Nachoman

I banged one out about four years ago, just to see if I could do it, and have been doing one a year ever since. (Again, just to confirm that I can still do it). Each time I feel like it's quite a bit of a struggle to complete it. And by the way YOU LONG DISTANCE CYCLISTS ARE CRAZY!

Urethane

Officially my first was last year's Marin Century. However, as far as putting in 100+ on a single ride mine would actually a bike-a-thon I rode for my school charity in 1982 when I was 14 where I put in 109 miles on a rented 10 speed.

Machka 

I just thought I'd bump this thread up because we've had several more people ride their first centuries, and perhaps it could also be an inspiration to those planning to ride their first centuries.

swifty

I did my first century totally unprepared. I was 16 I think, and me and my two year younger brother decided to visit our grandma, exactly 100 miles away. We just hopped on our 3 speed Amsterdam bikes, and away we went. (Mind you, both of us had quite some base miles under our belts, riding to and from school year round, a 25 mile round trip)

A force 5 head wind really hurt us bad (the route was completely flat and unsheltered) and we probably should have taken more than just a few sandwiches and a couple of cerial bars with us, as we kind of collapsed around the 80 mile mark. I had to literally tow by brother at times, but we made it. That night I could not sleep because of muscle pain in my chest from breathing so hard

We returned by train two days later.

chill123

my first was unplanned. i was out one night on a slow endurance ride and after 40miles i thought what the hell, today is century day. i kept plugging away, stopped at a shop to refill the water bottles and grab an energy bar. i finished about midnight after about 6.75 hours. i loved every minute of it. eat lots, drink lots and just go for it is my advice to anyone that has yet to do one.

JohnKScott

My first century was 9/1/2007. After 22 years of not sitting my arse on a bike I started riding in late April of 2007 and I really started to love it.

I was doing mostly 15-20 mile rides through mid Junes and then started to add a 35 mile ride. June through early August I did 15-38 mile rides and then on 8/10 I decided to try a solo 76.5 mile ride while I was on vacation. I made it, although I was wiped out. I learned a lot about my nutrition and hydration on that ride and from these forums. Then it got me thinking that I might be able to do a century sooner than I thought.

Through the rest of August I added one 50 mile ride (which I did on 8/25) instead of my regular 35 mile Saturday ride. Then on 9/1 I lined up and took off.

I felt great during the most of the ride. What I had learned on my 76.5 mile and 50 mile rides was valuable. Although, I still think I didn't quite drink enough or eat enough on the century. I felt really good through 80 miles and even not too bad at 90. However the last 5-8 miles were hard. I had to turn into a fierce wind which just seemed to sap what energy I had left. I stopped three times (unscheduled stops ) in the last 10 miles or so. Laid down in the shade under a tree once and dranks some water/cytomax and felt pretty good again. With no more than two miles to go I had to get off the bike. I was starting to feel dizzy and a little queezy. I sat on a guardrail (no shade) and tried to drink something, but couldn't tolerate anything solid. I believe I was undernourished and a bit dehydrated at the time as well as just plain worn out.

Dizziness and all I climbed back on (although I felt a little better once I started peddling) and finished. Saddle time was 6 hours 55 minutes and I was out about 2 hours longer than that. And I LOVED IT! I can't wait to do another one! . I know I wasn't really "ready" to do this ride. But I did it anyway and I learned from this ride as well. I am now continuing to train and I am getting faster and stronger and anxious to do another century. My weekly traing includes at least one ride of 35 - 50 miles along with other, shorter training rides. I also continue to try to train myself to eat and drink proplerly on the longer rides.

Looking forward to a 200k next year and maybe a double century somewhere down the line.

mattm

my first was in 2005 on a fixed-gear pista (14x40), training for the Seattle-to-Portland ride. ended up doing the two-day StP on the fixie, but it killed the knees!

oh the memories... no more fixie-centuries for me though.

Hocam

Let's see..

My first century was also my first 200k!

And my first 100k!

And my first ride with 8000'+ of climbing!

