I rode the 2019 Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred yesterday. I arrived in Wichita Falls early Friday afternoon. I was too early to check in (didn’t open until 2:00 pm this year), so I went to the consumer show first. I bought my traditional cheap cycling jersey ($19.93 for a Canari jersey I liked this year), but also bought three pairs of cycling shorts. Mine were all getting pretty threadbare, and the Kucharik recumbent shorts I like can always be found at the consumer show for $30 a pair.

Next, I went to the First Christian Church to check in. I stayed at the gym there again this year. I was the only recumbent rider in sight there this year. I had both Friday evening dinner and Saturday morning breakfast at the church. You can come back and shower after the ride, so $50 is a real bargain for staying there, but with my veteran’s discount, it only cost me $25. Hard to beat that. I always drive down to Seventh Street and park there on ride morning. That leaves me with just a few blocks ride from the start, much appreciated when I’m headed back to the church after the ride.

I’ve now ridden the 100 mile route at HHH for 13 straight years. My meltdown near the end of last year’s route was a reminder for me that I won’t be able to complete this one hundred mile ride in a reasonable time forever. I’m 68 years old, missing half a lung, and with two heart conditions. I know the day is coming when I can’t do this any more. I’ll either have to stop making the trip to Wichita Falls, or choose a shorter route. I’m thinking that as long as I can complete the 100 mile route in under six hours, most of the years I attempt it, then I’ll keep doing it. Finishing in under six hours gets you out of the heat before the hottest part of the day, and keeps it from being a ridiculously long althletic undertaking for an old fart like myself.

So that was my mindset this year. After last year’s ride, which took me considerably longer than six hours to complete, I wanted to prove to myself that I was still strong enough to do this ride in a reasonable amount of time. As it turned out, my body held up well this year. Unfortunately, my tires didn’t. I kept myself at a reasonable pace early, never getting the average speed displayed by my Garmin much over 20 mph. By the time I got past Electra, and had been riding against that east southest wind for a while, it was barely over 19 mph. But it never got much below that. It was mostly cloudy, and the heat wasn’t bad at all. Those who bailed out of coming down this year because of the heat wave we’ve been having, shouldn’t have. Just like the hurricane year where the dire forecasts of rain kept a lot of riders away, the weather this year was great.

But I had a flat rear tire at mile 24. It was aggravating, since I was running very low mileage Conti Grand Prix tires, with Conti tubes. I never found anything in the tire, put in a new tube, and rode on. Looking back, it seems likely that whatever flatted me at mile 24 must have damaged the sidewall of my tire, because at mile 67, it blew out with a very loud bang. An examination revealed a sizeable tear on the sidewall. The tire was a dead soldier. But, ex-randonneur that I am, I carry a spare tire, along with two tubes. I would need it all on this day, but finished the ride without further troubles.

I spent 20 minutes fixing two flats. Other than the two stops to repair the tire, my only other stop was a one minute bladder break (I found an empty port-a-potty right beside the road at mile 60 something). So I was off the bike a total of 21 minutes. That’s a lot more off the bike time than I usually have at HHH. In two of my 13 rides there, I haven’t stopped at all. But, in spite of being off the bike for 21 minutes, I finished the ride in 5:41. So my on the bike time was 5:20. That’s a good time for me, about as good as this old body is capable of, I do believe. And so now I’m thinking that my 100 mile ride days at HHH are not over yet. I’ll smile while relishing that thought. I wasn’t in much of a photo taking mood this year, so this written report is about all there is to this year’s HHH blog.

Phone screenshot of my 2019 HHH result. It was nice having an app that gave me this info on the drive home. Something new every year, it seems.

The 2019 HHH route and stats. I finished with an 18.9 mph on the bike average. Not bad for me, I’m thinking.

This year’s HHH medal.

I took off just after 6:00 am this past Saturday, August 3rd, with intentions to do a longer ride, but the rain showed up before I even made it to Purtis Creek State Park, which is 12 miles away. So, I turned around and rode back toward home. As I got back into Mabank on the US175 shoulder, the pavement was dry again, so I decided I would just do laps back and forth on the shoulder near Mabank until the rain made me head for home.

But, I’d barely made it into Mabank when I picked up a large roofing staple in the rear tire. Somehow, it didn’t penetrate and flatten the tube, but it took a sizeable chunk out of the tire, and left the cord showing. I figured it just wasn’t in the cards for me to do an outdoor ride that day, and headed on home to end up with just 20 miles. I rode another 40 on the Xtream on the trainer at home.

