I had a blast at the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred again this year. Sleeping in the rec center the night before the ride makes it all seem like a camping trip, and there were even more rbenters in the rec center this year than last, and it was great getting to spend some time with everyone. A couple of meals out with rbenters, and spending time looking and shopping at the MPEC show was lots of fun, too. I'm still amazed at the effort that Wichita Falls and the area puts into this ride. It's just an event that any rider should try to do at least a few times.
 
Because HHH is a relatively flat route with good traffic control, it's always a great place for riders to try for their best century time. I was especially curious to see what I could do after all my health issues since last year's ride. I knew I couldn't physically do now what I could then, but I wondered how much riding smarter could help me with my time.
 
I like to go for the best overall time, and compare there, but since we had discussed a recumbent paceline here, I decided that if I rode with rbenters and spent too much time at the rest stops for an overall time comparison, I would settle for an on the bike time comparison. Last year, I had finished HHH in 5:34, with an on the bike time of 5:16, both personal bests for me for a century ride.
 
I had a 3 point plan for getting as good a time as I could this year:
1. I would not go out too fast this year like I did last year. Last year, I hit the wall at around mile 60, and was pretty much just turning the pedals to finish after that. I wanted to watch my heart rate early, and save some matches for late in the ride.
2. I would suck more wheels. Last year, I spent way too much time out in the wind, hammering on my own. There are 10,000 bikes to draft here; I figured I should be able to find a few to ride behind.
3. I put a coroplast wheel cover on my rear wheel this year. Last year, I didn't add one until after HHH, just before TTTT. On a flat route like HHH, good aerodynamics does help.
 
As soon as the jets roared overhead, the cannon fired, and we were off at the start, I found a tandem doing a steady 21-22 mph and got on its wheel. I decided this was a reasonable speed for me, that I wasn't willing to ride much faster, and that I would resist chasing any of the many rabbits sure to race by. I waited behind the tandem to see how the rbent paceline would shake out. I didn't have to wait long. Paul came blasting past me, and Steve and Peggy took off in pursuit, at a pace way too fast for me, so I let them go, and figured I was on my own.
 
It turned out that the tandem I was behind was very slow on hills, and when we hit the small rollers at mile 15, I found another wheel to ride behind. And so it went. I felt good, tried to pace myself well, and changed pacelines from time to time. Several riders I knew said hi as they zoomed past me. I resisted the temptation to join any of them. I knew my water and mix would take me to mile 50, so when I didn't need to stop for any other reason, I made that my first, and as it turned out, only stop. It was a long stop. I spent 12 minutes eating, drinking, visiting mother nature, and refilling my Camelbak and mix bottle. I realized shortly after taking off again that I hadn't taken electrolyte capsules, so I downed a couple of those as I rode.
 
I reached Hell's Gate just a few minutes after 10:00 am, and still had a 20.5 mph average there. That's much slower than the average I had at that point last year, but I felt MUCH better. I knew there were rough roads, and a wind to face ahead, though, along with fewer pacelines at my speed to join, so I knew that speed would come down. It fell to 20.2 fairly quickly, but held there until I turned into the wind at mile 78. I had passed the paceline I was riding with on the big downhill just before that turn, but I spun an easy pace and waited for them after the turn. What had been a pretty big paceline got whittled down rapidly on the next stretch; riders were hitting the wall, it seemed.
 
On the hills that start at mile 88, the last of the paceline broke up, and I was pretty much on my own after that. At mile 90, my average speed finally fell to 20.0 mph, and I realized that if I could pick my speed up just a little, I might be able to finish with 5 hours of on the bike time, and a 20 mph average. Both were things I considered way out of reach before the ride. I also knew by that point that I wasn't stopping again. I downed a GU gel pack, and set about seeing how fast I could finish. I figured that even if I blew up at some point after that, I was still going to beat last year's overall time.
 
