Here is the short story..... It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Next time I might just let someone beat me in the back of the legs with a baseball bat.


Here are the stats!

Data Value Unit
Duration 8:19:30
Sampling Rate 5 s
Cycling Efficiency 17.2 %

Energy Expenditure 5756 kcal
Number of Heart Beats 73438 beats
Recovery -39 beats
Minimum Heart Rate 85 bpm
Average Heart Rate 147 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 191 bpm
Standard Deviation 13.9 bpm

Minimum Speed 1.3 mph
Average Speed 15.2 mph
Maximum Speed 48.8 mph
Distance 126.3 miles
Odometer 1181 miles

Minimum Cadence 29 rpm
Average Cadence 78 rpm
Maximum Cadence 121 rpm
Coasting Time 1:56:50 (23.4 %)
Coasting Distance 41.5 miles (32.9 %)

Minimum Altitude 942 ft
Average Altitude 1171 ft
Maximum Altitude 1919 ft
Ascent 10640 ft
Descent 10203 ft
Slopes 23
Grade % 0.1 %
VAM 1278 ft/h

Minimum Power 1 Watts
Average Power 187 Watts
Average Power (0 W incl.) 139 Watts
Maximum Power 521 Watts
Pedaling Index Average 15 %
Pedaling Index Maximum 69 %
Left Right Balance Average L50 - 50R Left - Right
Left Right Balance Maximum L86 - 14R Left - Right

And here is the elevation profile.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/theorracle/ScreenHunter_02Jun141833.gif

OK! OK!


Here is the long version as seen by Captain "Fred",

Alarm goes of at 5:00 and me and psimet2001 get ready and head out for a pancake breakfast (we thought it might help absorb the beer from last night). After breakfast we proceed to the top of blue mounds state park were we unload and head down to the bottom were the start takes place. we meet the other BF'ers and got ready for the start.

here we all are, I don't know there names so maybe some one can chime in. I am the good looking one with the giant muscular legs in the yellow and white jersey.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/theorracle/ScreenHunter_03Jun141839.gif

Now I did carry my camera with me for the entire ride and I did not take anymore pictures. It was everything I could do just to keep my legs spinning.

OK back to the report!
7:00 comes and everyone heads out probably 1000 crazy riders ready to torture their legs. The first 1/4 mile was under construction with course gravel and this made for a slow and interesting start. Especially with everyone jammed together. after the construction was done the pace picked up and the passing game had started. 2-4 miles in to it we hit blue mounds hill, I think they do it so the rest of the ride it sits at the back of your mind taunting you. At this point I was feeling froggy so I left the group which was bound to split on the hill anyways.

Now seens that I was all alone and there are no witnesses I can safely say that I was a passing machine dropping people like rocks (all of them), either that or I just suffered up the hills at my own pace just like everyone else.

Then after the first rest stop mile 25ish, I was pulling a group of 6 when I decided to take a detour, and all of these lemmings just followed me. After 3-4 miles someone saw us and gave us the news so we turned around and got back on route. Fortunately it was a flat section.

The next 40-50 miles felt good, now there was still a lot of suffering going on but the legs felt good. Of course this is when the wind picked up I think it was actually tougher than some of the hills. Some where around mile 70 is when I started to second guess my 200k option, but it was too late. I slumbered around at a lower speed and power output for the next 20 miles and wondered if I was going to make it.

Mile 85 -90 and I had gotten my second wind and was now passing all the people that had passed me in my moment of depression. I started to dial up my watts triing to keep them above 200 so I could hit my goal of a 16 MPH average speed. now 200 watts may not seem like a lot but try it after a century of grueling hills, it was tough and took a lot of concentration and some major suffering.

At the final rest stop I had an average of 15.8 MPH and I was thinking that I might actually hit my goal, which would have been impressive for me. Well not so fast the last 25 miles had some very tough and long climbs. I keep asking myself what kind of sick person would put these on the end of the ride why not give them to us early. well you guessed it I started to see my goal fall behind on every climb and no matter how hard I pushed it on the flats and downhills I could not bring the average back up.

The last 5 miles and some storm clouds were moving in and we got a few very light sprinkles. Now these actually felt good as it had been sunny and in the mid 80's for the whole ride. Yes I was stinky!

Then the moment of truth was staring me in the face the final climb up blue mounds road.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/theorracle/ScreenHunter_04Jun141913.gif
Now it may not look so bad with the chart stretched out but it hurt, bad. Oh but thats not all did I mention that at the very bottom the clouds opened up with torrential rain (the rain was around 45 degrees and it was cold). Oh yeah and lots of hail too. Now let me be the first to tell you that hail does hurt bare sunburned arms. OK, OK, back to the story so now the toughest climb of my life at mile 125ish and the road is wet and so am I. If my average speed hadn't dropped out of sight yet It was about to. 3 miles took almost 25 minutes of extreme pain. the final 100 yards are around 18 percent and it was all I could do to keep the bike moving forward. It was like every down-stroke of the crank moved me 1 foot and then the bike would temporarily stop until the next stroke when it would lung another foot. People were on the side yelling you are almost their you can do it yeah I didn't see them on a bike. Actually it helped as there was no way I was going to stop and walk in front of a crowd. even though I sure did want to.

