Oh well. I will probably just make the drive up on the morning of the ride. I am going to do the century ride so the drive up will give me time to wake up, take in plenty of carbs and fluid on the way, and get in the right state of mind to do my ride.

You're all missing it if you don't call to see if there are any locals who have BEDS. A lot of people open up their homes to cyclists for the weekend and charge very little. Some don't charge at all. They feel they're doing a service for the town.

"Accommodatios on a Budget: Host Homes are available throught he Board of Commerce and Industry. Call Marie Libbly at 940 723-2741. Marie will play match maker and introduce you to a local family or property owner that wants to help you compete in the HHH. This is truely Hospitality at its best. Hundreds of Host Homes are available. Great Host Home experiences have resulted in long term friendships and perpetual HHH accommodations."

Make the call if you don't like dorm rooms. I stayed with a nice elderly lady one year and she even got up early to make me pancakes, all for $20 for one night and she felt bad for charging that. Fixed income you know. You can also check with local bike clubs to see if they might have hotel rooms as some people cancel at the last minute.

You're all missing it if you don't call to see if there are any locals who have BEDS. A lot of people open up their homes to cyclists for the weekend and charge very little. Some don't charge at all. They feel they're doing a service for the town.

"Accommodatios on a Budget: Host Homes are available throught he Board of Commerce and Industry. Call Marie Libbly at 940 723-2741. Marie will play match maker and introduce you to a local family or property owner that wants to help you compete in the HHH. This is truely Hospitality at its best. Hundreds of Host Homes are available. Great Host Home experiences have resulted in long term friendships and perpetual HHH accommodations."

Make the call if you don't like dorm rooms. I stayed with a nice elderly lady one year and she even got up early to make me pancakes, all for $20 for one night and she felt bad for charging that. Fixed income you know. You can also check with local bike clubs to see if they might have hotel rooms as some people cancel at the last minute.

I thought about such things but if you get in an accident then you will be screwed and you may get fired.

Sorry I dissapeared last night, cable issues at home.

Kevin, I seem to recall they were 4 people to a dorm room (thats what I've
been told).
Its an amazing atmosphere there, the entire place taken over by cyclists,
lots of bike talk and made some friends up there the times I've stayed.

I figure that this is the 25th anniversary HHH ride so rooms etc. are
selling out fast. Last time I was up there (2 years ago) Chaparral had
hotel rooms available the day before the ride.

Marty

So, what's the verdict...were you guys able to find rooms/dorms?

Also, a word of caution to those of you who have not been riding in this heat: Start taking electrolyte supplements NOW. I consider myself to be well acclimated to the heat and it broke me down yesterday on a group ride. I was well hydrated before the ride, had two bottles of Cytomax and still cramped pretty bad on a 40 mile ride. The potassium and sodium that sports drinks have is good but not enough especially if you are not used to the heat.

I'm going up in my RV. That's the best way to make the trip.

+1 to what Kevin says.
I've been taking Endurolytes daily in addition to my
regular drink (I used Electrolyte Stamina similiar to Emergen C ).

I got reservations just need to send a $10 deposit to ensure its still there
when you get there. They don't do credit cards for reservations.

Marty

I used to take the Electrolyte Stamina supplement but stopped. After my ride yesterday, I decided to start taking them again. I have half of a bottle and will go get a new bottle today. I've got another hammer fest tomorrow evening at 6:15PM...I will see if I continue to cramp.

I am still undecided about making it up the HHH. If I do go, I will just drive up the morning of the event. If I go to bed pretty early the night before, I should be able to get enough sleep to be functional (enough) to do at least a metric century.

Kevin,
I buy the premeasure packets, fit nicely into a jersey pocket and
I can doctor my H2O on the road. I find it works out really nicely on
long rides.
WholeFoods carries them in either orange (vitamin tang) or lemon lime flavour
which to me is more palatable.

I went to the vitamin store here in Denton today, and they didn't have any supplments per se, but they did have the Emergen-C, so I bought a box of those. Do they work pretty well?

I looked at those and they appear to be sport drink mixes that you can easily take with you to mix into your bottle after you refill with water. The supplement that I referred to earlier is called Electrolyte Stamina and it is a pill. Today I also bought some magnesium, calcium, and potassium supplements as well as a good multivitamin. I don't always eat what is best for me so I know I am missing out on these items.

I'm also using the Electrolyte stamina product but its powder
packaged much like the Emergen C. has usual vitamins plus
sodium 134mg, Calcium 60mg, mangesium 106mg, zinc, selenium, chromium
and a bunch of other stuff that probably makes me glow in the dark. . .
but I don't cramp up all that much either.
I'm also taking Hammer Endurolytes (E caps?) which was recommended
to me after every muscle group in my legs cramped on an uphill at HHH a few
years ago.
Lecterman, I've used the Emergen C version of the same stuff (Electro Mix?) worked
well, I just prefer the taste of the one I'm using now.

