We headed back up to Madison in the Ford Flex mid June for the annual Horribly Hilly Hundreds 200K organized ride. This was my second year participating and is always my longest ride of the season.

The decision was made to camp at Brigham County State Park which was only a 3 mile ride from the start and finish line. Upon arrival we discovered this was a “rustic” campground meaning they had no running water. So I guess we were roughing it :) Being the only girl in the group this bothered me more than anyone. At least we were camping in style with the TIMEX branded equipment.

We dined at a local Inn called Hooterville in Blue Bounds. The walls were covered with stuffed animals including a jackalope and a deer’s butt transformed into an owl. We carbo-loaded on pizza and my favorite Wisconsin beer; Spotted Cow, all the while being entertained by some locals playing the spoons on the bar.

There was a huge storm around midnight while we camped, luckily we’d set up our rain fly’s well and nobody got wet. The rain and thunder were actually very relaxing; I slept great and woke up ready to ride.

 Saturday morning we woke, brushed our teeth in the drinking fountain and headed to the start line. Our small group broke up pretty quickly due to our variety of speeds. The ride covers every steep climb around the Madison/Blue Mounds area. The course consists of five 20-35 mile segments broken up by 4 rest stops stocked with any kind of food and drink you can imagine to replenish yourself. The first two segments ended at the same rest stop which ended with a huge climb. Our second time up, I rode past a man lying on the ground clutching his hamstrings complaining of leg cramps. Not sure if he didn’t notice men were zipping down the hill around him nearly running him over. But after ensuring he was OK, I mentioned that he should roll to the roadside to avoid getting hit, he moved over.

 There was a 100K route and a 200K route, at the split I talked my ride partner, Henry, into going the long way with me. It took a little convincing but as I made the 200K turn he followed. This was going to be his first century ride, much less 124  miles!

As we made it through the course, towards the end so many other riders were complaining about pain, fatigue, and injuries. Overall many didn’t seem to be enjoying the ride. I personally was having a great time throughout the entire course. We had a beautiful day, decided to ride at a comfortable pace so was feeling strong even at the end of the ride, I made it up the last climb with no problem at all.

 Friends and I re-grouped at the finish line and enjoyed some lunch, ice cream, beer and massages. We utilized the showers at Blue Mounds and planned to hang out drinking around the campfire, although I was out like a light by 10 PM. 130 miles (including to and from the start) wore me out.

I would recommend this ride to anyone in the Midwest, it’s a great long training day. The course is mapped out and executed excellently.  Camping with five boys was an interesting experience, I’ve never heard so many farts and burps in my life, and I have 3 brothers…They definitely treated me like one of the boys for the weekend.

And my back got fried yet again…