I rode what I thought would be a best-route scenario for next weekend’s alleycat today. While I’ve been happy with the layout we’ve selected, and the checkpoints that made the final cut, I was secretly worried the course would be too redundant to be any fun. Turns out it’s not. My navigation covered just over 13 miles (minus roughly a mile or so from the start line to the first checkpoint–I didn’t do it because it require too much backtracking given where we live) and took just under an hour (including an ATM stop). There’s only one real climb to speak of, and it should come pretty early in the race for most folks. There are, however, long sections of mostly flat, exposed racing, and if the winds are anything like they were today, pushing hard through them could be more taxing that the climb. The course seems to work well, and covers quite a bit of the city without requiring too much climbing (it is only April, you know–not everyone commutes year ’round).

I do have a map of my route that I passed along to my co-conspirators, but you don’t think I’m actually going to post that, do you?

Posted on 2 April 2006