Originally Posted by
Chitown_Mike
Just want to add something that I don't think was mentioned yet.
Ride with a friend, or make one on the ride
I can say after my first century that I rode the first almost 2 hours pretty solo, or tailing on the end of some groups that were a little too fast for me (I would fall off and wasn't going to ask them to slow down). But once I got in a group that was pacing at a reasonable pace (IMO) and got to chatting, the next several hours flew by and the ride was 150% more enjoyable.
Excited to ride centuries outside of organized events, but also very excited to ride with some folks, makes it all the more enjoyable and allows you to keep a pace that you know is acceptable because you can talk and not huff and puff the whole time.
Just noticed this post and agree entirely that riding with someone else makes it a whole lot easier. Ideally that someone else would be a friend but just having some company beats cycling long distances solo.
When I did a 150k last year (about 95 miles all in) the group dropped me fairly early on so I was expecting to do the next 85-odd miles on my own. Then a guy who had stopped a while back for a nature break caught up and the two of us rode to the first control, stopped for a drink and snack, then rode on to the next control. At that control we caught up with some more of the group so six of us continued, and further down the line we split into two groups of three, and subsequently one of the guys in my group said not to wait for him as he'd take the hills at his own pace.
I did a 200k last year as well and ended up riding with a guy who had done multiple 1000k+ rides - he was the kind of rider who left me wondering why he bothered getting his bike out for a ride as short as 200k (which was ironic, since it was my first ever 200). His tales of varied rides that I regarded as silly distances helped pass the time and the miles.
The first time I ever did 100 miles in a day was with a group of friends which was really good, as when one of us was struggling (physically or mentally) the others could offer a bit of support and we all knew that short of a show-stopping issue (in which case we'd take the train to our destination) nobody was going to get left behind.