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Talk is cheap... 2007 Hillier Than Thou Century

By Jim Friel... reposted hoping he wouldn't mind. :)

I was riding with the Hammerheads on the Wednesday before the 2006 Hillier Century and after the ride told the lads that I couldn’t ride Hillier because I had a girls soccer game to coach that same day of the Century. One of my hardcore buds from the group said that that was fecked up because I had been working so hard all year. I explained to him that it could be worse and my bike mentor, for example, had terminal cancer.

The two days later at 2:15am on Friday morning my son calls home: “Dad, the car broke down.” “James, is that the same car you agreed on Tuesday and Wednesday that you weren’t going to move and I was coming up to Montclair State to check it out?” “Yeah, Dad, I’m really sorry.” I found out later that day that the engine had seized.

So I called my assistant coach to let him know that he was coaching. I miss about a game every two years and the girls have a better winning percentage when I am not there.

I showed up in Port Murray NJ at about 7:15 for an 8am start. Hillier is not your charity century. If you look on njbikemap.com near the town of Montana:

http://www.njbikemap.com/njmap/7-maps/belvider.pdf

you can see Fiddler’s Elbow, the steepest ride in NJ. This guy Eric read somewhere that it has a 38% grade. The cue sheet actually says that, too. Note the 638 vertical feet and the short distance.

That 2006 ride crystallized my commitment to cycling....

A Tale of Two Riders:

by Hector Vilches

We've all heard how difficult it is to complete this century. I believe I read it was top three in the country, and the hardest in the east coast. So on the morning of the event when the alarm went off at six, I had to forget that and make sure I didn't talk myself out of it. I had team mates that were counting on me being there, and today was one day I could not call in sick! Besides, I had already filled the bottles, prepared the gels, printed directions, checked pressures, checked the weather, packed the clothes, money, cleaned and lubed the chain, and of course.... waxed the bike and spokes... Hey, I like to prepare, and the better the bike looks, the better I ride. :)