Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred

I don’t know what others thought of the Lamar Church facility, at which several of us slept, but it worked out very well for me; I enjoyed it. I had a feeling that doing a 100 mile ride with bronchitis wasn’t going to be easy, and I was right. I figured I would hit the wall sooner than usual, and that’s exactly what happened.

I felt great at the start, and Paul and I kept a pretty fast pace to mile 30, where we stopped. I had loaded up two Camelbaks, and two bottles of mix, figuring to keep my stops brief, few, and far between, and when Paul seemed like he was staying at mile 30 for a while, I went on and left, figuring he would catch me soon enough. I fell in with a fast group, until they all stopped just before Hell’s Gate, and I kept going.

I passed Hell’s Gate before 10:00 am, still having over a 21 mph average, but almost as soon as I turned against the wind there, I hit the wall, and by mile 60, I was just turning pedals the rest of the ride, nothing more. At mile 63, Greg passed me, and this started a trend that lasted the rest of the ride: Paul and Greg kept passing me, again and again. They were the hares, I was the tortoise. They would zoom by, but stop at the rest stops. I just kept going.

I made my only other stop at mile 80, and stayed longer than I had wanted to. I was pretty cratered, needed to fill a Camelbak, needed to mix another bottle, and needed a bit of solid food to keep my stomach settled. I ate half a granola bar. Greg pulled into the stop right after me, and laid down on one of the cots. I stepped up and gave him my best Mark Metcalfe motivational speech to keep going, but I don’t think he appreciated it.

I fought leg cramps on and off the last 40 miles of the ride. Stopping pedaling made them really bad; I had to find the right pedaling stroke to keep going, and I could not let my heart rate stay up in the 160’s for long, without cramping. I’m not sure what caused the leg cramps. I was well hydrated, and had downed plenty of calories and electrolytes. It may have been plain old muscle exhaustion, helped along by the fast early pace, and my bronchitis.

My total miles were 101.8. Total time was 5:34. On the bike time was 5:16 with a 19.3 mph average. Not as good as I had hoped for, but under the circumstances, I won’t complain. This ride is one of those that is a grand adventure; it has to be done to be appreciated. I’ll be back.

Margaritaville.