And when I realized I needed a setback seatpost! The knees were not happy.

alloutdoors

My first century was last summer. After riding for 3 months I decided to do a century, of course I had to do the Hotter than Hell Hundred. I convinced some of my friends to go up with me. We finalized plans at the last minute so we didn't have a place to stay. We ended sleeping in the parking lot and it was hot and humid over night so I got about 2.5 hours of sleep. The tour started around 7am and we got underway. We were moving along pretty good and I slowed down to find one of the guys that had dropped back a little bit. We were stopping at most of the rest stops to regroup and take it easy, I hadn't ridden more than 67 miles at that point. Around mile 70 we heard they were closing the course because it was too hot out (it was around 100 by 10am). So a few of us decided to kick it in gear and finish up. The last 30 miles were hell. They were running out of water and ice at some of the rest stops. I had averaged over 21 mph up to 70 miles, but I was drafting off people most of the time. You can do that with 12,000 other people there. It was awful hot and windy on the way back into town and I finally made it over the finish line. 5.5 hours on the bike and 7.5 hours overall. Averaged around 18 mph and I was dead tired after. I got in the truck and it was 106 outside and I fell asleep after about 3 mins after we left. We stopped at Dairy Queen and wolfed down some food. After I got home I didn't want to ride for about 2 weeks. I am glad that I did it, but I don't know if I will be going back anytime soon.

barlows

Haha, of course I remember it...it was only 5 weeks ago!! ;^) It was pretty straight forward, probably should have eaten more on the bike, I think I figured out I only took in something like 1200 cals over the 6 1/2 hours. Lots of water and all that.

It's funny how the first long ride like that uncovers small fit issues that you don't notice on shorter rides. I've since made some adjustments and now the things are much better. I did my second Century 3 weeks after the first, and did my first short tour last weekend. Just a credit card tour out 90 miles, sleep in a hotel and come back the 2nd day. It's too easy to get bitten by this bug!! Good thing it's healthy!! ;^)

Steve

Chaco

My first was on July 21, 2007, a couple of days before my 59th birthday. I had purchased my bike exactly 28 days before that, the first time I had ridden a bike in 15 years. I had been doing inside cardio work for the previous year, so I was in good shape, but I just couldn't get enough of riding outdoors. A couple of weeks before the century I did a 75 mile ride, so I knew I could make it.

This was a basically unsupported effort. I left my house in Encinitas and rode up the coastline north until I hit the 55 mile mark somewhere in Laguna Beach. I was glad to turn around there, because there is no bike lane on 101 there, and the cars whiz by you at 60 mph. At the 80 mile mark, just outside Camp Pendleton, my wife brought me a sandwich, which I couldn't finish.

My biggest fear was cramping, but I did OK. I took a couple of Thermolyte pills every hour, and mixed 2 scoops of CarboLoad with my water, taking in about 300 calories an hour. I also ate a gel pack every hour. I was on the bike for about 6.5 hours, and the whole thing took 7.5 hours.

My bike performed flawlessly. Not even a flat along the way.

I plan to do at least one century around the time of my birthday for as long as I'm able. Next year, on my 60th birthday, I'm going to head south into San Diego, on a route that will be around 120 miles or so.

EllenKay

Whoa---I know that climb. I recently did a century from Bloomington to Madison (thru Hanover Coll) and was scared out of my gourd going *down* that thing. I can't imagine up.

Cleats up to you!
E

Boudicca

This year, miles 10 to 111 on a brand-new bike.

Taking a risk, I know, but it worked.

At around mile 40 it started raining, and I was convinced I was not going to make it, and ready to cut any corner I could to shorten the ride and get back to the start point. But I was trailing a little at the first shorten-the-ride point, the friend I was riding with kept going and the rest is history.