Well there you have it straight from the horses mouth. Now I need to go to bed because my legs hurt.

Well, I want to give a much appreciated shout out to Sekaijin who gave Devin and I a ride out to Blue Mounds and Jose, who went out of his way to give me a ride home.

We checked in early, before the line of cars had formed all the way up Blue Mounds Park Road, so after sitting around for a while, I rode down to the start and hit the road at 6:35am. The advantage was no other riders clogging the road, the disadvantage was no other riders to cut the wind. The first time up the blue mounds road I averaged 316 watts for the uphill part. The second time up, after 123 miles in the legs, it was 216 watts.

Probably like many people, I went out to hard for the first half. The first 63 miles I averaged 17.3 mph, the second 63 miles I averaged 13mph. It worked out to a little over 15mph total.

I also got caught by the storm just as I turned onto blue mounds road and I can verify that marble sized hail is quite painful. However, with the thunder and hail and buckets of rain, it made for an epic finish, one I could have avoided if I had just spent less time at the rest stops. :)

For those that are interested, I averaged 173 watts, 218 normalized, Kjoules (Calories) were 5118. Duration on bike was 8:15. TSS was 483.6 with an IF of 0.767. I weigh 179 and me+bike+clothes+two full water bottles was 207 this morning before I left.

Great ride everybody and I'm glad it's only once a year!

I only did the 100K. Rode with a racing (motorcycle) friend. He crashed 3 weeks ago and badly sprained/possible broke his ankle. We were a little slow. 6 hours (5:24 riding) to complete. No walking. The free beer notes on the road in the park inspired me. One guy I passed said I was in too good of a mood.

Best part - no beer line, I guess most of the riders were from out of state.

CyLowe's ride on the 31st was great, got me mentally ready for the ride. I was actually expecting it to be worse.

It was great getting together on Friday for dinner and beer.

Overall a great time.

thanks for the updates! I know a few people that were out there... I am not so brave :) My respect to those of you who rode!

I drove in after work on Friday hoping for smooth travels, but that was not meant to be. A 30-mile stretch of I-94 between Milwaukee and Madison was closed, as were most of the east-west secondary highways, leaving me to travel along a lot of secondary roads. Made it there without too much of a headache, checked into the hotel, registered for the event, and headed to The Grumpy Troll.

BIG thumbs up :thumb: to The Grumpy Troll for serving some fine beers, especially their "Erik The Red" red ale and their bourbon barrel aged beer, I forget the name, but it was a great tasting beer. As too was their "Monk Sweat" Belgian ale, and their "Trailside Wheat" hefeweissen. After a few too many of those, off we went back to the room for an uneventful night's rest. Woke up early, got ready, and was at the park by 6:20A. Rode down into town and met up with the BFNIC folks for some pre-ride sandbagging.

The ride itself was rather uneventful for me. I signed up for the 100K and planned on detouring to add a few miles to the total, but when it came time to make the Right hand turn for the detour, I turned Left instead and followed the main course. I was a whole hell of a lot better prepared and a much stronger rider this year than last and found myself towards the front of the guys doing the 100K. I liked it up there as it was a lot less crowded going up and down the hills. The bigger climbs were exactly as I remembered them, ie Brutal, but like I said I was better prepared this year and was able to stay seated and pedal up all of them with a bit of confidence. Started running out of steam at about mile 50, but kept going into the wind that was whipping around but mostly straight at you (which added a small extra layer of SUCK to that part of the ride). As I said to a few folks yesterday, but I have to reiterate it, I DO NOT remember the hill on Lakeview Road being that much of a beast. That thing kicked up to over 20% and made it downright miserable to climb.

A short time after that I almost witnessed some guy get creamed by a pick-up when he wasn't paying attention and didn't slow down going into the intersection of Ridgeview and CTY K. At the last minute he locked up his brakes and the truck stopped and a nasty accident was avoided. Something or someone was looking out for this guy is all I know. The final climb up Mounds Park Road into the park was as expected, ridiculous and brutal. I was dragging myself up there, but was still strong enough that I passed quite a few bodies on the climb. Got off the bike and started partaking in the free food and beers.

Then came the waiting. I hung out wanting to see the others cross the line but my timing never worked out. I would either be getting refills or hiding from the rain whenever they would cross the line. I did meet up with Jeff (I forget his screen name), Tim (cylowe), tzracer, his friend Paul. Then I waited some more. In the interim I gave a woman a ride back down into town to get to her car as she had no idea how to get there and seemed a bit shell-shocked by the whole of the event. I insisted she eat something before I drove her back and afterwards I came back to the park. I then saw Rowdy, and eventually saw Fred (who was recently promoted to "Capt Fred" after the beer of the same name from the good folks at The Grumpy Troll), Rob (Psimet2001), and czwhite when they came in from their rain soaked 200K romp. Had enough time to drink one last beer before the second round of rains threatened to wash us all away. Gave czwhite a ride back to Madison, dropped him off, came home, washed up, and crashed...hard.

Can't wait until next year.

Almost forgot to post my times, 67.7 miles, 4:43 on the bike, 5:14 total. That's 12 minutes slower this year than last year, but the route was almost 6 miles longer this year. Awesome.

