tshelver

I did my first century last week, self supported, on a Trice (ICE) recumbent trike. It took me 8:15 hours, 85 to 93 degree heat (103 'RealFeel') of which 7 hours was riding time.
I stopped for a light roadside veg stew and rice lunch about 30 miles into the ride, as I only left at 9:30.

I carried 2.5 liters of water, 2 dosed with Nunn electrolyte, 2 boiled eggs and 2 bananas. Trike was kitted with rack, rear mudguard, 55 liter saddlebags, lights and a full set of spares and tools, as road conditions here can be a bit rough.

I popped a liter of water by the time I left, standard practice for me when riding in the heat.

I've been off the bike for over 2 years until June, as I've been moving around a lot with stuff in storage or in transit, and have never gone further than 50 miles in my life before, so I started out just doing local rides. For the last few months I've been doing a hilly ride of 30 to 45 miles every few weeks, and about a quarter of the distance being steady to steep climbing.
in between I started with 60 km longer rides (got badly affected in the heat at first) and then built up to 80 and 100k, and finally 150km distances.

Especially in the heat, I found learning how my body needed hydration and food was really important. Probably the biggest lesson was hydrating as much as possible before I leave on a ride, and then keeping up with it during the ride. The other one was not to push too hard in the beginning or on hills.

In the end, the century was easier than the first 100k ride I did a month earlier, and I did it in less time than the 150km ride 10 days before, despite the route being the same apart from a long, steep climb at the turn around point.
The other really weird part of that faster time was that I bent the derailleur hanger 3 km into the ride hitting a hidden rock while doing a water crossing. I lost the 2 smallest cassette cogs, ending up with the lower 21 speeds out of the 27 original.
That must have dropped me from a 107 gi on top to below 90 (20" wheel).
After I got the derailleur to at least stop jumping cogs and shift OK in the remaining gears, I decided to carry on and just take it easy, and see how far I got.
It seems that was the best strategy, as I stopped for photos, food, snacks and drink stops, and even ate a 'banana Q' (cooking banana fried and dipped in melted sugar).
Unlike the other 100k and longer rides, I was faster on the way home than going out...

Unlike others, I much prefer riding on my own, looking at the sights, talking to people at stops, stopping for food, drinks and photos when I feel like it, and not being stressed to keep up when I'm slow or holding back when I'm fast. Especially as a recumbent trike (tadpole) has very different speeds on climbs and descents than a normal road bike. With all the tools, spares, bags, rack, lights and stuff I ride with here, the trike is over 45lb before I add water and food.