Ok. Back from the HNH with the report:
My father had a medical procedure the week before so I ended up having to go to Abilene first before heading to WF. Put 520 miles on my rental car in 4 days. It also meant I didn't get a chance to head through txsailor's area till the return trip.
Lord Voldetunes finished in 5:42. He said it was a great ride. Gave it a 10 out of 10.
Unfortunately, I got heatstroke and gave up at mile 99. My watch said 102 something, but I did not cross the line. I think the temp got to 97. I had been spending plenty of time at the SAGs cooling off before heading to the next one. At the 95 SAG, family was texting looking for me at the line. So, I mounted my bike and headed out when I shouldn't have. Started getting dizzy. Pulled over, hurled, then decided to not make it a serious problem. Rode in a truck with the AC blowing on me. By the time I was dropped at the line, I was as good as new. For me to complete it, I'll have to find a way to not overheat on the ride.
Other than that, I would give the ride a 10 out of 10 as well. I think there were over 10,000 riders. The route is an easy route. The heat and wind make it hard. That's it's calling card. I rode with a 52/40 11-28.(and a 3rd ring for show) Never even got on my 40/28. Wasn't even really affected by the wind. Went into tri mode and ground it out at a low cadence. Spent at least half the ride in the drops. Overall cadence avg. was 69rpm! I tried to maintain 85-90 out of the wind. That tells you how windy it is. One weird thing for the people who live in a high humidity area. I was wearing sun sleeves on my arms/legs.
After the ride, the sleeves and my shoes were dusty! Not dirty/grimy, dusty. It's so dry and your sweat evaporates so fast that the dirt didn't get ground in with moisture. Weird. It also means dehydration can become a problem.
I can't say enough about how good the organization/execution/ support etc. at the ride is. The town and people go out of their way to have a great event. Good Expo. $10 all you can eat spaghetti supper night before. $10 all you can eat pre breakfast. Really well supported SAGs with med tents. Instead of coolers with liquids, they have people pouring iced water/Gatorade/pickle juice straight into your bottles!(maybe not the best idea during a Rona year) The SAGs get closer together as you get closer to the end. Free showers the night before and after and a fire hydrant spewing water after the finish line to cool you off. A really nice event. More of a bucket list type of event. I will check with RT. That might go into his rotation as an every 3 or 4 year event. For me, I will have to find a way to keep cool while riding or spend 30 minutes at each SAG. Now I will switch to my phone so I can add pics. Here is the website: If you need a hotel room, you need to get it way in advance of the event.
https://www.hh100.org/