A pretty straight forward ride on one of the few roads that are in this area. Described as "flat" on the event website, it is far from "completely" flat. You face some rolling hills and all in all it sums up to some 300m of overall climb.
Unfortunately the road conditions are so-so. This main road - it's actually called highway - is quite a bumpy concrete road. You do not find any major pottholes on the way up to coast but you should make friedns with constant vibrations of your handlebars.
The current date (end of August) is right in the middle of the rainy season. So expect very hot weather when it's not raining (like it was on the race day in 2009) as well as (warm) storms and heavy rain should it rain (like it was on the Saturday before the race).
Due to this fact the flight may be as bumpy as the ride on the bike. :-)
Overall the race is perfectly organized, the swim is very nice and warm in the 2 fresh water man-made lakes and the run takes you through some rice fields and small villages. Gatorade, water and Geld are provided, there is even some shade on the run. On the bike, the drinks are served in bike bottles, which is really an excellent service!
Further information at
http://www.ironman703phil.comGalerie du tour
Carte du tour et altitude
Commentaires
Fligh to Manila and then take a connecting flight either to Naga (Pili Airport) or to Legazpi City. Pili is about 20min drive from Naga, while Legazpi is bit farther away. Both airports are served by the local air companies Cebu Air and Air Philippines. The Cebu Air airplanes are smaller turbo props, so luggage (bike) could be a problem when you'll be coming with the crowd on Thursday or Friday. Air Philippines operates a fleet of mid sized jets where luggage is not any issue.
2009 the local organization of the event was excellent with frequent shuttles between the airports, the suggested hotels and the T zone.
Even luggage pre-check on Monday early morning after the race was done in the corresponding hotel premisses! So one did not have to mess around with the bike case at the small local airport early morning.
Tracks GPS
Trackpoints-
GPX / Garmin Map Source (gpx) download
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TCX / Garmin Training Center® (tcx) download
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CRS / Garmin Training Center® (crs) download
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Google Earth (kml) download
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G7ToWin (g7t) download
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TTQV (trk) download
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Overlay (ovl) download
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Fugawi (txt) download
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Kompass (DAV) Track (tk) download
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Feuille de tours (pdf) download
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Original file of the author (gpx) download