Horribly Hilly Hundreds

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Comment by Frank Shapiro on February 7, 2010 at 1:02pm

I'm registered for this year!

Comment by Robert Weeks on December 4, 2009 at 7:49am

I posted some of my HHH helmet cam video on youtube a couple days ago in case you want to bring back some memories of this epic ride. I rode it yesterday indoors and we will be riding it tomorrow at Vision Quest's Highland Park facility.

Comment by CAPTAIN AMERICA on July 3, 2009 at 7:40am

THIS WAS MY 3RD YEAR DOING THE HHH, IT WAS THE BEST YEAR, WEATHER WISE
NICE AND WARM, WILL TAKE THAT OVER COLD ANY DAY, SOFT WINDS YEEEEHAAAA AND I FINISHED SOOOO... IT WAS A GREAT DAY IN THE SADDLE!!!!

Comment by Artistic Eye Photography - Laura on June 27, 2009 at 11:36am

Well I have to say I think you guys all ROCK! This is my fourth... fifth??? year shooting the HHH, and it gets better every year. When I'm out on the course, taking pictures & doing my thing cheering you all on, I get so energized watching you all! Seriously, this is not something just anyone can accomplish. It takes a fitness level that I'm nowhere near, and it takes some crazy kind of determination that keeps your feet a spinning. Everyone who participates in this crazy fun time should be very proud of them self's no matter how they ended up at the finish line. Riding, walking, crawling or getting sagged. You did it & you rock! Hope you all recover quickly & look forward to next year. Perhaps mother nature will brew up a nice cool day for us? lol

Comment by Fred Jernigan on June 22, 2009 at 7:59am

It is amazing to me how the human mind works. Today at my computer as I write this, my memories of HHH are all very positive and happy. Somehow, my mind has blotted out all those thoughts I had climbing the never ending hills in the heat of the Wisconsin sun. I'm happy to say and also thankful that I was able to climb to the top of Blue Mounds State Park; even if I only managed 2 mph and had to mash every stroke. No such things as spinning on that last hill for me. It was very important for some reason to pedal to the top. Later I saw the guy that passed me; encouraged me to continue, and at the top when I saw him again, he said; " we suffered together". Perfect, great fun, great day, such nice folks. Can't wait to do it next year. No delusions about 200k, 100 is plenty - no mas.

Comment by Derek Popp on June 21, 2009 at 11:26pm

The food for the event all comes out of registration. Nothing is donated. As for the water at Festge Park that is a county issue. Apparently during high rain events (3 inches Friday) the water becomes discolored, the county has also said that it is safe

Comment by Frank Shapiro on June 21, 2009 at 10:53am

I just added some photos from yesterday's epic ride. You'll see Mike's smiling face in a few of them.

Comment by Joseph Palm on June 21, 2009 at 9:13am

Well, I finished the 100K course, and what a great thing for it to be over!

The day grew very hot (close to 90 degrees), and not much shade was to be found on the course. Even the road turned against me as I progressed - offering waves of heat from the ground to complement those coming from the sky. Double the fun for no extra charge! :-(

Instead of fixating on the gory details of what this event was like for me, I'd like to offer some perspectives of the event based on several years I served as Race Director for a 5K walk/run in Appleton, Wisconsin. I know that a run/walk is quite different than a biking event, but there are plenty of similarities. So below is how I would grade the event:

Packet Pickup: A
Friendly, well-organized, efficient. Very nice first impression.

Communications: A
Shelby and the team did a great job making sure all participants knew what was going on. They used email, the website, and posters during packet pickup. Event staff had radios and were in constant communications.

Logistical Support: A
There were plenty of SAG trucks and helpful event staff all along the course. The group I rode with experienced three blown tires in the first 35 miles, and each time SAG trucks (that we hadn't even called for) approached us within a couple of minutes. Excellent job, team!
I would only suggest that all event volunteers be issued special "Event Staff" shirts that would stand out to all riders, so it's clear who to go to when we have a question or need some help with something. At the rest stops, it was hard to tell event staff from everyone else because they blended in too much.

Course Design: A
Absolutely beautiful scenery! And those hills sure lived up to their billing! The only concern I have was the poor condition of the first mile of Pinnacle Road. Very bad.

Medical Support: B
At the second rest stop on the 100K, I needed some ibuprofen for my foot. But the medical team had no drugs to dispense, so I was on my own. I realize there are insurance implications here, but come on guys, no ibuprofen?

Course Markings: C
Riders could see the color-coded arrows in the road, but what about family and friends who were following along in cars? They had no idea where to turn, and my supporters had difficulty finding me at times. In a ride of this nature, you can't just rely on where bikes are going to know which course to follow. This is because there were three events going on that day, and each followed different courses. I'd suggest taping temporary color-coded flags to the signposts of key intersections, or on temporary poles where there are no signposts. This would also make it easier for riders who might have missed the tiny flags on the road (it happened to me once yesterday).

Starting Line: D
This is a huge event for many people - a significant milestone in their biking career. So it doesn't really cut it to when the only thing we had to pump us up at the starting line was some guy wandering around in a viking hat. There wasn't even a "Starting Line" banner, or balloons, or music. Nada. Would it kill anyone to send everyone off with fanfare and even a little enthusiasm? And what about "Let's give a rousing round of applause to our fine sponsors!"?

Finish Line: B
Music was a nice touch. Free food and drinks was definitely very nice. But parking was way too congested, and it made the whole area feel very cramped and busy.

Water Stops: F
Clean water is the fuel of bikers. However, at Festge Park we were warned that "Due to recent rains, the water is slightly brown". I don't know about you, but I need clean water, thank you very much. In my opinion, there should have been plenty of fresh, filtered water or bottled water provided available as a contingency.
And when I got to the last water stop on the 100K course, I saw that the two guys manning the station filled the area under the small shade tent while bikers who had stopped to fill their bottles were sweating profusely as they lay in the grass in the full 90 degree heat under the sun. The irony was apparently lost on the water stop dudes. So the event staff knew that heat would be a problem on Saturday but failed to ensure bikers would have enough shade at the water stops. How much does it cost to rent a few extra shade tents? Wouldn't that be a great investment to help mitigate the risk of heat strokes?

Event Cost: C
Registration for the event was $65. This seemed high to me at first, but I withheld judgment until I could experience the event and get a better read on costs. Now that I've done it, it doesn't seem like I received $65 worth of benefits. The free shirt was the most expensive item in my packet, which otherwise contained coupons and one free (and tiny) sample of gel to add to water to create a sports drink. I'm sure all other items (including the REI bag) were donated by the sponsors. Another significant cost had to be the food and energy bars at the rest stops, but I suspect much of these might have been donated, also. So $65 X 1,300 participants equals a gross profit of $84,500. This needs to pay for insurance, infrastructure, advertising (much of which could have been donated), and food. I don't believe that course officials are accountable to detail how the funds were used. But $65 seems steep, so a little education might be in order to help me feel more comfortable.

Overall Grade: C
Given the relative maturity of the Horribly Hilly event, my opinion is that there were plenty of things they should and could have done better. But it's a huge effort, and I think for the most part they did a pretty good job.

Comment by Derek Popp on June 18, 2009 at 10:58pm

I added some pics from todays race on the Horribly Hilly course

Comment by Fred Jernigan on June 17, 2009 at 10:22am

Interesting comments and advice. Looking forward to the ride. I had the pleasure of spending a fair amount of time in the area last summer and rode most of the course during those days. Really looking forward to all of it in one day. Barlow is a monster if I recall correctly.

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