General Discussion Triathlon Talk » RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride" Rss Feed  
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2008-05-08 5:49 AM

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Subject: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
I realize it is a little last minute but a few of us plan to get together and ride the bike course on Saturday the 10th of May. I will try to set up another closer to the race but make no guarantee's as I will be gone alot over the next couple months.
The plan is to start at the beach and ride to providence. If we need to split into a fast and slow group, so be it, but I will not leave anyone behind. IOW, snail or race pace, we will get there. PM me or go t the RI forum for me details.

Hope to seeyou there,
Scott


2008-05-08 1:49 PM
in reply to: #1389150

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

If you can take some notes on winds, hills, etc... that would be awesome.

If you're ever interested in doing a "Play Hookey From Work Ride" on a Mon - Thurs, sometime in late May, Mid-June - I'll jump on the ferry. 

2008-05-08 6:03 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
Will do. I am doing vacation the end of this month but early June I may be able to play hookie a day. We will see.
2008-05-13 9:59 AM
in reply to: #1389150

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
NavyTriChief:  Did you end up biking on Saturday?
2008-05-13 10:17 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
Yes, James and started together but I flatted out at about mile 26. I didn't have a spare so I insisted he keep going. I called the wife and had her come get me. That made my day worse because I left my new 050 wheel on her roof and she pulled into the garage. By by wheel, hello dnt on the roof of her BMW. Yeah, the hits keep on coming. James gave his report of the course in the RI section. I can give you info on the first half if you want
2008-05-14 6:52 AM
in reply to: #1389150

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

I will post an update later today on this thread when I get a spare moment.

 

 



2008-05-14 3:09 PM
in reply to: #1401099

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

Sorry to hear about your misfotune.  Obviously you flatted on the shoulder?  I would imagine they will cone off one lane for us on race day so hopefully there will be less of a chance of us flatting. 

 

2008-05-23 12:25 AM
in reply to: #1402715

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
anyone have any feed back on the route?
2008-05-23 8:12 AM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
Dream Chaser - 2008-05-14 4:09 PM

I would imagine they will cone off one lane for us on race day so hopefully there will be less of a chance of us flatting.

I seriously doubt it.  At least along most of it.  The course is comprised of some pretty major roads with only 1 lane in each direction.

2008-05-23 9:27 AM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
Yep pretty much all major roads...That was probably the thin gI disliked about the bike course the least. The last 5 miles heading into Providence through the rough part of town I have no idea how they will police that...
2008-05-23 1:16 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

Here is my back-of-the-pack-hack (BOPAH - said with a southie accent) impression of the ride. Take it for what it is worth...

Starting out on Sand Hill Cove Rd. to Ocean Rd - this section of the course is nice and flat and is the most exposed to wind off of the water. There should be southerlies this time of the year. In the AM it is usually dead calm. The road itself is nice and there is a decent amount of room. I would expect not too much traffic before 7:30...anytime after that on a nice weekend and things will be jammed.

As Ocean Rd leaves the southern beaches the road winds a couple of miles until you get to the 'pier' area and the Coast Guard House (hard to miss....big stone structure going across the road next door). It gets nice and straight and the road is in decent shape. Going past the Narragansett Town Beach the road opens up a bit and becomes 4 divided lanes...again, flat and fast. The lanes narrow into Boston Neck Rd. There is a decent amount of room on the shoulder here and the roads are in good shape pretty much all the way to Wickford.

The course cuts over to a side road on the way to Rt. 1 and 102. This road is a bit narrow. Rt. 1 is another 2 lane road with a decent shoulder. Taking a left onto 102 and heading west, you will find that the population starts to drop off a bit and the roads become somewhat less traveled (especially when you get past the Rt. 4 overpass).

Rt. 102 and Rt. 3 is a mixed bag. Some rolling hills and the roads are fair. In my experience these roads are not as well traveled as others in Rhode Island. I usually train on these roads and I have not found it to be all that bad. As you get into Division Rd you will get more rolling hills and, again, mediocre roads.

