The tale of the tape

After all of the hype, posts, blogs, and trash talking, it all came down to the ride. In the end, the ride lived up to it all, especially its name. The newspaper will tell you that the “official” temperature was 106 with a heat index of 110 in Wichita Falls. The clock tower showed 109 at 2 PM. The riders will tell you that it was torturous. It was just hot out there. I am glad to have had several previous experiences on the bike that helped to pull me through the ride. One was last year’s MS 150 Bike to the Beach where many of the riders SAG’d due to extreme weather conditions. Another was the climb up the Col du Mont Hamilton. The last one was last year's HHH. All were needed to get through the ride.

The Road Trip Details

The Hogg came down on Wednesday night. He and I got started about 6 AM from Simi the next morning. Thanks to Christine to seeing us off and helping me to get packed. We drove all day, only stopping in Amarillo to catch some sleep and get out of the car for a while. We got up on Friday and drove the final 4 hours into Wichita Falls. We met Yoda at the hotel. He looked as if he’d spent some time on the bike.

We unpacked and got into the room. It all fit in it but I’d bet if all three of us stood with our arms outstretched in a line, fingertip to fingertip, we’d touch opposing walls. But, it was a whole lot better than last year’s accommodations and there were no bugs to contend with, no imposing clock tower that constantly reminded you of the time and the temperature, no tent to set up, no community restrooms, no horse shower, and the list goes on. Thanks to Yoda for hooking us up with the accomodations.

The next part of the afternoon was spent picking up our registration, getting the last needed items from the consumer show, and taking care of business at the spaghetti dinner. I don’t know how they do it or what they put in the sauce but the spaghetti was good. It is hard to believe that food made for the masses could taste so good. We got back to the hotel, got changed, and got on the bikes for the final check of both bike and route to the start. It was about 2 ½ to 3 miles to the start from the hotel. Not bad at all, even better was all the “ladies” were in order and working well. In the short ride, we even caught this rider going up the bridge and passed him, a little warm up for ride day.

The remainder of the evening was spent in final preparation: putting numbers on jerseys, prepping food, water bottles, and Madden. Yoda got to see up close how I play and figured me out in short notice, taking me out 34-14 in the second game. I didn’t score till the final minute of the game when a botched kickoff return got me close and an onside kick was recovered due to a formation issue. I might have lost, but I went out strong.

We did fight with the A/C for a little while, finally calling the front desk for a little help. After a part change, it started to cool off. It didn’t really cool off till after we’d went to bed, only to wake up in the Artic. But, even the Artic was much better than last year.

We got up at around 5 and headed down to breakfast. The HHH feast turned into a nice continental breakfast. It had all of the necessary for a good ride: bagels, juice, yogurt, and bananas. The ride over was easy and as we came over the bridge, we could only just make out the length of the ride. Turns out, some 11,800+ were in the ride. We sat, talked, took pictures, and waited. Finally, the national anthem was played, the jets flew over, and the cannon fired, signaling time to get on the road. All that pent up energy from the almost twelve thousand finally being focused at the ride.

I’d like to report that the ride was without incidence but at mile 9 our worst fears came true. Wreck! Yoda got caught behind some fools not paying attention or not speaking out. They got tangled up and Yoda tried to brake, only to attempt to bunny hop off of one of the downed riders angled front tire. He almost landed it but his front wheel turned, dumping him on the pavement. Luckily, his feet came unclipped and he “Sweetness”-like rolled but coming down hard. We had been cruising at 20+MPH when all of this happened. He got up and being the warrior that he is, kept riding. After making sure he was okay and able to continue, we began to do what all guys do, talk about the crash. Yoda earned a new nickname, Cole Trickle, as in the character from Days of Thunder. Instead of stopping, which he probably did not have time to do due to the pace, he rode “through the smoke.” We had one of our top 10 moments of the trip, if not the #1. All joking aside, we all are wishing the best for Cole and hope nothing is broken. His spirit definitely was not.

We stayed close to each other for the first 42 miles, with each passing the other in various groups until rest stop #4 at mile 42. We refueled, refilled, and deposited. Nothing like a one-stop rest stop. Cole got his bike checked out and we were off. Soon after we left, Yoda disappeared. I didn’t see him again till the finish. The Hogg and I went on to Hell’s Gate, the 100 mile cutoff. Along the way, I got a bottle of water in Burkburnett from a guy handing out water. It really helped me the rest of the race. I kept in the back of my jersey, full, and used it to “Floyd” myself, frequently dousing myself with water in an effort to keep cool.

We stopped at the 75 mile rest stop to again refill and prep for the last 25. We had been moving, above last year’s pace. In fact, we were on pace to finish in less than five hours, with minimal stopping time. The heat had really kicked up but I hadn’t really been affected by it. It was here that I left the Hogg. I got on the bike with the notion of closing the deal under five hours. At mile 80, I was at 3 hours, 56 minutes. I could do this I thought. Then I turned into the hot, Texas wind. Over the next twelve miles, the heat, hot wind, and blazing sun took its toll. It took me over 39 minutes for the next 10 miles. I got on the wheel of two riders and stayed with them to almost the next stop, mile 91. Ice towels, ice water, and a huge fan helped to cool me down. I sat for a little while, partially to cool off but more importantly to motive me to finish. After eating a pickle, I got back on the bike and rode the wheel of a couple of people for the next 6 miles. Finally, we turned out of the wind. Just knowing that there was only five more miles was motivation enough. I talked to a guy, Dean, who was riding in his first HHH. After getting over the overpass and into downtown Wichita Falls, I had a burst of energy and closed the last mile strong. The last ten miles had taken over 38 minutes to complete. I finished in 5 hours, 20 minutes of bike time and just a bit over 6 hours event time. We started at a little after 7 AM in about 81 degrees. I finished at about 1:15 PM in 105 degrees.

I went and found some drinks and the fire hose. It felt great to just stand there and cool down. I then laid down in some shade, under a misting canopy and took a short nap. I waited a little while for the Hogg and Cole to show up. They came over the line together, telling me how they had hooked up at the rest stop at mile 91. It was good to see them. We then went over to the fire hose and just sat there for about an hour, talking and cooling off. We still had to ride back to the hotel. At least it was a nice slow ride back. We’d done it. We had suffered through one of the hottest HHH.Yes!

The Hogg summed the weekend up quite well when he said it all goes too fast. After all of the preparation, fun, etc., it was all coming to an end. We went to El Chico’s to celebrate, played some more Madden (I lost again), ate again at Whataburger, and crashed. It felt good to lie down and rest. Rest was a definite need since we were driving back to Simi on Sunday morning.

The drive back to Simi took us just a bit over 19 hours. Although the drive was long, we had time to relive the ride, gab, sleep, and watch the beautiful scenery pass by. Christine was waiting for us when we got in around 11 PM. Cassie, Craig, and Colin had made us a “Welcome Home” poster and put it on the garage. Great!

We’d just got the car unpacked and Christine asks us if al of it was worth it: the drive, the heat, the pain, the training. The answer is simple. We’ll be back again.

Thanks to JD and Cole for a memorable, enjoyable, and great weekend.