StephenH

For me, it would probably be the HH100. But a part of that is because it is only 3 hours away and I can drive up in the morning. If I lived in the Houston area, I might be looking closer to home.

The main attraction of the HH100 is not so much the ride as the overall event. If you had the same route, same time, and only had 100 riders every year, no one would get too excited about it. But the hoopla sort of feeds on itself. So it's worthwhile to me to go up there just so I can ride with 12,000 other people. Don't get to do that every day!

The HH100 is fairly flat, and the last three years that I've done it, it hasn't been terribly hot, either. Any rides in the Houston area itself will be even flatter (and the Space Race is the only one that comes to mind, but I'm not down there, either).

As far as fitness- get out and try some 100k rides in the summer and see how you're doing. If you can ride 100k and feel good, you're probably okay for 100 miles. If you do 100k and think you're going to collapse, maybe reconsider. Also keep in mind that Wichita Falls is drier than Houston, so effects of temperature aren't quite the same.

Check into Endurolytes or whatever it takes to keep you from getting cramps, which can be a ride-ender. Don't depend on the Powerade they give you to keep cramps at bay.

joshuac

for the same reasons, you can come to the conclusion to skip the HH100 :/

12,000 people means a lot of hoopla to deal with - I'd rather there be 1000 people, but maybe that's because i've been through a couple crashes at the start of events because of a mess of not-as-skilled-riders trying to mix in with the fast guys. not a good combo to be around, so i can't imagine how long it takes for 12,000 riders to sort themselves out in the beginning.

So actually, there are 2 centuries that i'd recommend. first one is in May - the GASP! This is the austin to shiner ride (www.shinergasp.com), and on the same day they have the houston to shiner ride. i've only done the austin route the past 2 years, and both times have been quite fun. this is a one-way route, meaning you either drop a car off the night before, have someone meet you down there, or you take the bus back to the start. i think there were something around 2-3,000 people this year.

the 2nd one is at the end of the season - the Livestrong ride. this one you need to raise money for, but it's for a good cause. it's kind of hilly, as it is a nice 92 mile loop around south/west austin (dripping springs). really nice views, and the rest stops are great. this was my first year doing that one, and i'm definitely doing it again.

i dont know of any other century rides other than HH100. At the autumn in bonham ride a few months ago, they had mentioned that they might be doing a longer route (longer than 100k) in 2011, so that is another possibility. Pretty sure all the other rides i know about are 100k's max.

Sabalo

Thanks! these are exactly the type responses I was looking for. Please keep them coming. As far as fitness goes, my longest ride so far is 55 miles on Wednesday. I ran out of daylight and not energy. I feel like a century won't be a problem as long as I keep progressing. I use the Nuun tabs in my water bottle every day. My son-in-law runs marathons so I doubt the century will be a problem for him.

thefaceplace

Take a look at this post about a pretty amazing bike ride near Buffalo Gap, TX: https://www.montaguebikes.com/folding...go-in-one-day/

99ssconv

There is a charity ride this weekend in Lewisville called Ride Ataxia Dallas on March 26th, 6, 10, 25 and 50 mile routes. I will be there doing the 50 mile route.

Doohickie

Bike rides in Fort Worth that I've either ridden in, or know the organizers...

Night Riders (Facebook): Wed & Sun night rides
Trinity Bicycles: Tue & Thu night rides (call to make sure they're riding)
The Slow Spokes (Facebook): Tue nights, cruiser ride (plus other rides)
Bike Friendly Fort Worth (Facebook): random rides
FortWorth CriticalMass (Facebook): last Friday evening of the month
LMRA Bicycle Club: all rides listed are open to non-members at no cost; helmet req'd
Fort Worth Bicycle Association: I believe these are open to non-members at no cost as well.

bj.bonnette

I will be out there this weekend as well.

ladyraestewart

A central Texas that offers 103 miles is the Liberty Hill Lions Club Rip Roaring Ride in mid-September. https://lhlions.org/riproarinride/

ravenmore

hey you stole my sig line....