That hadn’t been a problem in July. I rode 70 miles each of the first three Saturdays, then did 80 miles on the 27th. It was my first 80 mile ride of the year. I ended up with 560 miles for the month.

The July 27th 80 mile route.

I took off a little after 6:00 am Saturday morning and rode to Athens, then most of the way to Canton, for 70 miles. It was the fifth consecutive Saturday I did 70 mile ride, and gave me 555 miles on the bike for June. That’s easily my best mileage month of this year, but still leaves me way behind my mileage goal.

It was pretty warm and humid on Saturday, but for once, winds were light. I finished before the heat of the day set in, so all in all, it was a nice ride.

Saturday’s route.

Yesterday’s 40 mile ride out to Purtis Creek State Park gave me 100 miles for the week. I had been consistently riding around 120 miles a week for the last couple of months, and had done a 70 mile ride on June 1st. I always start mixing in some longer weekend rides when summer arrives, to help get myself ready for Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred in August. But right knee pain, swelling, and stiffness has shown up the last couple of weeks, so I’m sticking with shorter rides for now.

The last few years I was doing longer rides, I had a lot of knee pain, especially during the cooler months. But, it was my left knee, not my right. And this is summer. As I cut my mileage down from the 7,000+ miles a year I was riding to 5,500 miles the past few years, and limited the number of longer rides I did, my left knee got much better, and hasn’t really been a problem the last couple of years. I’m not sure what to make of this right knee pain, but I’m going to ease up my mileage and pace a bit, and hold off on seeing a doctor about it for now. Standing on concrete causes more pain than riding, and I still do a fair amount of that for work. Ah, the joys of growing old.

After missing last year’s mileage goal, I cut this year’s goal to 5,200 miles. I ended up riding 531 miles in April, and 477 miles in May, not bad mileages either month, but it still leaves me way behind the pace I need for 5,200 miles this year. And now the knee thing. It would be the first time since I first started riding that I haven’t averaged over 100 miles a week for the year. If I retired, I might have better luck meeting that goal. Now, there’s a nice thought.

The June 1st 70 mile route.

It’s my birthday, so I took off on the F-5 just before 6:00 am and rode my age. I rode to Athens, then back through Purtis Creek State Park, to end up with 68 miles. My fitness level is the lowest it’s been in many years, and I was pretty wiped out after a 68 mile ride. I’m not happy about that, but I temper it with the knowledge that most 68 year olds aren’t capable of riding 68 miles at all. So there’s that.

My riding troubles started last November. It was such a rainy month, and even though I don’t work a lot of hours, I seemed to be working on all the nicer days. I ended up with 340 miles for the month, not as many as I would have liked, but that’s pretty common in November. Then, in December I came down with a cold/sinus infection/whatever-it-was that I couldn’t seem to get rid of. I’ve learned to limit my miles when I’m sick, and every time I would feel better and do a ride, I got sick again. I only ended up with 305 miles for the month, and for the first time in many years, missed my mileage goal for the year by 30 miles.

But my riding issues would get worse. By January, my cold had turned into really bad bronchitis which seemed to take forever to get rid of. The weather was consistently cold and wet, and I only managed three rides for 110 miles for the entire month. That has to be my worst mileage month since I started riding 14 years ago. By February, I was feeling better, but the weather was still bad, and just like earlier in the winter, I seemed to end up working on all of the dry and mild days. I only managed 210 miles in February, another horrible mileage month.

And March started out the same, cold and wet most days, and I worked the few days that weren’t. Finding myself at the worst fitness level in so many years, I finally decided I had to change my training plan. For many years, I’d said I would not resort to indoor riding, but I finally conceded it was time to add that to my training. I bought a Cycleops Hammer trainer, and put the RANS Xstream on it. I joined Rouvy, and starting on March 13th, I began doing rides on the XStream in my dining room. Nine of my eleven rides in March were on the XStream. It would have been another terrible mileage month without the trainer. Even though I didn’t get started with it until the 13th, I still managed 383 miles for the month, much better than the rest of my winter.

I’m going to make use of the trainer year round. In the summer, when I start a weekday ride in the dark in the morning, knowing I may get a call to work at any time, I’m going to do those on the trainer. That will make it much quicker for me to end a ride and head for work if I get a call. I’m also going to use the trainer for afternoon rides when the temperature outside is 95 degrees plus. Hey, I’m now an old fart, and I won’t apologize for that concession to age. Rouvy and the Cycleops Hammer make indoor riding much more fun that it ever was before. You watch a riding video, have to pedal harder when a hill shows up on video, and get more stats recorded than what I do on outside rides. I think I can stick with it, and that I should.

