Anyone else participating in this event this weekend and has experience with the bike course? I’m doing it for the first time and heard it can be a challenge. Any information is appreciated. Looks like a nice weather weekend for a change!
It’s not all that difficult as long as you can climb a bit and take some turns in the aerobars. What info are you looking for? Do you have time to ride the course beforehand? If your on strava or best bike split you should be able to look it up.
http://www.strava.com/activities/134424668
Not sure if that works but there is my recon ride of the course a few weeks ago.
It’s not all that difficult as long as you can climb a bit and take some turns in the aerobars. What info are you looking for? Do you have time to ride the course beforehand? If your on strava or best bike split you should be able to look it up.
http://www.strava.com/activities/134424668
Not sure if that works but there is my recon ride of the course a few weeks ago.
Okay, thanks. Was looking for any info like…any speed bumps on the course, rough pavement, sharp turns to look out for, stuff like that. I’m not local and will be getting there Saturday afternoon…will try to drive the course beforehand. Thanks for reply.
Yep. It’s somewhat hilly, as you’ve probably heard.
Watch out for the back part of the course (in the farmland). There are a few places where you make a fairly sharp turn right into a fairly steep downhill. The issue is that many people (mostly newer folks who have not ridden the course before) get surprised with the sudden downhills and then overbrake, which can be very sudden. I’ve seen plenty of folks do that and either fall or cause the folks behind them to fall…so leave lots of space here.
Oh okay, honestly the roads are in decent repair. On 108 (leaving the park and coming back to the park) take the lane there are some rough spots on the shoulders/sides.
Mile 11ish- pretty good left hand turn. I generally get out of aero but I’m not comfortable at that speed and that sharp of a turn. exiting the turn is a slight uphill so shift appropriately. (right after this is what CaptainJeff is talking about it’s not bad but there is a sharp drop off after the uphill that goes into a righthand turn, I come out of aero b/c there is a climb coming up but I know plenty of people that can take the turn in aero)
Mile 13.5ish- 90* left to about a 10% climb that slowly gets easier. Shift appropriately, you will be flying coming down that descent.
Other than that roads are in good condition and my only warning is that the hills are usually a bit steeper than people think but at least they’re not long.
Okay, thanks Granth9 and Captain Jeff, have a good race.
at the far end of the course (tridelphia rd ) the downhill looks tricky but isn’t bad when the roads are dry. The left turn onto tridelphia mill rd is sharp , and the climb back up feels really long some years (most years ). Pavement is usually fine, but I haven’t been out there since the crappy winter we had. Personally I’ll be looking out for potholes . All the other roads in Mid-Maryland took a beating so I expect they did too.
good luck and see you out there
I ride the course regularly; it is virtually in my back yard. It has held up pretty well compared to other roads in the area. No crazy pot-holes when I rode it earlier this week. Regarding the “tricky downhill” at the far end of the course; the problem there is that the road is slightly domed as you descend at 30+ mph and make a gradual right turn. If you are too far left in the lane and aren’t an experienced bike handler it can be hard to recover and you might get spit out into the trees on the left. If you stay far enough right in the lane it is easy as pie. As was also mentioned, the 90* turn left after a downhill has caused some folks problems in the past.
Nothing crazy, but there are a few traffic circles to go around as well. Last year when it was raining I saw a few crashes at those