A continuation from the HHH 2007 planning thread here: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=249522
Now that the 2007 edition of the Hotter'N Hell Hundred has ended - here's the thread for all of our survival stories and ride reports. I will update this post soon with my own, probably after I catch a little sleep.
The short of mine: Great ride, 100k, probably an 18.4 or higher average pace. My new Cyclometer worked well, if only I remembered to turn it on / off at the right time. Fred (lecterman) and I rolled back into town around 11:35 or so I believe. I couldn't have asked for better performance out of my newly completed Serotta. A few derailleur adjustments early on which I expected after fiddling with it last night without really testing the changes.
I'll have much more plus photos later. If anyone wants me to host their photos of the ride, please PM me and I'll give you an email address you can send them to. :)
Lastly (for now), it was fantasic meeting so many of the BF members who made the trip. crdean1 and crew - you all were great to ride with as always. superdex, RDL the 100mi group, hope your ride went well after the split. Looked like Hell's gate stayed open all the way to 12:30 so I'm sure you were able to make it through.
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.
You know, it's funny how you can do just about everything right, and a plan still doesn't come to fruition.
My big problem were the last 6 weeks I was out of town up north with very little riding while I was away, and then come back to the heat and humidity here and only get 30 miles worth of riding in to prep myself for HHH.
I *should* have had a time between 4:30 and 4:45. I planned to find me some good pacelines going around 23-24, and just stick with them until the smoother pavement the last 25-30 miles and then hammar down on my own. never DID find a line to suit me, so the trip to hell's gate was by myself at that pace and I hit the freaking wall. After that was the first time I got passed - when the pacelines finally started to catch up to me and pass me. After that it was a frequent occurrence The chipseal after that just took its toll, and I had to spend way too much time getting ice towels and the like. Ended up with a 5:10 for the hundred. It's a decent time, but I really should have been able to do much more.
At least I got to annoy Cuda in line buying some schwag last night, and came away with a 90 dollar bell sweep-r - TO MATCH CUDA'S!
We're OCP like dat.
cuda2k
Aikigreg - good running into you at the show, even if you did buy the same new helmet as me. :p Maybe we should start a "What cool schwag did you score at HHH" thread as well. :) I got a jersey ($21 from $60), the new Sweep R helmet, and some cool Campy clothing to go with all the Campy gear I have hanging on my bikes now. :D
Will G
Ended up in the very front row for the start.
A) On behalf of military aviators everywhere, my apologies for the less than timely fly-by. They were late but at least they flew over the correct spot after what appeared to be some last second alignment corrections. B) We started even later due to a malfunctioning cannon. The lanyard that fires the cannon appeared to have broke twice before they got a successful kaboom.
Since I started on the front, I thought I'd just see tandems, maybe shelled racers, etc. Lots of people jumped onto the route further upstream, apparently. The 20 mile rest stop was packed and I don't recall all those people passing me.
Jumped on with various groups. I dropped off one group smoking along at a good 25-26 mph figuring I wanted to finish and not wind up blowing up somewhere along the way. More comfortable was a 22-23 mph pace on the flats.
Hit the 40 and the 80 mile rest stops. I started with 2 water bottles with HEED and subsequently filled with Powerade and a 70 oz. camelbak with water. Power Gels and Hammer Edurolytes along with a couple of bananas accounted for the nutrition. I think I could have used a Cliff Bar or two.
The first 70 miles felt great then the legs started twitching and acting like they would just love to cramp up with a little encouragement. Put down some pickle juice, edurolytes, and lots of fluids and finished under my little umbrella of misery. Hit the overpass at 100 miles and I'm thinking, "Just where the hell is the end of this thing!!! I'm at 100 miles and I'm ready to quit!!! The bastages lied!!"
I'd like to thank Rick, one of our Granbury/Glen Rose cycling group, for dragging my weak arse that last 15-20 miles.
Finished with an "on-bike" time of 4:55 and 20.6mph average. Overall time was 5:16.
