Zinger

Those circuits like that with a climb in the middle, on each lap, are a bear !

rm -rf

GPS elevations add up all the small elevation changes. I searched ridewithgps for NYC-Bear Mountain examples. Here's a route from the GW Bridge at Ft Lee to a loop including Bear Mountain. It's 92 miles and 6800 feet. Even the "flat" section between mile 25 and mile 35 has 690 feet of elevation gain. (You can drag to select a section of a route, then see the Metrics tab for statistics.)

My ride along the Ohio River, with no climbs up into the surrounding hills, had 2750 feet in 64 miles: Route 8 to Augusta KY The biggest hill is only 160 feet tall.

rumrunn6

it pretty much takes all day, so start early, go on a long day, meaning early sunrise, late sunset like in June and bring a headlight just in case.

rumrunn6

on this, I would suggest you NOT experiment. the last thing you want is any digestion issue away from home ...

rumrunn6

I love this log, but where are you gonna find linguini & chicken just 20 minutes from the finish line? also why stop and eat when so close to the end?

tsurr

To protect your knees don't push the big gears try lower gear ratios and keep the cadence in the 75-90 range. I read years ago that you should always wear leg warmers or tights under 60 degrees to keep the knees warm. So far that has worked for me. Good luck and drink plenty of electrolytes replacement drinks and eat often.

Zinger

Ditto

Get your eating habits sorted out beforehand

Same advice goes for carbo loading. Lots of conflicting opinions on that nowadays. In the '80s I used to do it with a couple of pears chasing it down just so I wouldn't have all that on my stomach the next day. I couldn't tell you if it actually did me any good or not. If you feel good on 60 mile rides without it, I wouldn't bother with it.

Artmo 

Is English your second language?

jppe

I like the idea of doing a relatively flat century as your first one. I'd keep the overall climbing to no more than 5000 ft, even less if possible. The thing for me is to just get your body used to the hours in the saddle, both from a physical but also a mental state. Get where a 100k or 60 miler is routine and you don't feel wasted afterwards. Lots of folks mention that they start to feel pretty crappy after about 80 miles. If that happens just keep pedaling and set goals to get to the next 5 mile mark. Riding with others of similar ability to yourself really helps more than you know as well.

There are 4 pretty simple basic foods that work well for me: bananas, peanut butter crackers, fig newtons and when I can find them in a store-salt and vinegar potato chips. All of those are tried and tested on my digestive system and work great. I did 4 centuries in December and didn't really eat that much. I probably averaged one banana and a couple fig newtons so I think it's just a matter of what you can get your body accustomed to.

Bikey Mikey

Did 2 organized centuries last spring--1 at 54 just 2 weeks before my 55th and the second less than a week after. Good advice given already.

DeltaChuck

Bananas or any kind of fruit, no problem. I eat fruit on a daily basis. Pasta? Nope. Peanut butter and jelly? Yup. And several of the other foods mentioned. I think I need to just get used to eating while riding. Have not been doing that. Typical weekend ride would start with protein shake with skim milk or nothing for breakfast. Depending on what route I take, at about 1 to 1 1/2 hours into ride I would stop and eat a bacon,egg,cheese biscuit. If it is an afternoon ride, I would usually stop at the same place and get one of those jumbo sized triple chocolate snickers bar. Sometimes eat half of it, sometimes all. Never ate while riding. As I mentioned in op, the fasted rides I made I would start slowing down at about 30 miles. At mile 50 I could tell I was running out of gas. The one time I pushed it to 62, Gas tank was setting dead on empty. Not smart, but I now know what it feels like when approaching that wall.
For hydration, I carry two water bottles. If sweating I add this. https://www.amazon.com/Elete-Refill-E...e+electrolytes. I drink a LOT of water. Refill once, sometimes twice on 50 mile ride. Usually water and sports drink on refill. We have a lot of hot and humid weather here in South Arkansas. And have cut my ride short because of it. I have to work in that kind of heat, but nobody is making me play in it. My golden rule on hydration is if you don't need to pee, you ain't drinking enough.
I want to thank all that have taken the time and effort to respond. Feel like I got a lot of good advice. And thanks for making me feel welcome.
I want to go ride!

flyfisherbob

I can't improve on the advice, so I'll just wish you luck. I did my first century at 58, so you are still a young-un. Go get it.

ping jockey

You didn't say when you were planning your century but Arkansas can get pretty warm. Don't forget to drink plenty of water and to refill your bottles as required.

Carbonfiberboy 

There was a rage for carbo loading a few years ago, but it's been abandoned. The full deal was that you would really deplete yourself, all the way down to or almost to bonking, just about what you did, and then eat carbs like crazy for several days. The thinking now is that's too much stress on the system and not worth it. What people do now is the last 2-3 days before the event they keep the calories about the same, but cut the fat and protein down, thus the carb percentage goes up quite a bit. So training volume and intensity go down, carbs go up, and you don't gain weight other than from increased glycogen and its accompanying water. This seems to work best. The day before the event, I drink 2 bottles of sports drink slowly, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. That makes sure I'm hydrated, good with electrolytes, and tops up the tank.

