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.