Chr0m0ly 

This is AWESOME! Keep it coming!

And throw in any distance advice and tips, I didn’t mean to indicate that tips weren’t welcome, only that I was happy to have someone answer my question as I asked it. Very happy to learn from others experiences.

Salt supplements, plenty of liquids, good handlebar bag, it’s all welcome. I have a couple bar bags like the Cannondale bags with shock cord going to the front drop outs, they hold a lot.

I’ll be building up and trying out all of them eventually. Sedgemop took me on a 25 miler yesterday, and my motor will need some more work, but I knew that. I took the ‘79 Trek 510, and it’s pretty awesome for the task, but after the comments I think I’ll put the Cannonball at the front of the line, and the Raleigh right after it.

For speed I notice that short high effort sprints or hills really take it out of me, so I’ll be doing some short sprint intervals between longer rides. The Miyata will take the sprint work, it’s the sportiest and stiffest. Then I’ll play with the other stuff.

I have a unicantor, and I was already thinking of trying it, as it won’t absorb sweat, but also it weighs nothing. A vintage weight weenie long distance Cannondale build would be preeetty sweeet...

Piff 

Ive used this recipe as a foundation to make energy bars. Don't use 3/4 cup oil, it's too much. 1/2 is the right amount. Playing around with the ingredients is fun and easy. I've added molasses, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate chips. I want to try experimenting with adding banana into it somehow, but that may require flour as well.

Oh yeah, and thr amount of brown sugar added is too much. I usually do less than half.

Salamandrine 

I don't know if this is a possibility in your area, but I'd highly recommend you do a local cycling club century for your first one. There will be food and water stops, so you don't need to worry about, plus you'll have some camaraderie along the way.

FWIW and take it or leave it: The C&V training advice for 'beginners' I got when starting out still applies IMHO. Ride as many miles as possible. Try to spin, until your knees start to toughen up. As the miles pile up, your moderately easy speed will slowly but steadily increase.

ryansu

I will Echo Dr Cannondale on FIt and after you have that figured out its Comfort, Comfort Comfort. Find a saddle you like, Pedals you like, a bar height/Reach/ hand position you like. As a 3 time veteran of the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride. I would take comfort over shaving a few ounces any day of the week IMHO. I should clarify by comfort I mean something that you just don't think about as the miles go by... the saddle just disappeared under me... if the fit or feel is off it you will know about it at mile 15 and 25 and beyond

Good luck and have fun!

bikemig 

There is a lot of good advice in this post. There is a lot to be said for fat, high quality tires. I like my '93 XO 2 for long rides as I run 26 x 1.75 tires on it.

RobbieTunes

” potable water.” from the Jersey Pines Chronicles

Prowler 

We miss you way back here in the colonies, Robbie.

slenten

I completed a century once, in 1976, on a stock, '76 Schwinn LeTour. A handlebar bag held snacks, etc. My friend suffered on a '75 Continental. I had a pleasant time
but have not felt the need to repeat the experience.

Chr0m0ly 

Sedgemop took me out on a 57 miler. My longest ride to date.

He also took the opportunity to offload an old Trek of his onto unsuspecting innocent me... A ‘78 TX706. It’s a beauty, in amazing condition, and I will treasure it.

THANK YOU SEDGEMOP

The bike will get it’s own “New Bike Day” post but here are a couple shots.








Some observations on breaking 50 miles:

I need a crazy amount of water/salt, I think I went through at least twice as many bottles of various waters and sports drinks as Sedge. He is in better condition for these rides but I just naturally sweat buckets. Loads of water carrying capacity will be a priority. When we started I put salt and a little lemon juice into my water bottle, I think if I add some sugar I can role my own Gatorade type drink. I have salted my water during martial arts practice, and he good results.

We had a couple cliff bars and I brought mixed nuts, I think making my own granola bars is a great idea. The adventurous side of me is wondering about pemicin...

I have been using a Brooks B17 up until now, but decided to gamble and for this ride threw a Unicantor on the bike. I know that’s a very stupid idea but I got away with it. I love that saddle and I’ll be getting more. I took the gamble because I find Brooks to be most comfortable when quite snug. Once the divots form I tighten it a bit. I know the Uni is very close to the contours of an unbroken in Brooks, so I just went for it. It worked great, after a couple angle re-adjustments.

I definitely am seeing how weight isn’t a big deal, at least in board flat IL. I’m curious how one of my tourers would feel now. Although the X1X series of Treks were billed as tourers in their day.






Today my legs are tired, and I’m generally just sleepy, but I’m hooked. Nothing disastrous happened, I’m tired but fine today, and I want to keep safely exploring my personal limits in this area of riding.

It seems like the most important things are

Comfort, (several times over) then,

Hydration, more than you think,

Snacks are good,

sun protection. I burn very easily, and I prefer to wear long sleeves and gloves to wearing sunblock, but I might start to double up.

These rides I hadn’t set up any carrying capacity on the bikes yet, and I used a fanny pack for water carrying. Not doing that again.

repechage

I make the assumption that the "fit" is correct on either. A few millimeters in wheelbase is not much of a difference, in trail steering head angle, chainstay length (say 406 to 415-420) that will be felt all totaled up.

sd5782 

Congrats on your 57 miles. This thread has inspired me too. In the last 40 years I’ve only gotten in a few 20-25 mile distance rides each year along with various shorter ones. Today, I took my new/ used miyata on a 51 mile ride. I did better than I expected, and as another poster said, just go for it.

35 Panaracers at 60-65 psi and a Brooks B15 helped a lot. I did remember something from my youth and longer rides; even when feeling strong, I try to keep it in one gear easier than I might try on a 10-15 mile ride. That gear may feel comfortable at the time and not like pushing, but over longer distances it catches up with you.

