Last weekend I went out to Penticton to ride the course, here are my first impressions:
All in all a gorgeous ride - it’ll be a nice treat!
Richter’s Pass is really not bad at all. Granted that in the context of the day as a whole it makes it a bit more significant, but on its own - bah! Same with Yellow Lake (though we had a great tail wind blowing us up the whole way!)
From Penticton to Osoyoos is fast! And I imagine it’ll be packed with riders so I can see the speed creeping up
Riding in thunderstorms and hail isn’t so bad
My least favourite part was the last 5kms or before Keremeos (but after the rollers). Flat and boring…
Didn’t do the out and back, but I imagine it’ll be tougher mentally than physically
The drivers in the area were for the most part great. They would give as much room to pass as possible, often hugging the OTHER shoulder!
Road conditions throughout the course were great too. For 180km ride, I was impressed with how great the roads were.
The thought of a marthon after that ride has me a little nervous (my first IM), but heck - so many people before me have done it, can it be that bad?
And as for the swim start - can’t wait to hear what they’re going to do!
It really is a beautiful course. The ‘flat and boring’ section after the out and back is much more noticeable as a false flat when you don’t have a tailwind.
For what its worth, I find the out and back section the toughest section of this course. The road is a little rougher and it feels like it goes forever. I would recomend that you at least drive that section of the course so you know what you’re in for.
Good luck in August, I can’t wait to go back to Penticton.
David
Thanks, I think that’s probably a good idea. It’ll give me something else to do in the days leading up to the race and hopefully put my mind to rest somewhat!
My one recommendation, base your nutrition intake on where you’ll be on the course. I found that I didn’t eat on the climbs, or the rollers. Left me totally depleted and playing catch up the downhill into town. In retrospect, I really wish I had front-loaded the calories before hitting Richter, and taking better advantage of the flats before Yellow lake.
the out/back section isn’t so bad. Depending on where you are you’ll get to see the male pro’s going past. Gives you somethiing to watch.
The section after the out-and-back can wear you down; especially with a headwind. I have never ridden this section during the race with a tailwind. Man, that would be nice! Keeping my fingers crossed this will happen in August.
This “boring” section is typically what makes Yellow Lake more difficult for me than it should be. By itself, Yellow Lake is a small bump. But, after 100 miles and a long section of false flat (into a headwind), Yellow Lake kills me.
