Bueller…. Bueller…just looking for a little insight.

No idea about the run. Since the bike apparently has us riding some on the race track I assume that much of the old bike course will be used, at least what is on route 106 which is mildly rolling. No idea what roads we will ride to get there though.

From Opeechee Bay, you can jump right onto Rte. 106 which is my guess how it will go. Bummer to miss out on Double Marsh Hill if that's the case as 106 ByPasses it. But wouldn't be surprised if they head out 107 for Marsh hill climb. As for the race track, will be interesting how they get 3 miles out of it. Road Course is 1.5 miles, so doing 2 laps of it would put a lot of people on the track all at once doing 2 laps. But they do have the Magic Mile and Frontier courses in the back, so maybe a combo of all. The weekly crit on the race track does all of those courses plus the oval. All depends on how the track is set up for motorsports that week is my guess?

Thanks for the insight. What sort of gearing is appropriate?

Right now my small gear is a 54x28 (running 1x). I have a 52. What sort of cassette range would be reasonable? I’m light and don’t descend aggressively.

FYI, the routes have been posted. I created them on Strava and the run route is spot on for elevation (assuming Strava is accurate) and .05 to .1 mi long. The bike route measures a tiny bit short (54.25 mi) but the elevation is way off. Ironman's bike route claims 1022 ft. of gain, the Strava route estimates 3060 ft. My guess is someone mistakenly used meters instead of feet on Ironman's end. I live just off the bike course and grew up in the area and am positive that the 3k ft. is more accurate.

To address your question about gearing - I'd recommend getting something more suited for climbing if possible. I have a 2x setup (53-39 and 11-28 cassette) and after turning onto 140 the next 10-15 miles (miles 34-47ish) will mainly be in the small chain ring. If you don't have anything easier than a 54x28, I would expect a difficult run to follow.

I'm hoping to get out and ride the exact course this weekend - I'll post any further insight I have afterwards.

Subscribing……looking forward to your ride updates.

To the OP, I too mapped it and I see some climbs much like those around me in CT. I’m going to have a 36x30 and won’t be surprised if I use it. The key will be having the right gearing to get over the steeper segments (9-10%) without spiking your power/HR and burning a match or two. I don’t have much triathlon experience but a fair amount of cycling experience.

I was finally able to ride the course on Saturday. I was able to ride everything but the road behind the speedway as that was closed. Recorded 53.5 miles with 2800 ft. of gain. The road behind the speedway will add some extra distance and climbing to those totals.

More specific details:
The first half of the course will be fast. Road conditions are pretty nice exiting Laconia and getting on 106. The climb out of Laconia (~miles 1.6 - 2.8) is pretty manageable, riding a 1.56 gear ratio it didn't really get steep enough to force me outside of high Z2, low Z3 power. The turn onto N Village Rd in Loudon brings the first section of less than desirable pavement. This road is very bumpy, it's not so much that there are pot holes everywhere as just having lots of cracks perpendicular to the direction of travel that makes it annoying to ride on. This continues for about 2 miles until it turns into S Village Rd at the 129 intersection, in the last quarter mile the road gets a bit more treacherous - be careful here. From there it's smooth sailing until the first major climb.

After the right hand turn onto 140 around mile 35, the road gets steep quickly. Fresh pavement makes the initial climb smooth; currently they are doing construction at the top of the initial climb in front of the elementary school - I'm not sure if this will be completed by race day so the road conditions could be hit or miss there. The climbs up 140 aren't too bad - they're long and a few times the grades eclipse 10% but generally you shouldn't have to get out of the saddle as long as you have something available in the 25 to 28t range on your cassette. Be careful on the descents! From here on out every time the speeds get high the road conditions get worse. Nothing that's unmanageable, but you'll want to have a firm grip on your aerobars so a bump doesn't cause you to lose your grip.

The left hand turn onto middle route signals the last real climb of the day. I found this road to be enjoyable to ride on - the pavement is generally smooth and the views are great. Lots of rolling hills to start out before the climb intensifies roughly 4 miles after the turn. After reaching the top of middle route the only real notes of importance are that Durrell Mountain Rd. has pretty poor pavement conditions - be careful here. The last thing you want is a flat right before a long descent into transition. Finally, you make a right hand turn onto 107 into a steep descent down into Laconia and transition (this is the climb the old Timberman course used to take you up). Again, this high speed descent can be a bit bumpy at times, so hold on for the ride!

Strava activity is here if you're interested: https://www.strava.com/.../5681184775/overview

Thanks!!

How much do you weigh?

Sure, glad to help! I weigh in at 59 kg

Thanks!

I have ridden the hilly portion of the course. There are a couple of really punchy grades, like 100 vertical feet at 11% grade.

I dont know how strong / light you are but have you ridden that gear combo up that kind of grade? I ride a 52/ 36 F / and have a 11-29 rear.

Oof.... Agreed. I wouldn't have said Timberman was the ideal course for 1x, especially a 54. But then I'm heavy. You'll pry my front deraillieur out of my cold, dead hand.