The long, steep climb 10 miles from the end was a really unpleasant surprise though.

brotherdan

I was on the second or third week of a three month tour from my home in Ann Arbor and eventually reaching Los Angeles. At the time, I was traveling west through Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I had just broken a spoke on the previous day's ride, but I got the wheel a little more true by messing around with a spoke wrench. At about thirty miles into my ride, I entered a town that had a bike shop. It was a little fishing tackle and hunting shop that also worked on kids BMX bikes on the side. They didn't have any spokes that would fit my bike, so I had to keep on going. My wheel had a little wobble to it, but I was able to ride along at a speed that was only one or two mph slower than I normally would.

About an hour down the road, another cross country cyclist came up behind me. His destination for the day was further than I had been wanting to go, but I was desperate for some company at that point, as I hadn't seen any touring cyclists at all riding through Michigan. I also had hoped to complete my first century at some point during that tour, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to try, in the relatively flat terrain of the central Upper Peninsula. He was riding a lot faster than I was, so I watched him ride on into the distance, and made up my mind that I would get to where he was going, no matter what.

The day dragged on, and night was setting in as I finally neared the National Forest campground where I was hoping to meet him. It was in a little town called Christmas, Michigan. About all that was there was a convenience store and a small Indian casino, which was directly across the street from the campground. As I descended a final hill into the town, the brightly lit Casino appeared in front of me. Someone was shooting off some aerial fireworks. It was almost as if they were celebrating my arrival or something. When I got to the campground, the other cyclist had arrived hours ago. He had set up camp and was starting to worry about me, as it was almost pitch black by that point. I pitched my tent, and then we sat down and ate a dinner of cheese and crackers, and split a six pack of beer.

CherryBomb

Did my first 100 mile ride after 3 weeks of riding. Rode out 50 miles, turned around and came back. I remember being under whelmed by the "accomplishment"

barndoor

My first century was back in '91(I think)...it was an organized ride from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Ocean City Maryland...starting at a little restaurant parking lot just east of the bridge and on to the Carousel hotel in O.C.....I think it was actually 106 miles , iirc.... I remember pacelines, rest stops and going faster than I ever thought I could....and I remember someone telling me about "bonking"...which happened at about 80 miles.....I did that one on a Cannondale and I remember how much my body was shaking from the rough ride

calf man

When I was about 15 years old, my family was vacationing in San Diego for a week.
A friend and I decided that we would meet my family there and RIDE to San Diego from my house in northern part of Los Angeles. It was about a 160 mile ride. I think my longest ride before this day was about 40 miles.

This was 1983, before the days of helmets, energy bars, clipless pedals, cell phones, etc. I don't remember drinking very much water either with only one water bottle. We had no idea what we were doing. Stopped for lunch somewhere along the way, ran out of money, and got really hungary toward the end of the day. We started at about 4 AM and got there at about 5 in the afternoon.

Can you imagine a parent today letting their kid do something like this?

jens5

My 1st Century was in 89. Riding from Cape Coral FL. to Punta Gorda and back. City of Palms Century. Small craft warning that day. High in the 90's with high humidity. Up to 30 mph head winds! We figured OK, we'll suffer the wind and have a spectacular tail wind on the way back. No such luck. The wind shifted 180 just before we reached the half way point giving us only a brief respite from the wind. 10 miles from the finish, the sky's opened up with driving rain,wind,thunder and lightning. To top it off,as we're approaching the finish, (98 miles of so), a Sag wagon pulls in front of us and tells us we made a wrong turn. 4 more miles!! Lets just say after the equivalent of climbing for about 9 hours or so we were beat,soaking wet,sore and tired but we finished. One of the hardest rides if not "the" hardest I've ever done.

Richard

JSteiner

I suppose I'll chime in... This one's iffy, and I'll let you guys decide if I should be booted from the thread

Last weekend. After 4 months of riding. Rode from Boston to Gorham, NH. Total of 185 miles. I say this one is iffy because we took a 45 minute nap at mile 85, and another around mile 140. So there wasn't a 100-mile stretch where we didn't nap. But over the course of a 20-hour ride, I'd say it's acceptable

Rode through the night, during which it rained for 8 hours straight. The height of the ride was riding up to Pinkham notch along Mt Washington, which had 15 miles of just uphill. This started around mile 150. I was tempted to complete my first 300k and double century at the end, since it would add just another 2.5 and 15 miles, respectively, but I ran into some knee problems that changed my mind. My next long-distance goal is to do a complete century without breaks, preferrably in under 6 hours. If I'm going to have any chance, I'll have to do it as a standalone event, not as a longer ride.

