Hilly Hundred

"Hilly Hundred." That's a cute name that now seems to fall far short of what this event is all about. I'm trying to think of a more descriptive name - Hundreds of Hills, Horrendously Hilly, Hills of Horror. I'm working on it.

Sean, Mitchell, Rob and Mike.

For the two days I totaled 103.27 miles, 57.48 on day one, and 45.79 on day 2. I averaged a shade over 12 mph and had a top speed of 35 mph.
What was it like? Relentless hills, mostly steep, one after the other after the other after the other. Descents were as fast as you dared, but the roads were rough, pitted, potted, and curving. I "Ohhh shiiitted!" more than once as I flew down the backside of a hill I had just crawled up at 3 mph, unable to brake much for fear I'd fly right off the front or wipe out on the rough surface.
And the wind. Lordy! As bad as it was Saturday, it was even worse on Sunday. Straight out of the west at, I'm guessing, 25-35 mph. It seemed like I rode west the entire distance.
On Friday evening, before riding, we heard about the hill on Mt. Tabor Road: maximum grade 20.2.This came up on the second day about two-thirds of the way through the ride. I tried for the five miles preceding the climb to prepare by easing back and resting my legs as much as possible. It didn't work. I wasn't more than 60 feet up the hill before I knew it was fruitless. I was off and walking, along with at least half the "riders" around me. It was hard to even walk up that hill.

Climbing the Mt. Tabor Road hill. We all walked it.

This ride is definitely meant for experienced cyclists, riders who know how to work the gears to their best advantage on climbs. I pretty much knew what I needed to do, but my timing could have been better. On the infrequent occasions when I began the climb at the right speed and in the right gear, and shifted at exactly the right time, the climbs seemed surprisingly easy. More often, though, I mistimed at least one aspect and paid with expensive withdrawals from the energy bank.
I'm not sure I'll ever do the Hilly Hundred again, but if I do I'll want to train a little harder and ride a road bike. Both would make the job easier. I'm happy with how it turned out, though. It was a tremendous workout and another experience I can put on the list.