Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Official Thread (Page 11)

No that is not the one I was talking about.  Mine was right at mile 24.  You come into it off of a fast and steep down hill.

The turn before mile 23 does not have the steep hill leading into it.  However, this is a bad turn as well.  Lots of people underestimate how tight of a turn it is a over-shoot it.  Do not come into this turn riding side-by-side.  Someone has ended their race on this corner every year so far.

That's probable just from too much birthday cake.  Happy birthday, again. 

That would be birthday pie...I'ma pie girl.  Thanks, again.  

IMO, each of the bike loops can be divided into thirds.  The first and last third of each loop are relatively flat (OK, there is a fairly steep hill along the lake, bu the run turnaround, but it is short).  So that leaves the middle third.  This section, as described above, has hills.  Mostly they are rollers and not too bad.  There are a few steeper hills (meaning small chainring), but none of them are very long.  Nothing here will kill you.  And there are a few screaming downhills.

I would recommend at least driving the course in the days beforehand so you can see the hills, turns, pavement, etc.

And if you are from say Ohio and have no hills, practice with sprints.  During your ride, kick it into a larger gear, maybe even stand up, and hammer like heck for a minute or two.  Repeat.  Do enough of these and the hills will be no problem.

Do the best you can.   Do you have bridges?  Can you travel to ride hills?

I live near the ocean and we zero hills.  I am not fast on the bike, but I've done CdA twice and trained for the hills mostly on the trainer with a combination of different Spinervals hill sessions.  It's not the same, but it is close. 

Good luck, happy training.  See you next June!

I'm wondering if anyone has done both CdA and Lake Placid, and if so, how they compare?  The bike course, that is.  I've done Placid twice, so I was thinking CdA won't be quite as bad...just a different type of ride.  Right now, I'm a bit more nervous about the swim, going from Mirror Lake in July to Coeur d'Alene. 

Sorry, I did not mean for everyone to start worrying about the hills and sharp corners on the bike course.  I was just trying to make sure no one showed up unprepared.

There are some sharp corners that can cause problems if you are not paying attention.  How fast you should take them really depends on your bike handling skills and what level of risk you are willing to accept.  Very, very few people will be over 10 mph for the curve before mile 23.  The corner at mile 24 is different, some will take it at well over 20 mph and be fine, others may freak at 15 mph.  It really depends on what other are doing around you at the time.  Personally, I would not let myself get caught riding the outside line on any of these corners even if it means I have to slow down heading into them.  I trust myself to hold the inside line, but I would not trust someone elses skill to not drift wide.  

For the most part there are people stationed at these corners to warn you to slow down.  If you ride smart you will be ok.  However, if you are a male in the 40 to 44 category then I would strongly encourage you to dismount and walk your bike around these curves.  You can also employ this strategy when tackling some of the bigger hills.

Thanks for talking me down, man.

Thanks T!  As in years past I won't walk the hills or sharp turns, but you won't have to worry about me catching up with you.  The last time you will see me is on the beach.

Honestly when it comes to the sharp turns, people should not worry.  I don't have the best bike handling skills, but I haven't had any issues with these corners in the past.  I am the type of biker that gets passed on the downhills even biking with the crowd finishing the bike in the 6:30's.  The good news is I can pass most of the same people going up the hills.

Just train for the climbs and keep your eyes open when going down hill and you will be fine.  See everyone in less than 6 months!

IM Santa got us a great 1 1/2 hill video with the option of an extra 45 minutes x 5 of hill repeats.  I'll give you the exact name when I get home. 

Also, IM Santa got us a 5 hour Spinnervals hill workout - Again, I'll give you the details when I get home tonight.  Good, sweaty fun!

IM Santa got us a great 1 1/2 hill video with the option of an extra 45 minutes x 5 of hill repeats.  I'll give you the exact name when I get home. 

Also, IM Santa got us a 5 hour Spinnervals hill workout - Again, I'll give you the details when I get home tonight.  Good, sweaty fun!

Doh.

Sorry about the delay.....

Spinnervals 24.0 Hillacious - 60 min. hill climb video (we do this one a lot)

Spinnervals 26.0 The Hardcore 100 - 5+ hour endurance ride (we just got this and haven't tried it yet)

Endurance Films Rides Hill Country - an hour and twenty minutes with the option of a 45 min hill repeat x 5. (I did the 1 hour and twenty minute part and it was tough - haven't tried the hill repeat part yet).