Best. Ride. Ever!

Epic. I laughed, I cried, I kissed my butt comfort goodbye.

You guys know I don't climb. Period. That's why i come up to WI and do this kind of stuff. I have to do that which I am bad at. Consequently I do a lot of stuff.

OK - first hings first. I got to Blue Mounds EARLY yesterday. It was about 4pm and I had already picked up my packet. We weren't meeting the group until 7pm. I had a few options: Start drinking then, or go get something to eat. Thankfully I chose to eat.

I knew CyLowe had headed up into the area early to get a ride in and figured he'd been wrapping up. Sure enough he was done and looking for something to do. It sounded like the Grumpy Troll was going to get some visitors early.

Long story short I was 3-4 in before we even contemplated eating. We met up with (I apologize if I forget anyone) TZRacer, his friend Paul, "Fred", iab, Jose Perez, and Rowdy! Dinner followed (mostly liquid in nature for me) and I proceeded to bore whomever would listen with stories of cycling. The night ended too soon for me.

....got daddy duty today. I'll have to write this in sections

I had originally planned to ride the 100k but decided to attempt the 200k. My training has been pretty good and I felt confident. I felt great all day. I get to the last rest stop. I see Cylowe and iab. Big thanks for volunteering. I am getting ready to leave to finish the last loop and a sag guy says to me you better just ride in there is a storm coming. I told him no way, that storm is south east of us, it has already gone by. He said look to your west. I look up and there are the clouds. He told me that he had heard on the radio that they were thinking of sending people out on the course to direct people off of the course and back towards the park. When I heard that whether it was true or not I decided to just skip the last loop and ride back to the park.

So I start to ride pretty hard back to the park and the sky opened up. There was plenty of thunder and lightning. I was on Mounds Park Rd. when a guy rode up to me and asked me a question. In an electrical storm what would rather ride? A steel framed bike or a carbon like mine? I told him I think the only time I would ever ride a carbon bike is in an electrical storm. I thanked him for pointing that out and then rode away since he got me thinking.

I finished the ride feeling great. I get back to my truck and look forward to getting out of my soaked kit and into my clothes and realize I left my clothes in the bed of my pickup truck and they are soaked. I know there were plenty of wet people around nobody would have cared if one more was added to the bunch but I said the hell with it. It looked as though there was more rain coming so I decided to call it a day.

I finished up riding 105.72 miles in 7:24:36. 8819 ft. climbing.

The beer at the Grumpy Troll was excellent. Did I see somebody drinking a Miller Lite?:rolleyes:

I finished, I didn't walk my bike, and I didn't die!

At registration I knew I was in trouble when I only saw shorter and thinner riders. At 6'2'' 210 lbs I'm built more like a football player than cyclist, let alone a climber.

I'm not sure if the trip up Blue Mounds Park Road was more grueling the first time at the beginning of the ride (when I thought my heart was going to pop out my chest), or at the end of the ride when my legs didn't want to work any more.

Although the climbs were tough, the downhills were a lot of fun. The wind was very gusty, and on one down hill (going in the high 40's) I see the rider I'm chasing get thrown off the road and into the weeds. There was a break in the trees to the right, and a pocket of wind came out of nowhere. The wind shook me quite a bit, but I was able to stay on course. Fortunately the other rider was not hurt.

With having bought my bike last August, and being new to the sport, I am pleased with finishing without having walked my bike, and ending with a saddle time of 4:51.

I am in awe of those of you who completed the 200K.

Follow-up to my last post. I received a pair of Northwave "Revenge" shoes as a birthday gift this past December and really liked them. They looked sharp, were light, well vented, and up 'til now the fact that they were somewhat loose because the toe box was a bit wide hadn't bothered me. They fit fine fore/after, just a but much wiggle room side to side. Yesterday that came back to bite me in the backside in a big way. All the climbing and moving around, especially climbing out of the saddle on several occasions, did a serious number on my feets and by the end of the ride my footses were ON FIRE. :cry: 70 miles of hills was the worst time in the world to find out that my shoes weren't quite right.

As soon as they opened today, I went to my LBS and picked up a pair of Sidi Genius 5.5's. These are as well made as their price and reputation reflects. Haven't taken them out for a ride yet, so I'll find out more in the coming weeks. Even with the 20% "good customer" discount, I still could've gotten them cheaper online, but I like supporting these guys and I wanted to make sure I got the perfect fit.

Come on!!!!! I need more reports!!!!! This a hill junkie in withdrawal here! I'm living vicariously through these sufferfest reports.....more, damn it, more.....Psimet, put on a dvd for son and get on with it....cylowe???aham?????whitesox????? HELLO!!!!!!!

Here you go SmokinMiles.

Got up at 3:50 am after not much sleep, picked up czwhite and Devin in Madison, and we were in Blue Mound State Park by 5:30am.

I started promptly at 7am, near the front even, since I got trash talked into racing a guy from work who’s a serious roadie.

The unpaved road at the start was not too bad. The first climb up Mounds Park Rd was not too bad either, somehow. Fresh legs, big crowd, I just pedaled uphill for a while and then realized it was behind me.

