Hotter 'n Hell 100 - Wichita Falls TX

[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.