Just signed up for my first century ride. Am I crazy?
 

Okay, I've been riding 40 miles for my regular ride through rolling hills three or four days a week for the last six weeks or so. I've done a fifty on a day I had planned to do thirty and just felt good. What is your first century like? My goal is just to finish and it's a local ride. No times etc. Advice?

Depends on the pace. If you're hammering, expect your legs to go entirely empty at some point. At about 85-90 miles into my first century (we averaged like 18-19mph with 4000+ ft of climbing), my legs felt totally hollow. By mile 100 I literally could not get over a 5% hill.

if you're just riding for fun, it's not a challenge for your legs. Keep eating. A lot. I ate a whole burrito for lunch during my first century. Don't be shy - you won't puke as long as you don't hammer. And make sure to drink plenty of electrolytes or you might cramp.

the hardest part of simply completing a century is always fit issues. You can't really slow down or take a break to avoid them. If anything is nagging you right now, get it fixed, or you're in for a bad time.

No hammering planned on this first one. Just hoping to finish. I almost always ride solo, and only average in the 15's. Any other first time advice? Bring this, don't bring this? I usually stop half way on my rides for a minute or two to drink half a water bottle. I've never eaten on a ride before, but again never gone more than 50 miles either. Sounds like for a long ride like this, you just stop at the designated stops and make yourself eat and drink.

I don't know how to change a flat yet, just started cycling about four months ago. Something I need to learn yet. If there is sag support and I have spare tubes and CO2 with me, will a sag help me if I get a flat?

Depends on your age, conditioning and attitude. When I was in my 20s I bicycle commuted 20 miles a day and rode a bit more on weekends. I had no problems with our club and big event century rides at a moderate pace. A few times a year we did rides of 75, 100, 125 and 250 miles (the latter was a two-day event). I don't recall any particular problems, just being a bit leg weary at the end, but we recover quickly when we're young.

Ride your own pace, don't try to keep up with faster riders even if they invite you to draft. Once they push past your comfort zone it gets dangerous if you're fatigued overheated, dehydrated and riding faster than you can manage with riders you aren't familiar with.

Most large event rides begin with club members, friends, etc., deciding to ride together... which quickly falls apart as their comfort zones differ significantly. But in most large event rides it's possible to form impromptu small groups of riders who match each other's preferred speed/effort level. Some of my local friends encountered that during their first century this weekend at the Hotter 'n' Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls. That was my experience in the 1970s-80s in SoCal. Our group started together, but gradually drifted apart during the ride. I was slightly faster than average, then and now for my age, and usually ended up riding with folks I'd never met before but enjoyed some casual banter to pass the miles. On one ride in Baja I rode alongside Bill Walton while he was on injured reserves with the Clippers. Bill was a bit stronger, surprisingly so on climbs for such a big guy with a tall bike, and eventually pulled away.

But 40 years and a bunch of injuries later, I'm done after 50 miles. Due to neck injuries I can't keep my head up much longer than that, regardless of the bike -- drop bar, hybrid, doesn't matter.

I bailed on the Hotter 'n' Hell Hundred this weekend because I figured it would be a waste of money if I couldn't finish the century. But after a casual group ride Friday evening that got me 35 miles between the group ride and commute there and back, I decided to add another 30 or so miles. It wasn't bad until I hit the 50-55 mile total mark, then it was just painful and unpleasant. I finished with around 66 miles.

Unless I'm willing to switch to a recumbent, or there's some miraculous spinal surgery to fix my busted up neck, I won't be doing any more attempts at rides longer than 50 miles. And considering how much worse driver behavior has gotten here -- dramatically worse since the pandemic and economic crisis -- I'm not willing to ride a low profile bike with my head at wheel height to motor vehicles.

During our casual group ride Friday we had a guest from out of town join us, with her recumbent. One of the other regulars and I hung back as tailgunners, staying beside or behind her to run interference with traffic. Sure enough, we encountered one carful of belligerent idiots who swerved toward us yelling the usual idiot stuff -- git on tha sidewalk/playground, etc. I doubt they even noticed the recumbent rider, despite the flags.

Another bit of common advice is to avoid making changes to your fluid and fuel intake. Just eat and drink whatever you're accustomed to. Most electrolytes, gels, etc., are pretty much the same stuff. But some use sugar alcohols -- especially maltitol -- which can cause digestive upset in some folks. You don't want to find out during a long ride with the next rest station or porta-potty 10 miles away.

I usually stick with Clif bars and gels because I'm familiar with 'em and have no problems. I'm not too picky about electrolyte drinks and mixes, as long as they have a little sugar to aid with digestion. Sugar free electrolytes cause bloating for me. A little sugar aids with osmolarity. The WHO standards for oral rehydration solutions usually recommends sugar equal to salts. That turns out to be pleasantly sweet but not icky sweet like most soda pops and "fruit" drinks.