Although I was feeling pretty tired, things were looking good, and I was still on my 20 mph pace until mile 98, when my legs started giving me one of those "we're done, and can't do this any more" cramps. I knew I had to start spinning easy, or have my legs lock up with cramps. I eased off, keeping a good fast, but easy cadence. I was going so slow up the overpass at mile 100, I think the crickets were passing me, as they hopped along.
 
As I passed the finish, the loudspeaker announced the ride time, 5:18. That made my on the bike time 5:06, and my average speed 19.9 mph. My total miles were 101.8 It was a bit disappointing to come that close to a 5 hour riding time century and 20 mph on the bike average and not get them, but that overall time is 16 minutes faster than last year, which I never thought would happen. It says a lot about pacing yourself well, which I seem to be better at these days.
 
It sounds like most other rbenters were pleased about their rides today, too, although I expect Joe would rather have had those tire woes another day. Congrats to all who rode well and those who had personal bests. I'll let them tell you about their rides.
 
One last note: watch out for Steve if he sneaks up on you after a ride...

I would like to thank all rbenters for a fantastic H'NH. The accommodations at Lamar Baptist Church were great(Paul's right about the men's bathroom door-BOOOOOOOM...if there were any war vets in gym  that could tripper past traumatic stress syndrome). I truly enjoyed everyone's company! It was good to see Lynn ,Dianna,Joe ,Eddie, Richard & my old Bacchetta CAFE!!!
 
Peggy& I talked with Paul,Bud & Greg about rest stop strategy. Mile 30 ,50 & 75. AND that's what we did. We stuck to the plan. As the fly over passed overhead at the start we were off...I took off after Greg & Brad(forget that ,that over in a hurry). I settled into a 25 mph pace & then dropped back a bit. Shortly after ,Peggy & Paul came into view. The three of us plus a Corsa rider from Oklahoma(Trey) rode together for much of the ride.
 
At mile 30-,we had a 22.5 mph avg. Fighting the crowds at rest stops is a chore, but the 4 of us re-grouped & rode onto rest stop #5(as planned), where I run into Bid(how in the heck did he beat us to that rest stop?). This was his first & ONLY stop. The 4 of us refueled & re-hydrated after Bud left.  
 
Next stop mile 75-I was starting to warm-up. Again ,the 4 of us refueled/re-hydrated & took a few minutes to cool off. Off again ,non-stop to the finish. At about mile 80-85 ,Paulo meets up with some GDB friends & he excuses himself to ride with them to the "unofficial beer stop" at mile 97. Knock yourself out. Paul blasts off ,so now it's Peggy ,Trey & myself.  
 
Shortly after, the three of get slightly separated by a medium size peloton(mostly the same team members). I'm riding about 210-15' behind them ,when one member rubs tires with another members. Bodies & bikes go tumbling & I make evasive measures to miss the mess. At least 6/7 guys are down & down hard. I'm thinking-"I'm 17 miles form the finish ,no accidents!"  
 
At this point ,I become separated from Peggy & Trey. The road is littered with bikes,bodies,bottles ,etc... At miles 92 ,I pull over & wait for Peggy & Trey. I see Peggy just a minute or so behind me. No Trey. Sorry Trey , it's hot & I'm starting to wear down. Gotta go!
 
Peggy & I take off,& pass the "unofficial beer strop" at mile 97,no thanks,none for me this year. Peggy & I finished together. She rode her butt off. Our ride time was 5hours,56 ins.37 secs. Bike time was 4 hours,55mins,15 secs. Our avg speed for the 102 miles-20.5 mph. That was 2 mph faster for me & 2.8 mph faster for Peggy than last year(and we cut 35 minutes off the ride time from last year). Mostly importantly ,there were no mechanicals,accidents. That's a successful ride,right there(not to mention dodging 11,000+ other riders).  
 
Thank you Paul for riding with us ,& doing you share of fast pulls(resident cameraman as usual). That was my first time of riding in a fast paceline. The four of us were passing some serious number of riders.  Bud's wheelcovers were great. I have no idea how much time they shaved off of our ride time(how to quantify that really?),but both Peggy & I feel they were a factor in our faster times than last year.
 
