Training for the Next Race: Texas Hell Week

In preparation for IM Woodlands, Danna and I headed south to Fredericksburg to ride the hills during Hell Week. This was the 22nd year that this week of riding has been organized, so it seemed like a good opportunity to get off of the trainer and out on the road, not to mention the fact that Danna needed to log her first century ride! We arrived on Friday night and picked up our packets to find out that these rides are unsupported and you are given a turn-by-turn and are set free on the lovely roads of the Texas hill country. No problem. We're girls; we're good with directions :)

Saturday there was a ride offered that was 105 miles. Perfect. We set out with a group at 9 am. The first stop was at 44 miles and we were still with a pretty good size group and were not having to reference our maps, just follow the crowd. After the stop we found ourselves alone and so we started using our directions and, of course, got off route. We were not worried about it; we figured we needed to ride for 100 miles anyway and we had our phones with us and plenty of water and food. Unfortunately at one lost point we called and asked for directions but gave the wrong information about the direction we were going on the highway, so we ended up back in Fredericksburg at 70 miles. We were disappointed that we did not get our 100 miles, but the 70 that we rode were crazy hilly and windy and we did get off the bike and run 5 miles, so we logged that day in the books and got ready for another go on Sunday.

Sunday's route was 93 miles. We were on our own after about 25 miles and the hills were relentless. We were having a good time with the challenge of the hills, but there was a long stretch (about 20-30 miles) that was unbearable chip seal road. Luckily there was a store at the end of the bad stuff and we stopped for a snickers bar and refilled our water and headed back out to better roads....and more hills! By mile 60 we knew we were on the wrong road, but again, were not too worried about it. By mile 70 we were back on course and had added about 4 miles to the route, so we knew we would be that much closer to our desired 100 miles! Overall we rode 97 miles and it took us 7 hours! Unreal! That was the most challenging 100 miles I have EVER ridden. Good experience overall. I definitely gained mental strength and feel like if I can ride 1oo miles here, I can ride 100 miles anywhere! Danna is such a trooper. If someone took me on this ride for my first century I would be so mad! She takes everything in stride and I have tried to impress upon her that she has nothing to worry about; she will have NO problem with the bike at IM.

I can't say that I will come back to hell week. I can ride unsupported for free at my house and not pay $99 for a print out of directions and double price for a one star hotel. The people who bike here are true cyclists and I still can't consider myself one of those. I like my nice bike rallies where there is an aid station every 10 miles and there are arrows on the road that tell me where to go. If you are confident in your ability to follow directions, even when half of the roads are unmarked, then this is the ride for you. I am glad I came. It gave me a lot of confidence in my riding ability, but it was not my favorite experience.

Nana and Kara came, too! They did their own bike rides and got a taste of the hills. Then did some shopping and enjoyed some German food.