JLDickmon

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tajar66

We are working on a century before the end of the year. We are slowly increasing the distance. We did 45 this weekend and learned I need to carry a snack or two and plan places to get water. I figure my two water bottles for 25-30 miles so I need three or 4 fill stops. I had one Kind bar ate it at mile 25ish and felt like I could have used another about 5 miles from home.

Rock71

I am wanting to do a century yet this year. GCN gives a pretty good how to be prepared.

Milton Keynes

I'm planning on doing my second century ride next month. The way I prepared for my first one last year was to keep riding longer distances on the weekends, and do my usual 10 mile workouts during the week. The weekend before my century ride I did a self-supported 75 mile ride, so I knew I was ready to do the full 100. This year I haven't had a lot of time to ride longer rides, so I don't know if I'll do the full 100 miles when the organized ride comes up, but I'll give it a shot. One thing I'll have going for me this year is that I am 20 lbs. lighter than when I did it last year.

CliffordK

You've deleted most of your post without starting another one. Go ahead and write what you were going to ask, then click on the little red button in the bottom of the post and submit a request to get the topic moved.

I'm thinking about doing two centuries Wednesday.

I've been dieting a bit, but I'll probably break my diet Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

A lot of riding a century depends on your overall fitness. You don't have to ride a century before you are able to ride a century, but you should be able to handle say a 50 mile ride without a lot of problems.

I think someone posted once that 100+ miles a week average is a good starting point. But, of course, nothing is written in stone.

Tune up the bike.

Eat well, hydrate, don't overdo the speed, take a few rest breaks. And, most of all, enjoy the ride.

Oh, and organized century rides are great as they provide plenty of good food, and have support should you need it.

expatbrit

Bassmanbob

I'm a clyde. I did my first century after riding almost two years. It took me a year to do a half century and then another 11 months to do a full century. I did it by riding about three to four days a week. They included shorter rides during the week and an "endurance ride" on Saturdays. As was instructed to me by a triathlon friend, I increased my Saturday rides by 10% every two weeks. It took a while to get up to 60+ miles, but it seemed to work for me. I also allowed myself a shorter Saturday ride once every few weeks so I didn't burn out. I then signed up for an 80 mile organized event, got lost for three miles and had to double back, so it was an 86 mile ride. I felt like I could have gone another hour, so I was confident I was ready for my first century which was scheduled a month later. That was in April 2016.

I didn't train as much during the hot Florida summer, but signed up for another century for that September. I went into heat exhaustion at mile 70, cooled off and then again at mile 86. Fearing I was going to go into heat stroke, I stopped and was SAGed back to the finish. I learned that I was drinking plenty of water but not enough electrolytes-- especially sodium. I didn't do another century for 18 months, but started working with a coach. She taught me about proper nutrition for before and during an endurance event. I experimented with various breakfasts and came up with this 90- 120 minutes before the ride. I have coffee, one serving of oatmeal with no sugar, one egg and one egg white. That seems to work for me. I like the slow releasing carbohydrate oatmeal or quinoa and some protein with a little fat of the one egg yoke. During the ride I use a three bottle system with Infinite Go Far in two bottles and water in the third bottle. I go through about 24 ounces of liquid every hour. I drink every ten minutes: 10, 20, 40 and 50 Go Far and at 30 and 00 water. With that regiment I don't need gels, energy bars, salt tabs or anything else. I've done it for up to 7 hours in the saddle (about 8 hours for the event) without needing any other product. If I do eat something, it's because I feel like eating a cookie or something. I do carry some shot blocks just in case I feel like I'm going to bonk, but it has never happened.

I'm now up to six centuries and planning seven and eight for the Florida fall riding season and nine and ten for the Florida spring season. I hope this was helpful.

Stormsedge

https://gtinla.wordpress.com/my-cent...ide-a-century/

Last year (my first year riding) I sort of followed this plan and completed a century (100mi) as well as several 100k. This year, I've goofed up the plan and not put the miles in as I should, but have completed a 50mi, a 100k, and a 45mi. I've signed up for the same century this Sept as last year...hopefully I'll get my mileage up in time to do it...if not, there's always the bailout for the 100k. Plan your ride, ride your plan...if you don't make the cutoff/bailout point with enough time, enjoy the shorter ride without guilt.

cyclist2000

Last century that I did was a couple of years ago, it was during a week long organized supported tour. I got ready for the tour by riding lots of 20+ mile days. I knew I was going to do the century (it was optional) and prepared for the century by riding longer distances on the weekends (50-65 miles)

expatbrit

Yeah. I agree -- I think you CAN overplan these things. I've done the same as @cyclist2000 here. Ride. Make sure I'm doing one 2-3 hour a week ride, or 4 ideally, and eating.

I was a bit worried, but the LBS observed that the support made it SO much easier. I could stop (and did after 50 miles or so), there was a group for occasional tows and competing with (not that I'd ever compete) and while the last 5-10 miles was ... rough, it wasn't really that bad.

skidad21774

I've been riding with my local club (averaging 14-15mph pace for 40-50 mile ride). Only been at it three seasons (2016 was my official "start").