My first century was in Sept. 2019. I was fine until the rest stop at the 60 mile mark when I ate way more than I expected. I started to fade by the 70-75 mile mark though the big problem was my back giving out. The pain was so awful I had to repeatedly get off the bike and I felt like I limped home for the last 10 miles.

The course was relatively flat and consistent so any speed changes are mostly a result of power output changes. Speed in kph 20 km increments riding entirely solo:

0-20km 28.5
20-40km 30.4
40-60km 30.9
60-80km 29.0
80-100km 29.1
100-120km 27.1
120-140km 28.3
140-160km 26.9

Previous to the century my longest ride was 2h10m. The century took me 5h39m riding time. In retrospect, I'm surprised I made it as long as I did before falling apart. Recommendations would be do 100 kilometers some time and/or ride your bike for 4-5 hours at a slow pace. You don't actually have to ride 100 miles but just being on your bike for a while should let you know if you have fit issues like the above poster mentioned.

I also drank way more than I expected.

My FTP isn't a lot higher than it was 2 years ago but my ability to sustain punishment on the bike is certainly higher.

Good to know about the overeating. I mean it makes sense, but I'm getting a lot of advice about eating and drinking a lot, so keeping things closer to what I'm used to makes sense. I'm trying to get a map ahead of time (not sure if that is normal, but I have a garmin, and I'm kind of hoping I can get some race information ahead of time and use my garmin to help stay on route. Also asking about any info on stops, so that I can mentally have an idea of how often to stop and eat and drink etc.

Thanks!

What you eat and the timing of eating depends on various factors. Snack bars like Clif and others take a bit longer to digest and convert to usable fuel. I usually prefer to nibble those a little at a time throughout a ride.

Gels and plain sugar work quicker, so when you feel a bonk coming on (depletion of fuel) those are the snacks or drinks to use.

Here's an interesting GCN video from a few months ago in which Conor and Hank rode 140 km (87 miles) with Conor only drinking, no eating; while Hank ate whatever he wanted. And this wasn't an entirely casual paced ride -- it included various harder efforts to check blood sugar levels and depletion throughout the ride.

Answer
 

Not any more Krazy than the rest of us! Just take your time...for the first one prep ...read the suggestions...take your time. Enjoy that you're challenging yourself in a new way. The goal on the first one is to say ..I finished. Not what your place or time was.

We are all a bit crazy.

Yes, if it's an organized ride with sag, they will help. You are expected to have tubes. You may have to wait awhile for the sag to reach you. It's more concerning that you ride alone w/o having mastered this essential skill. Take a couple of hours, learn and practice. You may have been lucky so far but flats happen.

Just do it for the enjoyment. Don't try to race or maintain a certain speed. My first was the Tour De Palm Springs. It was a huge ride with hundreds of riders. Maybe thousands. The cool thing was that I was never alone the whole way. Lots of people to talk to, plenty of rest stops, I could jump in a small peloton if I wanted or just cruise on my own. It's not a race. If you can do 50 on your own, you can do 100 at a Century event.

Unless you want to take all day, then don't get caught up in all the socializing and food tasting that goes on at the rest stops. Nor do you even need to stop at all of them.... unless you want to.

Practice at Home before the ride. Both Front and Rear.

Good point. On big Century rides those rest stops can be very well stocked. Might even be live music playing. Next thing you know you have eaten 3 PB&Js, 2 bananas and an ice cream sandwich and spent an hour watching a band at mile 40. I recommend topping off your water bottles at every opportunity, but take it easy on the feasting and long breaks.

This site has good detailed info. https://www.trainerroad.com/blog/how...first-century/

If you Google Prepare for first century ride you will get lots of hits.

Progressive increases in your ride length, say 80 miles before the big ride and proper hydration and nutrition (so you don’t bonk) are keys. Watch You Tube videos on flat repair and buy the essentials in the videos. Have a good first century. You will be proud of it for the rest of your life, unless you go in under-trained and ill prepared. Then you will have a completely different kind of memory.

I'd actually advise against doing a big solo ride in preparation (unless you really enjoy very long rides). It might actually discourage you from trying the real thing. You can't replicate the excitement and group experience of a big Century on your own. Those things have police protection, manned water stations, streets blocked off and a ton of people all over the place riding or on the side of the road cheering you on. Going for a 50-80 mile ride on your own on your local streets will be infinitely more difficult, boring and might make you think it's impossible to do 100. My brother ran the Boston Marathon once without training (he wasn't an official entrant...he kind of snuck in there at the start line...). Just got out there an did it. He said the excitement of just being there and the people cheering him on really kept him motivated the whole time. Anyway, just keep riding. When the day comes I think the energy and excitement of the event will get you through.