We(rbent) truly have some characters in the group. A Bud said...I'm always glad to give a good, hardy "handshake" to all after a ride. We had a good Mexican meal after the ride ,which is always involves a lot of laughter & good times.  
 
Bud,congrats on a great ride. 5 months after chemo & you're riding a sub 5 hour century?! Greg was fast & strong as usual. ,good job Greg. Paul was extremely strong all day. & Trey(6 weeks on a Corsa & fighting a summer cold) was strong as well.  
 
Good ride ,better memories.
 
 
 
 
 

What a ride
 
The ’08 HHH was a great experience.  Our trip there and back was a blast, the ride was exceptional, and the folks from Wichita Falls were so welcoming and enthusiastic, what a fine time.  Five of us shared this wonderful time together.  Myself (this was my third time up there), Chris (my wife and her first organized ride ever), Terry (his second ride, but first on a ‘bent), Kelly (her first ride), and Shane (ex-triathelte who still ride a DF).  Terry, Shane, and I planned to ride the 100K, while Chris and Kelly rode the 25 (they are beginning riders and have been riding regularly about 3 months).
 
We left out of Hooks, TX Friday afternoon loaded down with bikes.  We stayed in Nocona that night (as close as we could get with an empty motel room).  The alarm went off at 4 AM and we headed to Wichita Falls.  We got to the MPEC about 5:15, picked up our stuff, ate a pancake, then went and got our bikes together.  I got the Burley set up, donned my Hawaiian shirt and helmet, and we made our way to the start line.
 
We lined up near the back with the 25 milers (Chris and Kelly rode that route).  The fly over went by and the group took off.  What a great sight of all the riders ahead of us going up the bridge was.  We rode with the girls for about the first 2-3 miles, until they were comfortable riding in the group.  Then Terry, Shane, and I took off for our ride.  Shane and I paced ahead of Terry since he was getting used to riding his new bike.  When we passed through Iowa Park we pulled over at the turn off for the 50 mile route and waited for Terry, just to see how he was holding up and to make sure he was up to the 100K route.  We should not have stopped he came by, waved at us and kept going.  We made it to the 20 mile rest stop and pulled over (we were not racing just enjoying the ride).  This stop is always one of my favorites; the folks do a great job making a festival atmosphere.
 
After a quick break and reloading the water bottles we took off.  Shane and I were feeling a bit spry about then and told Terry we would meet him at the next rest stop.  The two of us took off and hammered the next 10 miles.  This section went by pretty quick.  The 100 mile turned off and the number of riders dropped off making for a more wide open road.  We pulled in at the rest stop and waited for Terry to catch up.  I like the hanging out and doing some neighboring at the rest stops- the riders and the volunteers are always in such a great mood.
 
Terry caught up and we headed out.  The three of us rode this section pretty close together, until a couple on a tandem passed by.  I pulled in behind them and rode along at a good pace for a while.  Shane and Terry rode along enjoying the day.  Toward the end of the leg Shane came blowing by (he is still a competitor that does not like to be the second one anywhere).  We pulled into the rest stop for a quick break.  By now we were getting to know several of the riders along our route.  Some had beaten us there and some pulled in as we were lounging around.  
 
We took off for the leg of the route that I am not very fond of.  The access road section is a booger.  But, I knew that after that leg the rest was gravy.  The section lived up to my expectations.  Knowing that the big rest stop was ahead kept us moving.  At the big 50 mile stop, we spent more time than the other stops.  Shane was feeling fine and took off ahead of Terry and me.  I wanted to hang and ride the last bit with Terry; he was beginning to cramp up and was getting a bit nervous.  He had done very well so far, considering he was new to ‘bent riding and had a new bike.
 