But then the “mommy help me” moments kept coming: Barlow … Zwettler … Pinnacle … Lakeview I and II … and of course the finale up Mounds Park Rd the second time, with the additional climb up to the finish line. Saw people walking their bikes up Barlow and Mounds Park II, and I managed not to be one of them. But not by much.

I think this was a harder 100K than the Dairyland Dare because I only remember two such brutal tests of will on the DLD – Roberts and Cty U at the end. The HHH must also attract more hardcore riders, because I started both rides fairly early, and on this one (more than the DLD) I was passed by many, many people throughout the ride.

Being pressed for time, I took minimal rest stoppage. I carried snack bars, used the water stops, made a brief pit stop at Festge and skipped the Cty K rest stop. Had one mechanical (chain came off small cog in back and jammed) that probably cost me 3-4 minutes, and at a couple turns I was uncertain of the course and lost 1-2 minutes stopping to check directions.

My colleague won – he gave me a 20 minute handicap and beat me by 13 more – but I accomplished all my other goals for the ride. (1. don’t get hurt; 2. have fun; 3. don’t damage the bike; 4. complete the course; 5. no walking.) My total time was 4:55:20. (Saddle time, 15 minutes less? No computer.)

It was great to meet jbmadtown and Devin at the top for lunch. The woman who served me a Culvers ice cream cone said, “I don’t know how you people do it.” I replied, “I don’t know WHY we do it!”

cylowe???
I worked registration and then County K for about 9 hours with iab on Saturday. I did get a nice 50 mile ride in on Friday on parts of the third and second stages of the 200k route near Cross Plains. I'll get pics up of others when I get a chance to load them. It's been a busy Father's Day. :)

aham?????
He might still be on his Poseidon Adventure.

whitesox?????
Didn't see her at the Grumpy Troll, at registration on Saturday morning, nor at County K, so not sure she and racebrat were there.

Before I post any pictures of the BFNIC crew, I want them all to think about how difficult the ride was no matter what distance they rode, no matter what hail or rain may have fallen on you.

Then, I want you to think to yourself that it wasn't so hard.

This couple did the ride on a tandem.

Pulling their two kids in a trailer. :eek:

Here they are at the K rest stop.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2826.jpg

Jose and I saw them cross the finish line just before one of the big deluges slammed the top of Blue Mound. That's some seriously strong relationship right there.

Whitesox and I got in to town late, would have been nice to see you guys, anyway had a great ride, love those hills especially the down hill part.

k...still working up the whole story, but for some quick notes re some of the stuff that has already come up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/theorracle/ScreenHunter_03Jun141839.gif

L to R: Me, nvr, Rowdy, Capt'n Fred, Jose Perez, Inputflangeman (aka Speedy...no not THAT speedy, aka a friend/coworker of mine.)

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2826.jpg

This family was parked outside of the Grumpy Troll when CyLowe and I got there. (BTW - I also think they were the couple sitting behind us while we were eating). Their tandem split into 3 pieces with S&S couplers all over it. You probably could have fit the damn thing into a carry on. The wheels and drivetrain were trick. Primo.

I ended up riding with a guy who I was yo-yo'ing with around mile 60-something. We just started talking about everything. It was crazy I was talking up every single climb. Just taking it uber easy. Anyway he proceeds to call me an idiot (literally) for drinking as much as I did the night before (he only had a sangria :rolleyes:)....and then he said "but you're kind of beating me right now :eek:. See kids....drink your beer.

He starts telling me about his boss who was there with his wife and 2 kids in a tandem and trailer. Said the guy was just a machine. Said his wife was capable, but the guy could have pulled the whole rig himself. Said he ended up heavy in one of our armed services but could have been a pro if it hadn't gone that way.

Personally I'd like to thank him.

Also...I believe Rowdy said he saw Bill (from Mission Bay fame) in the Grumpy as we were leaving.

Continued...;)

I had made arrangements to crash in Capt'n Fred's hotel (after passing the "I'm not an axe murderer" litmus test during dinner). He deserves a :thumb: for putting up with me. Sleep was much better than last year, but I could have still used an extra 5 or 10 hours worth.

We had decided the night before that we'd try to get some food in the morning. The thought of ripping out 100 miles (yes miles) on a couple of Hammer bars didn't appeal to me. What ended up happening though was a case of McDonalds, Grumpy Troll, and greasy spoon breakfast laid a rock in my gut for the rest of the day.

Getting to the start proved interesting as I readily ignored the "closed road" and "detour" signs on cty ID to get from Mt Horeb to Blue Mounds. I was feeling bad about dragging the Capt'n down the poor excuse of a road in heavy state of construction when I looked in the rear view and saw a train of cars behind him.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

On my way up into the park in the slow surge that was the massive collection of humanity I like to think of as "the suckers" I saw Rowdy decending to the start. The traffic jam took so long that I was starting to wonder if I'd have time to get all set and get down the hill before the start.

After parking I was trying to get everything together when a guy near me said, "you look like you know what you're doing" and produced a bike with a mess of a front end. I just couldn't brush him off even though I was in a hurry and psyching myself out over the climbing. His brake had gotten totally fubar'd in transport and his computer mount was all jammed into the wheel. I fixed it as quickly as possible. I got him running, but the computer was not. :(

I was freezing and wondering if I should bring a vest or arm warmers, but I knew the day was going to be hot. I proceeded downhill to the start and all of a sudden noticed a wobble in my front end. The bike just didn't feel right. I was worried because I had stripped and re-built most of the bike the night before leaving and had not test rode anything....then it dawned on me....I was shivering.