Salamandrine 

Wow, congratulations on the 'new' Trek! Maybe that should be your pick. Looks like the perfect century bike to me.

BITD when most people only had one small waterbottle, people made a point of knowing where to stop for water, whether it be gas stations, drinking fountains, streams or springs. I guess now people don't trust the water?

For hydration Vitalyte works for me. It's the old school stuff. It costs more than rolling your own, but a lot less than gatorade. For me, the potassium really helps. I could probably make my own drink, I know it's a bit dangerous if you overdo it, so I stick to the commercial stuff. In the old days, most people just drank plain water, and dealt with it when they cramped. Maybe we'd stop for a banana or some fruit juice. We were stupid, but it worked well enough.

prairiepedaler

Hmmm, maybe something with a 49cc engine on board?

mstateglfr 

Yeah, if you are riding flat chicagoland roads, maps, and trails- weight shouldn't be a consideration if you are choosing from multiple quality bikes.

I would take your current fleet and decide based on the following-
- what bike is most comfortable for the longest? If its 1, ride that. If its multiple, then...
- what bike can handle the widest quality tire? Choose that one. If the remaining can all fit the same width tire, then...
- what bike can hold the most bottles with proper brazeons? Choose that one. If the remaining can all fit the same number of bottles, then...
- pick the one that looks the nicest.


All my road bikes are equally comfortable. One can hold 32mm tires without a second thought while the others are tight with 28s.
I have no desire to own, much less ride for long distances, road bikes that don't have inner diamond cage holders(an underside holder is good too). The history is neat, but the practicality and convenience isn't there for me. Easy access to water thats stored out of the way is key for me.

nlerner

Yeah, my bikes with single bottle cages just don't get ridden in the hotter weather. I'm not even a huge water drinker, but I know I'll go through two larger bottles over 40 miles if it's in the 80s.

Chr0m0ly 

I have saddles that don’t cause chafing, that are no more “uncomfortable” at the end of a long ride than the beginning... but disappears under me? Haven’t found that yet.

I’ve tried out many saddles as all my my bikes have come with on, I have a pile of take offs... I like the B17’s the Belt saddles and tensioned leather. I have always been a fan of the heavy leather hiking boots, and enjoyed the break in process. Something molded to your anatomy is well worth it.

I’m wondering if I get a little more aggressive, I can unweight my butt a little more. Sometimes I’ll start to get numb feet, and that was worrying, but I’ve that if that starts to happen now I just move a little more weight to my hands and feet. I’m not “off the saddle” but I’m not resting on it either. No more numb feet. I’ve gone from having to stop periodically, to having it not be an issue.

Chr0m0ly 

Well I have an ‘06 Ninja 650, with a full set of luggage. It holds the most water but I get the nastiest looks on the MUP’s... 😆👍

Dfrost 

Congratulations! Hope you didn’t have to go far in the mud!

You might want to try rolling the handlebar up a few degrees in the stem clamp so that the ramp (curve behind the brake levers) is closer to, or at horizontal. That gives more places to put the hands, which is really helpful on flat rides.

beicster 

I love that color on the Trek. It is close to the green on my 85 Voyageur. I think your Trek would make an excellent century ride.

If you can do 57 miles, you can do a century as long as you keep gradually adding mileage (barring injury). Especially if you liked the set up of the bike. To me, the biggest thing with a century is overcoming the mental obstacle of riding 100 miles. I had a decent base from commuting and kept adding about ten miles to my weekend big ride. Once I got to 70 miles I got impatient and just went for it. I was exhausted but I did it. The best advice I can give is start early in the day and do not worry about how long it takes. Take breaks when you need to. There is no flat option around me and I had several difficult climbs If you can choose flat, I would go with flat. If you can't, you can still do it.

Standalone 

For fit, I’d go with a slightly shorter reach than your usual preference, a little more upright than your usual fit. Those last 5 or 15 miles are tough sometimes.

My Century bike was a Hi Ten (butted, go figure) Panasonic DX2000. DT shifting. 53/39 12 speed. Haven’t done one in 10 years but what mattered was the comfort of that frame and my fitness at the time. And being 32...!

Sport touring geometry is comfortable but still ok going uphill with some speed. Long Trek 720 frames will be comfortable but will make those hills seem a little longer.

iab

I'll go with the bike is entirely irrelevant. Ride any damn bike you wish.

That said, one bike may be more physically taxing than another. An American cruiser may be tougher to ride a hundred miles than a French randonneur. But both certainly can be ridden. Just like the route you choose. If you really want to, you could Everest in 100 miles. Or in Florida, you would be lucky to get 1000 feet in gain. The only thing that matters is the rider of the bike.

My only "trick", and it may only be relevant to me (when I am in decent shape), if I am only breathing through my nose, I can ride all day, 100+ miles is doable. If I start exerting more, so I need to breathe through the mouth, I'll tap out before the 100.

Dfrost 

Lots of useful advice for one’s first (or any) century ride here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dist...-strategy.html

noglider 

Good stories. I've been rolling my own sports drink. Three spoons of maple syrup, half a spoon of salt, and water. Today I added an ounce of orange juice. I got my spouse into drinking this stuff, too, because she bonks really early. We think it helps, but time will tell. She generally doesn't like sugar, and that's proper, but when you're exerting yourself, especially in the heat, sugar is a good thing.

RobbieTunes

Someone else cramping somehow seems to help.
Human nature being what it is.

RobbieTunes

Someone else cramping somehow seems to help.
Human nature being what it is.