We took off for the last leg to the finish.  Sheppard AFB is always a jewel of the ride and this year was no exception.  Riding through the base is a major reason I keep going back to this ride.  As we left out of the base Terry began to cramp up pretty badly, so we pulled over on the road and let him stretch and work them out.  We got back on and finished up the ride for a great day.
 
The ride itself is a good route, but the people there make it.  All of the citizens of that region should be commended for the red carpet they put out for us bike riders.  The folks in their front yards clapping and urging you on makes me feel like a pro.  The people at the rest stops go out of their way to make sure your ride is special and safe.  How about the group of Midwestern State students at the top of the hill about mile 25 who clapped, cheered, and gave high fives as each rider crested the top.  Of course, the airmen and women at Sheppard were some of the best.  Having these young people, who are giving their service to our nation, line up and cheer the riders on was very emotional to me.  Cheers to the riders, volunteers, sponsors, and each person who made the ride a great experience.
 
The ride beat my expectations.  Each person in our group met the goal they had set for themselves.  Chris and Kelly made their first ride, Terry made the 100K on his new bike, Shane got out and rode on a great day, and I made the ride and enjoyed every minute of it.

If your going to try a 100 mile ride the place to do it is HHH. Well I tried. I managed to get 92 miles (which is a world record for me) before I gave out. My normal heart rate when I am really tired is 150. I really enjoyed doing the first 40 miles with an average speed of 17 mph and my heart rate was 142. After 60 miles my average went down and my heart rate went up and up. When it hit 207 for a few minutes I knew it was over. Remember 220 minus your age?
In the end I have never been so tired in my life.  Funny thing, it was difficult walking across the parking lot but I it was easy to get  back on the bike and ride the 2 miles back to the motel, I even went over the overpass again.
Next year I plan to to the whole 101 miles.

JS ,I hope I'm riding centuries when I'm your age. I think that tops anyone's efforts so far(92 miles is close enough). Congratulation's on a great ride. Always good to see you,albeit it was a short time at the start/finish line!  How many H'NH's is that for you??
 
Greg, I'll trade you times & speed. Don't beat yourself up too much...there are several riders that would love that time/speed. Yeah ,watch that Bud,he'll snake up on you as well...
 
Trey, again that was a fantastic effort for a short time on the bike. Well done. Glad to hear Jerry is doing "OK" & hope you feel better soon as well. How's the knee??

Quote from Strada177 on Aug 24^th, 2008, 12:44pm:

 
An ice pack on each knee this morning before work felt great and tylenol helped as well.  
 
I'll be experimenting with changing the seat recline angle on the Corsa to improve hill climbing.  As always, working on the motor will improve that aspect as well.  One fun quote from the HHH came from a DF rider that we passed in our mini-paceline.  Steve was leading followed by Peggy and then myself.  We were move steadily up an incline and I had started to drop back just a bit on the climb.  As I was passing one DF rider he had taken note of Steve and Peggy moving quickly passed him and he remarked to another DF rider, "I thought those things weren't suppossed to climb well."  Priceless.
 
 
Trey

Greg wrote "I leaped off the starting line right away thanks to being right up front and Joe being nice enough to give me an opening out of the blocks."
  Very kind of you, actually I had my bucket off while singing the National Anthem and someone yelled GO and the race was on! There I was, flat footed trying to put my skull cap and bucket on while a horde of humanity raced around me. I just threw the brain gear on and sat on my Cafe' and my drink tube was wedged into the back of my seat. I didn't want to miss the free slipstream for anything, so I rode with no way to get a drink until I reached the second rest stop     but it was darn well worth it. All the stories I had heard about the HHH draft were true   We didn't need the first stop because we were doing over 20 mph avg!
The great surprise for me was this morning after a good night's sleep, I felt great, not a sore muscle in the house. Of course I DO take great meds.  
I look forward to next year for sure.
Here are a few jpgs.

 

 

 

Quote from oumed on Aug 24^th, 2008, 2:43pm:

 
Yep, more than once as I busted past a large group at 30+, I heard "D*mn, those things can fly...."