After making it down to the start we were able to gather a few of us together (see the previous picture). I was nervously anticipating the climb up Blue Mounds. At rollout I was feeling very good. On the fast section before Mounds Park Rd I saw another BFNIC jersey. I didn't recognize the rider, but I figured I knew him so I patted him on the back as I passed. It was TZRacer :o. I can never recognize him from behind. I guess that's a good thing.

Next stop the climb up Blue Mounds.

OH

MY

GOD

This has been THE most painful ride I have ever done, hands down, no joke...and I only did the 100K. I would've rather rode RAIN, than do the first 24 miles again. Here's how my day went...

Woke up at 2am to the sound of two alarm clocks, cell phone alarm, and a call from work (had the night guy give me a wake up call). Got ready, packed, and left the house at 3am. Enjoyed the rare, peaceful drive to Blue Mounds, WI, which I will forever call Mount Hell. I arrived at the park at 5:30am. I picked up my packet from Cylowe, changed clothes, and wandered around for a bit before heading down to the starting point. Since I wasn't exactly sure where the start was I just followed some people down. After what seemed to me to be too far, I asked one of them how much farther the start was....they replied that it was back the way we came, they were just getting an early start :mad: Inputflangeman happened to be right behind me, and we both headed back to the starting line where he spotted Psimet. The rest of the BFNIC crew were also there so we made our way over. The next few hours are a bit of of blur, but here's what I remember...

7am ... we start slowly because of the gravel section, no big deal. The pace picks up and the pack is moving along. I see the BFNIC guys are still relatively close together, cool. We go up, we go down, we're passing people, nothing bad yet, hey this is fun. Where are these BIIIIG hills? Oh, there right around the next turn! Oh this isn't so bad...oh it's getting steeper but still not too bad...oh crap I hope it doesn't get worse than this. It got worse...much worse. I'm not a climber. I just like riding. I don't know the names of these climbs, but I refer to them as "son of b**** 1", "son of a b**** 2", etc. About halfway up SOB1, my left foot is wiggling way more than it should, I thought my cleat was coming loose. Great! I look down and see the crank arm wobbling. Guess I should stop before I strip the axle, or lose the bolt. Stopped on the side, busted out the multitool, tighten everything up, and get back on the bike. Psimet asked if I was ok as he was passing, what a standup guy! Clipping in from a standing start on a climb isn't fun. It took me a couple of tries until I was successful. Thinking the worst is over, I see part 2 of SOB1 which seemed much steeper up ahead, but thankfully it was much shorter than part 1, and I still had fresh legs. I was NOT looking forward to riding this at the end.

Nothing real eventful happened for the next handful of SOB hills. I spun, I breathed heavy, and I sweated up the hills. I tucked in on the descents, and hit 49mph once....coasting. Tears were streaming out of my eyes...what a blast! It's a shame that they didn't last long before another SOB hill came along. Saw Psimet at rest stop 1, and it was the last time I saw him. Inputflangeman was nice enough to keep me some company for most of the ride afterwards. Cylowe snapped a pic of me at rest stop 2. I don't think I smiled, I was too tired.

Headed out of rest stop 2 and my legs cashed in the last bit of energy I had soon after. Inputflangeman went ahead, and I never saw him again either. Thanks for hanging with me for so long :thumb: I met some more nice, chatty people on the way that made the miles easier. I passed a guy walking with his chain in his hand. That sucks. I stopped to see if he wanted my quicklink, but he had a Campy chain, and mine was for Shimano, he ended up waiting for SAG. I always ask (shout as I'm passing) if people need any help just because, and for the good karma, and I was going to need it. My crank arm came loose again, but this time I was stuck. I couldn't find the 8mm attachment for the multitool (lost), but with so many people passing and asking if I needed help I wasn't stranded for long. A nice gentleman loaned me his 8mm, and I was on my way (it's properly torqued now that I'm home).

Finally made it to the final climb, SOB1, Mount Hell itself. I have never gone so slow up a hill before. Every pedal stroke was made with an effort like my life depended on it. I know I sounded like a wildebeest in heat, and I didn't care. I was all over the road, I was starting to lose it. It was a struggle to keep the bike upright. I remember some guy passing me...slowly...and he said "on your left", I replied "in the ditch". He laughed. I wanted to cry. I'm going up, right foot, left foot. Some people have climbing mantras, some people count, some people have songs in their head, me? I swear. I have never sworn so much in all my life, and I can swear in three languages. I made up so many new swear words I can't even remember half of them. Made the right turn to go up to the finish...oh, please, not again. PLEASE, NO! I wanted to stop, but there was no way I was going to get off the bike, not now, I'm almost done! I saw that people had written messages in chalk. That really helped, not that any of them were for me in particular, but it kept my mind occupied with something other than the pain my legs were screaming at me. Besides, I was going so slow that I could read every single one of them. The people on the sides were shouting encouragements, and clapping...I'm with Capt Fred...there's no way I'm walking in front of people. Ego is a big motivator. I saw the finish line up ahead, and yay it was only 50ft ahead on a flat section. I crossed the finish line, made a note of the time, and went promptly to the beer line.

