Ken's story: Hilly Hundred

BaseCamp athlete Ken Carl shared his experience at the 2025 Hilly Hundred bike ride in Indiana.

Ride Report, Hilly Hundred a 40 year return. (And fellow base campers are everywhere!)

"When I was younger, I could remember anything whether it had happened or not." - Mark Twain

Previously I mentioned unexpected positive returns on my fractured rib saga. Returning to the Hilly Hundred in Ellettville, Indiana, is a very positive return, even if it took 40 years.

Cycling in my life has shaped every aspect from endanger to enlighten. I ordered from every page of the menu and keep coming back for more.

The Hilly Hundred was as much fun and as challenging as I remembered. As I began the ride, I reflected upon 1985. There was no drink mix. We mostly wore hair nets and cycling caps aka "Breaking Away." No bib shorts, natural chamois ( some kind of animal skin?). Donuts, apple cider, potato salad were staples at the rest stops. Maps, road paint, and that guy who "knew the route" would get you to the finish.

I also reflected how fortunate, deeply grateful, life affirming being able to travel this ongoing life journey with friends current and remembered.

Riding along a particularly beautiful part of the course, I saw a solo rider up ahead in a white UAE team jersey. I was gaining speed as we approached one of the many climbs, as I began to pass he grunted out, "Going to try to stay with you, kid." I smoothed out pressure on my pedals, shifting down and spinning up. He was right there, could hear his breathing deepen, a shift of gears soon we were rolling together through the trees to the summit of the climb. As the incline gave grace, he pulled alongside. His bike was a classic white steel diamond frame. The wheels reflecting the sun as only those metal rims and spokes could. His hair was almost as white as the his jersey. "I used to be young once," he said. We looked at each other and smiled. I used to be young myself. He told me he was 76 years old and he had done this ride many times. "You give me inspiration for my cycling future," I responded. We rolled a short distance together into the first rest stop. David was his name. I did not see him again, yet he is a treasured cycling memory.

I mentioned donuts previously, and you see them in the photo. Lots of donuts! Muffins, fritters, jelly rolls. At other rest stops I watched folks sit with a full plate of fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw. There was not an energy bar or drink mix to be found. I watched and remembered as if viewing a historic video from 40 years previous.

It was at one of these rest stops where someone said I was the second person he saw today wearing a BaseCamp jersey. A quick scan of the crowd beyond the fried chicken tables, and I I spotted the jersey. A fellow BaseCamper in the wild! John Wright.

There was one significant change in those 40 years. I have become a better cyclist. Smarter for sure, more skilled, and have much more gratitude. 1985 I remember walking several of the hills, energy depleting as the miles acclimated, getting angry because I was tired, dehydrated, and hungry. I may have had the raw energy of comparative youth, yet I enjoyed this day forty years hence so much more.

Proper prep, dialed fueling, the right training had me powering the climbs with equal energy from beginning to end. I was more confident in the higher speed descends holding lines through tricky corners. A shout out here to Tim Cusick for the riding skills camp. I could hear his instructions as if on a tape loop: Shift your gears, get set for the corner, focus, finish the climb, etc.

This was a truly great ride on every level. A milestone memory renewed.

A grand reminder we can and do get better. Enjoy good memories and continue to make new ones.

Ha! Just noticed that the classic kit colors are complementary to my bike. Fun.