10 Wheels

This is You?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1osg3liOAlg

Biker395 

Nah ... definitely not. What is that? It looks like a "Tour de Cure" held at the Indanapolis Motor Speedway?

az_cyclist

I would not say that a ride must be non stop to be a century or double century, the answer is no, not non stop. As has been said short stops are fine. You are not racing. To qualify for some awards it is necessary to complete a century or a double century. Many of the doubles have a time limit to be official. Also for randonneuring there are time limits. I would say for a century, especially your first, plan for 8 hours of riding time (or less, depending on your training) and 9-10 hours overall.

avidone1

As I posted earlier, I have accepted the 16 hour maximum time frame. I am not nearly ready for my first century, but building towards it is proving to be a lot of fun.
I am a goal oriented person. I need a goal to maintain interest in pretty much anything. I'm in no hurry to get there, but steady improvement will keep the juices flowing.
And that's really what it's all about right?

FBinNY 

Yes, a Century Ride, isn't like a military medal, or college degree, where there are rigid standards and you're a liar or fraud if you claim one you didn't earn. A Century implies a 100 mile ride, it might imply more in some circles, but this is your goal, and unless you claim you've done it faster as a qualification for some other ride, it's nobody's business but your own.

That said, try for a reasonable pace as far as the ride itself goes. There's only a small difference in the level of effort between riding 10 or 12 miles per hour, so a slightly faster riding pace will allow you more rest interval time. Finish it on your schedule, then you might work on finishing a similar ride faster down the road.

avidone1

Excellent suggestion!

mcmoose

If you decide to ride in an organized century, it's generally broken up into 4 or 5 segments. The one I rode in Davis (Foxy's Fall) had a rest stop before lunch (about 27 miles in), lunch (at about 52 miles) and one at around 78 miles. This broke it up into 4 "do-able" rides of about 25 miles each.
You probably don't want to break for more than 10 minutes at the rest stop, and less than 20 minutes for "lunch." Any longer and your muscles cool off (and may be prone to cramping).

It seems the norm for most centuries is to get you started by 7 AM and to start clearing the course around 5 PM; that gives you ten hours. Some allow more time if it's a difficult century (or one of those that take the term "century" loosely and are actually 112 miles).

Everyone will tell you (so I will as well), drink before you feel thirsty and eat before you feel hungry... nibble and sip as you ride. My personal take is that it's more the climbing than the distance (e.g., a metric century with 5600' of climb was a lot more tiring than the Davis century with 3300' of climb); YMMV.

I've never used the SAG support on a organized ride, but I've always been glad it was there.

Many people just hit the road and ride their century. I need to suck off the energy of the group (and an occasional back wheel).

BluesDawg

To me a century is a single ride of 100 miles or more. Stops for food, hydration and rest are definitely part of it. However long it takes doesn't matter. If I rode 50 miles, napped for a few hours and then rode another 50 miles, I would consider them different rides and wouldn't call it a century but two half centuries. Same for transporting myself and the bike a considerable distance between riding. That wouldn't be my idea of a single ride.

Bikey Mikey

Do note that if you do an organized century, there is often a cutoff time for support. If you're out there after that time, you're on your own.

takenreasy

Why not just ride 100 for the hell of it? Then there are not rules!

GravelMN

There are several schools of thought. Hardcores might ride a century without ever putting a foot down, but most people make brief stops at various intervals. The organized centuries I ride usually have rest stops every 20 miles or so. My personal solo centuries work out about the same as I have small towns every 15-25 miles where I can refill water bottles and use the restroom. I try to keep stops under 5 minutes. At around the halfway point, I sometimes stop for more of a meal, grab a sandwich and sit under a tree for 10-15 minutes, but only if I'm really hot and/or hungry. I consider it a century as long as I don't participate in any activities other than riding and refueling.

h2oxtc

If you hadn't written this, I would have added it on your behalf. Keep stopping, I love the photos!