I'm just now discovering this sub-forum. I guess I now can see myself becoming an endurance cyclist in the future. I certainly have an interest in this part of the cycling world. Below is a repost from another sub-forum of my immediate thoughts after having completed my first century ride just last year in August 2019:
The event was called the Emerald Necklace 100 Bike Ride. It "encircles Cleveland using the Emerald Necklace of Parks and bike trails."
I completed the course in about 10 hours. We started at approximately 7:00AM and I finished a few minutes before 5:00PM.
One of our riders had a tube blowout within the first 10 miles and the majority of us stopped to assist with the repair or to simply offer supporting encouragement. Other than that our small group experienced no material problems that I was aware of.
The real riding didn't begin until we had covered about 25 miles. Oddly enough I was able to stay within about 10 minutes of the fast riders and we met up at the first rest stop which was at 40 miles.
The next 5-10 miles were extremely hilly as we climbed out of the Cuyahoga Valley. Between 55-70 miles I lost contact with the breakaway group of 3 or 4 but they were kind enough to wait for me at the 70 mile mark which took us out of the parks and onto mostly city streets and bike paths along the shores of Lake Erie.
I held my own with the roadies for the next 10 mostly flat miles until we reached the 80 mile rest stop at the Joy Machines bike shop in the downtown Cleveland area.
I gave my new friends permission to head out on the last 20 miles without me as I didn't want to hold them back. I needed a few more minutes of rest and from where we were I was confident that I could navigate my way back to the finish.
Overall it went just about as I expected effort-wise. I was comfortable through 40 miles. I was dragging a bit between 60-70 miles but recharged a bit during the next 10 miles. The last 20 I was on my own and it was a slog but that is how I expected to feel as my longest rides prior were in the 50- 60 mile range.
I started with two frozen water bottles. One was filled with water and the other contained Gatorade. I topped off my water bottle once along the way and I drank a small water and a small Gatorade provided at the 40 mile rest stop in addition to what I was carrying.
I had raisin bran, coffee, and juice for breakfast. I ate a Clif Bar at 25 miles. At the 40 mile rest stop I ate a banana and some trail mix. I consumed the best tasting Luna bar I have ever had at about 60 miles and I ate some more trail mix at the 80 mile rest stop.
I did no specific training for the event but I had several rides of 40-50-60 miles under my belt before taking on the century.
I started riding about mid-June of last year and found that 15 miles was a comfortable ride for me. So, of course I stretched that to 30 and by early fall I had gone a little over 40 miles in a single ride a few times.
I acquired a used trainer to help keep me pedaling during the winter months but honestly didn't use it very much.
As things warmed up again in the spring I found I was comfortable riding 30 miles and then I quickly extended that to 50 and then 60 mile long rides.
I generally do 2-4 rides of 15-20 miles as well as one long ride a week. It really just depends on the weather, how I am feeling, and available time on any particular day.
I hope this helps any newbie century riders out there.
My thoughts now are that I rode too hard during the first half of the century for my ability at the time. As the course was not marked, I was trying to keep up with those that had GPS and knew where they were going. I now realize that I could have conserved a bit of energy and just used the provided cue sheet to help me navigate even though I didn't have GPS as I had a general idea of the overall route. I don't know how long it took me to complete the last 20 miles but I'm sure it was very, very slow. I could have drank more water and consumed more food as well. I'll probably try using some gels on longer rides this year to see if that works for me.
The first one is a great learning experience. I seem to learn a bit more on nearly every ride I do and I continue to progress in ability and fitness. I hope to do a handful of centuries this summer and at least one multi-day lightweight tour of about 600 miles.