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Updated October 11, 2010 |
Skip’s Page: And Again and Again.Once more, all of the various elements came together to create an amazing weekend for the greatest Hilly Hundred ever. The weather was fabulous, people seemed to like the new Saturday route, the number of participants was near an all time high and on and on. Each of you certainly can add your own item to the list of memorable contributors to the final outcome: a great weekend. We had more Hilly Helpers than ever before, both the official ones who participated as a volunteer, and all the unofficial ones who include the local residents, the people at the school, the various vendors, the law enforcement officials, and many more. Thanks to each and every one of you. Your Comment Cards will be collected, transcribed and carefully analyzed to make it even better next year. |
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Lost & found: Send me a note if you lost something, or if you found something that you forgot to turn in. We’ll try our best to reconnect misplaced personal property with their owners.
Future Hilly dates: As your Confirmation Booklet says on page 10, the 2011 Hilly will be on the weekend of October 14, 15 & 16. You may also want to plan ahead to 2012. If so, that date will be October 19, 20 & 21. The 2011 weekend will find IU playing football elsewhere; not in Bloomington. The 2012 weekend is an open date in the IU football schedule. If they fill that date with a home game, we’ll have to reschedule the Hilly. Stay tuned and stay flexible. |
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We hope that the various changes and new items in this year’s event were worthwhile. These include the Friends program, the differences in the Welcome and Safety Briefing, the Vendor Tent on an asphalt parking lot, and a few other less obvious ones. Let us hear from you to let us know how successful they actually were. We’re working on the 2011 event already. Entering walk-in rider data, improving our database, tabulating Comment Cards, etc. Again, your feedback will be of assistance in this regard. See you next year. Bring your friends and family. In the meanwhile, live the healthy lifestyle that makes the Hilly a goal and an accomplishment to savor upon completion. Ride your bike. Lots. Skip Higgins |
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Skip’s Page: Before You Leave Home for Ellettsville. October 1, 2010 This is your annual last minute reminder for the usual list of stuff. Bring warm clothing, as early October can be cool in Indiana. Cool and wet weather phenomena aren’t necessarily in the forecast, but you must always be prepared for fast weather changes in Indiana. And you can always leave unnecessary clothing in your car. Confirmation and Information Books have been mailed to all riders who have pre-registered. If you can’t find yours, for whatever reason, come ahead to the Hilly, start the registration/packet pickup process with the Welcome and Safety Briefing, and then when you’re in the gym, find the Help Desk. Show a photo id, and they’ll look up your confirmation number for you. You’ll need this confirmation number to retrieve your packet. And then we’ll give you a replacement booklet so that you’ll know the schedule for the entire weekend. We will have on-site registration this year for those of you who haven’t pre-registered. 5 pm to 9:30 pm on Friday night, and after 7 am on Saturday and Sunday mornings. At Edgewood High School. Please remember that the school has asked us not to begin arriving until after 4 pm on Friday. You will be turned away if you arrive early. Campers and RV drivers may arrive and begin setting up after 4 pm, and even before you’ve retrieved your camping permit at registration/packet pickup. After registration, you’ll be asked to display the camping permit on your windshield for the balance of the weekend. Our new Saturday route promises better roads than last year, but they are still challenging in places. Be prepared for rough roads, and enjoy the smooth ones. With better roads comes a more difficult route: slightly longer, and more climbing. Be patient, enjoy the day with your friends, and watch for the route marks on unfamiliar roads. If you think you might be lost, turn around and go back until you see bike riders. For those of you who must cancel your trip to the 43rd Hilly Hundred Weekend at the last minute, we understand that these things can and do happen. If you have purchased merchandise, let me know of your inability to attend, and I will send it to you for the cost of shipping. No charge for handling. Otherwise, the value of your unclaimed merchandise will be refunded to you by check within a few weeks of the Hilly. For this offer to work, you must contact me on Thursday October 7th or before, as I’ll be leaving home for Ellettsville on my bike at 8 am Friday morning. See you soon. Skip Higgins Traditionally, and for many good reasons, the Hilly Hundred Weekend starts out with a Safety Briefing. This is the first step in the Registration/Packet Retrieval/Pre-ordered Merchandise pickup process. It is in the Edgewood High School auditorium and everyone must attend. There are no exceptions to this Hilly Hundred policy. For the past several years, Joe and Linda Hunter-Lattak have provided appropriate do’s and don’ts, tips for safe riding, and more. They have reminded each of us of many of the ingredients for a safe bike ride, essentially techniques which are practiced on all of your bike rides. Recently, they have asked to be released from their duties to enjoy the weekend with the rest of you. Request granted. This year, and hopefully for many more, Nancy and Doug Tibbett will provide you with a Welcome, Last Minute Announcements, and Safety Briefing. That’s a mouthful, so we’ll still call it the Safety Briefing (to satisfy the Monroe County Commissioners and our insurance people) but the emphasis will actually be on the first two items. They will be assisted by Janine Leaneagh (aka Miss Twinklefingers) of the Edgewood staff with an entertaining Powerpoint presentation. It should be fun and educational for all, even for those of you attending your 30th or your 35th Hilly Hundred. In registration/packet pickup in the high school gymnasium, you can make changes to your pre-registration, such as purchase camping or RV parking passes, if you forgot to do this when you pre-registered. Same with meal tickets. Simply report to the Help Desk and they will take care of you. We hope you’ll stick around to listen to the pleasant music of Davis & Devitt, get your caricature drawn by the very talented Karen Kovich, and not to be forgotten are the many tasty snacks provided free of charge by the Hilly. If you purchased a Commemorative Package, our artist Rob O’Dell will be there to sign the Hilly print for you. Before you leave the building for the evening (Friday) or the day (Saturday), remember to stop by the Merchandise Table in the high school lobby. If you forgot to purchase a particular item during pre-registration, we’ll have a limited supply of items and sizes available for purchase. Same low prices, just limited quantities. Please remember to check this page of our website from time to time for pertinent and last minute announcements. This is especially important to do during the week before the Hilly. Stuff happens, so we want to keep you aware of any important, late developing changes. Also, as previously announced, the new Saturday route is especially challenging, so don’t expect to use Saturday to get in shape for Sunday’s adventure on Mt. Tabor. Please enjoy this wonderful summertime weather on your bike to prepare for a challenge in October. See you then.
The Hilly Hundred application form will be enclosed in the June edition of your CIBANews and it is being mailed on May 24th to recent participants. You can also download a pdf of the application form at our website www.hillyhundred.org. At this website, you can find a link to Active.com where quick and easy registration can be accomplished using your credit card. Be sure to look for our new Friends program on this year’s registration form. The Hilly registration form reminds you of some of the charities that our funds are shared with. These include the CIBA Foundation, Bicycle Indiana and the Edgewood High School Dollars for Scholars program. Take a moment to look at the respective websites of each of these worthy causes, shown on the registration form, to learn more about them. The Hilly is proud to be involved in their funding. We will hope to see you in October. We’ve designed a new route for Saturday, utilizing better roads and highways. It is even more challenging than last year’s Saturday route. Bring your cycling friends because the Hilly is more of a people event than it is a cycling event. Skip Higgins |
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