I know we don't know the actual route, but I was wondering if some veterans could let me know what to expect....hills, mostly pavement, how busy are the roads, etc.
I am a first time rider and I'm a bit nervous - so any info is helpful!
Day 1 starts at the CNE and follows Lakeshore into Mississauga. From there, the route turns north and the k riders will split off from the m riders. Both routes are generally rolling hills, although the m route does go a bit further out into the country than the k route, which sort of slips along the edges of suburbia. There will still be cars on the road, but the police and event volunteers help to deal with the worst of it in busy areas. There are three stops every day: a pit stop for snacks and bathroom, a lunch break, and a second pit stop. You can't miss them. Day 1 ends with the longest and toughest climb of the entire Ride, up hamilton mountain to where the overnight camp is. It's not as bad as people seem to make it out to be. It's a steady climb but not horribly steep.
Day 2 is gravy. You spend the day riding through the flat countryside in the Niagara Valley. Unless there's a strong wind (knock on wood) it will be pretty easy. If you're taking the m route, you have the additional benefit of riding alongside Lake Erie for part of day 2, which is actually quite beautiful. You come into the finish lines about half a k from the Falls, and there will be a huge crowd and a big party. If they added another hundred k to the route, I'd still do it just to feel the thrill of crossing that finish line. It was great. (twice)
There you have it: RTCC in a nutshell. If you want training advice, here it is: rolling hills... Milton area is good and so is Stouffville area where I train. Above all, relax. Even if you don't think you've trained enough, you'll find the energy of the other riders in the event will pull you along. Just enjoy it.
There is some variation from year to year, but Mystery Bee pretty much nailed it. The climb up the escarpment at Hamilton is long, but not steep. Still, there is no shame in walking the bike up if needed.
Hopefully they don't throw that Huge hill back in on the 2nd day like they did two years ago, it was about a KM of straight up. We are usually near the middle to back of the pack and 90% of the people were walking their bike up the hill.
I remember that hill. Apparently the change was made due to construction on the original route through that area. Hopefully the job was done right and the alternate will never be used again.
The route for 2011 won't be published to prevent people from going out and riding it, getting injured, and then suing the organizers. And to answer one more of BrennaV's questions - the entire route is paved.
Route is very congested. Be careful. I fell trying to avoid an accident with a rider in front of me and I am an experienced rider. Lots of amateurs on the road so if you don't have experience with handling your bike, be careful. I understand more riders this year than last year so it will be even more of a problem. Take the 200 mile route if you want to avoid this. Last year only 800 riders on 200 Mile route versus 3500 riders for the 200km route. Why do they allow so many riders? Probably to cover their large overhead costs - an appalling $5.295Million last year which means only 66% of donations goes to charity. Check out section 12 of financial statements. Numbers do not lie: http://www.pmhf.ca/onlinereport2010/PMHF_Financials_2010.pdf