Downed the beer while I waited for the chow line to move. I sat at a table and got my grub on. Jose spotted me and came over. I hung out for a little while I cooled off, and I eventually left. All in all, it was a great day. The name fits the ride. It was horrible, it was grueling, and I cursed it while doing it. This ride kicks your @ss in the beginning, then slaps you in the face at the end. Can't wait until I do the 200K next year! :twitchy:

Almost forgot the stats:
67.33 miles
4:48 ride time
5:45 total time

Hopefully I'll be a little faster/stronger for next year

I was feeling good heading into the climb, but I knew better. I don't do hills. As the others began pushing a little harder I bid them all a fond farewell. Blue Mounds is like....the hardest thing ever for me for some reason. It is a total mental thing.

I noticed it last year after the ride when aham and CyLowe were talking about all these other killer climbs....but I couldn't remember any of those climbs. Only Blue Mounds.

Being up there a few weeks ago helped. I was much more familiar with the profile. I try not to look up when climbing, but at one point I saw someone on the side of the road. Looked familiar. Turns out it was nvr. I called out to see if he was OK. He said his crank arm had come loose. Claimed he didn't need anything. I was hoping he did. That way I could stop.

Next thing I knew I had made it to the top....and felt great. I was kind of unprepared for that. I almost felt like dropping a hammer or two, but I knew that would be bad.

nvr caught up right after the decent. :wtf: Any man who can climb, stop, fix a crank, and then catch up to me....on a decent....that's just not right.

Pretty soon after that I heard someone shout, "hold your line noobie!" It was jose perez. It went mostly like this until the first stop. At the first stop I was surprised to see most everyone. I even heard rumors that JT1 had been through there. I saw a few more BF'ers there as well. It was the only time I saw either half of the racebrat/whitesox cycling team.

I headed out with JP for the second leg. He and I kind of stuck together through the 100 200 split.

I was climbing well for me. I did a good job of fogetting every climb right after it was done. I thought Barlow was Sutcliff. Then later at K I told CyLowe I had just climbed Pinacle when it was Sutcliff. I've decided everyone climbs differently and different climbs effect us differently.

I did great through to the second stop...except for the lead in my tank. I knew I needed to eat and the offerings just weren't doing it for me. I needed turkey. I'm weird like that. Rolled out of the second stop with Rowdy.

I just can't climb with Rowdy and I was in my "hold it back mode". I ended up alone again fairly quick. It was here on this leg that I started to feel it. Not pain, or real fatigue, but just an emptying of my spirit.
I just found myself starting to think things like, "if I had done the 100k I would have been done by now."

Most of the Northeast section of the 200K route is pretty basic rollers. There are a couple of big ones, but nothing out of sorts when compared to the rest of the ride....except for whatever that one was that was just a mile or two before the rest stop (Turkey?).

At Black Earth I was feeing it. I knew I was going to cut a part of the 200K route in order to get to a century (100 miles), but I was feeling like I should cut a bit more. Blue Mounds was starting to creep back into my mind. A quick study of the map while hanging out with Rowdy at the stop helped me make up my mind. I decided to cut another section. This put the K stop within 10 miles or so.

At the waterstop on K they had some porta-johns and I decided it was time to spend some time. Nothing like a sweatbox of a portajohn at mile 80-something. :(

I was cutting here as well so within a mile or two I was at rest stop K. I wasn't even really off my bike when I heard CyLowe yell hey. Between him and iab I never really felt like leaving the stop. Kudos for volunteering. It was nice seeing people you know.

Picked up some real food and some Heed. I was around long enough that I saw just about everyone left. I was even there when the good capt'n rolled in. I was bound and determined to finish everything left in the ride. That would have put me just over 100 miles.

Right after the stop was Pinnacle. I was doing OK - some yayhoo had climbed it, turned around, and climbed it again...passing me on the way up and said, "this climb is kind of easy if you just find a rhythm". If I had the time I would have told him to f' off.

I was about 10 pedal strokes from the top of Pinnacle when my knee decided that it was going on strike. It was bad enough that I was pretty sure that was going to be the end of the day. I limped through the next few hills figuring out what positions would still work. I couldn't get out of the saddle at all.

I was starting to question Blue Mounds....I got to the water stop before the end and was thinking about skipping the last loop and cutting straight to Blue Mounds. The water stop there has a great view of the valley to the West. I was starting to try to stretch my knee when a SAG vehicle pulled up and asked another rider if he was OK because he was on the ground.

When the rider said, "yes," the SAG driver said, "then you need to get going. There's bad storms heading this way." I looked out and sure enough...it was coming in like crazy. I decided that the thought of climbing Blue Mounds in the rain was a worse thought than ending up short of 100 miles. From that point on it was Blue Mounds or bust.

As I started climbing it I was hearing thunder every few seconds. I wanted to quit. I wanted to just pull over and find shelter. I just kept rolling.

Last year I stopped on Blue Mounds on the second time. Multiple places. I just couldn't do it. I had never climbed it to the very top without stopping. Now I was racing rain up the thing. I was in hell.

