2010 Hotter N Hell Hundred Bike Rally

What a great time we had at the 29th annual Hotter N Hell Hundred bike rally in Wichita Falls Texas this weekend. Since my little heart problem a couple of months ago, I thought it best to ride only 25 miles this year, but it was still a very fun and memorable event.
Both of my sons, TJ and Josh went with me this year. TJ did the 100 miles. That distance on a bicycle is a tremendous test of your endurance. It helps a lot to have a buddy with you to talk to during the ride, and to share the pain with, if you will. To do it alone would be even tougher. TJ is pretty tough.
Josh was my buddy on the 25 mile ride. I really did not want to ride alone, and I am so glad Josh was able to go with me. It was his first bike rally, and the first time he has ridden his bike over about 10 miles at a time. It takes a while to get used to riding long distances on a bike, and I know Josh suffered more than he let on, but I also know he really enjoyed completing his first bike rally.

As you can see in the pictures, we camped out again this year. One does not really get as much sleep as you’d like in a tent surrounded by many other tents, with bright lights shining in the adjacent parking lot, but its all part of the experience.

The bicycle expo had lots of exhibits, and some real bargains if you needed a new jersey (not the state), or gloves or some other biking accessory. We partook of the spaghetti supper on Friday night and the pancake breakfast on Saturday morning.

The rest stops along the route were fabulous. The volunteers are so friendly, and the refreshments are always just what the riders need.

Taking one of the shorter routes this year allowed us to ride through Sheppard Air Force Base for the first time. It is so nice that they mark a course for us to ride through on. They have planes on display, and the airmen and women are out in numbers to cheer and give high fives as we pass through. They man a rest stop, and actually hold our bikes as we get refreshments. God bless our military!
Josh met TJ at the finish line. TJ had been out in the heat for over 9 hours, and really needed a coke!

We had a wonderful time at the 2010 Hotter N Hell Hundred. Next year is the 30th anniversary of this great rally. Start riding a little now, build up some endurance, and go with us next year! You’ll love it!

Ready for the HHH

In 2008 and 2009, I rode 100 miles at the Hotter n Hell Hundred at Wichita Falls with my son TJ, and 12,000 - 14,000 other cyclists. This year, TJ is still going for the 100 miles, while my younger son Josh and I will be riding the 25 mile route. This will be Josh's first bike rally, and 25 miles will be a good distance for him, and it will be a good distance for me as I recover from my littel mishap on my last rally.

I've been riding about 10 miles every morning before commuting by bike to work, and Sunday afternoon TJ and I rode 15 miles to Palmer and back in the 105 degree heat. There is a cold front rapidly approaching, and we expect the high at the HHH to be in the mid nineties. Josh and I will be finished by mid-morning. TJ will be out in the heat, but probably not as long as 2008 and 2009 when he was having to wait on DAD!

I'm already making plans to do the 100 next year...perhaps both of the sons...and maybe a daughter and daughter-in-law or two...will join us? Stay tuned!

Riding with the Mrs.

It has been fun riding in the dark mornings for the past few weeks because Mrs. Bicycle Bill has been getting up with me at 5:30AM to ride. We both have lights on the bikes, and in town the streetlights help a lot.

Today we rode especially hard, as we got a good, early start and I thought we could get 10 miles in. We almost made it, as my odometer showed 9.8 when we locked the bikes back up. We also averaged almost 13 miles per hour, which is pretty good for in town with traffic and stop signs and such, although in the early mornings we actually see very few automobiles. We can find a number of small hills to climb on our early morning rides, and today I think we found all of them! We are both feeling them a little, but she actually thinks that is a good thing!