Bassmanbob

I've been training for a metric century for the last six months. My strategy has been to increase my weekend ride about 10% every two weeks. The ride is in three weeks on November 22. During the week, I ride about 15-18 miles with hills on Tuesday nights and about 11- 18 miles on Thursdays. In October, my long weekend rides have been 53, 57, 57, 40 (bad day for me and with 30+ MPH cross wind) and 60 mile rides. My plan was to ride 60 miles again this Saturday and then a shorter ride (about 40 miles) the week before the metric century. My problem is that I won't have the time to ride the planned 60 mile repeat this weekend. I may be able to ride 30-35 miles Friday night, but that's it for this weekend.

Do you think I'll be OK for the MC in three weeks, with two relatively shorter rides this weekend and next weekend? How would you handle this differently?

datlas 

You will probably do fine. The main difference you will need to plan for is nutrition, both calories AND hydration.

merlinextraligh

You'll be fine.

Use the time you've got this Friday to go a bit harder. Doing 2 intervals of 20 minutes with 5 minutes rest in between will help make up for the lack of distance.

Do these same intervals on your Tuesday and Thursday ride next week.


You'll be fine either way, but adding some intensity now will make you a bit stronger for your event.

mvnsnd

You'll do ok as long as long as you keep with the pace you're familiar with. If you are pushing it, you should consider your hydration and food intake. 200-250 calories per hour for a good pace, less for an easy pace should keep you fueled for the entire ride.

You've already 57 and its only 5 more miles to a metric. Good luck!

OnyxTiger

Metric Century... as in... 62 miles?

Unless you're looking to race, I don't see how you would not be ready for this. Seeing that you're joining an organized event, they should have intermittent stops to help you out if you ever are concerned about fuel and mech stops.

Biggest concern for me on longer rides is comfort and fuel. As long as your saddle is nice to you and you don't get hungry on the ride (which usually means it's too late), then I'd clip in at the start with full confidence looking forward to enjoy the ride.

Bassmanbob

I drink about 700-750ml/ hr and eat a hearty breakfast 90 minutes before the ride (one egg and one serving of oatmeal with raisins, peanut butter and almonds). During the ride I eat at the 60 minute mark with half a Cliff bar, then the other half 30 minutes later. Every 30 minutes I eat something else: banana, home made energy bar (175 cal/ bar). If I eat shot blocks, I space the three out over 60 minutes. It's been working fairly well so far.

dr_lha

If you've already done rides in the 50-60 mile range, I'd bet money on you being able to do a full Century, let alone a Metric. Sounds like you've pretty much done one of those already give or take a few miles.

TrojanHorse

You're eating a heck of a lot for a 60 mile ride... Don't mess with success at this point though.

You've already ridden 53, 57, 60 miles - I reckon you are ready right now. Have fun!

banerjek

Unless your intent is to finish at a blistering pace, you were probably ready three or four months ago. Your long rides are so close that you won't notice the difference -- the metric might well be easier.

GuitarBob

^ This. Along with @dr_lha, I'd bet on you ride a full century, especially if you're not aiming to break any records.

bbbean 

If you're already riding 50-something miles on the weekends, why do you need to train for a metric? Just ride a few extra miles.

IMHO, people get overly anxious about "training" for metrics and centuries. Just ride and enjoy.

datlas 

Correct. I think a lot of newbies compare a century to running a marathon. Running a marathon is hard, and if your longest run was a 1/2 marathon you are probably NOT ready. But if you can ride 35-40 miles you can ride all day long if you eat and hydrate properly.

RPK79

Advice vs. Advise | Dictionary.com Blog

RidingMatthew

i think you will be fine. If you are hoping to set a certain pace, it might be helpful to rest before the ride. How did you feel after the other rides? how many miles do you ride weekly?

Machka 

So in other words, you've pretty much ridden 3 metric centuries already? The two 57 mile rides and the 60 mile ride are all pretty much metric centuries. A metric century is 62 miles.

If that is the case, don't worry about it ... do what you've got planned and you should be fine. You're already well acquainted with the metric century distance.

As someone else mentioned, you could quite likely ride a full imperial century.

etw

I agree that you are likely more than ready. As mentioned, ride at your own pace remember to drink enough. You do need nutrition, but not as much as some think. I have watched people at organized charity rides pig out at rest stops as if they just got off of a desert island.

I agree with the statement that I have seen that it is much harder to go faster than it is to go further.

Bassmanbob

It's funny. When I trained for a half century, I learned I wasn't eating enough. Now I am eat g too much? Isn't it supposed to e roughly 175- 200 cal/ hr?

To to answer a question asked: how do I feel after the long weekend rides? I usually feel soar, but pretty good if I limit the ride to 50 miles or less. If I go over 50, I'm pretty spent and we'd to lay down for about 2"- 30 minutes before I get up and go shower. Then I'm taking ibuprofen the rest of the day. I guess one of the things I'm concerned about is the possibility of strong wind that day. The ride is right next to the ocean, going north for 30 miles and then south for the next 30. If there's a strong wind, it's going to be a killer.

ray.garza

Limit your rides to 3.5 hrs on the weekend and do Intervals as suggested. Also don't forget to work on your core (planks once or twice a week). This will help you maintain your posture on the long rides and not have you slouching over the handlebars at the end of the ride. Good luck and ride at the intensity you trained at and not what other are riding at.

Machka 

1) You do know that a half century (50 miles) is really close to a metric century (62 miles / 100 kilometres) ... so your training shouldn't be much different.

2) Eat between 100 and 300 cal/hour. I generally settle in somewhere around 200 cal/hour.

On metric century (100K) we rode on Sunday, I ate:

Breakfast: 491 cal
1 large banana: 121 cal
Half a lamington: 99 cal
1 lollie: 20 cal
1 granola bar: 167 cal
1 small drumstick ice cream: 234 cal

Total: 1132 cal for 5 hours and 16 min of rolling time = 215 cal/hour including breakfast.


3) It's sore. To soar is to fly. Sorry, but I've seen this one a few times lately in various places. Where are you sore? What hurts? After doing that many metric centuries, you should be getting used to them by now.

smarkinson

Mmmmm lamingtons.

I bet most people reading this don't know what a lamington is.

Poor buggers.

Machka 

Yeah ... probably not.

There was only one left when we got to the control, so Rowan and I split it.

GuitarBob

i sure didn't... until now.

Machka 

Yeah ... that's them. Yummy!

Bassmanbob

My did the half century in April. After that, I had to almost stop riding for about two months due to knee pain from riding a poorly fitting bike. It wasn't my normal bike, and I pulled my Ilio-tibial band. So when I started training, I started with only 25 mile rides. Summer family obligations and a death in the family limited my summer riding too. So yes, I know the distances aren't that great, but I don't want to kill myself doing it.

Im sorry for my poor spelling. It's something which I've always struggled. Working in a science related field has limited this shortcoming, but certainly not eliminated my problem.

When I ride the over 50 mile rides, I am sore all over-- from my neck to my ankles. This includes my hands and arms, belly, shoulders, etc... I try to stay hydrated and take ibuprofen for the next 18 hours.

Machka 

Have you been fitted on your bicycle?

Can you post a photo of you on your bicycle?