Graydon
07-17-2006, 10:58 AM
After a pre-ride on Saturday, here are my thoughts on the course:
-One word: Tough. Each lap consists of about 8.5km downhill, followed by 8.5km uphill. Effingham is the steepest climb, but there are 2 others before it that are tough enough. Everything else is false-flat up or false-flat down.
-This year, after the "s"-bend downhill on Killman, where we previously would have turned right onto the the rollers on Effingham, the race now turns left. Here we go downhill some more, and take a right onto Sulphur Springs Rd. Here it gets interesting. The road is narrow, single lane only, and twisty. There is one very short corner everyone should watch out for. It is at the lowest point in the race course. When you are on sulphur springs, after you stop going down it flattens out. Then you go over a little bridge, and here comes a stream on your right. When you see the stream, be prepared. The very next right turn is extremely sharp. After the right turn, you have about 25m and then you start going up. This climb isn't too bad, but is long enough it will hurt.
-The next important feature occurs after you have been on Roland for a while. You take almost a 180 degree hard right turn onto Hollow road, and go down hill. As the road flattens out, you will approach to your right,what looks more like a 4-wheeler trail than a road. Don't be fooled, this is part of the race course. Hansler rd. starts immediately with a tough, long climb, and it is all un-paved. Well, maybe several years ago it had some asphalt on it, but not much now. The night before I prerode, there had been a bad storm, and in addition to lots of gravel on the course in other spots, this hill had a fair bit of washouts. Fortunately, while the surface it rough, there are some hardpacked section, so it is rideable. I would strongly recommend you think about tire pressure for this race. I stopped after my first lap, let out a few psi, and it made a world of difference.
-After the gravel climb, there is some nice washboard surface to beat you up before it turns to pavement. Once it does turn to pavement, it flattens out a bit, goes by a few houses, then you go into a steep downhill in some trees. BE CAREFUL HERE. There is a right turn at the bottom which will fool you. It starts as a sweeping right turn, and just when you've thought you've picked your line right, it really cranks it hard. On a closed course, it might not be so bad as you can swing out, but pre-riding with the potential for oncoming cars, this corner was a bit scary. If the corner didn't get you, there is a nice little climb right after it too.
-I should also note, it had rained early in the morning before I came and the roads on Sulphur Springs and Hansler did not dry out even by my last lap around noon. Those single lane roads are almost all covered by trees (the shade and scenery are nice) which means they could potentially be slick all day if it rains in the night before. Again, tire selection and air pressure!
-Eventually the race comes back out onto Effingham, where it is a left turn and up the usual climb to the start/finish.
Good luck to everyone racing!
-One word: Tough. Each lap consists of about 8.5km downhill, followed by 8.5km uphill. Effingham is the steepest climb, but there are 2 others before it that are tough enough. Everything else is false-flat up or false-flat down.
-This year, after the "s"-bend downhill on Killman, where we previously would have turned right onto the the rollers on Effingham, the race now turns left. Here we go downhill some more, and take a right onto Sulphur Springs Rd. Here it gets interesting. The road is narrow, single lane only, and twisty. There is one very short corner everyone should watch out for. It is at the lowest point in the race course. When you are on sulphur springs, after you stop going down it flattens out. Then you go over a little bridge, and here comes a stream on your right. When you see the stream, be prepared. The very next right turn is extremely sharp. After the right turn, you have about 25m and then you start going up. This climb isn't too bad, but is long enough it will hurt.
-The next important feature occurs after you have been on Roland for a while. You take almost a 180 degree hard right turn onto Hollow road, and go down hill. As the road flattens out, you will approach to your right,what looks more like a 4-wheeler trail than a road. Don't be fooled, this is part of the race course. Hansler rd. starts immediately with a tough, long climb, and it is all un-paved. Well, maybe several years ago it had some asphalt on it, but not much now. The night before I prerode, there had been a bad storm, and in addition to lots of gravel on the course in other spots, this hill had a fair bit of washouts. Fortunately, while the surface it rough, there are some hardpacked section, so it is rideable. I would strongly recommend you think about tire pressure for this race. I stopped after my first lap, let out a few psi, and it made a world of difference.
-After the gravel climb, there is some nice washboard surface to beat you up before it turns to pavement. Once it does turn to pavement, it flattens out a bit, goes by a few houses, then you go into a steep downhill in some trees. BE CAREFUL HERE. There is a right turn at the bottom which will fool you. It starts as a sweeping right turn, and just when you've thought you've picked your line right, it really cranks it hard. On a closed course, it might not be so bad as you can swing out, but pre-riding with the potential for oncoming cars, this corner was a bit scary. If the corner didn't get you, there is a nice little climb right after it too.
-I should also note, it had rained early in the morning before I came and the roads on Sulphur Springs and Hansler did not dry out even by my last lap around noon. Those single lane roads are almost all covered by trees (the shade and scenery are nice) which means they could potentially be slick all day if it rains in the night before. Again, tire selection and air pressure!
-Eventually the race comes back out onto Effingham, where it is a left turn and up the usual climb to the start/finish.
Good luck to everyone racing!