravel at corners or on braking points,if the route takes you along busy roads,look for grid covers that like to attract bike wheels when forced into the curb by those ever so nice motorists.
  • durhamvamdurhamvam Posts: 246
    Thanks guys, I mapped it - no hills at all really, really flat even by newbie weakened by cold standards!

    Nasty bit of duel carriage-way though that I don't think I'll be practising.

    I guess I should drive it then ride it a couple of times? Is that what people do?

    VAM
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    I may be tempted to go for a drive if time permits,but I prefer surprises.
  • julesojuleso Posts: 279
    The road surface under trees overhanging the road is quite often pretty bad, due to some science process that I was told and have forgotten. Might be worth checking for that sort of thing, finding a nice riding line.
  • nivaghnivagh Posts: 595
    Prominent markers for gauging distance, areas of poor road surface, sharp bends, hills, other road "features" like rumble strips, etc.
    Mainly I would want to know about sharp or dangerous corners, roundabouts and hills.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    and potholes.
  • Xyzee_ukXyzee_uk Posts: 100
    What race are you doing? Sounds like Hatfield that I am doing this weekend?
  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Not much to add, in a nutshell: Performance and Safety.

    Any dangerous junctions where you need to keep a look out for traffic.

    Making sure you know the course - where the turns are, are to count laps.

    Really, you want to be able to build up a race plan.

    It could mean deciding which bike to use (e.g. road vs TT)
    Which gearing to use
    Setting some milestones (e.g. times for each kilometer).
    You might also compare previous competitors times on the course to get a feel for it too.

    Hills are, of course, key: knowing when they start, when they end. When climbing, it is really useful, psycholigcally, and in terms of race plan, to now where the steepest gradients are ( "Phew, the worst is over!"), and where the summit is ("Nearly at the top now, one last heroic effort!).

    But how to descend them is also very important - thinking about how much you can press round the corners etc. For example, if you know that there are no junctions beyond the corner, then you can go harder etc. etc. You can make up a lot of time for free on a descent - but at the expense of a bit of danger and risk. This risk can be reduced if you have a good feel for what the hill is like - what is round the next bend etc, whether junction, pot hole or poor surface.
  • durhamvamdurhamvam Posts: 246
    Thanks again,

    I'm not doing Hatfield but Hebburn on the 2nd August. Not feeling too up for it and thinking of piking on the run......

    Luckily there seem to be no hills on the course at all and I think (hope) this is the reason for the fast times last year (well fast compared to the last and only tri I did) either that or everyone is going to be very, very serious and my hybrid and I are going to feel very out of place and slow
  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    Unguarded short-cuts you could sneak down?

    Just kidding
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