8/2/04 by Allied Decals Cycling Team
On July 31 and August 1, Jim Mullins, Rob Tandy, and Denis Osowski traveled to the Sugar Grove, Ohio area to preview and scout some of the stages being offered for the Savage Hill Stage Race.
The adventure began in the rain early on Saturday morning with a drive to Sugar Grove. Epic was the word that came to mind. We drove the TTT course waiting for floodwater to recede so that we could ride. Interestingly, another 3 guys from a team near Dayton was there doing the exact same thing - ha, but only for one ride. Once the rain meter went from "deluge" to "steady", the three of us decided to get on the bikes and head straight away into the Savage-Chicken climbs after a Jim Mullins patented warm-up. It hurt being as fresh as daisies and we would climb it 5 more times over three rides in two days.
Good rides, hard work, lot's-o-food (including the BOMBER see – Jim M. for recipe), almost a case of Coke, a new mascot (touch the donkey Jim), and great digs at the hotel all added up to a great weekend.
The conclusion of our 2 day experience which included 6,600 feet of climbing, over 100 miles, and 6 times up the Savage-Chicken Coop climb is that anyone who signed up for this nightmare needs serious psychiatric help.....and a 27 tooth cassette.
Down to Business
The TTT course
Hills galore for this "team" TT. Climbs so long that only about half of the 10 mile course is NOT on a 6 to 10 percent grade. There are about 5 flat miles total. Nice.
The Criterium
We didn't ride this course but we did ride the circuit course that the Crit replaces just in case they decide to use it. The only thing we know about the Crit is that it will be staged in the town of Bremen and Bremen is dead flat with brick side streets. Smooth bricks but brick nonetheless.
The circuit course is lightly rolling. Now, bear in mind we rode it after we rode Savage-Chicken three times already so the Alps would've seemed flat at that point. However, it really does look fairly level.
The Savage-Chicken Coop RR
Everyone's contemplating this bad boy. There's no other description for this course other than sheer brutality. The course could be considered a form of torture under the Geneva Convention if it weren't for the fact that people volunteer to ride it. It's hard. Real, real hard.
The course starts in Bremen and within 10 minutes, you have to deal with a serious climb. There's a smooth fast downhill after it that leads to a right turn onto a very rolling road. Every one of those rollers can pop you if you're not careful. During the race, this stretch will probably be done in the large ring if the field is running "full on".
After all that, then you get your shot at the Savage-Chicken Coop climbs. Savage goes up in three pitches. The first pitch is the steepest. The other pitches are shorter and not as steep but you're gassed from the first one and the tiny flat in between the pitches breaks your rhythm. After the third pitch you descend for about a minute. It's not very technical unless there's gravel and washouts (like there were last weekend). Otherwise, it's fast but narrow. Apparently, the county did some work on this road so there are no potholes or cracks to worry you.
Next, with your heart rate somewhere just short of threshold, you hit the Chicken Coop almost immediately after the descent. It rolls up a bit and then, it goes up. And, baby, it goes up like a freakin' wall for about 300 meters. At 200 meters to the KOM, you're going so slowly that it takes around two minutes to actually get to the KOM finish. It is easy to understand why people were walking last year.
The really nice thing about Chicken Coop though is that, once you get to the top, there are some serious rollers for about 1 or 2 miles after the summit. Anyone who has legs to do some damage is going to thrown down after the summit so you need to be ready. After a left turn onto a road called West Point, the course finally relents. Not that there isn't terrain but there is some rest to be had .ha, ha, that is unless you're chasing. The race heads back into town and starts the loop all over again.
The Stage Four Circuit Race
We didn't have a chance to ride this course entirely. Although we were on some of the rolling parts, we did not see the one serious climb on this course.
All for now and make sure you're doing your hill repeats and go get that 27 tooth cassette!!