Horrible Hundred just a few days away.
 

Flat Florida's premier hilly century, the Horrible Hundred, is now under a week away. Centered out of Clermont, FL, there are 35, 70, and 100 mi routes.

http://www.horrible-hundred.com/

While these hills are mere pimples compared to rides out west, for us here in table flat South Fla, the 4k feet of climb represents a pretty big challenge. I've been training in earnest for the past several months, going from 100 - 120 mi a week to 175+, and a careful diet has taken 7 lbs of my butt. I'm hoping to drop a few more lbs before next Sunday.

Our club has about 20 riders going up. We're riding to benefit the Children's Tumor Foundation, an arm of NF Endurance. Anyone interested in supporting this worthwhile charity, you can make a donation on line at:

http://www.active.com/donate/nfhh2010/BThibod3

Hope the weather holds. I don't mind cold, and while I could do without wind, nobody wants rain.

Hey 100 miles is 100 miles - not easy for anyone. Good luck!

(Although I will say as a guy who does 2200 feet of climbing on my daily 36 mile RT commute, 4000 feet in 100 miles does not seem overly daunting :) )

I have done the ride every year for the past 20 years. I am going this week end. Hope you have a good time. It is a pile of fun. I have been out west and climbed passes. Oddly enough, the hills out there rarely get over 7% for paved roads. Now in North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan, you can get some pretty steep hills. I think Brasstown Bald has a secion that is 28%.

Have a good time.

Best wishes for a wonderful ride.

I am wondering how one safely drops a few pounds in the week before a major event while maintaining muscle and not losing strength.

I climbed a 12% grade paved road on Saturday. Just sayin'. :)

I wish, I've got a couple of 9% pitches on the daily commute.

It's 4:55 AM and I'm heading out for one of the last training rides for the HH. On the scale I had lost another pound, down to 175 and that was before the morning bm. I'm about as ready as I can get!

Lots of luck to you Bob! You're riding for a great cause!

I think the idea is to lose weight and the heck with fears of loss of strength or muscle. By the way it can be done, you just need to ride a whole bunch and maintain a pretty high carbohydrate consumption. Generally protein loss is when your body catabolizes proteins to produce carbohydrates. But losing weight without loss of muscle is tough.

The HH has a max of 14% for a very short distance and a number of 12%. The longest climb is of any steepness is half a mile. I think the cumulative climbing is a bit over 5000' but I could be wrong on that one.

It is easy to burn up on the ride because most people attack the hills and end up slowing way down after about 60 miles.

I didn't know there were that many hill in FL. Good luck. Here is the profile

GL Bob, I was just talking to my brother who lives in Apopka. He is relatively new to cycling but he is also doing it with a group he rides with quite a bit. He said they rode it this weekend and sugarloaf was the toughest part for him. I think he will do fine. Oh and hills are hills, Florida or California, they are all evil.

Well, the Horrible Hundred is tricky. There are instances where you are riding a nice road with a bit of roll and then you make a right turn up a side road that just happens to be about 10% for awhile. Two of these occur in the last 5 miles of the ride. So you have to be on your toes.

Sugarloaf is tricky also. It has a short steep stretch at the start that is around 14%. I see all sorts of people tacking that section or walking it. If you can get past that part without frying your legs, you have half a mile of 7% or perhaps a bit steeper. It is just steep enough to keep one from recovering very easily. So it eats people up. If Sugarloaf did not have that little steep stretch it would be far easier. The "backside" of Sugarloaf is far easier. It is the same climb in the same distance but it is like a stair case. There are little not so steep sections that one can recover on. So it is pretty easy. If is funny how seemingly small changes in a road's profile can make a climb much more challenging. Also you hit Sugarloaf at about 80 miles and you have just done a series of hills.