Jarrod and I finished the
Hotter Than Hell 100 bike ride on Saturday. Due to the forecasted heat, we were leaning towards only doing the 100 km route and when we got to the 100mi vs/ 100K decision point, our view hadn't changed. We finished the 100 km distance (62.81 mi according to the Garmin Forerunner 305) in 4 hours and 10 minutes with a riding time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. We had two rest stops (at 20 miles and 40 miles) - the first stop was about 15 minutes, but the second stop took 25 minutes due to a flat tire on Jarrod's bike. So while the overall pace was about 15 mph, our riding speed averaged almost 18 mph!
For us, the event started on Friday. Don and I drove from my house and we met Jarrod at our hotel in Decatur. Even though Decatur is still almost 75 miles away from the race site in Wichita Falls, it was the only (economical) lodging option for us. After dropping off our gear at the hotel, the three of us rode up to Wichita Falls.
At the W.F. MPEC (Multi Purpose Event Center), the HHH trade expo show was going on. After Jarrod and I picked up our packets and T-shirts, we took a walk through the expo. Lots of North Texas (and national) bike gear vendors and manufacturers were there. Many of the booths had pretty good prices, I ended up picking up a Nike "Team Discovery" jersey (now I have two) and short set for $27+$30 and a replacement (I lost mine last week :-()
Polar insulated water bottle for $8. Don picked up some bib shorts for $40 as well. [Of course, on Saturday some of the prices were even lower (my Nike jersey was going to $20!) but the flip side was that selections were thinner.]
After that, we walked across the parking lot and watched the women's and men's criterium races. They weaved through the streets of downtown Wichita Falls in a
0.8-mile course for about 45 and 75 minutes respectively. We were quite impressed with the speed and tenaciousness of the competitors. Don got some awesome photos with his D-SLR.
There was an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner available at the MPEC for $7, but we decided to skip the lines and check out alternative food options. We ended getting some pretty good Mexican food in a local eatery and then drove back to Decatur.
On Saturday morning, we had to wake up pretty early to pack up, check out, load the bikes, and do the 70 minute drive back up to W.F. Since we were there about an hour before the race start, we were able to find parking fairly easily although it was in an overflow parking area instead of the main lot.
Jarrod and I made our way to the starting area - about 5 blocks from where we parked, but when you are riding a bike, it's not much of a distance. The starting/staging area was actually about 10 blocks long with tandems and fast 100 milers at the front, medium/hopeful 100-milers next, 100K and 50-milers, and 25-milers and 10K bringing up the rear.
It was still dark when we first got there, but as we approached 7:00 AM, the sun started coming up. The race started with a flyover of jets from nearby Sheppard AFB (all routes except the full 100-mile went through this base) and a cannon blast. We had to walk our bikes for the first few blocks - until we reached the starting gate - for safety. Once we reached the gate, we clipped in and started the ride.
The course was fairly flat. There were some rolling hills, but this course was nothing like the Peach Pedal or Goatneck. One metric of note, my max speed was 28 mph (i.e., no big downhills) - on the Goatneck, I hit 34-35 mph on multiple occasions.
We started the ride averaging close to 20 mph. For the first 15 miles or so, Jarrod and I did a pace line and we alternated back-and-forth every 1.5-2 miles. We had some people try to hitch a ride, but most of them couldn't keep up.
The 20 mile rest stop caused a traffic jam and everyone had to slow down. It was a large stop and had kind of a carnival atmosphere. They were taking and giving away free Polaroids of riders holding fake barbells posing next to carnival "strong man", cyclists could spin and "win prizes" like "speedy finish", "no sunburn" and the like. Unfortunately, I had left my camera in my bike pack, so no photos of that motley scene. Jarrod and I loaded up on fruit and refilled our water and Gatorade and were on our way.
After this rest stop, the rolling hills really started becoming apparent and at the same time gave us a good view of just how many riders were part of this event. As we crested on hill, we could see a huge "caravan" of bikes and riders going up and over several small hills and climbing another largish one several miles away. There were 10,000+ riders in the HHH and you could really tell. Unlike many of my previous rides where there were stretches when I was riding alone, during this one Jarrod and I were NEVER more than 20 yards away from other participants.
The 100mi/100K split was at about the 25-mile mark. By my estimate, more than half of the people turned left and continued on the 100mi route, so the crowds thinned out ("thinned" but still a lot of cyclists). The 40-mile rest stop was not as crowded as the 20-mile stop - since it was only servicing 100K and 50-mile riders. We refilled our water bottles, picked up some Soy Joy bars, had some fruit and a pickle, and prepared to leave. Unfortunately, that is when we discovered Jarrod's flat tire. Luckily, there was bike shop support at the rest stop and they provided a free tube, changed it out, and reinflated the tire for us. So we got back on the road after only about an extra 10 minute delay.
We continued our pace line and kept a 18-22 mph pace. However, once we turned right and headed south on Hwy 44, the wind hit us right in the face and the last 15 miles were pretty tough. Our pace dropped to 13-14 mph for 5+ miles until we hooked up with a fast (16 mph) moving line that carried us to Sheppard Air Force Base.
Sheppard AFB was a treat near the end of the ride. We turned into the base and were greeted with a huge plane at the entrance. Then we turned right and biked through a parking with five or six planes on each side (fighters, cargo plans) - very cool. Then the best part was riding down the main road and being greeted by hundreds of service men & women and getting high fives at 21 mph with all of them yelling, "almost there ... keep going ... less than 5 miles left."
Following that, the last 4 miles were smooth sailing. As we turned onto Scott Street (where we started) in Wichita Falls for the final mile, we felt the elation and relief of completing the 100K. The finish line was very festive as many of the pro racers had finished the 100-miles just before we crossed the finish line ourselves.
After recovering with some more fruit and fluids, we packed up the bikes and checked out the expo at the MPEC for some last minute bargains. Hungry, we found a nearby pizza buffet for lunch and then hit the road for the trip home.
It was a little disappointing to have not done or at least tried the 100 miles, but I know we made the right decision - by the time we finished at around noon, we were both very tired and sweating very profusely as the mid-day sun reached full strength. I don't know if I will do the ride again if it is by myself (2 hours is a bit far to drive and the hotels aren't cheap) but I am glad I got to experience it.
MotionBased.com link:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3776133Flickr photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9236012@N02/sets/72157601674929892Ride Review:
