Hotter 'n Hell 100 - Wichita Falls TX

[NMRider]

Thanks again to all who shared the good advice. I like the pb & honey sandwich thought, too...
Had my last long ride yesterday, 88 miles from Cruces to Hatch and back. Tailwind on the way there, headwind all the way back, and it was hot... but latest weather report for WF looks like the temps are heading way up. Ouch. Gonna start upping the fluids all week long. And ice in the sports bra is sounding more and more appealing. Anyhow, I look forward to hearing about everyone's experience. Luck to us all!

[li10up]

We are staying with one of the host families this year. We waited too long to try to get a hotel room. So this will be a different experience.
HAVE FUN!!

Denda, let me know how the host family thing works out. Sounds like a good alternative. What kind of fees do the host families typically charge?

[indysteel]

I just wanted to say good luck to all of you doing the HHH. I hope the weather gods smile upon you and give you some cloud cover and lower humidity. Short of that, I hope you have a safe and fun ride.

I'm really looking forward to the ride reports, so please report back.

K-

[li10up]

Thanks Indy! I'll let you know how the ride went.

I have another quick question though. I've found that I need to eat something in the morning before doing a long ride. Since I'll be staying at the Y my options will be limited. Anybody have any suggestions of what I could eat for breakfast? I usually like to eat oatmeal or pancakes before a long ride but that won't be practical on this one. Energy bars don't usually sit well with me and a banana just isn't enough. If there are any restaurants around I'm sure they'll be too packed to get in. Suggestions needed.

[indysteel]

J-

I ran into the same problem at RAIN. I'm usually an oatmeal, banana, yogurt girl before a ride. For RAIN, I bought a (rather oversized) muffin from a bakery near my house the day before the ride and ate it with about 2 hours to go before the start of the ride. I then ate a banana and a package of Teddy Grahams about a half hour before the start. At the Horsey Hundred, I ate a Pop Tart when I first woke up and then at the cafeteria about an hour later. For me, it isn't so much what I eat, but when. I find that if I eat something two hours before, followed by something to "top it off," plus drink a bottle of water, I'm good to go.

You could do muffins, banana bread, granola, bagels, donuts, etc. plus a banana. That should do it.

Have a great ride,

Kate

[sspoor]

Isn't there a pancake breakfast at the MEPC Center? You could always try that.

I've done the HHH twice. Both times the weather gods were in my favor and there was cloud cover and light rain. I skipped last year when the temperature got up to 106.

I think the HHH is a great ride to say you've done it. It's really cool to be there with so many other riders. The organizers do a great job, but the number of people do make it challenging. I've seen others comment on the length of time it takes to get started. The 2 years I did it, we were lined up by 6:30 and then stood around waiting for the 7:30 start. It then took another 30 minutes to move forward to the actual starting line. You need to factor this in as you consider what you're going to eat that morning since you'll probably go about 2 hours between when you eat breakfast and when you get to the first rest stop.

Also, because the HHH is such a popular ride, you get many novice riders doing the shorter routes who haven't really trained and/or don't ride on a regular basis. This tends to cause major traffic jams on all the hill climbs.

Have fun!! It really is a festive atmosphere and something every cyclist in the area should do at least once.

Susan in Dallas

[denda]

This will be our first time to stay with a host family. We don't know what the fee will be. We didn't ask.

[KSH]

I think the HHH is a great ride to say you've done it. It's really cool to be there with so many other riders. The organizers do a great job, but the number of people do make it challenging. I've seen others comment on the length of time it takes to get started. The 2 years I did it, we were lined up by 6:30 and then stood around waiting for the 7:30 start. It then took another 30 minutes to move forward to the actual starting line. You need to factor this in as you consider what you're going to eat that morning since you'll probably go about 2 hours between when you eat breakfast and when you get to the first rest stop.

Also, because the HHH is such a popular ride, you get many novice riders doing the shorter routes who haven't really trained and/or don't ride on a regular basis. This tends to cause major traffic jams on all the hill climbs.

Have fun!! It really is a festive atmosphere and something every cyclist in the area should do at least once.

Susan in Dallas

Susan... we live in the same city and have the same quote! HA!

I totally agree with what you said above. Fun ride... and nice to say you have done it.

Last year due to a bike mechanical that had to be fixed, we got caught leaving with the 10-20 milers... so we pretty much dodged kids for the first few miles. It was a bit nerve racking.

[li10up]

K, Oooohhhh....muffins!!! A big ol' blueberry muffin sounds great. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm starting with the 2nd group of 100 milers so hopefully that means not having to contend with too many novice riders. I just really want to avoid any accidents and it seems like it might be less likely to happen with experienced riders.