Shippetown Rd into Crompton is nice and wide with a little bump going over Rt 95. The roads were pretty messy through here and you start to get back to a denser population. There is a nice down hill towards Rt 3 as you pass the pond...wide road and in decent shape. Look out for nitwits crossing the road without looking. There is construction on Sandy Bottom Rd toward Washington St. but nothing to be concerned about. Pretty flat through the town of Coventry.

The course continues north on Rt 116 toward Scituate. There is a gradual rise out of Coventry that flattens out quickly. This part of the course is very scenic...the only thing I did not like was the lack of a decent shoulder to ride on. There are also a few rough spots as you head toward the northern section of 116. There is a short hill coming out of Hope Village and then a nice downhill before my favorite section of the course...

The right turn up Rt. 12 is hateful...especially for a big dude like myself. Nice and steep (for me). After a gradual flattening out there is a slow slope toward Comstock Pkway. Should be pretty fast from the top of Scituate through to Atwood Ave. Simmonsville Ave is quick and easy and bottoms out as you cross Atwood to Central Ave. 

Central Ave to the Silver Lake section of Providence is mostly neighborhood....it goes from GOOD to BAD very quickly (as do the roads). Plainfield to Pocasset to Valley is just hateful. Very surprised that the route runs through here. Watch the road as it is pretty much sucks....unfilled potholes, etc... Orms to Smith and into T2 is OK. Be thankful that you do not have to run through there!

OK - that is my take on the bike course. Please keep in mind that it comes from a hack who should have stuck to sailing full time instead of coming up with a plan to be an endurance athlete.

Anyone want to know how much the run course sucks? Hint, the used part of the run course as a street luge course during the X-games.

VM 

 



2008-05-23 6:22 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
Wow - thanks for the details - seems like a nice bike ride. Street luge for the run?? that's nuts.
2008-05-29 9:54 AM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

All of a sudden, and once again, I'm wondering why I didn't sign up for Musselman.  Probably because I was attracted to the M-Dot.  Hopefully 2,000 guys on bikes will make it a little safer on the roads. 

If anyone is interested in a Sunday morning, June 29th "Pre-Ride" -- please let me know.  For one, we will be mimicking Race Day Conditions by doing it on an early Sunday morning, and two - June 29th is exactly two weeks out from the Race so it will allow for plenty of recovery times, plus the memory of the course will still be fresh in our minds. 

Question:  Seeing as most of us our staying in Providence, and the swim and bike start are close to an hour away, how the hell are we going to set up our T1?  Are we supposed to go to T1 the night before and they are going to guard all the bikes?  Or are we going to all lug our bikes on the shuttle at 3:30 AM?  (I doubt that is the case, but the visual is funny)  Anyone know???

2008-05-29 10:03 AM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

I just answered my own question by reading the Race Day Event Schedule.  On Saturday July 12th at Roger Wheeler State Park is mandatory Bike and Gear Check-in between 12:00 and 6:00PM. 

I guess that's a bonus that we'll have our Transitions set up the night before, this way we won't have to try and remember everything at 4:30AM.  I can see the news headline Sunday morning: Security Guard Falls Asleep; 1900 High-end Bikes Stolen.

2008-05-29 2:06 PM
in reply to: #1421915

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
vm354 - 2008-05-23 1:16 PM

Here is my back-of-the-pack-hack (BOPAH - said with a southie accent) impression of the ride. Take it for what it is worth...

Starting out on Sand Hill Cove Rd. to Ocean Rd - this section of the course is nice and flat and is the most exposed to wind off of the water. There should be southerlies this time of the year. In the AM it is usually dead calm. The road itself is nice and there is a decent amount of room. I would expect not too much traffic before 7:30...anytime after that on a nice weekend and things will be jammed. Agreed nice and flat here out of transition. The wind was howling which we rode straight into at about 6.30am given your wind description can only assume it was a bad day. One point to note there were 2-3 foot waves all along the coast except for at the swim site which was flat as protected by barriers.

As Ocean Rd leaves the southern beaches the road winds a couple of miles until you get to the 'pier' area and the Coast Guard House (hard to miss....big stone structure going across the road next door). It gets nice and straight and the road is in decent shape. Going past the Narragansett Town Beach the road opens up a bit and becomes 4 divided lanes...again, flat and fast. The lanes narrow into Boston Neck Rd. There is a decent amount of room on the shoulder here and the roads are in good shape pretty much all the way to Wickford.