Pharmr
my first centuy...had a great time....6:22 with a 16.2avg...overall time 7:10...looking foward to next year!!
SoonerBent
Lots of people jumped onto the route further upstream, apparently. More than I realized before. Since I was riding a bent this year I expected clear roads until the fast guys started catchin up. Wrong! We started out at 22-24 and by th time we were 5 or 6 miles into it the road was solid curb to centerline riders.
I was on the bike for 5:35 and a total time of 5:52. I was averaging 19.4 until I stopped at the 70 mile stop. Just couldn't get it going again after that. I'm happy though considering it was only the second 100 and maybe third or forth over 50 miles ride I'd done all year.
curt9988
I can probably count on one hand the times in my life that I set a goal, really prepared and worked hard toward that goal, then exceeded my own expectations. This was one of them.
My best ride ever! Everything just clicked. If Lance Armstrong and Wonder Woman gave birth, I felt like that child. Everything that could go right, did. I never bonked, cramped, or became exhausted. I was actually beginning to think something may be wrong, because this was very unlike me.
This was my first century on a road bike. (My first HHH was on a MTB and my 2nd HHH - on an old Trek touring bike - was cut short last year due to the early closing of Hell's Gate.) I bought my first "real" bike in June, a Felt F90. I trained about 1100 miles for this year's HHH, and from my training log predicted an on-bike time of 6:18 with three 8-minute breaks for a total time of 6:42. (Yes, I did plan my ride down to the minute. It's a sickness, I know!) I knew that time may have been a little conservative, but I wanted to err on the side of caution.
I greatly underestimated myself. I pulled an on-bike time of 5:25 (18.7 mph) with 0:22 of breaks (mile 30, 60, and 80) for a total of 5:47 (17.6 mph). I even managed a negative split. Woo-de-FREAKIN-hoo!
I'm still waiting to wake up and find myself at the mile 50 rest area, exhausted, puking pickle juice from my nose, and with 20 minutes until Hell's Gate closes! :lol:
And what a difference 10-12 degrees makes from last year, huh? Almost didn't seem fair.
I hope everyone had half as much fun as I did. I look forward to reading your stories. Thanks for indulging me and reading mine.
Pharmr
I can probably count on one hand the times in my life that I set a goal, really prepared and worked hard toward that goal, then exceeded my own expectations. This was one of them.
well said, that's exactly how I felt when I got back to the van.:)
Will G
More than I realized before. Since I was riding a bent this year I expected clear roads until the fast guys started catchin up. Wrong! We started out at 22-24 and by th time we were 5 or 6 miles into it the road was solid curb to centerline riders.
I was on the bike for 5:35 and a total time of 5:52. I was averaging 19.4 until I stopped at the 70 mile stop. Just couldn't get it going again after that. I'm happy though considering it was only the second 100 and maybe third or forth over 50 miles ride I'd done all year.
We had a disorganized group for a while and we went blowing through and around lots of slower riders in that first 20 miles. I was hoping we did not appear to be rude or intimidating but some of the closure speeds had to be surprising to them. My biggest fear was they would alter course abruptly causing a pile-up.
Saw a bunch of bents out there. Where did you guys start?
Passed two bikes towing trailers with boom boxes. A little Aerosmith helped turn the pedals for the short time we were in the sphere of the rolling party.
cuda2k
I caught up to the boom-box pulling riders as well. First one some time shortly after the second rest stop. As for all those rolling out ahead of the official start - it is nothing short of a safety problem for just those reasons that Will G stated. There is little to nothing that the officials can really do to stop it, but I wish people would realize that the short advantage in time they get starting out there is putting them and other riders at risk as well as cheating themselves from the experience of seeing the huge mass of cycling that is the start line.
JasonJones
Well yesterday was my first century. I really enjoyed the first seventy miles. I was riding with some great pacelines running in the 23-24 range and really enjoyed pushing myself. But by mile 70 I had pushed too hard early and the last 20-30 miles was no longer about going fast but simply survival. Somehow I managed to find a second wind at the end and did a solo 23 mph run for the last four miles, but by the time I crossed the finish line I was truly dead. I ended up crossing the line in a 5:50 total time, and 5:03 on the bike with an average speed of 19.9, come on just one tenth more!
