Hotter 'N Hell Hundred
Saturday, August 26, 2006
No Where Else But Texas, Y'all
by Philip Watson, President

Warm wind blowing,
  Heat and blue sky,
     And a road that goes  . . . .
        Forever.

"The Road to Hell" by Chris Rea

This year's HHH is the 25th Anniversary of that great event. I recently talked to one of the HHH planning committee, and he said the pre-registrations are three times normal. Yep, it looks like this year's 2006 HHH is going to be a big one.

HHH has always been big. At one time it was the largest one-day rally in the U.S. - and it may still be. In 1992 it had cyclists registered from every state except Hawaii and Alaska, plus a lot of foreign countries. HHH has 3,000 event volunteers! How many rallys do you attend that have 3,000 cyclists?

Sometimes experience gives an interesting perspective. Two summers ago I was cycling in Northern Italy with a group from all over the U.S. Each talked about the events they were impressed with - the Triple By Pass in Colorado being a popular topic. One day I wore my red and yellow socks with 'HHH' inside the flames and a guy from California asked if that was from the Hotter 'N Hell. The enthusiasm from the other cyclists was amazing. All said they'd heard about it and that it was suppose to be such a difficult and grueling ride.

As most GDBers know . . . it ain't so. Yeah buddy, ole HHH can get hot, but the ride starts at 7:00 AM. The wind can get strong and feel like a blow torch in your face, but there are lots of rest stops with fans, misters, and cold wet towels, plus plenty of pace lines to jump on. Truth is, if the temperature stays below a 100 degrees, and the wind is moderate, HHH is not that tough, mainly because it's flat as a steaming, fresh corn tortilla.

GDBers are ready because training for HHH is built into the GDB ride calendar. Century rides each month allow members to train for the big HHH day and use the Club's long rides to experiment with eating and drinking. Each year a new rider joins GDB and states his or her goal is to finish the HHH. GDBers offer a wealth of experience and information about training for and finishing a century. Many newbies have come to GDB for help and then met their goal of finishing their first century.

For 13 years Susan has ridden the HHH 62 mile route. But last year she teamed with some seasoned GDBers and completed her first HHH Century. I was so proud of Susan and thankful to the GDBers that rode with and encouraged her.

The biggest HHH challenge for most GDBers: finding a room the night before the ride. For others maybe the biggest challenge is not spending too much money at the kiosks in the Convention Center. GDBers are serious and passionate cyclists - trained and knowledgable cyclists - and thus GDBers cruise through the HHH century course with few issues. Other GDBers will opt for the metric century of 62 miles, and party afterward.

There are a ton of training articles on the internet. Plenty of books on the topic. How to ride a century will always be a rich topic. Why? Because people want to achieve such a goal - it's a tremendous source of personal pride.

A few months back on the front page of Bicycling Magazine were the bold words "Ride A Hundred Miles In One Day." Fact is, for cyclists, a century is a kind of "rite of passage" that separates the real cyclists from all the others. Think about how many times you have told your sedentary friends or co-workers that you ride a hundred miles. What was their reaction? Finishing a century, especially the HHH, literally puts you into the ranks of cycling history.

Riding a hundred miles really makes the bike seat, or saddle, a crucial component of the bike. Ask 10 GDBers about the right saddle and you'll likely get 18 strong opinions.

(From the stupid dream department: After my first HHH, that night I dreamed I was with a group of cycling friends looking for a restaurant. We found one with chairs consisting only of bicycle seats on seat tubes. My point being . . . well I think you get the point).

I still hear a few GDBers say, "I'm not going to HHH. It's too big. Too packed. Too many amateurs." Well, maybe . . . but one thing HHH is to DFW cycling is a kind of seasonal demarcation of training. After HHH, there seems to be a slow down of cycling intensity, and the usual GDB rides even have a few less riders. After HHH, the summer is getting close to the end, schools start, and some GDBers take a short break from their cycling regimen.

In this modern age, people can spend a lot of money on a lot of stuff. But no one can buy that great feeling of rolling toward the finish line banner at the Hottern N Hell, after pedaling along those blistering Texas roads, through the wavy lines radiating up to distort the landscape of sage and chaparral and oil derricks, the drab, scorched background is then splashed with vibrant color and motion from so many pace lines rolling along the flat, shimmering horizon.

You have to earn that rite of the HHH century mark, with some pain and a lot of sweat, and each year GDBers do it with aplomb.

Hope to see y'all this year at the 2006 Hotter 'N Hell Hundred.