Milton Keynes

Some friends of mine are going to do a local organized century ride in a couple weeks. I hadn't planned on going but the more I looked into it the more I wanted to do it. It's an organized ride they hold every Labor Day weekend with 30, 63, or 102 mile distances with SAG stops and a "bail out" point at 70 miles. This would be the very first organized ride I've ever done, and it looks like fun. Friend of mine I've ridden with many times before is planning on doing the metric century, and that's what I'm going to shoot for, and if I still feel good at the 63 or even 70 mile mark I'll try to do the full century. As I've mentioned before I've had problems with leg cramps on longer rides, but have largely mitigated that using sports drink powder in my water bottles. That's really the only thing I'm fearful of, leg cramps. If not for that I know I could complete 100 miles.

mcmoose

It's great that the ride provides 63 and 70 mile options (although I would prefer to see the "bailout" a bit further from the 63-mile marker... maybe around 80).

My experience with long rides is that elevation matter as much (or more) than mileage, so you might want to give the course profile a look. Otherwise, drink before you're thirsty and eat before you're hungry, and have fun!

Shadowx

sounds awesome, i really want to do one some day, still working my endurance back up, 22 miles max so far, next goal is 30.

kc0bbq

What do you have to lose when there's SAG support? You'll never have a lower pressure situation to make an attempt than a supported ride. Just don't force yourself if you really don't want to commit to that last third. Making it an obligation instead of an opportunity makes it seem like an unending slog.

What's cool, though, is non-cyclists' reactions to finding out you rode 100 miles. 10 miles sounds crazy long to normal people.

Milton Keynes

It's going to be a fairly flat ride, so I'm hopeful I'll be able to finish the full 102 miles.

Milton Keynes

Yes, this will be the first time I've ever ridden in a SAG supported event, so that will be quite helpful. My first idea at riding a full century was to start at the south end of a rail trail, ride 50 or so miles to the other end, and back again. No SAG, just me on my own and whoever wanted to go along. But if I were to get into trouble on that one, I wouldn't be getting back very easily.

That's part of my motivation, to be able to say that I rode 100 miles. But my main purpose will be to just have fun with a bunch of other cyclists and to ride some places I've never ridden before. If I do make the full 100 then so much the better. But you are right, most non-cyclists are amazed when I tell them I ride 10-15 miles every morning.

rm -rf

On a 100 mile ride, I'll check the bike odometer after riding for quite a while, and I'm usually surprised to see it say just "23 miles" or a similar distance. That's pretty intimidating, there's still more than 75 miles to go! Woah, what have I gotten into?

