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I've never ridden in the Gatineau Hills, so can't comment on the comparison - though maybe someone else could chime in?

We do have the course profiles on the website so you can see our course and you could compare it with elevation profiles of areas that you know. We also have the gpx files you could load in a Computrainer or the like to give it a spin. Likely someone with good computer skills could overlay a course that you are familiar with with our course to give you a better idea of the comparison?

I think the 'challenging' aspect to this course is that the hills aren't big, but they don't stop. In Pentiction, once you make the second climb, you can freewheel the last 20 kilometers back into town. On this course we never have a huge climb, but the small hills are still with you even at kilometer 175, so patience and saving your energy will be rewarded on this course.

If it's calm day, the winds won't be bad, especially inland, but I would expect a head wind on the return to transition - especially if it is a warm sunny day. Once the land heats up, the warmed air rises and draws in the cooler air from the coasts. As you return to T2, you are headed back to the coast, and typically a head wind along the lakes coming back into Dartmouth.

Just keep repeating the Long-distance triathlon mantra: "If it was easy, they'd call it Football!"

I think that's a good assumption. Absent some weather system passing through, typically the wind is not a factor riding in the early morning. Also, there is no certainty of a breeze on the return trip, just if there is one, it is most likely to be blowing inland (which gives the head wind on the return), and typically stronger later in the day as the land warms up.

I don't know that data for average winds would be of that much use in this case, as conditions along the route ban be so localized based on the topography of where you are on the route. Here is a link that I use that also hooks in personal weather stations in addition to the Environment Canada stations giving a better view of local real time weather conditions: http://wxug.us/nsjb