Back from the Hotter N' Hell

[denda]

We got home about 7:00pm Saturday night. The newspaper said it reached 105 on Saturday. It didn't feel that hot to me. I did get pretty hot in another way. I was VERY mad that that closed Hell's gate early! It is supposed to close at 12:30pm. They closed it at 11:00! They were just putting up the closed banner when we got there. So we just got to do 75 miles. I didn't have any flats and my husband only had one. So that was good. We enjoyed it, but it was a bummer that we didn't get to do the 100! Time to go to church, I'll catch you gals later.

[rheidis73]

Hi Denda,
Wanted to let you know that KSH and I made it back too. It seemed to be darn hot for me! I did hear that they closed the gates early because of the heat. KSH and I might have passed you or you might have passed us somewhere! Anyway, I will write more later and post some pictures!

[pooks]

Wow -- congrats on participating, but I'd be unhappy about them closing early, too. If I were ever to ride such a thing, which, um, I wouldn't.

But you all rock. My gynecologist was out there riding somewhere, too. I think she rode the 70 while her husband rode the 100.

[KSH]

Yea, a lot of people were ticked off they closed Hell's Gate 1.5 hours early. Sorry you just barely missed it Denda.

AND... it's not really *fair* considering that people don't start riding at 7:00 AM sharp.

The only people who would have made it to Hell's Gate in time.... would have had to start at the front of the group of cyclists... and doing a 20+ mph average the whole way.

I guess that is why a lot of people were back tracking on the course... to get in another 25 miles.

Here is the Race Report: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=9550

[Running Mommy]

I just read on the TNO board that a guy got his bike stolen at the post race festivities there! How maddening is that??!!!
I bet he's "Hotter n hell" in more ways that one!! OY!

[KSH]

I just read on the TNO board that a guy got his bike stolen at the post race festivities there! How maddening is that??!!!
I bet he's "Hotter n hell" in more ways that one!! OY!

OMG! REALLY?

That is absolutely horrible.

Yea, I didn't stick around for the fun... as I had to get home before I completely fell out.

That totally sucks though.

[Running Mommy]

Yeah, I think he said it was a black and white Look. So sounds like a pretty decent bike. I would be sooo upset!!

[Righteousbabe]

First, I would like to say that I am sorry to hear so many were not able to complete the 100 miles at HHH because they closed Hell's Gate early. I know what it is like to train all summer for that ride and not be able to complete it because some outside source prevented you from completing it. The HHH of 2004 was to be my first century, and my rear derailer cracked at mile 50. I was heartbroken.

But in defense of the ride organizers, they made the right decision to close Hell's Gate when they did. A cycling trainer who I have trained with in the past knows some of the ride organizers. HHH actually keeps statistics of past rides (such as time of day, temperature, heat index, number of injuries, etc.) and can make some correlations based on past data. They knew at the rate they were going, the ride volunteers and the Wichita Falls medical staff (doctors, nurses, EMS) would be overwhelmed and they would not be able to respond in a way to ensure rider safety. Even with closing Hell's Gate early, the EMS, rest stop medical staff, and hospital staff were overwhelmed on Saturday. I know we sign a waiver, but the ride organizers need to protect themselves...but most of all, they are there to protect us from ourselves (http://www.hh100.org/index.php?optio...sk=view&id=77).

I did complete the 100 mile ride, and the last 40 miles were brutal. I did the first 60 miles in 3.5 hours, and then I did the last 40 miles in 3.5 hours. The last 40 miles (after Hell's Gate) is always the hardest. You turn into the wind every year and you fight it all the way back into Wichita Falls. Many riders do not anticipate this...and when the temperature reaches 105 (heat indices 107-111)...you are asking for problems. I saw EMS everywhere, and the MASH tents at each of the rest stops where full of people laying down (a lot of them with IVs hooked up). I had friends who were out there, who are much stronger riders than I am, who ended up underneath those MASH tents cramped up and with heat exhaustion. When you ran across a shady tree out there (which is rare in that part of Texas), there were riders laying down underneath them. I heard at one point, the SAG wagons were 2 hours behind picking people up. I know that every SAG wagon that passed by me was stacked with bikes. Some people just pulled over to the side of the road and either rested their heads on their handbars in agony, or started to just walk their bikes. So the ride organizers knew, based on available resources in the Wichita Falls area, what they were capable of and when they needed to close the 100 mile route. One of my friends was one of the last people to make it through Hell's Gate, and he completed the ride in just under 9 hours. I was waiting at the finish line for 2 hours worried sick about him.