A century isn't really a very long ride, though it might seem so now. A good plan is to go with plain water, take Clif bars as described above, and cruise the rest stop tables for what looks really tempting, if there are rest stop tables. I'll often finish a ride like that with extra Clif bars, so I only prepare a couple at a time. One can also use a sports drink, but that's more complicated than just filling your bottles from a spigot and more complication takes more time.

For electrolytes, especially important if it's hot, I use Endurolytes, 1/hr or more depending on the person. I take enough so I'm slightly thirsty and want to drink.

Pay attention most closely to hydration and nutrition for the first 3 hours. Then you got it.

big john

Funny, if I eat more than 1 Clif bar or Powerbar it upsets my stomach. Can't stand gels, either. I do best with regular food like sandwiches, fruit, sugar cookies, pasta, even a Payday.
I have tried products like Heed, Perpetuem, Cytomax, etc. and got mixed results. I've only rarely used electrolytes in the tablet form.

Did a 70 mile ride Saturday after being sick for a month. It was hot and we stopped around 50 miles and I had a root beer and a chocolate chip cookie and it fixed me up pertty good.

Miami Biker

Hi. I'm probably better at telling you what not to do based in my first/only 100.

I'm 68 and riding a road bike little over two years. Weigh over 200 but sneaking up on it having lost a ton (k, not literally). Right knee replaced in 2005 and left one not great.

You see it was like this. Ride 3-4 times per week averaging 40 per. Regularly do 50 and one 70, two 68s (my age) a 62 all within two months before. I do almost all my rides without any food, but with water with electrolytes. Going over 60 need nutrition. This is me, not advocating.

So biking buddy and I do a warmup pre century ride Thursday for about 40ish to do 100 two days later (Saturday with less traffic). Brought no food, little money, little to drink as it was only going to be 40.

You guessed it, with strong Florida winds and next to no drafting, we did our century that Thursday. So much for preparation. Yes we stopped for two milk shakes and little fruit. The gels I bought were safely ensconced in my home waiting to do their job. Bought drinks and that was it.

You are probably in good shape and can do it now or very soon. Do agree with others about going slower first hour. Then it's being comfortable with your bike. (Have you had a custom fitting? Me neither but will do shortly.). Do it before if you can.

So my advice is to know yourself. You said you have learned a lot from your longer rides. Obviously need water, electrolytes and energy. Some need it sooner, some like me later. Believe rules are one has 12 hours to do this. So take a few breaks when you need them and listen to your body, after all only you know what to do.

Thus my advice is its good to ask, learn etc, but in the end it pays to be strong, focused, pay attention to traffic and have some nice thoughts to occupy your mind.

Woops, one warning. Noticed my friend lost his focus a bit after 80 miles or so. Someone mentioned that. So pay careful attention those last miles. Now if you go with a group and can draft, they say its 25% easier.

Please share your experiences and it's a great feeling of accomplishment. Actually did 101!

Ed

stapfam

Training for a 100 miler is no more than your normal riding. No need to 100 miles training for a 100 mile ride as you will have already done it. If you can do 60- you can do 100 with a bit more training. Just modify the training. 50 to 60 at weekends and a couple of rides of say 20 miles in the week but make those 20 count. One ride on a flattish route but with a bit more speed than you normally ride at. The other up hills and I don't mean slopes. If more mileage can be done with extra rides then all the better.

A few problems that you will come across on the 100 and one is butt ache so saddle time will help. Nutrition and Hydration are a major concern so carbo load beforehand- have a good breakfast and drink and snack right from the start of the ride. I normally only take one break at around the 65 to 75 mile mark other than for watering stops and at that break I drink a bottle of energy drink- eat a bit more substantially and take a stretch to loosen the muscles. That break serves two things- Besides the rest and nutrition- it stop you finding the wall at around the 70 to 80 mile mark.

Only other point is not to over exert yourself by staying with a faster group and don't slow yourself down riding with others where you will be doing most of the work to pull them a long. Find a group of your speed so you can draft with them to save energy and just enjoy the ride.

jyl

My experience is: I was/am a daily commute and errand rider but that was/is only 6-8 miles/day. I wasn't ready for a long ride, e.g. in January I rode 25 hilly miles and was exhausted. In March I found and started riding a flat 40 mile loop, and rode it about five times before the century, pushing to do it faster each time. I also did 20 miles of hill repeats every other weekend. In July I got on the bike I normally commute on and did two flat centuries, back to back (Sat and Sun). The last 15 miles each day was kind of tough but overall it went smoothly. I averaged 17 mph. I'd been told that if you can ride 50 miles with ease, you can ride 100 with difficulty, and that was what I was counting on. It worked.

The main challenge I encountered was saddle-induced crotch numbness after mile 75 or so. The next year I went back with a better saddle and that numbness wasn't an issue.

