The Chilly Hilly is a Bainbridge Island bike race (and long-standing tradition) sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club. It’s a 33 mile course that essentially circumnavigates the island. This year lived up to the name – the temperature never topped 40F. Although not particularly long, within those 33 miles are 2,675 feet of elevation gain. By way of comparison, the entire 200 Seattle-to-Portland ride is only some 300 feet more. My normal cycling route consists of about half the course, including Peterson Hill – one of the steepest inclines on the island. But to my surprise, that hill was just the first in a series of hills on the route, and it wasn’t even the steepest or longest.
The Chilly Hilly 2011 was also my first cycling event – I only first bought a bike maybe six months ago. I had originally planned to stop a few places along the way to drink cider or buy some baked goods, but since the weather was so cold that day, I just pushed on through.
Here’s an important lesson – don’t go over about one and a half hours of cycling without eating anything. My normal route, almost exactly 1.5 hours, is fine without eating, but beyond that my energy rapidly degrades. Although I never had to get off and walk up any of the hills, it really was a struggle getting up each one of those after the 2 hour mark (I finished the course in 2:34). I also got pretty chilled, which I think is also a result of not eating enough – the same thing used to happen to me during long training runs. I think it was a problem with fuel rather than a problem with strength since I wasn’t particularly sore the next few days. 
The race is really a happening – cyclists literally fill three or four ferries that morning to Bainbridge Island and you can see everything from expensive carbon-fiber triathlon bicycles to mountain bikes to rusty commuting bikes with baskets (there was even a unicycle). It also takes you through some absolutely beautiful scenery.
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