An Atlanta-area winter cycling tradition, the Tundra Time Trial marks the beginning of the competitive cycling season. Some people take it uber-seriously. Others don't. But everybody knows their name will be attached to those numbers all season. (I've never done the race, btw, but I've heard about it for years.)
This year it's taking over a new section of the Silver Comet Trail because the Great Floods of 2009 wiped out the traditional section of the trail. The new start is at the Rambo Nursery trailhead. The race heads five miles east before a turnaround and finish back at the start.
The goal today was to scout that portion of the trail. Marc got the full GPS track. He rode it twice. I dicked around with a camera and tried to keep up on marathon-sore legs.
Summary: Slight uphill for about 3 miles. Slight downhill to the turnaround. Slight uphill for 2 miles and then a slight downhill for the 3 miles to the finish. Not very dramatic terrain. But there could be some surprises. I've ridden that section of the trail hundreds of times and know that the rock cliffs in a few places can focus the wind a lot.
There's one quasi-technical area around the 20 mile rest stop. You could gain or lose a few seconds with good handling. Other than that it's just a matter of pedaling some smart consistent power. It's a trail. It goes more or less straight. This makes it great at testing what it should test: rider strength.