I spent this past weekend in flood-ravaged Wisconsin where a week of torrential rains had left much of the southern part of the state underwater. It was time for the annual Horribly Hill Hundred(HHH) and luckily for Midwest cycling fanatics, the roads for the event had somehow escaped Nature's wrath. The HHH is a super-popular organized bike ride which takes in a lot of steep hills just west of Madison. When race registration opens on active.com in February, the event fills its field of 1700 riders in about two hours.
OK, so I went to graduate school at University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned masters degrees in Food Science and Computer Science and served as president of the local racing club, The Two-Tyred Wheelmen, for several years, but imagine my surprise when I opened my ride packet and found my event number was 4 (four). How did I rate such a low start number? Thanks go to the folks at Saris Cycling. You know them as the people who bring you such great products as CycleOps trainers, Power Tap hubs and a whole host of bicycle racks for cars.
As part of the working cycling media, the Saris Cycling Group invited a number of journalists for a weekend of new product launches, bike riding and brat eating(this is Wisconsin after all). For 2009, Saris will have a really cool new line of trainers featuring both fluid and magnetic resistance and even a high end unit which measures power. Also new for 2009 the Power Tap line will be completely wireless with the top end hub featuring ceramic bearings. Power Tap hubs will be compatible with the Garmin 705 GPS unit as both use the ANT wireless transmission protocol now making its way into the public domain.
Checking out the latest products is cool, riding bikes is pretty fun as well which brings us back to the Horribly Hilly Hundred. I usually don't wear an event number when I do organized rides, but when you have number 4 out of a field of 1700, you gotta milk the opportunity so out came the safety pins. Several people wondered if I was a celebrity, which in my mind there is no doubt; others wondered if I had done something special on my bike something which seems to occur to me almost on a daily basis.
All kidding aside, it was great to be back in the Madison area enjoying the roads which originally kindled my interest in cycling and sharing that experience with both old and new friends not to mention those post-race brats. With hills as steep as 19% and many in the 14-17% range, the HHH is aptly named, but hey, I somehow survived. I had to. I had number 4 on my back and single digits carry added responsibilities.
Bruce
Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand
Previous Next
Jerbear
As the only Madison-based member of Team Milwaukee (aka The Big Red Machine) I was able to enjoy both the Trek 100 and the HHH. While I completed the Trek 100 in good form, the HHH is no place for (large) old men. I merely rode out to the course for a visit on HHH day, looking to meet up with a few of the local lads. Bruce is right on in his assessment of the HHH. The organizers weave the 200 km route around the "driftless" area west of Madison taking in every major climb that's available. Our area does not have the long steady climbs one sees in the mountains. But the driftless zone has scores of STEEP hills in the half-mile-long range and they can be quite humbling. One of the steepest ones is Barlow Road, and I had the pleasure of riding that one when I checked into the HHH. It must be the climb with the 17% grade Bruce refers to! I'd never seen it before and for the first time in memory I contemplated getting off my bike and finishing on foot. Of course I was dropped and had a solo ride back to Madison where I enjoyed the compulsory post ride bratwurst at the UW Memorial Union terrace. Sorry I missed you Bruce! You would have been inspired to see me totally gassed at the top of Barlow!
Jerbear
Bruce Hildenbrand
Dudes,
fun times at the Trek 100 last year, sorry I missed you all this year. Wisconsin has some of the best cycling in the land. If we could find a way to put a dome over the state from about mid-October to mid-March it would be a mecca. Nonetheless, the Dairy State is special and that's not just because of the brats!
Next year,
Bruce
In the land of Brett Favre - "I had number 4 on my back and single digits carry added responsibilities" takes on much more meaning!
The Team Milwaukee crew, Lance and I missed you the week before at the Trek 100! We looked all over for you and thought you were trying that old trick of slowling the peloton by dragging the anchor on the back. We looked, no number four anywhere to be found!Lance is still in pretty good shape and we let him go off the front for old time sake. The rest of the Big Red Machine shattered to pieces and we dragged it all in for a brat and a beer. See you next year?
Rik DeRoosteer