Let me start off by saying I DID IT! This has been a year in the making. It was last November when I first heard of the Tour das Hugel. At that time my longest ride was only 40 miles and I'd only had a road bike for a few months. For the past year it has been a lot of climbing repeats. I built up my mileage and have done 3 century rides this year. This past year I've climbed 207,664 feet in preparation, I rode most of the course hitting all the hills except for The High Road and Bullick Hollow. I did decide to ride the new bike, forgoing common sense. I knew I could get through everything in the first leg with the new bike. It was the second part that had me worried as I wasn't sure how I would be able to handle the steeper climbs without my triple that was on the old Fuji.
The start was windy and chilly, it never did warm up the entire day and the wind seemed to only get stronger. This was the windiest ride I'd ever experienced in Texas. There was more wind for the Hugel than my ride when Hurricane Ike blew through Austin.
The first leg, 38.8 miles was a blast. From the start the pack split into at least 2 segments. The first being the real hammerheads, the guys that were actually racing. I wound up into the second pack. When we hit The High Road this was a recipe for disaster. There were riders in all directions about an arms length apart. As we start the climb up High Road a rider on the right side almost goes down as he hit his wall. A few seconds later the rider right in front of me comes to a complete stop. I quickly avoid him, I think the person behind me might have hit him or he went down before he could unclip. I heard the tell tale signs of bicycles hitting the pavement. I passed a lot of riders on High Road. The High Road climb is .6 miles and the average grade is 8.6% and it maxs out at 19.1%.
When I rolled into the rest stop on Barton Springs I hear someone behind me say "I can't believe you bought that bike" I turn around and tell him "I didn't, it was given to me". At this point I notice he has the same exact Orbea Orca as me. I then proceed to tell him I won it in a contest. I fill up my bottle. He was riding with 2 others, they all had New Revolution kits on. One of the others had the blue Orca. I rode with them throughout the day.
At the end of first leg I felt great, I finished the first 38 miles (4118 ft. climbing) in 2'39:32. Back at Zilker Park I refilled my bottles, reloaded my pill capsules with Hammer Endurolytes and Anti-Fatigue pills and pushed off for the second part.
Part II
On Stratford my left calf started to have a twinge, I couldn't tell if it was a cramp or a muscle strain. It never outright hurt during the day, but it was a dull annoyance. For me the separation of if I could complete the ride was Smokey Valley. If I could get up Smokey Valley without the triple than I should be able to clear everything. As I rolled up to Smokey I was with a couple other riders, they really slowed as we got 1/2 way up so I accelerated around them, looking up there were about 3 or 4 other riders on the steepest section doing the zig zag. In fact almost every hill I saw people doing the zig zag. It really took a lot for me to get up Smokey Valley, at the top I wished I had a 26T cog (I'd later wish for a 27T). A wish I pondered at the top of Ladera Norte as well. However, with the confidence that I could tackle Hugel with the new bike a relief swept over me.
The next biggest challenge was Beauford. I hate Beauford, it's not the steepest or the longest, but the grooves and bumps just makes it downright nasty. I was with the New Revolution guys and a couple others. On Beauford it was the only time someone passed me on a climb. A fellow with a mountain bike drive train passed me with his triple. I caught up with him at the bottom of Jester waiting for the light on 2222. I chatted with him about his set up, he had a 12-28, he was regretting not putting on his mountain cassette (12-34). The next challenging hill for me was Courtyard. It took a lot out of me to get up Courtyard, in fact I had to take an impromptu 5 minute rest stop at the top.
After Courtyard I think I went numb. The rest of the hills didn't seem to hurt anymore, I just rode. Rest stop 4/5 on River Place had boiled potatoes! They had ones drenched in cheddar cheese and one with bacon! I opted to try the cheddar cheese ones. I did pull the cheese off before consuming them. Warm potatoes on a cold day really hit the spot.
In the past I've avoided Bullick Hollow because there's no shoulder and there can be a bit of traffic on it. Bullick Hollow is 1.1 miles with an average grade of 3.2%, max is 18.7%. The traffic wasn't a problem, I'll have to add it to my routes. When I got done with the Dam and heading back on 620 I half jokingly thought this was my bailout point as I was only about 10 miles away from home. I had come this far and the only thing between me and finishing was Big View and Jester.
I was not looking forward to Big View, but I knew the initial part was the worse. All I had to do was get through that and then the rest wouldn't be that bad. I was in the zone, Big View posed no threat. All that stood between me and finishing was Jester.
At the bottom of City Park Road I turned right onto 2222, obviously the wrong way. I had to turn around. 1/2 way up Jester I briefly contemplated stopping at the outhouse to pee, figured losing the 10 bottles of water I'd consumed would help with the climb. I passed on the pit stop and went right up Jester. I conquered the worst of the worst. I'd done it faster in the past, but no other times had been sweeter. Now all that was left was to get back to Zilker. Something that was easier said than done.
The last 7 miles really seemed to drag, 360 was slow and just like the entire day it was windy. My Garmin started warning me that it was low on batteries, this had me worried as I wasn't exactly sure of the way back to Zilker Park. I missed the turn on Wilderness and went all the way to Bee Caves. I pulled out the cue sheet and I had somehow printed out the initial one that had an error, it was the one that omitted Wilderness. I went down it anyway and did find my way back.
In the end it took me 8'24:11 to complete the entire 110 mile Hugel. I climbed 12,815.5 feet. One of my biggest takeaways from the ride, I hated the downhills. Towards the end when I would be coasting down the hills my legs would tighten up, the initial spinning up would hurt. I much preferred to keep my legs moving. The organizers and volunteers put on a great show. This was one of the best supported rides I've ever been on. Remarkable seeing as there is no entry fee. I surprisingly feel pretty good today, my legs are a little tight, my left calf hurts a bit walking up stairs. My goal for next year is to finish fast enough to get a medium shirt.
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