I stopped at five rest stops, but never for very long. I stayed at most 5 or 10 minutes, but at the stop at mile 70 I needed some recovery time and probably spent 20 or so minutes there. I have never ridden longer than 55 miles before so I needed to get off the bike and stretch more often as the ride went on. Overall I was very happy with how it turned out. At the end I kept thinking I never want to do this again, but now looking back, I am ready to do another.
The start and waiting was really interesting. It was amazing to me having never done that to see so many people. We got there at 6:15 to get a decent place in line, but we still didn't cross the start until 7:15. We really pushed hard the first 30 miles to get in front of the slower riders. The boombox guy was funny. We passed him on a hill though and he was going slow so I didnt get to listen to it for more than 5 or 6 seconds.
I think the experience overall was great. I was starting to get a little cocky thinking I was getting king of fast, but that sure put things into perspective for me.
In short..5:04 riding. A guy in our group had 3 flats so total time was sort of wacked a bit...7.14..20.0 avg
The first 30 miles were hard for me....not sure what was going on....we stopped at 30 and after that things got better.....before that I was worried about everything..at 70 is about the same wall but not too bad....stopped at the beer stop..had a few and a hot dog and finished up.
Anyone catch the Irish Rock Band under the tent....they were very good....
HTH was my 14th century this year...it was my best one of the year as well. I am very happy with it...can't wait till next year...
cinderellen
For another side of the century story: I'm 58 years old and have been back into cycling for about two years. This was my first century ever - and my first attempted century. It took me 8.5 hours to finish. I was averaging about 16 mph (rode by myself the whole way) but did stop at all but three stops. I had a great time, and although my time was nothing like the super times of a lot of you guys, I feel so pleased to have finished - and not dead last! Congrats to all who finished, and I so admire you "fast guys"!
chas76018
After what I had to deal with last year this years was fantastic! The weather was great considering how bad it can get at times in that part of the state. I was especially glad this time as I had four first timers in the 100 I was going to ride with. One was my 18 year old son who actually rode a couple 100k's more than a year ago and hasn't touched a road bike since. For reasons I don't know he decided he wanted to try. Two of the others had a max distance of 35-40 miles but had been riding for several months so there were several big question marks in the group. I decided that due to the limited experience in the group (I've done several centuries) I would ride my Pista with a front brake and freewheel. Add to this my father (just turned 65) and another with a max of 60 miles. In the end it turned out to be an easy 7 hour ride for the whole group, 7.5 for all but me and my son who grabbed my back wheel and drafted me for the last 20 miles. As always a well done ride by the organizers and a ton of fun to have a full group of finishers!
Oh, me aand my son also raced the mtb time trial Friday night so we'd be good and tired Saturday morning. He won his class and I ended up 4th in the 40-49, couldn't get around the slower riders in the tight stuff. Hard to race a time trial in the tight stuff with such small intervals.
aikigreg
We had a disorganized group for a while and we went blowing through and around lots of slower riders in that first 20 miles. I was hoping we did not appear to be rude or intimidating but some of the closure speeds had to be surprising to them. My biggest fear was they would alter course abruptly causing a pile-up.
Saw a bunch of bents out there. Where did you guys start?
Passed two bikes towing trailers with boom boxes. A little Aerosmith helped turn the pedals for the short time we were in the sphere of the rolling party.
I was one of the first riders off the line. Bents and tandems rolled out at 7:04 from the bridge. What's funny was that there were only 50 people in front of me, and not one person passed me the first 60 miles, yet I passed a thousand riders in that same distance. Very interesting!
redls1camaro
Man I had a blast at this ride, it was my first official 100K, ended up with a 17.8 MPH average and finished in under 4 hours. I was pretty happy, just wish I would have gone for the 100 mile ride.
