BT Forum

I was a bit worried about the climbs but made this and looks fairly easy...

http://runkeeper.com/user/anthonypross/route/938881

I did this course as my indicator brick workout for a Fall HIM this year.  I like this course.

Half of the Run Course (zoom on the elevation).  Full Bike Course.  What do you make of ~3,250 ft of ascending on a 56 mile course? The big one in the middle is a series of 5-6 steps (so to speak) up to that first flattish part of the profile.  The smaller ones can take a little oomph to get over as well.  Much of the course seemed to be in decent to good shape. Not at all like Racine.  There were a few areas where it'd be nice if they could patch it up, but only one where then truly needed it.  This was a few feet of road that had been removed in the Devils Lake State Park section. The park road had a bit of a buzz too it, but wasn't too bad.

The amount of flat areas surprised me, more than I thought there would be, but when there is a hill, there is a hill.  Most people will want a pretty low end to get up them.  I'm glad I left the 11-28 on there from a hilly ride the previous weekend.  There were also at least 8 points were I was pushing high 30's to 40 mph without difficulty. On the Rev3 site map, they list a downhill as a caution (mile 26ish?).  They mean it.  It's a straight line to a sharp left on it.  You can't not see it coming, but I could 50 on that hill if I wanted (most people would just break 40).

The run will be interesting too.  281 ft ascending on only half of the course.  The area the far half goes to doesn't look like it's much easier.

The bike gets out of town very quickly and it's out in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. The run goes into the town, so it will be interesting to see how they block everything off.

I suggested that they put the finishing chute at the top of The Plunge, since we'll be finishing at Noah's Ark.

It's a decent one, over-sized stair step type.  Other ones that show up on the map can do a little damage too.  Pretty decent grade and with several of them, they take more out of you than what might be suspected at first.  I was hitting or breaking FTP in more than a couple spots to go 7-8 mph, and I was ~3.95 Watts/kg at the time.

Something worth knowing is that there are several hotels literally right there for the start.  And since this is the Dells, there are a lot of others very nearby too.  Looks like the transition area will be in a massive parking lot.  Not quite sure all what it's for, but it's right next to the lake.  No issues getting in there. This a very convenient course to go check out.

That's good to know. How far out would we have to go? The races can have run-outs, WTC has done this with their numbers, so Rev3 could surely do it.

And there is a good chance of wetsuits not allowed at all (84+), not just wetsuit option (78ish)? I'm likely to just use swimskin at that point anyway unless it was really cold, but nice to know what's going on.

Garmin's site seems to have made some changes. Elevation no long zooms in and also goes from sea level instead of a relative view. The course looks dramatically different on the profile now. Know that for both routes, every little bump seen on the profile is a rather noticeable hill. That mound on the run course is big. Knowing how to negotiate it will go a long way towards having a decent run.

I meant August, sorry.

Here is a video of the course, a few big climbs, but overall it still looks like a faster course. Climbs are all in the middle portion of the ride which should help with the back end of the ride to prep for the run. 

http://vimeo.com/35766406