Pre-riding a course... what do you tend to take note of?
06-07-10, 10:24 AM
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Pre-riding a course... what do you tend to take note of?
I'm' going to pre-ride a race course Friday night for a race in 2 weeks
besides the obvious like where hills are or decents.... direction of winds what are some other points to take note of?
I'm not even sure if a pre-ride is as popular with road events as MTB events but I like to do a lap prior to an event to have some idea of where I'm going
besides the obvious like where hills are or decents.... direction of winds what are some other points to take note of?
I'm not even sure if a pre-ride is as popular with road events as MTB events but I like to do a lap prior to an event to have some idea of where I'm going
06-07-10, 10:34 AM
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Wind can change. I look for hazards, places where I might attack (registration table, that sort of thing), and scout the finish several times.
06-07-10, 10:40 AM
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I think the answer depends on the type of race. For long hilly races I like to get a look at the descents. I'll be less cautious if I know where the surprises are.
06-07-10, 11:14 AM
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I just pre-rode the course of an uphill time trial. I was watching the grade to see where I can push, the distance marks for the steep-ish middle section (beginning and end), and to see where the end is (to note where, if I have anything extra left, to spend it).
06-07-10, 11:23 AM
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Pinch points, off camber corners, landmarks for the final 100m.
06-07-10, 12:54 PM
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Depends on how you want to try to win.
I look for the rolling hills, etc., to find out where I want to attack.
I look for the rolling hills, etc., to find out where I want to attack.
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06-07-10, 04:17 PM
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I like to ride the hills at a medium pace and time them. I can suffer much harder up a hill if I know how long it's going to last. For me, thinking "Ok this is going to really hurt for 10 minutes" is a lot better than "oh god when is this going to end?"
Of course, as stated, this really depends on the type of course you are talking about.
Of course, as stated, this really depends on the type of course you are talking about.
06-07-10, 04:31 PM
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I pretty much do what Racer Ex suggests, except I also look for places where the scrawny guys might attack and put my lard ass in a world of pain. Then I try to be positioned well and fully recovered at those locations. Or looking for the quickest route back to my car.
06-07-10, 06:08 PM
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Where/when are you racing. I too just pre-rode the course of my first race (well...1/2 of it seeing as i took a wrong turn and ended up too far away to backtrack) which will be the purgatory chasm road race in Sutton, MA on the 19th. While potholes were far an few between, i suggest looking for the tough corners to navigate.
Ex. The race I'm doing is pretty much gently rolling hills except for a massive climb about 7 miles into the 10 mile loop. Had it been a straight shot to the hill, it would be no problem. However, a gentle downhill leads into it, putting speeds at ~25-30 mph. At these speeds the sweeping left hand turn hides the hill, which starts as an off-camber, hard right hand turn at <90* to your current direction, which makes it VERY difficult to navigate if you don't know where it is and line up correctly. Almost stopping at the bottom doesn't help when it's a 15+% climb
Ex. The race I'm doing is pretty much gently rolling hills except for a massive climb about 7 miles into the 10 mile loop. Had it been a straight shot to the hill, it would be no problem. However, a gentle downhill leads into it, putting speeds at ~25-30 mph. At these speeds the sweeping left hand turn hides the hill, which starts as an off-camber, hard right hand turn at <90* to your current direction, which makes it VERY difficult to navigate if you don't know where it is and line up correctly. Almost stopping at the bottom doesn't help when it's a 15+% climb
Last edited by gazelle5333; 06-07-10 at 06:14 PM.
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