Barrie tri inquiry

I did the Barrie tri two years ago - and unfortunately my insight will be limited due to the last minute course changes they had that year. (Due to construction the bike course was drastically changed.)

I liked the swim course - except you have to watch for the zebra mussels if you stray too far from the start area (they have cleaned the beach area that you use - but, if you go off to the side you could potentially cut your feet). The transition area was in a parking lot - which I kind of liked b/c it was easier for me to do my 'thing' without tripping over uneven grassy areas (it also meant there wasn't the same potential for muddy and slippery areas). The bike route when I did it was 4 laps - the route was fairly flat, and from what I understand even the regular bike route is fairly flat. The run course was also fairly flat - but you do have to watch out for some pedestrians as they are not always that good at identifying that they should not be wandering around the race course.

The field size would be hard to judge - two years ago it seemed like a good size of a race, but I don't know whether it capped out or not. All of the tri's in Ontario seem to be getting bigger and bigger every year - and I have to assume that the Barrie tri fits into that category.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the Barrie tri course and wish that it fit into my schedule for this year.

How flat is fairly flat for the bike ride? 

That is the question of the day - what I actually suggest doing is looking up the course on the Barrie Tri website, and then logging it into www.mapmyride.com. It will show you the elevation changes and you can test the course that way.

What a great website - thanks for posting.  I see there is a Blackberry dowload.  I will have to check that out!

I know that BT will also give you an incline chart too.

Edited by tabbs 2009-06-24 11:42 AM

There is also the www.mapmyrun.com version (which is the same ... but specifically for running ... ?)

I like it because I can try to plan out my ride or run and sort of know what I am getting myself into (in terms of hills).