Before my first century I did a 75 mile ride with friends at a casual pace. Still, the century seemed a lot harder,(well, I was a little sick with a cough) but I was sniveling to my friend about how hard it was. That was in 1988. In 1989 I did my second century and it was so much easier knowing I could finish the 100, even though it was a harder course with more climbing. My point is there is definitely a mental aspect to it.

You have to eat and drink but it's different for everyone. It takes experimentation to find out what works for you. I like regular food as opposed to space food. I can eat a lot while riding but I know people who can eat a lot more than I can.

When I do an organized event I stop at all the sag stops and eat a lot of whatever I like. I've done them for fun, and eating the goodies is part of the fun. I'm never in a hurry to finish except maybe near the end.

Sounds like a good start.

More than a year ago, somebody in these forums posted that you should be able to ride in a day the distance that you normally ride in a week. So using this measure, you should be good for the century. I ride almost every day, but only 15-20 miles a day. I do cover a bit more than 100 miles a week and last Fall rode my first century with no problems. My plan is to ride another one this Fall when the weather cools down a bit. Based on my experience, you should have no problems.

This thread has me wanting to do another Century. Gotta' find some in my area.

Crazy? No! If it is an organized event and your in over your head you will have an out.

If this is a paid event ride, with rest stops and sag drivers, they should have the ridewithgps route on their website. Some rides wait to post it just before the ride, but if it's been run in previous years, I usually can do a Find search on ridewithgps, with the starting location there, and a word or two of the ride name in the search. It might be a different route each year, but that's rare. (I won't even consider an event ride that won't show the route before I sign up. I want to know if it's a ride I'll like.)

Even with painted route markings and lots of riders on the course, I still like to load the route. I can see how many miles are left, how far to the next turn, and usually the rest stops show up on the device cue sheet. I'll download the route into my phone too, so I can call it up instantly if I want to review at rest stops.

But the main advantage is the Garmin Elevation screen, on fairly new Garmins. This shows the next couple of miles as a rolling elevation chart. Is this big hill a steady climb, or does it get steeper? What's over the crest--more rolling hills or a downhill?

I find event rides easier than trying to do the same route solo. The rest stops help, and the other riders are some good motivation. It seems like the miles just roll by.
BUT, on a 100 mile ride, I always seem to look down at the Garmin after it feels like I'm way into the ride, and the distance traveled shows: 21 miles, 23.5 or similar. What! I expected 35 or 40 miles! Still got 75+ to go!! But then, around 40-50 miles, I still feel good, and the ride seems very doable.

Yes, you need to be able to change a flat, anyway. Get two Pedro levers--these are the best for changing without accidentally pinching the new tube. Use up a few CO2 just to know that you can do it.

I may have missed it, but how long do you have before the event? It would be good to figure out your food / fluid intake needs. The weather can also have a huge effect on this. I did the Hotter than Hell this past weekend and went through 5 bottles (2 with electrolyte mix and 3 of water), 3 gels, a bar, and some banana. One thing I learned from others -- and my own experiences blowing up in a few longer events -- is that if I don't start drinking and eating early, I find it hard to process food later. For example, I did an 80 mile event earlier this summer on a really humid day that started kind of hard. I wasn't drinking or eating very much for the first hour and a half. By the time I started trying to take gels / bars, it was too late. I went from the front group averaging close to 23 mph at mile 50 to barely finishing. During the HHH, I drank and ate early and often, and handled the hard accelerations at the end pretty well. No soreness or exhaustion after.

So... you aren't crazy for doing this. Trying hard things is fun! But I would recommend sorting out how to change a tire as well as a nutrition strategy, even if it's just stopping at rest stops (assuming there are enough).

I think you will be okay if you felt good on a 50 mile ride.

Nutrition and hydration are key factors and worth reading up on. I use a mix of energy bars, gels and energy/electrolyte drinks. You have to experiment to find out what you can tolerate as it's a very personal thing, but you will need to eat something with carbs and you will certainly need water and electroyltes.

Don't set out too fast, it's easy to get carried away with the adrenaline rush at the start. Don't be tempted to try to hang onto groups that you are struggling to keep up with. Just ride at your own pace and only sit in groups that you feel very comfortable with. You can always speed up later on if you are feeling strong.

Try to avoid eating junk food at the feeding stations. Personally I just eat my own food and only use the feed stations to top up bottles (I carry 2x 1L bottles and usually only require one re-fill unless it's really hot).

Don't wear any new kit that hasn't been well proven on your 40 mile rides. Especially not bibs, shoes or helmet.

Make sure you check your bike over thoroughly the week before the event so you have time to deal with any issues - not the night before.

Go out and enjoy the ride!