TysonB
Cuda,
Thanks for finding our group from Cushing, Oklahoma at the start. We had a nice day with everyone finishing their chosen routes easily. My 22-year old daughter, her boyfriend and I had a great day finishing in 7:40 overall after the gun. Didn't look to see when we actually crossed the start.
The daughter was certain she just wanted to finish and was a little put off by drafting in the ad hoc pace lines, so we just went on our own pace. Cruised through Hell's Gate at 11:10 and had fun.
Because of the relaxed pase, we were able to party well into the evening last night and weren't sore at all today. Guess there's a lesson for a competitive old geezer in there somewhere!:)
My goofey English brother-in-law and my sister who seldom ride bikes finished the 25-mile route with class. Sis borrowed my wife's Seqouia and he rode a foldable vintage Hercules with 20 inch wheels. They enjoyed themselves. (He's a flies a crop-duster in real life.)
Also, one of my younger riding buddies (33-years old) went all out and finished in 4:59 with a 20+ average for the full 100. He related that he was in a peloton-sized group early on and didn't really have to turn a tap until after the forty mile rest stop when the group broke up into smaller pace lines. He is a reasonably fast 20mph type of rider in shorter rides, but had the time of his life being with fast guys for the full 100.
Sharing this to say that the Hotter N Hell can be fun for a bunch of different people in different ways. Funny, just like cycling in general!
Tyson
cuda2k
Here are a few of the photos I took during the ride and trip:
Hey! I guess the re-printed jerseys made it in time! I was looking through the pictures and thought "hey, nice Texas jersey...wait minute...shouldn't I have one of those jersey if that guy's wearing one???". Then I got confused about which jersey we were waiting for so I checked the jersey thread and see that Cuda must have gotten 'em in. Lookin' forward to receiving mine!
Again...great job everyone on what sounds like a very successful HHH!
Will G
Who had the Bikeforums jersey that stayed at the Cresent Plaza hotel? I walked in the door downstairs and saw the Bikeforums jersey briefly as that person stepped off the elevator.
The Blue version of the Tx BF's jersey has YET to arrive. :mad: The red one above (hanging on the shoulders of Bluechip) is the Red version that arrived without issue months ago. That's Superdex in the Yellow/Blue BF's jersey all the way from Denver CO.
http://jonpfischer.com/thecuda/photos/upload/RidePhotos/Crdean_HHH07/tn_IMG00093.jpg
That's me (sitting up just a little after a long pull if memory serves) and the Serotta in action.
I accomplished my goal of 100K! While no speed demon, I did set a personal best on distance ever (70 if you count back and forth to the host home) and speed - 14.1. It was my first ever HHH and it was a blast.
Wichita Falls is REALLY into cycling:
http://phazer08.smugmug.com/photos/188266809-M.jpg
The view from the front of the 100K'ers looking back:
http://phazer08.smugmug.com/photos/188267101-M.jpg
And looking forward...fuzzy but the sea of helmets was amazing!
http://phazer08.smugmug.com/photos/188267141-M.jpg
At about mile 35, we all waited for the life flight helicopter to evac someone. Never heard what happened other than a collision. Hope all are well.
http://phazer08.smugmug.com/photos/188267203-M.jpg
I loved the rousing cheers from the air force guys and gals...really got me going!
http://phazer08.smugmug.com/photos/188266908-M.jpg
YES! I finished!
http://phazer08.smugmug.com/photos/188266949-M.jpg
Phazer - really glad you got a photo of the overpass wall with the riders. Lecterman was kicking himself for not getting a photo of that himself.
It was great seeing all the Air Force guys cheering for us on the way out of the base. I was falling slightly behind the group I was riding with after slowing to admire the aircraft. So out of the saddle and in the drops I sprinted the Serotta with every bit of power I had left after 58 or so miles into the ride.
redls1camaro
The air force base was very, very cool. I think me and my friend did like 25 the whole way through. We saw a few guys down along the way, there was one guy at like the 40 mile mark or so, he looked very very bad, just white as a ghost. Hope everything worked out alright for those guys.
deanp
My ride partner and I had a great ride. It was our first HHH. We did the 100 miles in just under six hours and were like 8:45 total time out on the course. We skipped only the first stop. We had a 17.7 average for the time on the bikes. It is a great course with the most amazing support network ever imaginable. We booked our room for next year.
