The web site for the Horrible Hilly Hundreds says it is "The Toughest One-Day Challenge Ride in the Midwest" is not to be missed by serious riders anywhere. It did not disappoint...
Myself, and fellow cyclists Raz and Andy travelled up to near Madison on Friday evening and stayed over at the Hilton Homewood Suites about 30 minutes from the race start.
Saturday morning we got up at 5am and, after a quick breakfast, headed over to the race. The road up to the parking was steep and long and gave a good indication of what was to come!
With admin and pre race prep we took some time to get going but by 7.30am we were on our way. We were doing the 150k route. The thing about the course is that the hills are steep but generally quite short. However, there is almost no respite, they keep coming one after the other!
We rode together for about the first 50 miles but after that Andy and Raz went on ahead...I was really feeling the hills and starting to suffer. The last 20 miles were a real struggle but I knew that it was great training!
Good day out...highly recommended it if you want a hard challenge. Thanks Andy and Raz for your company and making it a great experience!