I just looked up "glutton for punishment" in my 27-year-old college edition of The American Heritage Dictionary.  The picture next to the definition looks a bit younger, but it's definitely you.  

I had an excellent trip, overall - no flats, no wrecks, no speeding tix...  
 
The price was right for the Lamar accomodations, although I didn't sleep worth a flip, and when I did I was awoken by the "BOOM" of the bathroom door echo in the gym...  The folks working there were very friendly and helpful.
 
Sorry about leading us a bit astray on the way to the start, but it turns out that if we had turned left on Burnett at the YMCA, we would have dead ended into the 6th street exit ramp!  So, no foul...  
 
It was good to wander through the various 'benters in the front while we waited for the start.  Bud and I had decided to hit it hard from the very start, so we tagged onto a pack of tandems and let 'em pull us along for the first 10 miles or so into the wind, teasing Greg while we were at it.  Heading north towards Elektra, we were averaging 21 or so, cooking along.
 
Along the way, we kept wondering where all these bikes we were passing had come from...  It seemed like there were HUNDREDS of people who must have started down the line from the "official" start, just to avoid the crowd...  Including a couple guys on P-40s who we both passed around mile 25...
 
Bud had little patience with my desire for a half cup of Gatorade and a cookie in Elektra, and left me behind... Of course, I wasted a couple more minutes LOOKING for him...  
 
I stopped at 52 at Margaritaville,  
 

 
then later passed through the Gate,  
 

 
and stopped at 70 to hit the bathroom - along the way, cruising along at 25 or so, either pulling, tailing, or "Doing the Demo", as Mikey sez... occasionally honking with my new "AOOGGAHH" horn for fun...     And still had a 21 average to that point, anticipating it would drop severely as we were about to turn south...  However, I was able to catch onto a few nice small groups, and keep hammering along...  FINALLY catching/passing Bud around 80(?) -- I was in a good rhythm with four other guys, and he was in a group of about 15, and called out to me as we passed them - - I hadn't seen him!  However, I was "in a groove" and decided to keep on pushing, figuring we would hook up at 90 or the beer stop...  
 
I stopped at 90 for a bit more ice, and Greg pulled in, saying that Bud has just gone by...  So I took off after him, smelling the beer...  I mean, "Barn"...  No, I mean "Beer"...  We rode together for a couple miles, as he told me about being gassed -- or UNgassed, as in "Nothin' left in the tank"    I went on ahead, and cruised into the Beer Stop - but Bud passed it by.
 
I had my now-traditional three beers with a few other GDB pals who came by, and headed on towards the finish with one of them -- and suddenly checked my computer, and saw that I had about 10 minutes left to stay under my theoretically unreachable goal of 5 hours of bike time!!!  So I said "BYE, GOTTA GO!!!" to the GDB'er, and hammered to the finish, passing at least a dozen people going up the overpass...    and hit the finish line in 04:58:00 (about 5:45 total) for a 20.5 average, cutting over 30 minutes off of last year!!!!  [What a difference ~12 degrees of temperature makes!!!]  
 
And hit the fire hose less than 5 minutes later...
 

 
I enjoyed the trip together as the RBENT group, and regret not being able to hear stories from several others we didn't see afterwards -- post 'em!!!
 
The rest of my pics are at
 
http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/HHH%202007/
 
 

I disbelieve.  Everyone knows that a real bike "can't" draft a recumbent.

Hey it was great to see everyone there.  My bro-in-law and I stuck with the 50 mile route, though the seed has been planted for next year for him doing the 100.  We got in a few groups and he quickly realized the energy savings and speed.  We got to talking about mileage and he figured he had about 500 miles this year.  He just wasn't ready to do the "whole thing".  His son-in-law (Alex) that rolled out with us from Lamar on the DF, flatted down by the MPEC, which is where we left y'all before the start.  He got fixed up and back on the road pretty quick.  He went his way and we got over to where we all started.  We got his ride report later in the afternoon after we had left.  Alex had flatted again only 1/4 mile into the ride.  Fixed it and proceeded to hammer away.  He flatted another 3 times on the ride but managed to finish his first century in 6:20.
 
One thing I was very impressed with and had not heard of before, was riding through the airbase.  On the way out of the base, there must have been two or three hundred airmen/women along the road vigorously cheering all the riders coming through, all of them wanting high-fives.  Just for that it was worth doing a shorter route.
 