CliftonGK1

My first century was back in the mid 80s. I rode the Hancock Horizontal Hundred, in Ohio. The only hill on the route is when you go over the highway. I rode that one 5 or 6 years, just because it's such a speed-burner course.
I haven't done an imperial century in about 16 or 17 years. I rode a metric on my birthday back in September, and I've got an imperial planned for tomorrow. 25 mile loop, solo, semi-supported: I'm putting extra bottles/food in a cooler in my car, which I will pass 3 times. Plus, a friend of mine lives 2 blocks off my loop route on the opposite side from where I'm parking my car, so if I really get in a jam I can give him a call.

knotty

Back when I got into serious cycling around 1973, my little group went on distance rides every weekend but we never thought of them as being a certain distance. We did hear of centuries or double century rides but never participated in them. We just rode for the fun of it, letting the wind take us wherever, seeing new places and things.

Today, with things like Google maps and cyclocomputers, it turns out we were doing back then at least a century every weekend and sometimes up to 160 miles.

knotty

ignominious

My first century was the Dunwich Dynamo. A good first one in a way because it happens at night with lots of people around to help keep your mind off the distance.

Since then I've done a handful of rando's and other century's as group rides.

My first touring 100 was done on the TransCanada. Having headed north to take in Timmins (personal reasons, not the scenery) my partner and I were left entering Quebec through Rouyn-Noranda. The short version was to head to Val-Dor and then tackle the Verendrye. The route was long and hot with no option to pick up clean water in the park. Our best option was to head for a camp ground dead centre which was mostly likely to have treated water. After 102 miles, as we rolled up exhausted, we were greeted with the dread phrase - Eau non-potable. Thank goodness we have decided to take a proper water filter with us. The next day we had to haul our 80lb+ bikes another 90 miles over tougher hills to the town on the other side.

Recently I pulled my first solo century from Peterborough to Leicester and back. Hilly but gorgeous. Lovely weather and lots of blackberries growing by the side of the road for me to snack on between food stops.

Lost again

In 2000 my mother passed away. She had been addicted to cigarettes for over 50 years and had asthma on top of that. After she passed it caused me to re-evaluate what I was doing health wise. I gave up smoking and bought a mountain bike. I instantly fell in love with it. I wanted to get better and a coach told me to do some cross training so I started running. My boss was a long distance runner and did a lot of marathons. So I asked him to help me out and 3 months later I ran the LA Marathon, six days after that I did the Solvang Century ( still one of my favorite rides) and proceeded to blow out my knees. It took me 6 months to fully recover from that. Probably would have taken half that time if I'd stayed off the bike.

roy5000x2

Sadly, I only have one century completed, even though I rode across the country (usa) this past summer. Can't remember where I started, but I ended in Minneapolis, MN. 104 miles in total. Not that hard. I had about 10 days in that trip where i did between 95-99 miles, but that was the only legit 100.

pelletman

My first century was in 1980, I was 15 years old, the course was laid out in Findlay OH by the organizers of the Wheelmen annual meet that year. The local authorities had decided to oil and gravel the road about a week prior, and the temp was in the high 90's. At least the course was flat! The bike was a 1886 56" Expert Columbia. It took me 13 hours, I could not walk the next day. But I was very proud of myself. I have not ridden over 32 miles in one ride since.

My 11 year old son rode his first century this summer on Martha's Vineyard. He did it on a 1915 Columbia single speed track bike. I am very proud of him. He also attempted the century at the Wheelmen annual meet on a highwheel, but the combination of the Vermont hills and nearly 100 degree weather stopped him at 60 miles. I also think that was quite an accomplishment.