So I hope everyone can understand why the ride organizers did what they did, and maybe put this all in perspective. Having done this ride 4 times, I had a pretty good idea what I needed to do to ensure that I finished. Train hard in the heat all summer, hydrate days before HHH, and keep your own pace (do not try to ride with people who are faster than you are). Having had one bad HHH experience underneath my belt (2004 incident), I also have decided not to do the mass start (did it once...do not need to do it again) to ensure that I get on the road promptly at 7:00 am. I also only stopped at a rest stop once between the start and Burkburnett (Hell's Gate). While it is relatively cool and you still have your legs, book it to Hell's Gate. Then after you get there, you can take it easy with your pace, and stop at the rest stops regularly.

[Righteousbabe]

Just found this on http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=223213




This from the Dallas Morning News cycling Blog:

Before 10 a.m., riders filled only a few cots in the emergency medical tent at the finish line. By the afternoon, riders crowded the more than 40-cot tent, said Dr. Keith Williamson, the ride's medical director. At 11 a.m., riders staggered in with that "1,000-mile stare," he said. By 1 p.m. they were being carried in.


"It was simply the hottest Hotter 'N Hell. The hottest ever," Dr. Williamson said.

Sixteen people went to the emergency room; nine for trauma and seven for heat-related or other ailments. Nobody went to the intensive care unit and only two or three were admitted to the hospital. It's usually 10 to 15. Dr. Williamson gives credit to his medical staff for doing its best to stabilize people at the finish line.

Several folks received IV treatments of hypertonic saline. That's a method employed by only a few other athletic events worldwide, such as the Boston Marathon.
Even though they kept folks out of the ER, that doesn't mean they had an easy job. Dr. Williamson said he saw some of the worst cases ever. One man went into seizures, and the doctor said he recorded a few riders with a core temperature of 106 degrees. (That's the point where tissue starts to break down and leads to heat stroke.)
"I have never seen that before at the Hotter 'N Hell," he said.
Dr. Williamson also shed more light on how he measured the heat's danger. He used a combination of the following:
- Dry bulb temperature. This is what most people commonly refer to as the air temperature.
- Wet bulb temperature, or humidity.
- Globe temperature. This is a black metal ball that measures radiant heat to figure out how much heat is being generated by the sun's rays and absorbed.
Those combined figures read 84 at 10 a.m. Dr. Williamson said the American College of Sports Medicine advises against letting anyone compete outside after that figure reaches 85. When he advised crews to close Hell's Gate at 11 a.m., that figure was 89.
Dr. Williamson, who has ridden the HHH himself 10 times, said he understood why people were upset, especially those who believed they would have fared well.
"Some people absolutely would have been OK, but the vast majority of people would not have been. We could have had significant casualties," he said.
Those final 20 miles are hotter and harder, mostly because of that south headwind, and that performance decline always shows up in the time splits, he said.
And if you need just one more reason to believe it was really, really hot, consider the Texas Christian University medical researchers who were studying conditions of people suffering heat-related problems. It was so hot that their instruments stopped working and had to be 'revived' in an ice chest.

[KSH]

So I hope everyone can understand why the ride organizers did what they did, and maybe put this all in perspective. Having done this ride 4 times, I had a pretty good idea what I needed to do to ensure that I finished. Train hard in the heat all summer, hydrate days before HHH, and keep your own pace (do not try to ride with people who are faster than you are). Having had one bad HHH experience underneath my belt (2004 incident), I also have decided not to do the mass start (did it once...do not need to do it again) to ensure that I get on the road promptly at 7:00 am. I also only stopped at a rest stop once between the start and Burkburnett (Hell's Gate). While it is relatively cool and you still have your legs, book it to Hell's Gate. Then after you get there, you can take it easy with your pace, and stop at the rest stops regularly.

