Ahh, it doesn't like my picture links - let me go back and edit in links so you can just click on them.

I would recommend that you drive the bike course, but the good news is that I see people riding it all the time when I'm out Ironman training or on weekend rides, so you should be able to practice on the race course if you're local enough to do so (wish I had). For a practice ride, I would start past the Coeur d'Alene Resort, like at the Library, because that downtown section is the most annoying section to bike through with car and people traffic. If you want to add miles to total 24, instead of taking a left past the library toward the resort, just go straight through that intersection and then loop back down.

I think it's Vertical Earth that has maps of the bike courses of the area - for the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon, Ironman, and maybe one or two other things. I wish they would list the turns like a cue sheet on their website so it'd be easier to drive. I used that a lot when I drove then rode the Ironman bike when I was getting familiar with it - my husband pointed out landmarks and turns and I memorized them and repeated them back to myself. I don't think this course is that bad, but I am going to drive it and see before I try riding it again.

It was a nice swim, a challenging ride, and a tiring run. When you finish a race and think "next year, I'll do (whatever) differently..." you know you have a problem