Rode my first two centuries this year. First was "flat" 104 miles on the eastern shore of Maryland... I got to the turn-off for the metric century (it was a cloudy day in May) and said WTF and went for it. I hit all the rest stops, took water and snacks at each stop. Worst part was my saddle/sitz bones. Up to that point my longest ride was 2.5-3 hours. It was 7+ hours in the saddle, 8h with stops, and it rained the last 15 miles of the ride. I was never so excited to have completed that first one, didn't care that it rained! At 51 and 245#... you can do it.

I planned for my next century which I just completed three weeks ago. Fought the dreaded bonk (I use "drip drops" - get them at walgreens) oral rehydration solution, did not eat as much during the ride, but was fine otherwise.

Where my first century had an elevation of ~300ft... my second had an elevation of over 4,000 ft (I rode in central MD).

Personally, listen to your body, fuel when you need it, stop for 5-10 minutes at each rest stop. The rest is conquering the mental challenge!

Milton Keynes

My second century will be on Saturday. Wish me luck! I trained for it by riding my usual 10 miles every morning, and 72 miles on a rail trail on Sunday. If I can ride 72 miles of soft crushed limestone in heavy winds, I ought to be able to ride 100 miles on smooth pavement.

TrojanHorse

I'd say you need to fix your saddle issue before you can even dream about doing a century.

jfoobar

Pretty much what I did also. I had done a number of 2000+ feet 50-something mile rides as well as an organized metric century about a month ago. This past Saturday I signed up for an organized century on fairly flat ground and just went out and did it. I probably bonked a little during the last few miles but for the most part it was easier than I was expecting. Most of my difficulty was seat discomfort-related. That was the first time I had spent six hours in the saddle in one day before.

Milton Keynes

That's what I like about the organized ride I'm doing tomorrow. There are something like 8 SAG stops along the 100 mile route with plenty of treats, so if you bonk it's your own fault.

TrojanHorse

EIGHT! Cripes, the one I did 2 weeks ago had 5 and I thought that was ludicrous.

My wife wanted to sign us up for one of those MS150 rides in October, which we can no longer do because of a schedule conflict, but they had a positively ludicrous number of rest stops, including one at the 8 mile mark. I mean... 8 miles. I probably haven't even figured out I'm pedaling at the 8 mile mark yet.

jfoobar

There were just four in the one I did last weekend and it was actually two unique ones that you passed twice each on the route. They claimed five, but they were counting the one at the end, which I personally don't count.

Milton Keynes

Just finished my second century ever today. Great ride but I think my bike is tired.

Met a guy on the ride, he said he was 67 years old, retired, and is doing a century in every state. So far he's gotten 25 states down. More power to him.

BrazAd

I'm 59, have been riding since July 2017 (4,100 miles since then... 2,600 so far this year). I'm 6'-1" tall and weigh 243. Doing my first-ever century here in southwest Georgia this coming Saturday. There is 2,424 feet of climbing in this one and 5 rest stops at mile 13, 30, 50, 70, 86 and a final water-only stop at 93.

I'm a little nervous about it but have been riding a bunch in preparation, including 2 rides of 64 miles and 2 rides of 73 miles in the past month. I've ridden a little over 600 miles since Aug. 4.

I'll be riding with friends who have done this ride before, so I think I'll be fine... here's hoping!

Loving the experiences and thoughts on this thread!

Gary

Milton Keynes

Yeah, but there's no rule that you HAVE to stop at every one. First SAG was at like 15 miles, then anywhere from 11-16 miles thereafter. Of course the route loops around so the very first SAG stop is also #5 .

Having done this century ride last year and this year, I feel like I don't have to prove anything to myself so next year I'll likely just do the 63 mile route. Of course I said that this year and opted to do the whole thing, but two centuries down and I think I won't have to make myself do that again for a while. At the last couple of SAG stops I got back on my bike and had the feeling of "Ugh... gotta get back on my bike and go again... almost there." It was like almost too much of a fun thing.

Milton Keynes

I'm sure you'll do just fine. If you've been going on rides of 64 and 73 miles, you should be able to complete 100. With me, it wasn't that I was getting tired, it was suffering from leg cramps here and there. But I told my legs to stop it and managed to get the cramps worked out and kept pedaling the bike until I reached the end. Even though I had been eating bananas all week and had been taking magnesium supplements as well as drinking plenty of water and Gatorade on the ride, sometimes my muscles have a mind of their own.

TrojanHorse

I love how this thread was started by the OP, and then deleted, and yet the thread lives on.

Got another century on 9/22 through the mean streets of Orange County. My usual riding buddy is trying to convince me to do the double with him (they have two centuries that day - the AM century is the first 100 miles of the double and the PM century is the second 100 miles).

Nope!