Meet Melanie Montgomery. Melanie is the youngest person to complete 100 miles in the annual Hotter ‘n Hell Hundred-two years in a row! But what is even more remarkable is that the Barwise sixth grader has ridden in it for the last five years.
Melanie told me that she rode 25 miles in her first HHH when she was seven years old on a tiny BMX bike with training wheels. The next year she rode 63 miles, and the year after that she went 75 miles. But the last two years she completed the full 100 miles.
She has updated her bicycle a couple of times since she first rode, upgrading first to a blue Fuji, and now she rides a Specialized Amira bicycle. And she rides it competitively throughout the year.
Melanie has ridden in twenty bike rides this year alone, and has collected an impressive number of medals. Summertime is the busiest. Since school started she has slowed down a bit, but has a lot of rides coming up in the next two months. The next one will be the Paluxy Pedal the first weekend in October in Glen Rose, Texas. On the 13th, she has the Spirit Of Survival Bike Ride in Lawton, Oklahoma, and on the 20th in the Holy City Bike Ride in the Wichita Mountains. Then she gets two weeks off before the Nov. 3rd Dallas Bike Ride for which she is a ride ambassador. The 17th is the last bike ride of the year at the Denton Turkey Roll.
Melanie has the complete support of her mother Patricia and her father Robert, and 7 siblings, and they are very proud. I asked Patricia if the Olympics may be in Melanie’s future and she said, ”We get asked that question a lot from other people we meet at these bike rides, but for the time being we just want to keep it fun. We don’t make her ride. It’s something she enjoys and is good at it. If she decides to try when she gets older, then yes.”
You can follow Melanie on her Facebook fan page Melanie ‘Monkey’ Montgomery.
I predict that one day in the not-so-distant future this charming young lady will be the youngest rider to win the Hotter ‘n Hell Hundred race. You heard it here first.
~ tim maloney
