What to look for when checking out the bike route?
durhamvam
Posts: 246
in General Chat
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
Getting very nervous now and need any advantage! Thanks
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you can get an idea of where you can hammer it and where you need to conserve for an upcoming hill.
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!
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
Mainly I would want to know about sharp or dangerous corners, roundabouts and hills.
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.
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
Just kidding