Sure enough just before the peak of the 1st section it opens up on me. Hail, rain, everything. I was loving it. Seriously. It was a cold rain and felt great. It was back to an easy rain when I made the turn and started up the last section.

The chalk was gone from the road, and all the riders who were walking made the last section a bit of an exercise in ultra low speed handling.

The real killer section where I thought I was going to have to stop was right were the people were cheering. I too decided that there was no way in hell I was stopping in front of them.

Before I knew it I could see the cones at the top. I actually upshifted and zipped up my jersey for the finish picture. I was on cloud 9.

As I crossed the line I saw everyone huddled in the shelter. Wussys. ;)

I saw Rowdy come in a little after I got to my car. After I changed the Capt'n rolled in. We met up with czwhite and jose perez for the quick meal then they announced that we didn't have to go home but we couldn't stay there....next storm wave was coming through.

Epic. I am still on cloud nine. I like riding up there much more than any riding around here. Period. After being up there for the 3rd time this year I actually found myself passing people on the hills :eek:. I will never be a climber, but maybe I won't totally suck as much.

Great ride. Great seeing everyone. Thanks for sharing the room capt'n! Hopefully your travels home were uneventful and easy. Thanks CyLowe and iab for volunteering. Now.....what's next.....

Cylowe snapped a pic of me at rest stop 2. I don't think I smiled, I was too tired.

Of course you were smiling! Everyone loves seeing the CyLowe! (Inputflangeman there in the backgroud, I think)

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2818.jpg

JT1 was smiling. But then again, he's always smiling.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2816.jpg

Jose was smiling. Probably because he found out that I had nothing to do with cutting up the tasty grapes and watermelon.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2817.jpg

tzracer and Paul were smiling, too.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2822.jpg

Even CPcyclist was smiling.... despite the hole that blew out his tire on Pinnacle forcing him to SAG back to the County K stop to get a new one.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2824.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2823.jpg

More soon.

Finally made it to the final climb, SOB1, Mount Hell itself. I have never gone so slow up a hill before. Every pedal stroke was made with an effort like my life depended on it.

Mount Hell? Really? This lil' ol' hill? ;)

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2838.jpg

It doesn't look like much flying past on US-18, does it? But that sucker 950 or so feet of climbing in 3 miles from the backside. Ouch.

Note the lovely storm clouds hovering overhead. This was a little past 4 pm or so as I was heading out. The day was crazy sunny until I left K at 3 pm.

congrats to those who tackled this ride. it is a toughie for sure. nice work all. later.

I didn't do it this year, but damn, last year was the toughest ride (and registration) I've ever done.:thumb:

Boy do I wish I could have been out there suffering with you guys! Next year!

Thanks for the ride reports. It's the only thing keeping me going right now. Go to see the orthopedic specialist tomorrow.

The beer at the Grumpy Troll was excellent. Did I see somebody drinking a Miller Lite?:rolleyes:
Tsk tsk tsk.... "FRED"

Drive many many hours to the heart of beer country and drinks a Lite. Kudos to Psimet for making him try a house beer!

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2799.jpg

Waiting in the smoke-free upstairs bar was cool.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2798.jpg

The outside was cool and the beer was tasty.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2800.jpg

Psimet says, "CyLowe, you DA MAN!" tzracer says, "Stop overstating the obvious, Psimet."

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2802.jpg

Yum.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2804.jpg

More, please!

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2810.jpg

Oh yeah, Psimet always likes stopping by his favorite store: Dick's Quality Meats in the heart of downtown Mount Horeb. Sorry, folks, sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2796.jpg

I know, I know, whats up with the miller lite?

Well we do have lots of Micro breweries up here in NW Michigan, and I know all to well what the hangovers are like. I did not want one of those for the HHH, and I knew That I was going to have a few beers.

I see that they have started downloading some event pictures.

Here is the only one of me I could find so far. I am on the right about to pass a guy on the first trip up blue mounds.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/theorracle/ScreenHunter_01Jun161151.gif

^^^^ Dick's Meat. good times indeed. later.

Continued...;)

On the fast section before Mounds Park Rd I saw another BFNIC jersey. I didn't recognize the rider, but I figured I knew him so I patted him on the back as I passed. It was TZRacer :o. I can never recognize him from behind. I guess that's a good thing.


It is a good thing.

I'm at work, internet is down at home- so I'll have to squeeze this report in between appointments... sorry if it feels disjointed! I rode the 100K and was supposed to try to ride with Sekaijin and D3V1N. Fate would have it that I'd be solo- again.

As I made the turn off of Highway ID at Blue Mounds at about 6:40 I saw Czwhite and yelled something like, "Go do it!" I'm not sure he understood me or knew who I was. Sorry if I scared you so early in the morning! At 6:45am I was stuck in a long line of cars in stop-and-go traffic going up the hill and saw Sekaijin riding down to the start. I was supposed to ride out with him. D'oh! I wouldn't see him again until the post-ride party. I left home right on time but I have no idea why it took so long to park as opposed to last year-oh well. I got started around 7:25 after saying "hello" to Cylowe. He took my picture as I was signing the liability waiver- ha ha.