Good description, at this point I looked at the Flags on top of teh fairground and to confirm my suspicions they were blowing directly down from Providence. There is a nice little fast descent at about mile 7 or so.

The course cuts over to a side road on the way to Rt. 1 and 102. This road is a bit narrow. Rt. 1 is another 2 lane road with a decent shoulder. Taking a left onto 102 and heading west, you will find that the population starts to drop off a bit and the roads become somewhat less traveled (especially when you get past the Rt. 4 overpass).

Rt. 102 and Rt. 3 is a mixed bag. Some rolling hills and the roads are fair. In my experience these roads are not as well traveled as others in Rhode Island. I usually train on these roads and I have not found it to be all that bad. As you get into Division Rd you will get more rolling hills and, again, mediocre roads. At about mile 10 or so there is about a 7-8 mile stretch of rolling hills nothing steep and nothing long they just hit you back to back and I found them more of an inconvience as acted as speed bumps. The very last hill is probably the hardest not really steep maybe 6degrees but lasts about .5 of a mile. For the inexperienced rider there could be a real tendency to trash your legs here nothing majorily steep just very easy to waste power on these types of rollers. Maybe Scott (Tri Navy) has a different take being a local on the size of the hills as I think they were quiet challenging for him.

Shippetown Rd into Crompton is nice and wide with a little bump going over Rt 95. The roads were pretty messy through here and you start to get back to a denser population. There is a nice down hill towards Rt 3 as you pass the pond...wide road and in decent shape. Look out for nitwits crossing the road without looking. There is construction on Sandy Bottom Rd toward Washington St. but nothing to be concerned about. Pretty flat through the town of Coventry. Roads were shocking and I got the feeling here they were just trying to make up some distance by winding you along some back roads good thing though is your are out of the traffic here, in teh previous section as VM describes the roads are very busy.

The course continues north on Rt 116 toward Scituate. There is a gradual rise out of Coventry that flattens out quickly. This part of the course is very scenic...the only thing I did not like was the lack of a decent shoulder to ride on. There are also a few rough spots as you head toward the northern section of 116. There is a short hill coming out of Hope Village and then a nice downhill before my favorite section of the course. Nicely described look on your left just before you enter the town of Sciatute really pretty waterfall. From Hope Village it is a gradual ascend for about 4miles into you hit Sciatute Rd or Junction 12. It climbs steeply here not long but 6-8degree climb for maybe half of a mile. This in my opinion was the steepest climb but nothing major I think from memory I didn't need my 25 on my rear cassette. You are then rewarded with a nice long casual descend here. to comstock parkway.

The right turn up Rt. 12 is hateful OOPS see above for my comment on Junction 12 yeah it was steep I Guess...especially for a big dude like myself. Nice and steep (for me). After a gradual flattening out there is a slow slope toward Comstock Pkway. Should be pretty fast from the top of Scituate through to Atwood Ave. Simmonsville Ave is quick and easy and bottoms out as you cross Atwood to Central Ave. Yes agreed fastest part ofteh course here all gradual descend that is teh reward for climbing the hill 8-)

Central Ave to the Silver Lake section of Providence is mostly neighborhood....it goes from GOOD to BAD very quickly (as do the roads). Plainfield to Pocasset to Valley is just hateful. Very surprised that the route runs through here. Watch the road as it is pretty much sucks....unfilled potholes, etc... Orms to Smith and into T2 is OK. Be thankful that you do not have to run through there! What a disaster, I am convinced once people ride this part of the course they will never do this race again I feared for my life, cars everywhere converging on like one main road, huge potholes and lets just say a very bad neighborhood.

OK - that is my take on the bike course. Please keep in mind that it comes from a hack who should have stuck to sailing full time instead of coming up with a plan to be an endurance athlete.

Final thoughts on teh bike course, it could be reasonably fast as long as their is no headwind if it was like the day I rode it will be tough. Fairly flatish but one thing I did note very early in my power numbers was it slopes up all the way from T1 to Providence, even on most of teh flats you notice it. So worth thinking about when having to transition to a hilly run. The bike course is definitely one you woudl want to pace your self for the first 20 miles tehn pick it up the first half is definitely the hardest.