But once I reach 40 miles or so, the rest of the ride seems to go by a lot quicker. The frequent rest stops on an event ride are good for maintaining my food and water intake.

~~~~~~~
Cramps
The various remedies, electrolytes, etc, seem to work for some riders, but not for all. I've not tried pickle juice -- which appears to jolt your taste buds enough to short circuit a leg cramp!

I think doing enough longer rides helps a lot to avoid future cramps, and avoiding mashing the pedals on hard climbing efforts is a good idea.

copperfind

Get a good stretching routine starting now if you do not already do it regularly. I have not done a real long ride in quite some time but I do remember that usually for me around the 60 mile mark my back use to start getting tight. At this time I was much younger and road 20-30 miles several times a week and long rides on weekends. As someone mentioned elevation has a big impact and our longer rides (stationed in Japan at the time) where out in to the mountains and these were pretty serious climbs usually over 6000 feet starting at Sea Level, so I am sure that had much to do with it... But had to stop and stretch more than once to be able to keep trucking along.

Good luck and put your mind to it and you can do anything.

kc0bbq

I use the odometer reading not as miles, but as a rough "percentage complete" number. It entirely a psychological thing for me, but it just works for me. 33 miles done just doesn't feel as positive as 33% done.

Maybe it's just me.

rumrunn6

the last 2 will get ya ;-) only kidding, go for it cpl tips might help ~ take it slow to start, like the 1st hour or so. don't get behind with your hydration, cuz you'd have trouble making it back up. night before: calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, then again in the morning & again at the halfway. don't experiment with foods, stick to stuff you know your body likes. after the 1/2 way mark there's no shame in taking breaks to massage legs even if they aren't bothering you. change your position every now and again, meaning get up out of the saddle for some revos. arch your back (to help keep it straight)

Milton Keynes

Thanks for all the advice, it matches what I've been hearing from other places. My main goal is to go ride with friends & strangers and have fun, and to just see how far I can go.

cyclist2000

You can also try coconut water for the leg cramps. I keep coconut water and poweraid around the house for leg cramps. Drink a lot before the event.

cyclist2000

I like this strategy.

Stormsedge

My riding buddy and I have attempted two centuries this year..the first one, I was about done at the bailout, the second, he was wheezing at the bailout. So, the goal is still out there. I like your strategy...go if you feel good at the bailout, shorten the ride if you don't. Don't skip any SAG stops!

I'm going to make another century attempt at the Clarksville Sunrise Century 2 Sep.

Milton Keynes

If I don't make a full century this time, there's always the rail trail that stretches for 50 or so miles I could ride from end to end and back again. I've ridden 50 miles on that trail before and it didn't seem like it was that long, still had energy to go longer. It's fairly flat as well, so no big tough hills to wear me out. The only bad thing is, no SAGs and no bailout points.

TrojanHorse

Are you in Kansas? You said flat, just wondering.

OK, so most organized centuries that I've done make you "pick" long before you get to the end of the metric century, so for instance, at the Tour of Palm Springs the century and the metric route diverge at about 35 miles in, which is too early to bail IMO.

HBCruiser1

Milton, you can always do more than you think you can. I just did a 130 miler I had no business doing as I've only been riding 50-60 miles on the weekends over the last several months. Took it easy, rested at the stops and did rather well. Hydration and nutrition: keep on top of them. I've been struggling with not drinking enough and I've been paying the price.

Because this game is as much, or more, mental than physical, I like the strategy of I'm doing the 102 as a first goal. Mentally ramping up at the B/O point may be too late especially if you're not experienced with long distance riding. It's really interesting on some rides the different emotions you'll sometimes go through. One minute "I want to quit", the next you feel like you just started, feeling fresh and whizzing along. It's wild.

Good luck and enjoy your ride!

Milton Keynes

Yes, I am, but I'm in eastern Kansas which is a bit hillier than table top flat western Kansas. But the rail trail is fairly flat, only shallow grades, since that's how they often built rail lines through here.

This ride has three different routes, they're all the same up to the 38 mile point where the metric and full century route continues on and the 38 milers return back to the starting point, and another divergence where the full century route goes on and the metric century route goes back to the starting point. So I'll have to make the decision at that point, or head to the 70 mile "bail out" point, or go all the way.

TrojanHorse

Just decide to go all the way now or you will bail for sure. It's a mental game.

Milton Keynes

Well the organizers stated that it's a mandatory bailout at the 70 mile point if you reach it after 2 PM. Mainly because they don't want to be waiting for stragglers trying to finish the full century at 5 or 6 PM or whatever, which I don't blame them. I'm not the fastest rider in the world, but I average faster than 10 MPH, at which speed you'd reach the 70 mile point at 2 PM. Of course with all the SAG stops and depending on how fast my friends ride, I don't know when I'll reach it.

Tomorrow I'm going on a solo training ride. I plan on doing around 70 miles or so. Will rest Sunday, then Monday through Thursday will be back to my regular 15 miles each morning, then Saturday's the big day.

Milton Keynes

Whew! Just did a 76 mile ride today, and by the time I got close to home, my butt was dragging. Of course it didn't help that I had a headwind for a large part of the ride heading home. Didn't have any issue with leg cramps except at one spot close to home I had some minor cramping, but stopped & walked it off and managed to ride the few remaining miles back home. But I was pretty tired out by that time. I was getting close to being out of water by that time, too, had some gatorade left in one of my bottles but by that time I was tired of it and just wanted water because my mouth felt sticky sweet & salty. I had been well hydrated on this whole ride because I had to stop every so often to take a bathroom break. Luckily I was out in the middle of nowhere.

So I don't know if I'll do a full century next weekend or not. Of course there's going to be SAG support so I won't have to worry so much about carrying so much water with me. I forced myself to stop & rest now & then, so hopefully with numerous SAG stops next week I'll have more chances to rest. But the way I felt after riding 76 miles, I pretty much decided to just go the metric century. But, of course, it still depends on how I feel next week. I don't think there's as many hills next week as I came across today.

dr_lha

If you can go 76 miles, you can do a Century.

kc0bbq

An unsupported solo 70 is much tougher than a supported 100. You're right where you should be if you want to attempt that century, so if that's your concern you really don't need to worry about that. I'm not saying you should or should not, but I'm pretty convinced that you're completely capable of completing it if you decide to try.


Good job staying hydrated, that can be a challenge as you start stretching out ride length.


Gatorade is overly sweet tasting, especially once your metabolism is going all out. It was created more as a drink for high intensity, shorter term work than being tailored for longer endurance stuff. It's pretty normal for the taste to get a bit overwhelming. A lot of riders (including me) like to dilute it by half with water if that's what we're drinking. When I know I'm pushing myself I like more specialized stuff like scratch, but it isn't super cheap. 1lb is $20, and I think that fills about 24 16oz bottles. The flavor is very light. I really like the pineapple, but you don't really taste it much until your taste buds start getting really sensitive. It doesn't have a lot of calories (something like 40 per 8oz), but that's OK if you want to rely on solid food for your calories. Gatorade does its job, certainly, but there are just things that are more specific to what we do now.

Milton Keynes

Thanks for the encouragement. Like I said, I want to achieve a century, and that's going to be my plan. But if I'm feeling dogged than I will take the option to end early. I'm sure with the numerous SAG stops I will be able to ride a lot better than I did last Saturday. I don't remember how many different stops there are, but I think this will be like riding from stop to stop until I finish.

I like it a little weak, maybe not quite half strength but less than 3/4 strength. Basically I like it watered down. I will take some powder with me on Saturday but I'm guessing they will have bottles of it at the SAG stops. If so, I plan to hydrate with just water in my bottles and maybe drink a Gatorade or whatever sports drink at every other SAG. I've had problems with leg cramps on longer rides in the past, and one thing that has helped prevent them is sports drinks.

donalson

i've never done a full 100 but I did do an organized 100k and it was a blast even though I finished 3 spokes down a 32 spoke rear wheel... THAT was fun... make it a point to stop at rest stops if you need... but don't stay too long.

I set a 15 min timer and took along some fancy electrolyte drink (heed) that I kept in a spare water bottle and took a swig ever 15 min when that timer went off... for water I'd drink as I needed (I drink a lot and sweat a lot as well)...

I was with friends and we took our turns blocking the wind... if you only ride solo you can't imagine how much easier a ride is when in a pace line... assuming they are on board with keeping the speed down to what the slowest person can handle... in this case it was ME... but it was part of the MTB club and my first ride like that and the goal was for all of us to finish.

for cramps I like to keep packets of mustard on hand... works well for me.