What was up with all the flat tires? Is that normal, we had to have seen 100's of people fixing flats.
Lecterman
Had a great time riding with you guys. Just back back into NH after a loong day of traveling.
Hope to ride with everyone again next year.
Cuda,
Thanks for posting a pic of me looking high at the start line...I'll be sure to post it in the "How hot are these guys?" thread over in Foo:rolleyes::p:D
Don't think so, my leg is properly extended when the crank is at 6 o'clock. If you look closely the cranks are at like 8 & 2 respectively. Bike felt comfortable to me.
simonite
The HH100 was awesome. My 1st time to try it with some friends who had done it a few times before. Started riding in April. Definitely a new yearly tradition. Finished the 101.3 miles with a 5:48 bike time, 7:22 Total time, 17.3 mph average.
Yes. Yes it always is, every bike, every build. still wont get a fit. hahahaha
cuda2k
simonite - congrats on the first HHH. Next year I'm going for the full hundred. I'm now fairly comfortable doing 100k's so it's time to step it up and beat my self down again with a longer distance!
pwherman512
What a great ride! Finished with a time of 5:35 for the full hundred(should have been closer to 5 but we were pretty far back at the start). The people of Wichita Falls are some of the nicest people around. Went to Corrino's @ 7 but was unable to find the group. I left Cuda's number at the hotel so I was unable to call. Hopefully next year I will be able to meet you all. I have two complaints about the ride, and I am curious how everyone else feels about these. First- they need to have a cycling etiquette class. Slower riders REALLY need to be far to the right. I cannot tell you how many slow riders I saw hugging the center strip forcing other to slow and pass on the right (which we all know is a no-no). Second, the start is beyond screwed up. It was awful. We got there @ 5:45 and there were hundreds of bikes laying on the ground. No big deal, until the riders showed up and I saw that they were riding 100K, 40 miles, and much slower riders. I was in the scorcher group. I thought everyone else that was lined up as per the map would be in the same class. So now myself and hundreds of other faster riders were forced to hold back till the slower riders thinned out. This is VERY wrong. The HHH organizers can fix this. They should put ropes down the center lane (they wanted everyone to the right of the center line anyways) and the give you a colored wristband. Scorchers get red, 100k gets yellow, etc. They have some one at starting area checking bands and kicking those out that do not belong. Perfect? No, but it would help. Also, and NO disrespect here, but have tandems, mountain bikes and other "alternative" bikes start after the scorchers.
I saw three accidents on Saturday. One of them was pretty bad. And I know for a fact that two of those accidents happened because a slower rider that was going a shorter distance was at the front of the starting line getting in the way of the faster riders.
Your thoughts please!
evblazer
Well this years HHH was the first group ride of any sort for my wife and I and it went really well. We almost missed the consumer show in the building because it was all closed up when we went in that morning so we thought it was just the tents outside. I think next year we will get a hotel. We woke up at 1am, after going to sleep at 10PM, to get there on time. I was yawning on the ride constantly.
Just did 25 miles and it went by really really fast we though we should have done the 50 before and definately after we finished but didn't know how flat it would be. It was amazing the huge number of people that were out in front of us and the huge traffic jam while everyone stopped to take pictures of that big inflatable red Hotter then Hell guy on the side of the road. When we turned down the 25 mile only route we continued to just hit a constant stream of people to pass we had no idea where they came from. The two rest stops were absolutely packed as we rode by. I kinda felt bad not going to the one on the base as there were a few soldiers that were selling it hard that they had a really nice stop with water and fresh cut oranges. Crazy wife doesnt' like to stop or it won't count at 25 miles but 18 and 7. :rolleyes:
While chatting about we were proposing all those flat fixers were just pretending so they could get a nice break from the ride in secret. ;) If you saw two really out of place bikes it was us. My Fuji touring with marathon plus tires, front and rear racks and my wifes Fuji Finest 2.0 on armadillos with a rear rack and trunk bag. I think we were the only folks with racks of any kind.
evblazer
That start was pretty horrible even for 25 milers. Riding really slowly with your whole family of 5-6 riders side by side is a big problem especially as your kids purposely wander all over the road without a care in the world or parents saying a thing.
