Timberman Bike Course Test Ride

On Sunday July 30th, I went up to do a ride on the Timberman bike course, a 56-miler out of Ellacoya State Park.  Jorge suggested I might give a brief rundown of what the course was like for those who have never ridden it.  Here's some general notes from the ride.

Overall, this course rewards patience.  The majority of the hard hills are in the first and last 12 miles.  Go out too hard and the hill at the 10 mile mark will really take a lot out of you and you'll spend the rest of the day recovering. 

You leave T-1 and head out on Rt. 11, climbing right away.  Take it easy on this first hill, you're fresh out of the water and you don't have your biking legs under you yet.  Cruise down the other side and at the traffic lights, take a left turn onto Rt. 11-B (3 mile mark).  The road winds a bit, joins Rt. 11-A and starts climbing the long grade past the Gilford Fire Station.  Crest the hill and you get a good downhill stretch before the left turn onto Hounsell Ave, right after crossing Rt. 3.  This is a brand new residential road and is a change from last year's course.

At the end of Hounsell, there is a left turn onto Rt. 107. at about the 9+ mile mark.  Be prepared for this next hill.  This will definitely be the hardest climb on the course.  I went up it in a 39x23.  If you're not a great climber or if you like to sit and spin, you might want a 25 or even a 27 cog on the back if you are riding a double chainring up front.  This climb took more out of me than I expected.  It's not as steep as Devil Hill at Mooseman, but it's about twice as long.  Meter your energy here, it's a tough climb!  You get a descent and some more climbing (easier) and then hit the right hand turn onto Leavitt Rd.

There is a brief descent here, another climb, and then the fast drop down to the corner at Rt. 106.  The next 30 miles will tell how patient you were in the first dozen miles.  Rt. 106 has a nice wide shoulder to ride on and if you have the neck muscles for it, you can ride this 30 mile stretch entirely on the aero bars.  There are some grades but they are mostly gradual.  I did drop into the small chainring a couple of times, but this is where you will make up your time.  The initial 12 hilly miles will play havoc with your average speed and now is the time to make sure you are warmed up, fueled up and ready to hammer.

The road rolls along, past the New Hampshire International Speedway and finally you take a right hand turn onto Old Village Rd. near the turnaround.  Even though you're off Rt. 106 for a bit, this next stretch is easy and you can stay aero all the way to the exit and turn around which puts you back on Rt. 106 again.  The next 15 miles are a return trip along the stretch you just covered, past the speedway again.  Be prepared for a headwind in one direction or another on this road.  I hit one coming back in on Sunday, but it's still the time to really push on the big chainring and get the average speed up.

Coming off Rt. 106, you'll take a right hand turn onto Leavitt Rd. again, which puts you around the 44 mile mark and back into the final hills.  In this direction Leavitt Rd. is a series of 3 short climbs, with the middle of the 3 being the steepest.  This will probably be the hardest climbing coming back in.  Not the longest, but the steepest.  Crest the final hill, drop down and climb the short stretch back to Rt. 107.  If you carry plenty of speed down the last hill on Leavitt, you can fly right up to the Rt. 107 junction.

You hit a few more grades on 107, along with a nice fast downhill stretch.  You won't go down that real big hill mentioned earlier because the course takes a right hand turn onto Frank Bean Rd., across from the small Baptist church.  Climbing gradually, it crosses an intersection and turns into Country Club Rd.  Once past the golf course there is a short drop and a right hand turn puts you back onto Rt. 11-A.

Climb the long steady grade back to the top of the hill above the Gilford Fire Station.  Put in a good effort here because the worst will be over at the top.  Once you hit the high point it is mostly a downhill stretch for quite a bit and if you have any energy left, now is the time to really hammer down Rt. 11-A, left turn at the fork onto Rt. 11-B, through the twisty corners back to Rt. 11. 

3 miles to the finish from here.  Push hard across this flat stretch, and save what you can for the last 2 hills back to T-2.  There is a final downhill section to the park and on race day they probably will have this section divided with orange cones and it may be a no-passing zone.  It's a good time to rest, get your heart rate down before transition.

I G-mapped the course and you can find it HERE.  For some reason it came out about a mile or so short, but when I rode it on Sunday, my bike computer was exactly at 56 miles.  It may be from the twists and turns.  Also the turn onto Hounsell Ave at around the 8 mile mark is an approximation.  It's a brand new street and doesn't even totally show on the G-map site, so my mapping at that point was only a guess.

See everyone at Timberman.  It's a hilly bike course for sure, but the middle 30 miles is a great time trial.  Just be sure to keep up your nutrition and hydration so you have something for the hilly sections and for the 1/2 marathon after!