As for eating, eat something substantial every 25 miles or so - meaning, a peanut butter/jelly sandwich, or a couple of bananas, or a couple of energy bars, that sort of thing. Carry something to nibble on as you ride. I stuck a paper cup full of trail mix in my jersey pocket, refilled it from a larger bag in my saddlebag, worked great. Finally, carry a couple of energy gels for emergencies. And - this is key - do a training ride where you practice eating all this stuff. Sounds silly to practice eating, but eating while riding does take some practice and if your stomach can't stand a particular food, best to find out.

Drinking should also be done to a schedule, because it is otherwise easy to forget and get dehydrated. How much/often will be quite weather dependent, but I'd drink at least a bottle per 25 miles, that is roughly every 90 minutes, and more if it is hot/humid.

If this is a well supported ride you may be able to get by with the minimum stuffed in your jersey pockets, but I carried a small saddlebag so that I could have multiple tubes, breakdown tools, extra cables, plenty of food, gels, and so on.

Finally, is this a large ride, such that there will be many groups of riders on the road with you? If so, you should find a local riding club and get a bit of group riding experience. Riding in a pack has certain rules and some etiquette, a rider who doesn't know anything about it is potentially something of a hazard. You can avoid the groups but that can be inconvenient, and there is a reason to ride with them, which is that drafting another rider saves a lot of energy.

dalameda

Delta, sounds like you have the training and eating part under good consideration. There is also a mental aspect with century rides. I did a series of century rides last year, and on the early ones I would get to about mile 70 or 80 and go into a deep funk, vowing to never climb another hill in my life, or even get on the bike again after this was over. There were also 2 centuries where I negative talked myself into calling it quits - on one ride I sagged in, on the other I took a short cut, but in both cases I was telling myself "this is too hard, I can't make it" so obviously, I didn't make it. I turned that around by trying a trick someone mentioned on one of the forums here - to break the century into 4 or 5 smaller rides, usually divided up by the rest stops (if it is an organized ride) You can easily do a 25 mile ride. When I pull into the rest stop I mentally tell myself, ok, I finished my ride, then when I start out, I start a new ride. I will change the food,(e.g. I get to have peanut butter on this ride, fruit and a cookie on the next one), maybe play music (only one earphone) on one section, or try to ride a paceline, focus on the scenery or the terrain for one section - anything to make it feel like a separate ride. I have found that 4 - 25 mile rides is a lot easier than 1 100 mile ride, and I usually finish them faster!

Cougrrcj

I'm also 56 and signed up for a MS150 in August. I haven't put in any serious seat time since my prostate cancer surgery two+ years ago, then another surgery to remove scar tissue, and last year four neck surgeries to try to alleviate the arthritis pain... Longest ride since then has been to the grocery store two miles away. I figure that if I signed up, it would force me to focus on my training. I brought the Fuji and rollers into the house (wife is not too pleased) so I can get some sort of workout this Winter... I'll keep y'all updated as things progress.

Dudelsack 

So.

I'm going to sign up for the infamous Redbud Ride in April. I will do the century, with its gazillion feet of climbing. And the bulk of the training will be done on my trainer. I read that trainers are good for training and such.

A mistake? I'll let you know in a few months.

dbg

We do at least one century (and average 75+ miles every day) for our annual WI trip. To me, the big thing is being comfortable in the saddle. That means everything and includes butt soreness, neck soreness, and maybe hand/wrist soreness. If you're riding more than 30 mi on frequent daily rides I suspect you'll be fine.

Regarding food: Have plenty of water and favorite snacks --but our big secret is a long leisurely stop for a decent lunch.

Garfield Cat

DeltaChuck,

communicate with the Century ride sponsors and find out the scheduled stops and what nutrition they will offer. The better financed and supported Century rides have plenty of bananas, fruits, figs, etc. and also drinks and water. Take advantage of those stops to refuel. Then take a GU gel to top it off and ride away.

If you have a favorite type powder drink, then use that. But ask the sponsors about what will be provided free. Try that on your training rides. For me, the most efficient powder is the tablets that fizzle when immersed in water. I use NUUN. But there are other manufacturers who use the similar technology. No big deal.

There will also be a lunch break. So there's really no excuse to bonk. Don't bonk because of stupidity. Forrest Gump never bonked. Plus he owns a lot of Apple stock.

Terex

Food is personal. Hydration is key. I always like Amino Vital lemon. The Hammer nutrition products are highly regarded too - but, you have to like what you're drinking. Just water won't do it, and the grocery store drinks (GatorAid, PowerAid, etc., are just crap.) I've done a sub-5 hr. century on pretty minimal food, but I was in super shape at the time. The more you can ride before your century, the easier it will be. Pre-hydrate. Pre-hydrate. Pre-hydrate.

BluesDawg

My personal prescription for success and happiness is to never train, just ride. I follow the same approach to music; never practice, just play. That said, if I have a big event on the horizon, I will probably choose to ride in ways that will help me be build the strength, skills and endurance I'll need for the event. Training is work. Riding is fun. I'd rather ride. YMMV.