We had a tandem back in the 25 section who was doing the 25 ride and it didn't cause a problem. I think unless your a scorcher on a tandem or bent you shouldn't be up there. Slow riders were a huge problem even 4-5 miles into the course especially groups of 5-6 of them as they'd take up the whole road and you'd be forced across the yellow line to pass. If even one of those accident was caused by a slower rider or involved a slower rider they need to step it up next year and get a few of those volunteers to go through and enforce the starting sections. Rope it all off with an entrance from the side road to each section and have someone standing there checking wrist bands or colored stickers on the numbers or whatever need be.
crdean1
My ride report:
Since my computer didn't work from mile 40 to 50, I was about 10 miles off. After doing the math, we did the 100K and had an average somewhere between 18 and 19 mph. It was a personal best for me as the most miles I had ever done was 53, and that was the week before. I felt pretty good during the ride, and we stopped at a few of the rest stops to refill. Total ride time, I was told by my friend, was just under 3:30. There were some beautiful road conditions between miles 30 and 40, and I found myself hitting 24 & 25 mph with bursts of 27 on that flat stretch. It felt great. It did help that two guys rode by and one said "Jump On". I couldn't keep it going though, and stopped to wait for the rest of the group and cool down at the 4th rest stop.
At the end, Lecterman looked at me and said, "Race Pace to the finish?" I said, very unsure, "Sounds good, let me get a drink and we'll go." When I said go, my brain was all for it, but my legs had nothing to give. I was done. So, I watched him sweep off into the distance and I crossed the line not too long afterward, tired, legs starting to burn.
This was my first HHH. It was a great experience, highlights were dinner with mods (cuda and lecterman), consumer show deals (conti 4000s, 2 fer $83, Aliante carbon for $90), the 'County Fair' themed rest stop (#2), camping (air conditioned camper = excellent), the start line, the ride, the Air Force base and all of the AF personnel cheering everyone on, the flyover, and all of the great people.
Simply great, can't wait for next year. Great to meet all of you guys.
Edit: The only picture of me 'riding' is the one that cuda posted on the previous page, I'm in the green jersey with the "C" on my backside.
crdean1
Had a great time riding with you guys. Just back back into NH after a loong day of traveling.
Hope to ride with everyone again next year.
Cuda,
Thanks for posting a pic of me looking high at the start line...I'll be sure to post it in the "How hot are these guys?" thread over in Foo:rolleyes::p:D
Or...you could start another thread, "How high are these guys?" :lol:
redls1camaro
pwherman512- I agree completely. I had the same compliant. Me and my friend ended up just sprinting the first 10 miles to get around people, did not help that we had to either weave or go into on coming traffic because people on the left where riding slow. I am not a fast rider but, tons of people in front of me had no business there. I can't tell you how many kids I almost ran over, kids under a certain age need to be in the back, I don't care what the distance is.
cuda2k
With 11,000 people there is no way that the volunteers can keep everyone from lining up in the wrong group. Sure, they can try, but there will always be people trying to get at the front that don't need to be there. Then of course there are those who start at the far side of the overpass as well. I'll admit that I rode the 100k and lined up in the "Hells Gate Keepers" pack (#2) since many of those who I was riding with were doing the 100mi. I knew what speed I could hold on the road and I wasn't going to be slowing anyone down behind me. All you can do is your part in making the start of the ride as smooth and safe as it can be. Organizers have been doing it now for 26 years and I'm sure have refined the start as much as they can in that time. This year did go better than years past with the staged start though. So have to give them thumbs up on that.
dstrong
I did a thread last year asking about alternative ways to do starts in big rides. The flaw in the staged start with DISTANCE as the break is that there can be "fast" 100k, 50 mile, 25 mile and even 10k riders. They will catch the slower 100 milers (unless they break off before then or there's a big time gap between the starts).