Meanwhile, my fitness level has fallen to the point that I’m completely exhausted after a 68 mile ride at what should have been an easy pace. Nothing to do at this point but work on that. I did a 50 mile ride on Wednesday, so today’s ride gave me 118 miles for the week.

Today’s route.

XStream on the Cycleops Hammer.

View when riding the XStream now.

What a difference a year makes! It’s been a few years since I had a Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred ride that was anywhere near as big a struggle for me as this one was. I don’t have a great explanation as to why it happened. I was five pounds heavier than I like to be for this ride. Maybe I pushed myself too hard early, although it didn’t feel like it. Perhaps the wind and heat were too much for me, although I’ve finished well in other hot years. Maybe it’s just that if you do this endurance event at a high effort every year, there are going to be years where it doesn’t go as well.

I stayed at the First Christian Church again, and enjoyed a Friday dinner at the Bradfords (thanks, Gary and crew). I was on the start line early and maintaining a decent, but not overly fast pace to mile 40. That’s where my problems began. I had a flat front tire. I found nothing in the tire, so inserted a new tube and tried to air it up. It wasn’t happening. I decided that something must be wrong with my pump, and spend several minutes putzing with it. All the while, a nearby event helper was trying to convince me that I wasn’t using my pump right. To any casual observers, it must have looked like an Abbot and Costello routine there beside the road. Finally, I decided it had to be just two bad tubes, and when I tried another tube, I was back in business. I lost a half hour of riding time with that flat from Hell.

Running later than usual now, I wasn’t finding as many groups to fall in with as usual. Still, I thought I would finish without further issues until the first leg cramps hit at mile 73. I stopped at the rest stop at mile 75. Past experiences with leg cramps have taught me that you just have to slow down and make more stops than usual, to successfully fight off leg cramps and finish. That tactic did not work well this year. I kept having to stop more often, until from mile 92 to mile 93, I had to stop every tenth of a mile. I was starting to wonder if I was going to be able to finish at all.

It seemed to be alternating legs that would cramp, and the cramps were in my quads, a place where I’ve never had cramps on a ride before. I finally figured out that if I just unclipped from the pedal, dropped the leg down that was cramping, and made a few pedal strokes with the other leg, I could continue without stopping. I made stops for several minutes at both rest stops past that point, and those nice downhills near the end of the ride helped, but I still struggled all the way to the end.

I really should have sagged in. And it would have been easy to do, starting at around mile 85. The sag truck kept passing me. It would pass, then as it was stopped to pick up a rider, I would pass it. This happened four times. It felt like the sag truck was a buzzard, circling me. As slow as I was moving, I probably looked to them like I was circling the drain. Hard head that I am, I kept riding.

Today (September 1st, a week later), I finally got around to stopping by mychiptime.com and checking my time. My official finish time for this year is 7:09. Oddly, my time for last year was also on the site. That struck me as strange, because my last year’s time never showed up for the several days I was checking for it right after the ride last year. But today, there it is: 5:04. That means I was two hours and five minutes slower this year than last year. What a difference a year makes! Am I now officially too old to ride a respectable time at HHH? I’m thinking that it’s more likely that that old saying is true: Some days, you’re the windshield, some days, you’re the bug. This year, I was the bug.

I ended up with 585 miles total for the month of August, a decent mileage total for me, but apparently not enough to properly train for HHH.

The 2018 HHH route.

My official 2018 chip time.

A year late, my official 2017 chip time.

I did 30 mile rides on Monday and Wednesday mornings this week. I took off on the bike this morning with the intention of doing the 80 mile version of my Athens to Canton route, but end up abandoning that route and riding a new one I’m calling One Way Ticket to Van.

For tomorrow, I was wanting to get in one more 80 mile ride before Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred, which is in two weeks. The weather forecast for both today and tomorrow was iffy, and when I ended up with no job for today, I decided that if the weather looked decent enough, I would do the 80 mile ride today, rather than waiting until tomorrow.

When I got up, there were storms well off to the west, but nothing that was moving much, and nothing more than light rain near me, so I decided to do the ride today. I took off at 6:20, and of course, after just a few miles, the mother of all storms built up behind me and headed my way.