Getting a late start wasn't bad. I avoided most of the crowds and my ego got a boost by passing all the slower riders that had dropped off the back of the mass start. I couldn't get into a pace-line to save my life! This was especially annoying later on in the day when the wind picked up. Oh, well... hills have a way of breaking up groups of riders. At least I get to sing to myself when I'm riding solo! (Who needs an iPod?!)

The climbs were all just as steep as I remembered, and stage 3 was significantly harder this year- last year they had to cut out Lakeview Rd due to construction on Knutson Rd.. The sand on Pinnacle and Sutcliff were hard to deal with- nothing like grinding out of the saddle and then having your rear wheel spin out on sand! There should have been some caution signs on the descent down Knutson road- steep, shaded, sandy and with HOLES! I managed to miss a man-eater of a whole that I didn't even see. I hope nobody hit it!

I spotted Psimet at the first rest stop, tzracer toward the beginning of the ride (I spotted your bike first) and I recognize inputflangeman from the photos- nice jersey!

Jose Perez- I also saw someone almost get creamed by a pickup on the turn from Ridgeview onto County K. Same guy or common mistake? Either way: stooopid! He was part of a team that was riding together in blue kits- didn't get the team name.

As I turned up the final stretch of Mounds Park Rd I started laughing at the motivational messages written in chalk on the road. "Don't be that guy", "Walking is for losers", "You're so close", "Pain is weakness leaving your body." "HTFU", etc... I think the spectators must have thought I was going crazy. I think there were a lot more spectators this year- thanks for cheering us on!

I tried to think of a pose for the photographer at the end, I think the best I could come up with was a thumbs up. I finally did meet up with Sekaijin and his coworker and we ate, drank and shared stories of the day. I was really pleased to see D3V1N ride across the finish. Good for you! So we all finished, none of us walked- and aside from bee-stings and sore butts we're none the worse for the wear!

I covered the 66.9 miles in 4hrs 18minutes for an avg of 15.4 mph. My total time was around 4hrs 50 minutes. Very similar numbers to last year, when my avg was 15.2 (hey, I was slightly faster this year!) I'm GOING to take on more miles for the DLD.

I got started around 7:25 after saying "hello" to Cylowe. He took my picture as I was signing the liability waiver- ha ha.


Look at that amazing sign-the-waiver technique!

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2815.jpg

Here are some of the folks who showed up a little later on than the 100k riders....

czwhite and Psimet

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2829.jpg

Psimet, just before the apple drops on his head and he realizes that hills have gravity.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2832.jpg

Stahr and Chances (I'm pretty sure that's them)

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2833.jpg

Psimet and "FRED" comparing notes

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2835.jpg

Love that Guinness jersey, Rowdy. :beer:

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2837.jpg

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/2008%20Horribly%20Hilly%20Hundreds/DSCN2829.jpg

so when you ride WITH ME you are all "Give me the mutha F*ing keys" and stuff. but, when i miss a ride you are all mr happy slappy go lucky guy. i see how this works.

:)

later.

so when you ride WITH ME you are all "Give me the mutha F*ing keys" and stuff. but, when i miss a ride you are all mr happy slappy go lucky guy. i see how this works.

I was mixing a lot of EPO into the Heed at the rest stop.


:innocent:

Oustanding reports guys. All I can say is better you than me.. I got my taste of hills in New Glarus and have no desire to see them again, at least for awhile. Glad to see you all had a great ride and I see the little BFNIC chapter is growing by leaps and bounds. Even got some of then northerners coming down from up nort der. Speaking of up nort, water temps are in the low 60's. Looks like next weeks vacation will be spent riding more than water skiing. Thats fine with me..

Psimet, you looking skinny btw, and I love Rowdy's kit. Gonna knock down a few of those tonight after my night class. Less than a month til I'm off on weekends. Time to get ready to ride..

so when you ride WITH ME you are all "Give me the mutha F*ing keys" and stuff. but, when i miss a ride you are all mr happy slappy go lucky guy. i see how this works.

HAHA - I was trying to explain the "Give me the mutha f'n keys..." incident while riding this year. just goes to show you the difference a year will make. I wasn't prepared last year. This year I wasn't in perfect form, but I was more prepared mentally for what lay in store. I found I was in a good mood and talking while climbing for most of the day.

Thanks Kimbercop for the skinny comment. I have been working on it, but I am still not where I want to be. The funny thing is that these pictures made me realize that I still have a lot farther to go. Spent half the day putting together a new series of meal plans....I've been cheating with poor food choices lately. It's my body's way of keeping me at 180.:(

I went up and rode the 100K on Sunday. I felt horrible. I didn't climb well and in the flats, I was, well, flat.

Cue the Frazz cartoon :rolleyes:

Jose Perez- I also saw someone almost get creamed by a pickup on the turn from Ridgeview onto County K. Same guy or common mistake? Either way: stooopid! He was part of a team that was riding together in blue kits- didn't get the team name.


Same guy. Team "Towers" something or another. I swore he was gonna get creamed by that truck. Glad he made it out OK. I was at the back of that group coming onto CTY K. I was the guy who looked like he was about to die. :p

Is anybody doing the Insane Terrain Challenge this year? Anybody know anything about it? Thanks, Ana