General Cycling Discussion - Hotter N' Hell Ride - Texas

Is anybody here going? I will be there doing probably the 50 or the metric. Not quite ready for a century in 100 degree weather. Am hoping to be ready for the century by next year.

This year will be my first but, I'm told it is one of the largest rides in the country with 8-10 thousand riders.

wow, i'd love to do a ride in Texas. Where at in Texas is this ride?
not that I will be there. But, I can dream about it.

The Hotter N' Hell ride is held in Witchita Falls (North) Texas and this year is the 20th. It will be my first year but, I'm told it is the largest sanctioned ride in the country with 8-10 thousand riders.

They have some races and rides for the rest of us...25, 50, 62 and 100. They bill it as 100 miles in 100 degrees. I plan to do the 62 this year and train for the century next year.

The ride has a web site that's pretty interesting but, I don't thinkI'm allowed to post it here. It shouldn't be too hard to find though!

I was hoping some BF folks would be there to do another episode of Raymond's "Serial Rides"!!

Ride safe:)

I going to the Hotter N'Hell and doing the 100. It is my first year riding and I'm giving it al I have. I ride a lot of hills around San Antonio and I ride some in North TX and it is a lot easier spinning than climbing hills for 4 hours. Its going to be a hoot.

Hey RoadieRunner,
How'd you do? I hope you are still alive. It was just about hot wasn't it!?!?!? I managed to complete my first metric and am very proud of myself. Completed in 4 hours 19 minutes.

I made two stops, one at the 31 mile mark for a quick banana and refill my Camelback. The second was the big rest stop on 44 at about 51 miles. I took about 15 minutes, sat in the shade of the tent, drank some Powerade and walked through the (sent from God!) mister. Then back on the bike for the finish. It was great!

In the group I went with we had one doing the 25, one doing the 50 and I did the metric. We plan for everyone to be in shape for the century next year and for the MS150 (Houston to Austin) in April.

Spent bucks at the expo but, overall had a really great time. Hope your ride was successful also.

I did the HHH Century on 8/25. Overall I was somewhat disappointed. Late in the ride with the temperature at ~104°F, some of the break points didn't have ice!!!! After a rider died last year due to heat stroke (or so legend has it), it seems criminally negligent for them to run out of ice.

Also, if you plan on doing this in the future, bear in mind that there's no real lunch break, and places to stop to buy something are very few and far between.

This is a better ride to look "back at" than "forward to..." I really don't see how they get so many riders with such poor food and drink support. And the scenery is lousy. Mile after mile of dirt. Plan on heading into hot wind for much of the ride.

This was also the first time I ever had a flat due to catching a piece of barbed wire in a tire. Having a spot of shade to change the tire in would have been nice -- it just wasn't in the plan!

One cool thing was th show at the MPEC hall in Wichita Falls on Friday night. There were some great deals at some of the booths. I had to buy a Hotter 'n Hell cycling jersey -- really sharp.

I gotta admit the shade was in short supply! I did though, enjoy the quiet country roads with little other than bicycles on them. I did the metric, not the century and thought the rest stops were well placed and full of good stuff. I especially liked the one after the long uphill on Hwy. 44. It had a really great mister that left me feeling cool for the first couple of miles out of the stop. Sorry your ride wasn't great. I am training hard and intend to make the MS150 this year and do the HHH Century next year.