I made my usual stop for a nature break at mile 18. I usually have a banana at this stop too, but looking at the weather radar, and with rain sprinkles at the stop, and a lot of lightning behind me, I put off having my banana snack, and took off again to stay ahead of the storm. On State Highway 19, I started getting into rain just before I got to Athens. I usually turn around at Athens anyway, so today, I just turned around sooner than I usually do.

When I made my second stop and had my banana at mile 33, I was still thinking I might be able to get far enough north to circle around this storm and get home, but as I got closer to Canton, it became obvious that this storm had become too big to ever get around, so I decided to just stay ahead of it and ride as many miles as I could, then call it a day and have someone come and pick me up.

As the storm surrounded me more and more, the only clear area was to the north and east, so I turned onto FM 1255 in Canton, then onto the I-20 service road, and rode east. At FM 773, the I-20 service road ends. I was beginning to get into rain coming from the south anyway, so I turned north onto 773, and kept riding. From there, I kept zigzagging, turning onto whichever highway that looked like it headed in the clearest direction. As I turned east out of Van, the rain was catching up with me from behind, and just a few miles down the road, there was rain in front of me, so I turned around, rode back to Van, and called it a day there. I ended up with 73.4 miles.

There are storm chasers and storm chasees. Today, I was a storm chasee for most of my ride, but I managed to stay away from all the heavy rain. If you looked at today’s weather radar, you can tell that was not an easy task.

The One Way Ticket to Van route:

I took off on the F-5 just before 6:20 this morning and rode my Athens to Canton loop route for 80 miles. I ended up with a 16.2 mph average, which is a bit faster than I usually ride. It’s three weeks until Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred, so I’m trying to get my old arse in shape for that. It was 73 degrees when I took off, a very nice morning for August in Texas, but it warmed up quickly, and was over 90 degrees when I finished at 11:40. I probably need to do another 80 mile ride next Saturday.

I ended up with 510 miles total for July, not an especially good mileage month for me. There were a lot of days over 100 degrees in July, which made me hesitate to ride in the afternoons after work, and my work schedule was busy enough that I had a tough time getting in as many early morning rides as I would have liked.

Today’s route:

I took off on the F-5 at 6:15 this morning and rode 70 miles. I did a modified version of my State Highway 19 loop, again skipping the construction on CR2938. It occurred to me that I hadn’t checked the condition of CR2938 in a while, so near the end of the ride, at the point where CR2938 dead ends into US175, I turned onto CR2938 and rode a mile of it before turning around, just to check the condition of it. It’s still very rough.

My 16.2 mph average on the bike today is faster than what I usually average on my solo rides. I’d like to claim it was because of my hard work and expert training leading up to Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred, but the fact of the matter is that it was more about light winds and a faster tire. I had been trying to make an old, worn out Conti Gatorskin last a little while longer on my rear wheel. I have a new Conti Grand Prix to install on it, but am wanting to wait until just a couple of weeks before HHH to install it. But, last week, the Gatorskin started to fall apart, and I dug out an old Grand Prix to run for a few weeks until I’m ready to install the new one. A Grand Prix is plainly faster than a Gatorskin on my bike.

But an old Grand Prix flats more easily, and sure enough, I had a flat today. I had bought some new Park inner tube patches that don’t requre separate cement. You just put the patch on and go. So, for the fist time, I didn’t take the rear wheel off at all. I just popped the tire off on one side, pulled the tube out and patched it, then put the tire back on. In the past, I’ve always just replaced the tube, then patched the old one at home. I wasn’t especially fast at doing it this way for the first time, but it was certainly cleaner and easier than removing the rear wheel. And it’s holding so far.

It was 73 degrees at the start of the ride, much cooler than mornings have been lately, but after last night’s rain, it was humid. I was finished at shortly after 11:00 am though, so I missed the heat of the day.

Today’s route:

I took off on the F-5 just after 6:00 am this morning, and rode 50 miles. I mostly rode my usual 50 mile loop out to State Highway 19, but changed the return part of the loop to skip Purtis Creek State Park and County Road 2938. They have been working on CR 2938 for the past week, and it’s torn up badly.

I rode past the spot on FM 2709 where a man was intentionally run over and killed on Wednesday. That happened about an hour after I rode near there Wednesday morning. They say Henderson County spent a good bit of the day Wednesday picking up body parts scattered around after the crazed driver ran him over a second time. Thankfully, there were no such parts lying around this morning.

I ended up with 550 miles total for the month of May, a respectible month for me, and better than the 482 miles I rode in April.

Today’s modified 50 mile SH 19 loop.