Question...did they start each group at intervals or was it just purely a way to line up?
With 11,000+ riders I'm just not sure there is the "perfect" start.
superdex
Who had the Bikeforums jersey that stayed at the Cresent Plaza hotel? I walked in the door downstairs and saw the Bikeforums jersey briefly as that person stepped off the elevator.
That would be yours truly -- and lecterman, at least you don't look like Landis all hopped up on testosterone in your pic (for the record, no caffiene or anything when that was taken). And then the next pic I'm probably still 'enjoying' my first taste of pickle juice as an electrolyte replacement. Good times.
I have pics to post tonight, and a lengthy story about the weekend (including how we ended up at the Crescent Plaza Hotel), but here's a recap of my ride:
Rode with the BF group until the 100mile turnoff, then with RDL and another BFer (sorry, I'm terrible with names, real or online), until I was unceremoniously droped after a rest stop. Sorry, when I said 18-20, I was talking 18-20 pace, not average. I let the two duck and weave through other riders away from me at 22+ --I wasn't going to blow myself up. Was it something I said?
Then I flatted right after turning south on 44. Which just happened to be a third of a mile from the rest stop. I knew I was close, so I got enough air in the tire to limp to the aid station and bummed the mechanic's floor pump.
Made Hell's Gate without incident.
Started to hit every rest stop after 50 miles. The heat was starting to get to me, and it was showing on the spedometer. I was also battling my stomach, being quite bloated from trying to drink too much too quickly.
I was drinking more pickle juice than I care to admit or advocate. The stuff is okay, but I had to go back to Accelerade and just water.
Met up with Kim, and rode together the rest of the way. Having someone to chat with helps the mental game, and thank you Kim!
Flatted a second time before Rest Stop #9.
Rest Stop #9 I was torched. Had a moment of walls shrinking, and my heart rate wasn't going down. Took my time, drank fluids, dumped ice down my back. Kim was too nice in waiting. I was glad the stops were 5 miles apart here. I needed it.
At Rest Stop #10 I was really taking my time cooling off when the clouds rolled in. Once the sun disappeared and my temperature dropped I was a new man. And we had a nice tail wind, and FLEW in from that rest stop to the beer station.
Then Kim flatted on the descent of the overpass coming into downtown. ARGH! --At least this time there was shade to change the tire in.
I only glanced at the computer, but I think it said 6:30-something for a 16-something average. Add in the multiple flats and rest stops and I was on course for 8+ hours....
cuda2k
SuperDex - sorry to hear about the flat problems and the heat problems! I was experiencing some of those same heat related symptoms during last years ride and on other rides so I know it can really throw a wrench into your day. Not sure when during the day the wind direction swung around to the north when the storms started boiling up but I wished it had been when I was on I-44 (grumbles about that hot south wind)! I battled those north/west winds when I was driving home though, which was interesting. Hope you had a good ride over all, and that the drive down from Colorado was worth it.
dstrong - they staged the start with 3 groups of 100mi riders based on speed, then the 100k, 50 and so on down in distance.
biffstephens
One guy in our group had 3 flats. Uhhhhhggggg There were a lot of flats it seemed. I have done HTH a few times and my only complaint was the roads....that is some rough chip seal....but all in all 11,000 cyclist they did a great job.....if they changed it much it wouldn't be HTH any more....
superdex
Not sure when during the day the wind direction swung around to the north when the storms started boiling up but I wished it had been when I was on I-44 (grumbles about that hot south wind)! I battled those north/west winds when I was driving home though, which was interesting. Hope you had a good ride over all, and that the drive down from Colorado was worth it.
