ironz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,873
Last day at WDW (for now!)
Got up early to get a little breakfast at POR food court. Mom was loving the croissants there! I had basic bacon and eggs. it was good.
Had express checkout, so didn't need to do anything else at the resort except take one last look around at the lovely landscaping and say goodbye.
Back into the PT Cruiser for a drive-through of the 1/2 Ironman bike course.
It starts at FW...roads there are flat and well paved, like all the roads on WDW property. (which led me to wonder, how do they keep those roads so nicely maintained, when there are guests on them year-round? and you hardly ever see road construction going on?...must be that Disney magic) Couldn't actually drive into FW, but no big deal. The course goes out to World Drive, but according to the race directions, we will turn onto a little airstrip that parallels World drive for a little bit? Some of that pavement will be a little rough, but that is only for less than 1/2 mile.
The bike course will then go back by FW and out the back of WDW property...by some of the offices and maintenance buildings. Hwy 535 is flat and well paved. On West Orange Country Club Dr., just before the turn onto Tilden, they are doing some overpass construction. Hopefully, they will not have the road torn up...currently the road is fine. Pretty small hill as you make the turn from Tilden to 545, but the first time you notice any elevation changes.
Marsh Road has the biggest hill. If you are from Houston or Dallas, it is a big hill. If you are from a part of the country that has any hills, you will be fine. Looks like on the course elevation that it's about 100 feet of elevation change. Not too steep, but not a long long incline. The rest of Marsh Road, which is an out and back section is rollers. Nothing steep. The pavement gets a little rougher out here...I think this part (and another) is in an adjoining county (not Orange County) and is less well maintained.
Pretty much from the turn from Marsh onto Williams until you get to Reams Road, the course has rolling hills and lots of turns in the road...some gentle curves, and some sharper turns. So it will be a little more "technical" to ride, and the cyclists will at least need to pay some attention. This will not be a part of the ride that anyone can "zone out" on. Within this part, Rex Road and Porter Road (another place of overpass construction) have the worst pavement of the whole ride...but I would estimate this is less than 5 miles total out of the 56 miles to ride. Rex Road has a longish incline...not steep, but a longer incline than most anywhere else. There is a fun downhill on Hwy 545 at about mile 33 or so. also note: if you drive (or ride) the course ahead of time, when you turn right onto 545 from Phil C. Peters Road, the sign says "Avalon Road," not Hwy. 545. The section on Lake Hancock Road looks fun...rollers and a bit of a winding road.
Reams road is where the course will flatten out again as you head for home (transition)...currently the last about 1/2 mile on Reams is having some utility construction...looks like they are laying some pipes/drains in that area. No telling what that status will be in 2 months...could be all cleaned up, could be more torn up.
Then back to 535, back through the back end of WDW and onto the nice smooth WDW roads to FW!
Oh, and going in and out of the back of the WDW property, looks like there are about 3 speed humps that will be on the course.
I think the hills are not going to be a problem for most people. Out on 535 esp., wind could be a factor as it is a wider road and not protected by lots of trees. The other roads are smaller roads (no shoulder)...many areas are lined with orange trees, so hopefully we can enjoy the scent while we're riding. I think it's not going to be spectator friendly, but many tri's aren't for the bike (IM Wisconsin is definitely an exception to that!).
OK...and then we left WDW and came home...
And my only comment about leaving with a rental car is that there is no place to get gas once you get on 417!! We ended up getting to the airport, and driving through to the north entrance to get gas. And yes, I was warned on the Dis Boards that I should get gas before I get on the tollway, but I didn't listen to that part. my bad.
I hope anyone got any useful information out of these posts. Any questions about attractions, POR, or the 1/2 IM course, I will be glad to try and answer!
Cheers,
Betsy
Got up early to get a little breakfast at POR food court. Mom was loving the croissants there! I had basic bacon and eggs. it was good.
Had express checkout, so didn't need to do anything else at the resort except take one last look around at the lovely landscaping and say goodbye.
Back into the PT Cruiser for a drive-through of the 1/2 Ironman bike course.
It starts at FW...roads there are flat and well paved, like all the roads on WDW property. (which led me to wonder, how do they keep those roads so nicely maintained, when there are guests on them year-round? and you hardly ever see road construction going on?...must be that Disney magic) Couldn't actually drive into FW, but no big deal. The course goes out to World Drive, but according to the race directions, we will turn onto a little airstrip that parallels World drive for a little bit? Some of that pavement will be a little rough, but that is only for less than 1/2 mile.
The bike course will then go back by FW and out the back of WDW property...by some of the offices and maintenance buildings. Hwy 535 is flat and well paved. On West Orange Country Club Dr., just before the turn onto Tilden, they are doing some overpass construction. Hopefully, they will not have the road torn up...currently the road is fine. Pretty small hill as you make the turn from Tilden to 545, but the first time you notice any elevation changes.
Marsh Road has the biggest hill. If you are from Houston or Dallas, it is a big hill. If you are from a part of the country that has any hills, you will be fine. Looks like on the course elevation that it's about 100 feet of elevation change. Not too steep, but not a long long incline. The rest of Marsh Road, which is an out and back section is rollers. Nothing steep. The pavement gets a little rougher out here...I think this part (and another) is in an adjoining county (not Orange County) and is less well maintained.
Pretty much from the turn from Marsh onto Williams until you get to Reams Road, the course has rolling hills and lots of turns in the road...some gentle curves, and some sharper turns. So it will be a little more "technical" to ride, and the cyclists will at least need to pay some attention. This will not be a part of the ride that anyone can "zone out" on. Within this part, Rex Road and Porter Road (another place of overpass construction) have the worst pavement of the whole ride...but I would estimate this is less than 5 miles total out of the 56 miles to ride. Rex Road has a longish incline...not steep, but a longer incline than most anywhere else. There is a fun downhill on Hwy 545 at about mile 33 or so.
also note: if you drive (or ride) the course ahead of time, when you turn right onto 545 from Phil C. Peters Road, the sign says "Avalon Road," not Hwy. 545. The section on Lake Hancock Road looks fun...rollers and a bit of a winding road. Reams road is where the course will flatten out again as you head for home (transition)...currently the last about 1/2 mile on Reams is having some utility construction...looks like they are laying some pipes/drains in that area. No telling what that status will be in 2 months...could be all cleaned up, could be more torn up.
Then back to 535, back through the back end of WDW and onto the nice smooth WDW roads to FW! Oh, and going in and out of the back of the WDW property, looks like there are about 3 speed humps that will be on the course.
I think the hills are not going to be a problem for most people. Out on 535 esp., wind could be a factor as it is a wider road and not protected by lots of trees. The other roads are smaller roads (no shoulder)...many areas are lined with orange trees, so hopefully we can enjoy the scent while we're riding. I think it's not going to be spectator friendly, but many tri's aren't for the bike (IM Wisconsin is definitely an exception to that!).
OK...and then we left WDW and came home...
And my only comment about leaving with a rental car is that there is no place to get gas once you get on 417!! We ended up getting to the airport, and driving through to the north entrance to get gas. And yes, I was warned on the Dis Boards that I should get gas before I get on the tollway, but I didn't listen to that part. my bad.
I hope anyone got any useful information out of these posts. Any questions about attractions, POR, or the 1/2 IM course, I will be glad to try and answer!
Cheers,
Betsy