 

Anyone want to know how much the run course sucks? Hint, the used part of the run course as a street luge course during the X-games. I didn't ride the run, But T2 is right at the top of a hill. Either side of that hills is like very steep descends. Gonna be a tough run...

VM 

 

 Thanks for the update I will add in Red under your observations my thoughts from when TriNavy and I rode it just be aware my opinions are slightly biased as they day we rode it was freezing with a 20mph headwind

 

 



Edited by jamesG 2008-05-29 2:12 PM
2008-06-02 12:55 AM
in reply to: #1389150

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
directions say turn left onto Scituate ave......should that actuallt be a right? anyone have any insight?


2008-06-02 7:18 AM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

Yes Right, and be careful. I got lost here for about 30 minutes as the actual turn is junction 12. You only see the Sciatute sign post after riding about 5 minutes to the top of the hill on junction 12.

 

 

2008-06-02 9:01 PM
in reply to: #1437592

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
Anyone know a good place to park near T1? Also, any thoughts on the best way to get back to my car or should I plan to ride back?
2008-06-03 2:20 PM
in reply to: #1389150

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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

I would HIGHLY recommend parking in Providence and taking the 3:30 AM or 4AM bus down to the start at Wheeler Beach.

A bus ticket is 8 bucks. 

http://www.ironmandvd.com/rhis70shti.html

I highly - highly doubt you will want to get back on your bike and ride 50+ miles back to the start after you're done.  And imagine doing it into the wind.  And really I'm not sure how safe that would be considering you'll be alone and fatigued.   

 

2008-06-03 2:23 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

" And imagine doing it into the wind" 

You mean with the wind right? 8-

 

2008-06-03 2:28 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
I mean riding back into headwinds!  Imagine busting your for 70.3 miles, you're tired, sore, achey and then you get on your bike to ride back down the course, and you got the wind brow beating you the whole time!  It could potentially be torturous!


2008-06-03 2:57 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

Hey I was being an ars*e as the day I rode the course it was headwinds all the way to Providence so if you turned around and rode back it would be a tail wind 8-)

I agree with you I wouldn't ride back either... 

 

2008-06-03 3:03 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"

I gotcha now.  :p 

I tell yah man, I'm still bummed about the last part of that bike leg going through the "bad part of town".  Also the fact that the race hasn't sold out tells me it's not drawing a lot of attention.

But on the positive side, we'll have a better chance of finishing closer to the top with less people there. 

James, how beneficial do you think a pre-ride would be?  I would like to ride the bike course once, but living on Long Island it's not the easiest day trip to organize.  Do you think being familar with the course ahead of time could make a drastic difference on my times?



Edited by Dream Chaser 2008-06-03 3:10 PM
2008-06-03 10:43 PM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
jamesG - 2008-06-03 3:57 PM

Hey I was being an ars*e as the day I rode the course it was headwinds all the way to Providence so if you turned around and rode back it would be a tail wind 8-)

I agree with you I wouldn't ride back either... 

 



did you ride back the same route or were you able to take a short cut? i'm not really up for a 112 mile ride, but it might be my only option.
2008-06-04 8:03 AM
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Subject: RE: RI 70.3 Bike leg "Pre-Ride"
Dream Chaser - 2008-06-03 3:03 PM

James, how beneficial do you think a pre-ride would be?  I would like to ride the bike course once, but living on Long Island it's not the easiest day trip to organize.  Do you think being familar with the course ahead of time could make a drastic difference on my times?

To be honest the course isn't technical at all until the last 5-10 miles when you hit town, I didn't get any benefit from riding that last 5-10 miles anyways as I got so lost.

I would recommend maybe the day before you drive the course with your bike on and ride easy the rolling hill section from about mile 10 - 17 I think this is route 102 from memory. I think while this a straight piece of road I really think this is the part of the course that can make or break your race nothing steep here just back to back rollers where there is a huge potential early in the race to whack out a lot of work/power if you aren't careful. Also would recommend ride the last 5 miles easily into transition from the really rough area of town. 

So just my thoughts take them for what they may be worth.

 

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