Hotter 'n Hell 100 - Wichita Falls TX

[Righteousbabe]

I am so sorry to hear you passed out and ended up at a medical tent! That is so scary! But I am glad to hear you got the care you needed, and I am not surprised that it was fantastic. It is a really well supported ride. Kudos to you for making it as far as you did!

Looking at your list of things you may have done differently...I have to agree about the pace issue. On a ride like that it is very important to go at your own pace, even if it means riding alone. I started riding the HHH Saturday with a friend, but she was concerned she could not keep my pace. I told her that I would slow down so that we could ride together, but she said that made her feel badly...like she was holding me back. So she told me just to go on without her...and so I did. Even though I did not mind slowing up a bit, it was very wise of her to recognize her limits. She ended up taking the short cut back after Hell's Gate after her quads started cramping when she made that turn onto the access road at Burkburnett. I am so glad she listened to her body and did not try to finish the 100 out of competitiveness or pride.

On the sports drink issue...I have to also agree. I keep a camelback filled with water that I can regularly sip. But I also keep sports drink in my water bottles and I drink that periodically, too. I constantly alternate between the two and it seems to work for me. It keeps my blood sugar steady.

On the Cliff Shots...the brown rice syrup actually does not spike your blood sugar as severely as processed sugars such as corn syrup, glucose and fructose. It is different from the syrup you put on your pancakes in that way, and it is actually better for you. Last summer I was on a very restricted diet for medical reasons, and that was the only thing that I could use as a sweetener...and the only thing I could use on my bike rides. It is lower on the glycemic index than other sugars. Usually, if I do a Cliff Shot on an empty stomach on a bike ride, the only thing I will end up with is reflux.

I have a difficult time eating solid foods on rides as well, and I have to force myself to eat. But I try to stick with things that work for me. Bananas, some cookies, pretzels, and nature valley peanut butter granola bars are what sound appealing to me while on a ride and I can also hold them down. You will have to experiment with what solid foods sound good to you, and that you can hold down on a ride.

And lastly, about the heat...yes it was warm, but it was pretty mild for this time of year in North Texas (the high on Saturday was 94, winds out of the west). We really lucked out because it is usually much hotter, and much windier. So maybe it was not the heat so much, but the humidity. It probably is not as humid in New Mexico as it is here, and that is not something you are used to. For those of us you have to ride in it all the time, our bodies are used to high heat indices.

Good luck to you...and I am happy to see you want to give it another go next year! It is really a lot of fun...and believe it or not it gets a little easier each year.

[NMRider]

Hi Righteousbabe -

Thanks for your thoughts -

I am going to do some more research on the brown rice syrup issue... so far I have come up w/ several sites that indicate the refining process makes brs give the same/similar sort of sugar spike, and is therefore not appropriate for diabetics or hypoglycemics.... the verdict isn't in yet, I think. I just started researching it, though.

Humidity may have been a factor. I train regularly in the upper 90s, and wasn't really feeling the heat so much, but it was pretty humid (for me at least) - in the 40%+ range, I think...

Onward and upward, right? Have a good one.

[sundial]

B I G C O N G R A T S to you guys!! I am always so impressed with those who complete a century, much less the HHH one!

I would like to try it hopefully next year.

You guys offer some great tips and I have really gleaned alot from your personal experiences. I have a few questions to ask, and forgive me for being so naive.

If you stay in a hotel or Y, is there transportation to the event or do you have to make arrangments to transport yourself? What area is the ideal location for lodging in terms of distance to the starting line?
What hotel would you recommend?

For those who stayed with a host family, did you have a good experience?

As for the starting line, what's the earliest one can be there?

Did anyone buy a HHH jersey?

I think I'd like to say I actually did the HHH--even if I don't finish.

[PscyclePath]

B I G C O N G R A T S to you guys!! I am always so impressed with those who complete a century, much less the HHH one!

I would like to try it hopefully next year.

You guys offer some great tips and I have really gleaned alot from your personal experiences. I have a few questions to ask, and forgive me for being so naive.

HHH '07 was my first attempt at the ride, as well as my first century ride. Everything's bigger in Texas, they say, and so is the HHH. I saw rider numbers greater than 12,200 something; according to the paper 10,205 riders crossed the startline, 70% of those signed up for the hundred miles.

I rode my own pace, and rolled in with 102.7 miles (I told you everything's bigger in Texas, even the miles in a century!), at 6 hours 9 minutes riding time. Overall was around 7 hours and 20 minutes, but that counts fifteen to 20 minutes it took to get past the start line, as well as time loafing around the rest stops.

If you stay in a hotel or Y, is there transportation to the event or do you have to make arrangments to transport yourself? What area is the ideal location for lodging in terms of distance to the starting line?

Most folks that I saw rode to the line, it's probably a little easier... but then we were in the camping area by the Ag Center.

As for the starting line, what's the earliest one can be there?

Folks starting rolling by headed for the start line around five o'clock or so... so there really isn't an "earliest" time. I passed that guy with in-line skates about six or eight miles the other side of Electra, so there's no telling when he started. Others took off on their own around 6 a.m. or so to "beat the heat.'' There's a pro/semi-pro road race that starts half an hour before the main ride, so you just need to stay ou of their way until they get by.

Did anyone buy a HHH jersey?

I did... one of the new 2007 models which is mostly black & gold, with the cow skull/handlebars HHH logo on it. I'll probably save it for awhile until the weather cools off before I try to ride in it.

Me, I had a grand time. It was awesome to be in a pack like that at the outset, andwas pretty much able to ride my own pace. I kept an eye open for a friendly wheel when possible, but figure that I rode more than 70% of the time out in the wind.

I plan to go back next year, fer sure...

Tom E.

[meridian]

Some HH100 pics here.. New camera didn't quite work out so good on some of them, should have practiced with it first!

Sundial, there's a nice pic of the jersey in the sub-album titled 'summary' if you want a good look at it. I thought it was pretty nifty. I got one even though the small was quite a bit big on me =\. Figure I'll just ride with it in the cooler temps when I've got a thick layer or two on.