Hilly Hundred 2004 report

Hilly Hundred 2004
October 15-17, 2004
Ride Report

This year was the coldest I'd ever seen for a Hilly Hundred weekend. Lows were near freezing. Saturday was a downright raw day, with clouds, high winds, and temps topping out in the low 40s (F). Sunday was a bit better: we started with frost on the tents, but the wind was mostly gone and the sun was shining. The day warmed up to near 60F, which is still tights weather in my book but at least qualifies as a nice fall day.

As usual, the routes featured well-stocked rest stops, lots of hills, and plenty of other cyclists to share the road with us. This was the second year that Hilly was headquartered at Ellettsville, which is a much larger campus. Unfortunately, its new location precluded some of the old favorite locations and hills. Gone were Bear Wallow, Lake Lemon, and a few of the huge downhills. You remember Mount Tabor, though? The nice, friendly 20% grade right before the old Saturday lunch stop? Well, it's on Sunday's route now! Some of the other old friends were there, too: Water Tower, Bean Blossom, Stinesville, as well as a few new friends.

Chris did an informal computer survey at the Sunday lunch stop. Most average speeds were in the 12-14 mph range, with max speeds in the high 30s or low 40s. Big steep hill climbs sure can wreck your average speed, huh? By contrast, the lowracers averaged 17.6 mph and didn't walk any hills. Lowracer high speed for the weekend was 56 mph. I don't know where in the world Chris found the room to do it, but congrats anyway!

I didn't get off my bike very often, but here are a few pics.


Saturday: The clouds move in like shutters, blocking out the new day.		The hills start almost immediately. Rollers are the best! I love passing people in my big ring while they are walking.

First rest stop. Loads of muffins, donuts, and cider!		As always, a live band (The Punkin Holler Boys?) entertains us. They look a little cold...

Chris leads the way to lunch. Unfortunately, his happy feet got a little too happy and he missed a turn. So I beat him to lunch in spite of his tailbox!		At the lunch stop, someone had the right idea on how to enjoy the band.

Surprisingly, people still ate ice cream for dessert, in spite of the raw, blustery day. Me too.		For our lunch delight, here is the Not Too Bad Bluegrass Band. I feel sorry for these guys, trying to play musical instruments with frozen fingers. But, I didn't hear any miscues.

Just a view through the trees...		Here's rest stop #3, with cookies under the dining fly. Notice the trash bag hanging horizontally.

More riders pull in to the third rest stop.		Riders start up Water Tower Hill. Signs at the bottom of hills warned us ahead of time what the length and grade would be: in this case, 1.6 miles and max grade of 14.0%.

Sign at the bottom of an unnamed hill on Sunday: "This Is The Hilly Hundred"		Because of the cold, we waited until after 9:00 to start riding on Sunday. Here is the first rest stop. In the background, incoming riders cross SR37 with the help of the police.

Heh heh! A flat stretch! AKA lowracer speed zone! Those riders ahead have no idea what's coming.		Sunday lunch stop. They had a great idea this year: pre-package the lunches in a plastic shopping bag, so the riders could use the bag to sit on. It kept my tights cleaner.

Don't try this at home! I snapped this pic as I chased two uprights up Mount Tabor, while they pass third upright. They beat me up the hill, but THEY had to use both hands.		Yet another hill looms. They all look so innocent at the bottom, but that's just so they can lull you into not downshifting in time!