Horribly Hilly Hundreds 100K - CycleTour

Just simply the hardest thing I've done over the past three years. Tried to keep the perceived level of effort consistent over the duration of the course. I think I took a little detour becuase my Garmin said the distance was 69.4; so avg speed was in the 16mph range. Very happy with that given the course. Had to perform a 200 yd walk of shame on the second to last hill; just could not keep the cranks turning. Got back on the bike and then tried to finish strong. Crowd at the end of the ride gave me just enough adrenaline to finish it. Without the support of these omplete strangers, I don't know if I could have done it. Very thankful.

the 53-39 crank with the standard Shimano 105 cassette was a huge liability. Next year I get a compact crank. Also, I did not stop at any of the aid stations; next year, I'll fill up and have an endurolyte or two. Just wanted to see if I could finish it without having to stop. Did not hydrate enough for the hot day and made the ride a lot harder than it needed to be.

several sprites/pepsis, ate everything I could stuff into my mouth. Felt very wobbly and queezy. Hung out until well enough to drive the 2 hours to Elkhorn, WI to meet my wife.


not knowing what to expect and how to strategize for the course. Will do better next year, but was happy with overall performance this year.


Best bike race I've ever been in (that is not a statistically relevant statement as this is the only one); great volunteers and support along the way. I think they could have some more water stations, which I will use (and not ride by) next year. Great, great, challenging ride.