Episode #58: The 2025 Version Of The Hotter n Hell Hundred Bike Ride

 When I retired last year one of the things I wanted to do was to get back to riding my bike. Another item on that list was to get back to riding the Hotter n Hell Hundred bike ride in Wichita Falls again. As it turns out I did not ride many miles at all and I chose not to ride it last August. Though there are multiple rides to choose from 10k, 25 mile, 50 mile, 100k (62 miles), and 100 mile. I was afraid that since I had not ridden at all that even the 25 mile ride in that heat would have been more than I could handle. 

Over the 8 or 9 times I have done this ride I have seen many people get sick from heat stress and I was not going to be one of those. Back in Episode 26 of this blog I tell the story of how I got started with this ride for the first time.

I started riding once a week or so at the beginning of this year since I was determined to get back to it and logged around 100 miles or so and for one reason or another I simply got away from it. Habits sometimes are so hard to create and so easy to break without the discipline to keep at it, even for something I enjoy. But life does throw its curve balls and distractions. My mom's health fails rapidly and then she dies unexpectedly in late March, then the funeral and moving her stuff our of her place then a month or so later our third grandchild is born and I lose focus on riding. 

 When the end of June gets here, I suddenly realize how close it is getting to the annual HHH ride and finally make time to start riding again. Over the course of the next several weeks I start riding each Saturday morning to prepare for the big ride and log about 135 miles and am now ready for the 50 mile route.

Since this event is in Wichita Falls Texas, which is 100 miles west of where I live and starts at 7:05 am, I would need to be there by 5:30 am to register if I did not arrive the day before. This means I would need to get up by 3:15 am  or so to grab breakfast and get on the road. That is a pretty tall order to follow up with a 50 mile bike ride then another 100 mile drive back home that same day.

For the several years I had attended prior, I stayed with a friend of mine who rode in the event and he would take his RV out a day or two before and along with 3-4 others would sleep there that Friday evening. The last time I did this event which was in 2019, I rented an RV and stayed at the Multi Purpose Event Center (MPEC) and it worked out pretty well. I checked on the rental options and they have gotten extremely expensive and requiring 2 or 3 night rental which made the cheapest option around $500 and that was not a viable option. I would get up at 3:30 am and drive in that morning before I would spend that much.

The hotels are traditionally sold out a year in advance of the event so that is not an option. The owners of the company I worked for the last 2 1/2 years before I retired grew up in Wichita Falls so I reached out to them see if they had any ideas. As it turns out I stayed at their parents home that Friday evening. I had met the dad several times during my employment but this was the first time to meet their mom. They have a beautiful home and we had a very nice visit for about 3 hours that evening. 

I call it a night at 10pm and plan on getting up by 4:45 or so and find a decent parking spot at the MPEC. I seldom sleep all night anymore even in my own bed and as nice as their home is I just do not sleep well and would wake up 2-3 times each hour. I finally get up at 3:50am and get dressed and leave without disturbing my hosts.

I stop at Whataburger on the way back to the MPEC and grab breakfast and find a good parking spot as I arrive back at just before 5 am. The place starts coming alive about 5:30 with those that are registering that morning and riders coming in for the breakfast that is available before the ride.

I am at the front of the 50 mile route group on Scott Street about 45 minutes before the official start and it is just beginning to get light and the street north of me is filling up with the stage start for the 100k riders and I can't even see the group for the 100 mile riders. Behind me to the south I see the banner for the 25 mile riders and then in the distance I see the 10k group. The picture below is looking south.

The attendance of this event is substantially lower this year than in the previous years that I have ridden in it. The highest bib number I saw this weekend was 7106  which is a lot of bicycles for sure, but I have seen twice that number in years past. The last time I rode in this classic was 2019 my bib number was 8535 and I saw numbers into the 11000 range. The reduced participation reportedly due to covid when they cancelled the ride in 2020 and while the participation is increasing again, it is still a long way from years before.  

The start time temperature was moderate as it usually is that time of year at 72 degrees but the forecasted high for the day was 10-15 degrees cooler and the wind was reported be less than normal which has been pretty consistently around 20-25 mph. The ride included accidents as there always are with too many inexperienced people riding in such a large crowd and those that are trying to ride faster than their skills allow. I saw a couple of pretty bad crashes that required EMTs and ambulances. One year, I got caught in a group that had to stop to allow for a CareFlight helicopter to land in the roadway to take someone to the hospital.

I had toyed with the idea of riding the 100k but at the last minute I chose the 50 mile since I had not ridden as many miles as I should have for the additional 12 miles in that route. I wanted to have a good ride and while I am confident I could have made it, I was plenty sore the next day with the 50 mile ride so I do not regret my 50 mile decision.  With the cooler temperatures and lack of wind I completed the ride in just under 3 hours. Next year I hope to do the 100k a couple of weeks after my 69th birthday.