Hotter 'N Hell 100

Today we rode in the Hotter 'N Hell 100 in Wichita Falls. It was pretty amazing.


There were about 13,000 bikers riding various distances. I rode the 100K (63 miles) and Rian rode the 100 miles. I was not very excited about the ride, because I was so worried about all the bikers. It was as crowded and crazy as I thought it would be. We started near the front (by accident) and thought we were kinda clear of all the madness. We were not, however. :)There were soooooo many bikers. It was CRAZY! It was really crazy-cool, too, tho. We've done marathons with that many people but never have started with that many people on bikes.

It was cool/scary/exciting/fun. Rian and I took a picture and we were off.


The first 20 miles were very, very crowded, but it thinned out (sorta) and I found my pace. By about mile 40 I had plenty of room to move about and not be so crowded in (just in time to almost be done... grrrr).
We rode through lots of wide open Texas countryside. It was pretty, although I admit that I didn't look around too much. I had to focus too much on the riders around me to avoid being smooshed or crashed into. Lots of dumb-ass riders out there. Just like drivers; I like to think I'm not the idiot on the road- everyone else is the idiot (but in this case that's more true than normal). On the other hand, it was really neat not to be all alone on the ride. Most of my rides like that I'm alone a lott. It was nice to always have people around to break up the monotony.

Rest stop 1: blew by it because I'm freaking awesome (well mostly because I didn't need anything).

Rest stop 2: Luau stop. Pretty cool rest stop. Leis, photos with "island natives" and great fruit.

Rest stop 3: waited for 10 minutes in the porta line (but HAD to go, so no choice). Good stop- didn't stay long.

Rest stop 4: blew by it because I didn't need anything.

Rest stop 5: awesome stop!! I ate a snow cone (cherry flavor), wiped down with some cold towels, and enjoyed some shade.

The BEST part of the day was going through Sheppard Air Force Base. We got to go by some really cool planes. Then we went down a street that was lined with soldiers who were yelling at the top of their lungs at you. It was AWESOME!!! I finished strong and feeling great.
My avg. was pretty good (for me being out of racing shape). Not too bad. The whole ride felt so awesome. The weather was great. The route was great. The roads were kinda rough, but not so bad. The atmosphere was amazing.
I'd like to do it again.

Here I am resting in the car after showering and cooling off. HHH is Okaly Dokaly with me!
Rian had finished his 100 mile and was running a brick while I sat in the car and took a picture of myself and listened to Green Day. Life is good. :)


Here's a really cool professional photo of the start. Look at all those bikes- they go on like that for blocks and blocks... some people took almost an hour to get to the starting banner you see up front. http://www.timesrecordnews.com/photos/2009/aug/29/30992/