Thanks for the advice. Oh, I've been riding in the heat all summer. I'm plenty acclimated to it by now. I busted out my first (and second) full 100 mile rides this summer (July) since maybe 2016. They were brutal. I've been pretty badly out of shape and clawing my way back to possibly just as good of shape as I have been in since 2015. I was looking for shade from the sun and going into the kid's water park splash thing just to get my core temp down.
I had a nice 92 mile ride last Sunday clocking in with 17.5mph solo. There was about a 105 degree heat index by the time I rolled in from that. So, I think I'm well prepared for the HHH. I would like to get it in under 6 hours if possible. I did do it in 5:20 in 2015, but we had really fortunate conditions - very mild temps and low winds. Doesn't look like this year will be so kind possibly. Maybe 97+ heat index from the start and winds steady from 10-14mph with gusts up to 20mph. The wind really gets to me, but I am somewhat accustomed to it here. I just try to make it work in my favor on my training miles. No choice on event day. You get whatever it deals you.
I will be making stops. I just won't be slacking off at them. I've seen the guys that finish near the front that don't stop and I have no idea how they do that. I haven't trained specifically for this event. I've just been trying to lose weight. No real intervals, etc. work to push my capacity for maximum performance, but my average speeds have been edging up to near my personal bests and even beating myself on previous rides of the same courses from years past (by a large margin in some cases).
I might *secretly* love to do this under 5 hours, but I know the wind will kill that possibility. I would need to train all year doing something besides 'base' miles to burn off my pandemic pounds to get it in under 5 hours. So, if I can get it under 6 that will be great. The more under 6 the better.
Thanks again!