As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, I rode the bike course for my race next week, today.  I made the trip up to Moraine State Park to join a group ride with Pittsburgh Triathlon Club.

I have done this upcoming race before, and am somewhat familiar with the bike course. That said, it definitely helped to ride it today.  I was reminded of where the hills get steep, and where I need to be cautious when going around curves.

The good news was that the road surface is, for the most part, in very good condition.  There was one pothole. It may get fixed before race day, but if it is not, I now know where it is.

After riding the course, I took a ride outside the park, in order to complete the rest of my workout.  The roads outside of the park were not in good condition at all.  On one particular road, I was wishing I was riding a gravel bike!

I also did a short run, off the bike.  I started this run at race pace, which reminded me that Olympic distance races, and particularly the run, are painful.  The run course was just how I remembered it… blisteringly hot.

The last thing I learned today, as I rode around Moraine State Park, was that my bike needs a few tweaks.  The shifting between gears was not smooth. This is something that is usually very easy to fix, and it will a focus ahead of my upcoming rides this week.