I was able to ride the SavageMan Triathlon bike course last weekend at Deep Creek, so I thought I’d pass along a preview. Overall, I would have to say that this was the most difficult but most beautiful half century bike ride I’ve ever done. For a better description, see the course maps on the race website (http://www.savagemantri.org/Bike_Course.html), which has lots of photos, videos, maps, and an elevation profile of the course.
I think of the course being in three distinct sections, each described here:
From Deep Creek to Westernport (~20 mi) the ride starts in the rolling farmlands outside of the Deep Creek area. Most of the climbs here were not particularly steep, though they tend to be longer than the hills around here. I was able to handle them easily in my 2nd chain ring. After you turn onto Spring Lick Road you descend for 6-7 miles in what feels like and endless downhill on twisty and very narrow roads. Top speeds here were around 45, but I had to ride my brakes often to stay in control on the narrow winding roads. The scenery was utterly amazing, heavily forested and canopied roads, white water of the Savage River on the right, mountains rising in all directions as you descend through Savage River State Forest. Finally, you pass through the town of Luke, with the monstrosity Westvaco plant, and into Westernport.
Here the character of the ride completely changes as you begin to climb the Westernport Wall (http://www.savagemantri.org/Westernport_Wall.html), in which you climb 800 ft in the first mile and traverse sections of the road with a 25% grade. The climb continues outside of Westernport and over the next several miles until you cross the Eastern Continental Divide on Big Savage Mountain. From Westernport to the summit of Big Savage Mountain you go from 900 ft to over 2800 ft in just over for a vertical climb of nearly 2000 feet in 6 miles. This is where I’m glad I still ride a triple ring - without it I would have been hurting badly. If it weren’t for the incredible views at every turn, this would pretty much just suck. To add further insult to the injury, you are rewarded with a great 3 mile descent in which you bleed off about 1000 ft of your elevation, only to turn around and have to climb it all back again. Finally you reach New Germany State Park and enter the 3rd section of the course. I’ll reiterate here - I’d wager anything that this section is the most difficult in any North American Triathlon, but I can’t count the number of times I was in awe of the views and the scenery. It was very remote and I was alone for very long stretches without any other sign of humans whatsoever. It was quite inspiring, actually.
The last 15 miles of the course take you through typical western Maryland roads - lots of long climbs with several shorter and steeper sections, but nothing like the climbs between Westernport and New Germany. This is where mental toughness is needed during a race - after 40 miles these hills seemed like monsters, and they seem to just keep on coming. I probably could have handled them easily in my 2nd ring, but as spent as my legs were by this time, I was still dropping into the 3rd ring on occasion. Otto Road, Foy Road, and others have some pretty steep climbs that come late in the ride, which amplifies the degree of difficulty somewhat.
I finished the ride in 4 hours and 2 minutes, averaging about 14 miles per hour on the ride. I finished feeling okay, but a sub 2-hour half marathon seemed very unlikely for me. This is most certainly NOT a course you can even consider a PR in for a 1/2 iron distance race.
As for the rest of the race, the swim is in Deep Creek Lake - but I was amazed at just how choppy that lake was this weekend. It was as active as I’ve seen on the Chesapeake Bay during the 4.4 mile Bay Swim, minus the currents. And I hear this is normal, on this lake. Doh! I was unable to preview the run course, but I have a friend who might run it this week and report back. It is a double loop through state park roads and trails in Deep Creek State Park, and I’m not expecting much elevation here.