Next year, I'm looking forward to a big RBENT paceline tearing through the countryside.  I figure to be in the 4:30 to 5 hour range.   DJ

Quote from sstexex on Aug 27^th, 2007, 7:01am:

It was my second HnH and my first attempt at the 100mile loop.  My on bike time was 5.5 hours with a 18.2 MPH average for the 102 mile loop.   I had a good time but I really wanted to run with the dogs for awhile.   I had equpment issues in the very beginning.  I started out dogging along, going really slow! Something was rubbing my rear wheel. I got off and looked but couldnt find anything. The wheel would spin freely. No brake shoes rubbing etc..! Got back on the bike and had the same problem. Finally figured out that my seat had shifted down and one of the rods from the head rest was rubbing the rear wheel. This would only happen when I was on the bike. My weight would deflect the seat and the head rest would rub. Off the bike the seat sprang back up and no rubbing! I adjusted the seat higher and that fixed the problem.  
 
After I fixed my rear wheel I was stuck in the throng of roddies.  I did my best to pass on the left and reached rest stop 3 around 9:00AM.  I had to wait forever for a turn at the porta potty and didnt leave until 9:30.  With no fast paclines to follow.  I cruised as best I could.  Scared the day light out of folks while yelling "ON-DA-LEFT" wizing past them at high speeds.  I was getting hot feet so I stoppped again at rest stop six right before Hells Gate.  To play it safe, I forced myself to stop at most of the remaining rest stops after hells gate to dump water on myself and cool off.  I did catch up to a few RBENTERS. like Richard.  I skiped the last rest stop because it was on a down hill and I couldnt motivate myself to hit the brake while traveling fast.  
 
Im pleased with the performance my dual 650C wheels on the chip seal.  ANd I did not have any knee issues with the 200MM cranks.
 
Looking forwsrd to next year.  Where I would like to have a 20+ on bike average speed.  
 
Terry

Hello All,
 
I will add my chapter to this years HHH ride. I greatly appreciate the Lamar Baptist Church allowing us to use the facilities. It takes a great deal of work on the part of Susan and other staff to do this. I slept well but do remember the banging door, the odd crinkling sound of air mattresses moving and the sound of the guy next to me farting. I woke up feeling rested. I have not ridden in the dark since my teens. The ride to the start was fun. It was quite a buzz to be at the head of that massive group of bikes, with that throng of bents surrounding me. I chuckled at the wormy DFrs truing to "sneak up to the front". "Oh, bents and tandems only, I did'nt know". Daylight broke and we were off. I saw our group for about 2 minutes before they vanished out of view. I cranked along a little faster than planned at 18-20 and kept that up for about 40 miles. I would be enveloped by a peloton and then be drawn for as long a possible in the vacuum. Drafting really does work. I too wondered, where did all these bikes come from. This scene replayed all the way to Hells Gate. It gave me a nice break many many times.
I passed the first 2 rest stops and my calves began to cramp about a mile out of the 3rd. I thought I would crash. My leg would not extend. I stretched out and just coasted the rest of the way. At the stop I took a potassium supplement and drank some gatorade and the cramps vanished.  After the Gate I slowed quite a bit and made the 6th, 8th, and 9th rest stops. I felt good up to the 9th stop and then was very exhausted. There were some hammered puppies at stop nine. I took 20 minutes there to recharge. The last of the ride was by far the coolest, I got back on the road and my legs just felt great. I managed 18-20 for the last 10 miles and passed everything in sight, literally. Granted after that long those on the road are not the good riders....but I got a large kick out of just blowing by every roadie that came up. One poor guy kept looking over his shoulder again and again. You know that look. I just can't be passed by an old guy on a recument! As I slowly closed on him he began to pump hard and stood on the pedals for a while. I slowly gained and finally passed. He didn't even raise his head as I went by. I cruised in at 8 hours and 47 minutes. Not great, but it is my all time best. The longest ride before was 62 miles and this time I did not feel thrashed afterwards. One last thing, the long sleeve compression shirt was great. I never got overheated, I just squirted water on my arms and chest and that was very effective at keeping me cool.  HHH is truely the highlight of the year.