HH100 Report - Road Danger

No Tornadoes or Lightning this Year

This is a sadder report than some others about the Hotter 'N Hell 100. Last year, I was amazed at the number of crashes I saw, including some that involved many bikes. This year, I didn't see anybody actually get hurt on a bike, though I did see one lady that a crowd was around, telling her to lay still until the medicos arrived. She looked fine other than I think she was a bit nervous from all the attention. For the second year running, we also didn't need to put the "Tornado and Lightning SAFETY TIPS for Cyclist" into practice. Things seemed dull enough that a car full of roving medical people asked me if I needed any help when I stopped to apply sun block somewhere on the far side of Hell's Gate. I said, "thanks but I'll do fine." I didn't even notice nearly so many lost water bottles along the way, though there were still many to choose from for the enterprising, but cheap, cyclist.

However, the event was not without a very sad accident. Around the back of the route, near Burkburnett, there was a fatality. What's more, it was a fatality presaged by a post made recently on the excellent "One Speed: Go!" blog. While I'm sure this was not an Arizona version of the species, he was a fully grown one, and I know several other riders saw him. It was clear because there was a general "Oh, how sad." I didn't have my camera out to get a photo of the poor thing, but I've regretted it since. As a result, I just have a rude and rough approximation to show y'all. You see, Gumby fell last Saturday in the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred, lost by a 100 miler, and left to be run over by hundreds of wheels thereafter.

At least we didn't see his face, but he was in just the pose you see below.

RIP Gumby. August 28, 2010. Face Down in the Middle of the Road, Covered with Road Crud