Richardmheap wrote:

Hi, anyone know the area, or done the 70.3. What's the consensus on the best type of bike to use? Looks hilly with little flat, so I'm wondering if a light road bike is better than a TT? I've always raced on a TT, but wondering for this one. Thoughts welcome. Thank you.

A TT bike. Aero trumps weight. And remember what goes up must come down!

---

Rodney
TrainingPeaks | Altra Running | RAD Roller
http://www.goinglong.ca

Depends on your age group. 35-39 and you should definitely ride the roadie.

Lots of time spent in aero on this course - a number of painful hills as well - but you'll get the benefit of your TT bike.

Agree with the above. The nice thing about this course is the majority of the bigger downhills/descents allow you to carry some speed and are not immediately followed by a sharp corner or stop sign. So a TT bike is beneficial. Also there's a few gradual, longer, more grinding uphills that its nice to settle into the aero bars.

McNabb I wish I was that young :) 45-49. Why do you say defo a roadie out if interest? Like to hear you thoughts!

Thanks very much to all of you for your replies. Much appreciated! Sadly Canada is too far from the UK for a recce.

He's pulling your leg. If you were in direct competition, you'd be slower on the roadie, giving him a better shot at beating you

---

---

---

Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Glad you are coming from UK to race over here in Canada. You will be very pleased with the quality of the event, course and overall experience. Muskoka is really a nice part of Ontario. As others have said, just use the TT bike. There are no long climbs in Muskoka, but they come at you again and again and again and for most of those endless climbs you can stay aero, and certainly carrying more speed into the next hill from the last downhill can make the next hill a lot shorter (on the rollers). TT bike all the way. Not sure if you made your flight bookings, but if you can get on the direct flight from Heathrow to Ottawa, then it is really nice 3.5 hour drive to Muskoka across Algonquin park. If you fly into Toronto the first part of your trip depending on the time of day will be in horrible gridlock and the scenery is crap for the first 1.5 hours. After that, it is nice enough.

Dev

Paul v helpful! Sounds great! Too late, into Toronto!

Just encouraging people in direct competition to go slower :) As everyone else has said, TT bike is the way to go here.

See, this is the problem...all foreigners fly into Toronto, probably like foreigners fly into Johannesburg or Sydney or Tokyo not knowing there are far better ports of entry, where you are not immediately greeted by industrial park wasteland and gridlock upon exiting the airport into an over congested metropolis!

I just rode the course last weekend as part of a tour called "Spin the lakes" ... Plenty of people out on their TT bikes and keeping in a nice tuck. The low down of the course is 35-40km of tough (relatively) climbing at first (3 Cat 5 climbs in the first 40km) and then it's a pretty flat section for the next 30ish kms. After that it's a mixture of hills and flats but nothing too huge hill wise. I'm sure you've seen it already but the course profile is below.


I would say the decision should come down to how comfortable you are descending on the TT bike. Like others have said there are plenty of hills to go up but an equal amount to go down. If you can't descend well on a TT bike you may make up the aero difference on the roadie but I highly doubt that unless you're an expert descender. Same goes for gear selection, if you stink picking the right gear to get up a climb and find yourself shifting frequently on the climbs you may be better off with brifters vs shifters out on the TT bars. Food for thought!

---

------
"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

Watch it Dev, that's my city you're letting the rest of the world know has shitty transportation options all round. Car, public transit and by bike pick your poison!

---

------
"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

I also picked on Tokyo, Johannesburg (second hand input), and Sydney (just a wild guess that it might have more traffic woes than elsewhere in Australia). Seriously though the faster you can get out of Pearson and well clear of Toronto the better. I have nothing against Toronto is I am downtown. The problem is getting in and out. If your flight comes in from Europe or UK, there is a good chance you are landing mid to late afternoon. It means that getting out of the airport and north of the city is going to be a really really long and frustrating rental car gridlock trek just as your European time clock is setting you for REM sleep.

For the record, I connect though Pearson airport around 40-60x per year depending on year. The airport itself is one of the better designed ones, and I am a regular at the Goodlife fitness in the terminal in between connections. That alone is a good reason to connect through that airport. From what I understand there will be a high speed train too to get downtown some time soon (although for me, it is not important, because I never go into Toronto itself).

I was just pulling you're leg! I would tell anybody the same so your opinion was more than sound.

The new UP (Union - Pearson) train is great for those doing things in the city whilst on vacation. It connects you to the hub for the subway network, close to many hotels (relatively) and when launched (June 5th) means 30-35 minutes to and from Pearson. I'll be using on a return flight next Sunday. That being said, the majority of the folks on here would be suited to North or West of the city, hell that's where I do most of my riding outdoors. I recently got the chance to be a commuting cyclist here and after one ride (Spadina+King W > Sheppard+Yonge) I was unnerved of the insanity gridlock breeds in motorists. Many were so frustrated they become more dangerous and bike+dangerous motorist=recipe for disaster. If only we could convince them all to become cyclists who can ride in a paceline/echelon, it would be Shangri La LOL

---

------
"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

I am British and have lived in downtown Toronto for the past 18 years. I will also be doing IM Muskoka. Feel free to PM if you have any questions. I think the advice you are getting is best viewed in the context of your itinerary.

Thanks Scobig for that. I will bear that in mind. Look forward to seeing you out there on the course!