[crazybikinchic]

I am taking a package of oatmeal from the house. I figure that I can heat up some water in a cup and dump the oatmeal in the cup Saturday morning. We are leaving tomorrow between 12-3. I am really getting excited.

[Tuckervill]

I always take an electric teakettle with me when I camp or travel. I can plug it into my car lighter with the car running and the little converter thingy. You can make tea AND oatmeal with the hot water.

The teakettles are about 15 bucks at Target.

Karen

[li10up]

Well, I'm off to meet a friend at his house who will be driving us up to the HHH. I'm pretty excited. We'll get up there fairly early so we can enjoy all the festivities and do some shopping. Thanks for all the well wishes and advice everyone.

[Tuckervill]

Have fun! I hope this rain that's swelling through right now will cool it off a little for tomorrow.

Karen

[Aggie_Ama]

Tailwinds and cooler temps to you all!

[NMRider]

Hello everyone - here is my report (sigh):

First of all, let me start by saying my friend had an amazing race! She set a personal PR of 5 hours, 57 minutes, beating her previous best by 2 minutes. She said it was the hardest she had done, too - the wind kicking hard in the last 25 miles, and they announced that the heat index was up at 104 degrees. It was hot and muggy. After the event, however, you would have never known that she had just done what she had done - she didn't even look remotely tuckered out! Did I mention that Jean is a 54-year old grandma?

Unfortunately, I medical-ed out at the 70 mile rest stop. I made it through Hell's Gate about an hour before the cutoff, and was feeling really good - my legs were still pretty fresh, and I was feeling positive about the whole distance. But when it stopped being good, it went downhill fast and dramatically. I got off the bike at mile 70 to eat my sandwich (pb & honey!). As soon as I got off and walked about 50 steps, I felt a little woozy. I sat down, all of a suddden my vision went gray, and the next thing I know I am being sat on a cot in the med station. I have no recollection of passing out, but I do have a couple of scrapes where I hit the ground. (!)

Two different doctors had two different opinions on what might have happened (neither one really heat related) - either my blood sugar took a precipitous drop or after I got off the bike (I felt fine while still on it) or the blood stopped pumping so hard up to the head and down I went. There's a name for that, I forget what it is. In either event, the day was over for me - they were not letting me back on the bike. Frankly, I wasn't much feeling like getting back on the bike after that. You can figure that I am really disappointed, but it is what it is.

I cannot say enough good things about the medical staff there. There are not enough doctors in WF for this event, so they come in from all over - Dallas, San Antonio, OK City, Houston.

Everyone in the med tents had his/her own personal nurse and doctors rotated through the tent checking on everyone repeatedly. I have never had such good care in my life. (Note - while I was at the mile 70 med tent, a guy walked over and just said he didn't feel good to one of the nurses. He didn't look good, either. He was young, buff, in a team outfit - a strong-lookng guy. Ninety seconds after he said that to a staffer he had doctors and nurses all over him and an IV in his arm a minute or so after that. He went straight to the ER, he didn't even go to the med tent at the finish area.

Three things I would have changed about that day, although I don't know that they would have changed the outcome - 1) I was hydrating with water, saving my sports drink for "later" - mistake number one. 2) I started talking to someone and realized too late that she (and I) were going about 3-4mph faster than my planned speed. After this hit me, I let her go on and got back to my own race, but I had let it go on too long. 3) I tend to have low blood sugar to begin with, and have learned what foods to avoid and the best way for me to eat throughout the day. I had started off the day with a couple bananas for breakfast, and was using my Hammer gels and Carb Boom. However, in the 40 minutes before infamous mile 70, I had several of my Clif Shots, which I have used before, but never when my stomach was empty of real food, I think. One of the ingredients as a sweetener is rice syrup. I theorize that this might have spiked my sugar and caused a sugar crash - I can't eat regular syrup that goes on pancakes as the same thing happens (but far less dramatically). I think I need to practice with more solid foods while riding as well, with more protein/fat to prevent a sugar drop. (anyone have thoughts on this?)

Interesting notes:
There was a guy on roller blades! My friend saw him drafting off of bikes at one point, and (from the SAG wagon , wah ) I saw him again at mile 70, still looking good.
There were over 10,000 riders. The Air Force did a flyover at the start of the race, which was way impressive.
The opening cannon misfired twice, then they "hit it with a hatchet" and it went off.
A spectator was hit by a cyclist coming over the finish line, possibly breaking his (the spectator's) neck.

Already looking forward to next year. It is what it is. I am bummed that it wasn't my first succesful century, I learned good things, was there to celebrate a PR for my friend, and am looking forward to the next plan of action.

Looking forward to reading other posts about the (hopefully successful) experiences of others!