That's cause the winds swung around in the afternoon, long after you fast 62mi wimps were showered and on your way home ;)
The drive was worth it, and in the immortal words of my girlfriend, "it's checked off the list."
Now to get you Texans up this way for some real hills ;)
antagonist
Well, I had a great time this year. Last year I did the 100K for my first ever organized ride. This year I decided on the 100 miles. I did it with my brother-in-law who has been riding for only 6 weeks. He is pretty good, however, at 24 years old (10 years younger than me). He used to run track in high school and at 6" 140 lbs, he has the ideal cyclist body, "Lucky". I also rode with my buddy Todd. We were all 3 on Griffins, and they just fly up hill. I was a bit nervous since last year's 100K was still my longest ever ride. We hydrated all week on the lead-up, and we drank all day during the ride, thirsty or not. It could not have been better. We planned to stop at the 20mile rest-stop, but it was way to crowded, so we stopped at 30 in Electra. After that, we stopped at every other rest stop. We reached Hell's Gate at 11:05. I was still feeling great and so were my buddies. We had that little extra boost by the crowds cheering for making Hell's Gate. We kept going. Todd had a clicking noise just before the 70mile stop, so we stopped there while the mechanics looked at it. It was nothing big, but we were there for a little more than 30 minutes. We kept going, stopped for a quick free beer at the 98 mile mark. We finished all together and feeling great. We had an 18.1 mph average. We were on the bike for 5:36 with an overall time of 7:05. I feel pretty good about that time because our usual average for 40-50 miles is just under 18mph. Apparently all of those hills on our training ride paid off because there were no hills on the 100miles that compared to the top 5 in training.
There were just a few negative experiences. There was a local sheriff at the 50mile rest stop who kept yelling for people to get out of the west bound lanes. He kept yelling "You people need to learn to have some respect for the law". He was really talking down the the cyclists and grouping us all as "you people". At one point, he threw a bike that was laying on the road into the grass. I got out of there before I saw whatever came of that. Oh well.
The other negative part was that I forgot to put on sunscreen. I had some, but I totally left it in the car. I burned, but I feel okay. I am just tired of people telling me that I got some sun.
It was a great time. I can't wait till next year.
Will G
Superdex, sorry I didn't acost you and say hello.
What kind of tires were you guys running that had flats? I had some GP4000s with 670 miles (front) and 1670 miles (rear) on them with no problems but I heard a couple tires blow in the middle of packs moving at a good clip. No wrecks behind me as far as I could tell.
I passed on the spaghetti dinner. Any culinary opinions?
c_m_shooter
This was my second century, and I had a blast. I finished with a ride time of 6:01 and a total of 6:40. I stopped at mile 55 and 80 just long enough to top of my water, and thought I was going to finish without another. Then at mile 95 of so my legs started to burn, and the bike dragged me into the outlaw rest stop. Two beers and a bratwurst later I was back on the road and feeling good. I finished without any trouble, maybe next year I can get with a group and try to get in the five hour range.
cuda2k
I was running brand new Michelin Pro 2 Races, about 110psi in each, no flats. Didn't see what Scott was running on his Blue though. The roads certainly aren't the best in places, but not sure what was causing blowouts. Perhaps a combination of too high of pressure and heat along with the rough road? I've had a couple blowouts lately, but I contribute most of those to bad tire installation (aka: my own darned fault).
lopsided
This is the second year in a row my wife and I have ridden a tandem in this event. We had a time of 3:13 (on the bike) for the 100k and an overall time of 3:56. That includes 4 stops (20, 30, 40 and 50 mile rest stops). Average speed of 19.5, up from last years 18.9. Thanks to the group of four young men (on Pinirellos and Masi's), around mile 45, that we traded pulls on for around five miles or so at a 28-30 mph pace. Just like last year, we were held up near the finish line to allow the racers to finish ahead of us (what a sight to see). The change in the bib system had to make Marathon Foto's job much harder.