Marty

I guess I'm committed now. A buddy of mine and I will be making the drive up from Austin. We couldn't find any hotels so I called the "matchmaker" about private homes. She gave me three suggestions, with minimal details. I called one of them, had a nice conversation with the owner, and have secured, at no charge, a large, air-conditioned room with a bathroom down the hall, on the shores of Lake Wichita (apparently about 10 minutes from downtown). He said we could use the kitchen as long as long as we cleaned up after ourselves.

Dude, is it with Don? If so, Cuda2k and I are in the same house!! I just talked to Don earlier and secured a couch and a bedroom with a single bed.

Kevin,

He has another empty bedroom still available. There is not a bed but if you have an inflatable mattress, you should be able to stay also.

PM myself or Dstrong since I guess we both have the guy's number.

Fred

Thanks, but no thanks. If I do the ride I will be driving up Saturday morning.

It IS with Don!!! Look forward to meeting you and Cuda2k! I talked with Don this morning and reserved the empty room as we both have inflatable beds.

Cool, I guess we'll see you there.

Good info on the suppliments. I'll be making a trip to Whole Foods this evening I think. (As I rummage through my drawer here at work thinking I have some multi-vitimans down here somewhere for the time being to start). I'm going to get the Commuter bike out tonight for a 10-15mi ride in the heat and start some heat training too. I've been driving home in the afternoons with the windows down just to get some exposure to the heat as well.

dstrong, look forward to meeting you too. Great to hear it'll be a BF's group in the house. What are you riding? Lecterman and I both have lugged steel rides. I've decided to bring the Gazelle, though I may swap saddles around before I leave. Figured if I have a bad enough day to need to bum a tube off someone it would be best to have the wheels that take Presta valvues. ;)

Not sure what time lecterman and I are going to be rolling into town on Friday night. I will be working Friday, but may try to get out an hour or two early that afternoon so we can get out there at a reasonable hour.

I'll be riding my Interloc Impala (Reynolds 853). I just bought some AirStryke Aero Bars and should be comfortable in them by the time of the ride. My buddy is a tri-guy and rides a fancy-ass Kestrel. He's promised to pull me the 100 miles if I need it. I did the Armadillo Hill Country Classic in June, which was 78 miles and generally get in a 40-50 mile hill country ride each week (along with shorter rides during the week) so I'm confident I'll be okay.

We'll be leaving Austin between noon and 1:00 and, if ontime, will probably drop our stuff at the house and then head to the spaghetti feed (which certainly get's mixed reviews). Don said we could use the kitchen but we haven't thought far enough ahead about breakfast on the ride morning.

See ya there!

We're going; as usual, if I'm not out of country on business. We're staying in Archer City at a B&B with some fellow PBA members. We're taking a tandem, 'bent and two singles...don't think we'll have room for anymore. Our plan on the tandem is to try and hit a 24mph average for the century. Very possible depending on the wind. Also, the next day there is a tradition of climbing some mountain in the area. We're doing that too. I hear it has one hell of a descent.


For those CrampySauruses out there...try Hammer Endurolyte capsules. That's what I had to get to stop the cramping. Although, at Goatneck last weekend, I cramped up at mile 38 and lost my little four man line that I was rotating with. Limped into a rest stop, took my last three capsules, drank some endurance formula Gatorade and ate 2 bannanas. Something in that mix caused the cramps to take a hike and I was able to get back up to speed solo for the remainder of the ride.

Sounds exactly like what I plan on doing too. I drive, Fred pulls through the ride. ;) I'm signed up for the Metric, not quite ready for the full century this year. I've done a couple 40-45mi rides this year, though most of my rides have been in the 25-35mi range as of late. I hope to ramp up the daily totals a bit between now and HHH to prep a bit. But I did my first Metric last year with 35mi being my personal best (once) and know that I'm in much better shape now than I was then. The heat of course will counter that. I had to bail during the Collin Classic due to heat this year. None the less, I'm looking forward to the challenge, I'll be better prepared I hope.

Back in town from the weekend trip to Houston. Managed to grab a quick 8mi around the neighborhood after the rain moved through. Was planning to start commuting again tomorrow, but about 20mins after I got back from my ride my rear tube blew. My stupid mistake, the valve stem got cut on the rim. Don't want to commute without a backup tube so I'll be making a stop at RBM tomorrow afternoon and hope to start doing some evening rides in the heat to start preparing.

Yeah, I may be doing the 31 mile LBS ride tomorrow afternoon to get some more heat training. FUUUUNNN!!!

hey guys yalll should do the melon patch tour in deleon August 12. They have an 8*18-29-48-62mile tour. I am planning to do the 29 since its the first time I ever do one. I would like to do the HHH. Maybe next year.