Hilly Hundred Bike Ride for Guardian Ad Litem Toy Drive

Cyclists from across Florida and some out-of-staters gathered outside Crank Works Bicycles in Brooksville on Saturday to ride in the tenth annual Hilly Hundred. The Hilly Hundred is an event that offers cyclists a challenging 100, 68, or 32-mile ride through the hills of Hernando County and its surrounding areas.

The event began as a bike ride, but as it evolved, Patricia Laird, owner of Crank Works Bicycles, decided to merge the idea of having a bicycle race with an event that benefits charity to create the Hilly Hundred.

The event has no registration fee, but participants are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy or donate money to a toy drive for Guardian Ad Litem of Hernando County. Crank Works Bicycles uses the funds donated to the toy drive to purchase bicycles from Big Lots or Walmart for children in the program. Laird said they were able to get about 35 bikes last year and were one of the largest contributors to the Guardian Ad Litem toy drive.
“Last year, we actually had so many donations that we gave Guardian everything that they needed, and then we ended up donating a whole bunch of toys and bicycles to Toys for Tots, as well.”

The race route begins in front of Crank Works Bicycles, and the cyclists take back roads through Hernando, Pasco, and Citrus counties.
“In two miles, you go through a tunnel of trees on Fort Dade, of oaks, you know, then once you get into Citrus County, it’s that citrus tall pine forest, then you’ll hit some farmlands and then orange groves and then you finish through some woods,” said Andrew Sufficool, co-organizer of the Hilly Hundred.

Julia Delmerico, a social worker from St. Petersburg, returned to participate in the Hilly Hundred. She planned to ride in the 62-mile race this year but mentioned she could be persuaded to tackle the full 100 miles.

Delmerico said she is most excited about the challenge of the route because of the hills. “This is the place to go to get hills and we don’t get those every day in our rides in Florida.”

Most of the Hilly Hundred’s route was unaffected by the two hurricanes that hit Florida this past year. However, a portion of the route had to be adjusted due to Bayhead Road in Dade City being washed out.

Throughout the race, there were two support and gear (SAG) stops at miles 15 and 51, which were sponsored by Crank Works Bicycles. At those stops, cyclists could refuel by grabbing a drink of water or Gatorade, eating a snack, or dropping off some of their gear. Laird said one of the event’s biggest challenges was not having enough volunteers and sponsors. Many of the people working at the event were Laird’s employees at Crank Works Bicycles.

Another challenge for the Hilly Hundred was a lower turnout due to the cold weather. However, Applebee’s, one of Hilly Hundred’s community partners, welcomed cyclists, allowing them to use the restrooms and shelter from the cold as they waited for the race to begin. After the race, cyclists also gathered at Applebee’s for an after-party.

Laird said she hoped this event would impact the community by providing gifts to many children who might not have otherwise received any.
“There are a lot of kids at Christmas that are able to get gifts that probably would not normally have gotten gifts, and that’s really important because I feel like as children, Christmas has such a stronger meaning than maybe it does to us as adults.”