Hey, sevenmag, glad to see that you're not deterred by age. I'll be turning 59 in September and just rode my first century last weekend. Took me 6-1/2 hours, not counting three 10-minute rest stops. Not exactly Tour de France time, but acceptable for a grannie who's been riding less than a year. Best advice for me, personally, came from a marathon runner: pack your body with high-quality, nutrition-dense foods the day before. That is, eat a big breakfast and lunch, graze in between, and taper off to a light dinner (many folks don't sleep well on a full stomach). Like the runner, I'm on the lean side and follow a balanced vegetarian diet anyway. But overeating a tad on Saturday did seem to help boost my reserves on Sunday.