Well, I understand. I mean, there are people out there who haven't been training in 100+ degree heat... and don't understand how to hydrate, etc. for it.

I know Heidi and I really did a great job of staying on top of nutrition (well, I couldn't find food... but otherwise...) and making sure we drank enough and got in the electrolytes (she took some pills even). Neither one of use even felt a twinge of cramps. We just got headaches from... lack of food... I believe.

Personally I'm not too upset about it. If we had pushed harder to get to Hell's Gate, yea, I would be pretty pissed... but we pretty much knew at about mile 52... we weren't going to make the 100 that day. And we were fine with that.

Of course, when they cut off Hell's Gate, they didn't take into account the people who would circle back at the end of the course to make the 100 miles.

Hey, do you miss the mass start? Do you just start earlier and up the road from the start? I need to do that next year to make the 100 miles.

I am also going to hit up a few bikes rallies and ride 50-100 miles on a monthly basis before the HnH next year! I think that's what was lacking in my training this year.

[KSH]

Before 10 a.m., riders filled only a few cots in the emergency medical tent at the finish line. By the afternoon, riders crowded the more than 40-cot tent, said Dr. Keith Williamson, the ride's medical director. At 11 a.m., riders staggered in with that "1,000-mile stare," he said. By 1 p.m. they were being carried in.

That's just nuts. Sure, it was hot... but it was manageable with proper rest stops, ice on the head, cold water, and electrolytes. Are that many people that dense about how to ride and manage yourself in heat?

I do have say... come around mile 65... I had that stare. I was out of it... but I stopped at a store, iced up... cooled off in the AC... got some PowerAid... and once I felt back *together*.... we went on. And even after that, we stopped when we could to keep ourselves feeling good.

[denda]

When you have 11,000+ riders I guess there are that many DENSE people!
I was not feeling the heat, so I was upset. But I understand they were just trying to prevent problems. We did the 100 last year. It was cloudy and cool last year.

[chickwhorips]

great job denda!

i admire all of you that did this race.

[Righteousbabe]

Hey, do you miss the mass start? Do you just start earlier and up the road from the start? I need to do that next year to make the 100 miles.

I am also going to hit up a few bikes rallies and ride 50-100 miles on a monthly basis before the HnH next year! I think that's what was lacking in my training this year.

Yes, I start right after all the racers take off. The ride organizers don't particularly like it...and I understand that if everyone did that it would be a mess...but maybe they need to think about staggering the starts based on distance. There are a lot of people who do this already...they just line up at the side streets that feed into Scott and wait until the racers have gone by to make sure you do not impede them. The last 3 years I have gone to Lincoln and Scott (where the racers take off) and wait in a parking lot until it is safe to go.

This summer I did not train as hard as I did the previous two summers. 2004 & 2005 I did spin class 2 nights per week, rode at White Rock 2 mornings a week, and then did a 60 (early in the summer) to 80 mile ride (2 weekends before HHH) every weekend. This summer I did not do the spin class, and my riding at White Rock was sporadic. I am having some health issues and have not had the energy to ride during the week. But when I did ride at White Rock I would push really hard. I figure pushing myself on the short rides (2 laps around) will make me stronger for the longer rides. Then on Saturdays I was forcing myself to do 100Ks at the local rallies, and I was able to do a 4 hour 100K the weekend before HHH. Though, I have to say, I was a little nervous going into HHH because I did not train as hard as I did in the past, but I somehow pulled it off. I rode out at 7:00 am, and completed the 100 mile at 2:00 pm sharp.

[Righteousbabe]

That's just nuts. Sure, it was hot... but it was manageable with proper rest stops, ice on the head, cold water, and electrolytes. Are that many people that dense about how to ride and manage yourself in heat?

When you have 11,000+ riders I guess there are that many DENSE people!

Oh yes!!!!! There are many dense people out there!!!! From the novice cyclists (biting off more than they can chew and not understanding proper training/nutrition/hydration) to the seasoned cyclists (pumped up by adrenaline, not pacing themselves for the heat, and not listening to their bodies before it is too late).

Funny though...when I looked under the MASH tents at the rest stops, I noticed they were mostly men, in fairly good physical condition. I think a lot of women and novices pay attention to what their bodies are telling them, and know when to SAG in.