Hotter’N Hell Hundred at Wichita Falls – Hot and Windy
I got up way earlier than I normally do jumping out of bed at 5 AM. The call of the start line was in the air. After getting dressed I went to our hotel’s breakfast while my wife got dressed to drive with to the start area. This year she didn’t walk with me to Scott Street. After getting best wishes and a kiss I headed off to 4th Street to line up amongst the 100 mile Hopeful group. I turned right onto 5th Street and when I reached Scott Street I ended up among the 100 mile Keepers. Nothing wrong with that since I would probably start 10 minutes sooner. Around 6:45 I turned on my Garmin Edge 510 to be sure everything was working. At 6:55 they began the run down of what would take place as 7:05 neared. I think they started a couple of minutes early with a prayer followed by the national anthem. when it was finished two propeller aircraft flew north parallel to Scott Street leaving a vapor trail behind them (see the pictures below).
Being 4 groups back the start announced by the cannon blast took awhile before we moved. At 7:19 they pulled the pylon out for our group to start. By 7:26 I was riding across the start line. And we were off. during rides I always watch for the highest number and today I started seeing numbers in the 13,000’s. I thought this would probably be the highest but later I spotted 14844 and a little later 14901. These high numbers are usually assigned to late registrations and there an be gaps from the process used. Somewhere are the Iowa Park rest stop number 14901 was spotted. It was rather unusual in that the rider was putting a bike on the rack on the back of a white Jeep Unlimited. I figured the rider was out of the ride but later as I was at the 21 mile rest (100 mile route) the white Jeep appeared with two bikes on the rear rack heading to US287 Business Route. When I got to US287 Business Route (100K route splits off there from the 100 mile route) the Jeep was parked in the grass on the left side of FM2384 and the Fuji bike was not on the rack. I wonder what happened?
Pacing is important for me on long rides like this. I decided to keep my gearing one step below what I normally use to force me to ride a little slower. Until we turned onto FM2384 at the 21 mile rest stop the wind was trying to slow us down. It was from the southwest and felt like it was significantly over 10 mph. Later at the 53 mile rest stop there was a line of flags on each side of the road and the wind was whipping them up big time (see photos below). When the wind was from my back was when I moved to my normal gearing. I was able to make up a lot of the time I lost battling the wind and pacing myself. On SR240 I saw two people I rode with and we spoke. Neal made a comment I didn’t understand when he rode by about I must be reeling in a big one. Not until later did it dawn on me he was talking about the sound my freewheel was making which sounds like a fishing reel when a fish runs with the line. After they passed me I caught up with Richard later and we chatted for a few minutes. They were riding the 100 mile route while I was taking the Hell’s Gate short cut in Burkburnett.
Road surface varies a lot from well worn chip seal to nice smooth asphalt. The concrete tends to be rough when it happens. On SR240 the wind was from the left rear and the road had big stretches of smooth asphalt along with some rolling hills. The wind helped riding up the hills especially for a flat lander like me from Houston. It was hot but not hot enough to melt the asphalt like some times in the past.
Stopping at rest stops to take pictures slows me down some but I only extended the stay at three. I filled my new CamelBak water bottles with ice water and ate numerous cookies while drinking red sports drink of some kind. The new water bottles were supposed to keep the contents cool 4 times longer and I can agree with the cool longer. I had ice left in the bottles each I refilled.
For a good change I did not see one crash along the route I was on. With this many bikers there were probably some, just not in my view. I hope the beginning prayer had a part in this.
I cannot say enough about the organization and volunteers for the Hotter’N Hundred. Everyone I came in contact with were pleasant, friendly and helpful. The rest stops were well stocked when I passed through. I read about the water shortage problem Wichita Falls is going through but it didn’t seem apparent as far as the ride. The finish line area had plenty of greeters and I received a red ribbon metal.
The route I rode was 74.4 miles long and I averaged 15.2 mph at Garmin Connect. I will see what Golden Cheetah calculates when I get home. I felt great riding. The stretch from the last rest stop on Sheppard Air Force Base to the finish line was into the wind and I was passing other bikers without others passing me. As I turned onto Scott Street to ride to the finish line I saw a biker sitting on the curb less than half a mile from the finish fixing a flat. Out on the route I saw people about every mile fixing flats. At the 64 mile rest stop they had signs warning riders not to park their bike in the grass because of the stickers. One year I did that and got a flat. I learned the hard way.
The ride according to Garmin Connect and the RideWithGPS link.
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Pictures from along the route.
