Tips for riding a Century
04-26-17, 02:11 PM
#126
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LOL so true! when I went 50 miles straight for the 1st time, on my MTN bike, my bum got sore. Only then did I find out there were biking underwear (after venting to other bikers)!!!
08-14-17, 05:50 PM
#127
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I have to concur, not only is the concept great AND simple, but the video production should have producers calling you by the dozen.
Salut!
edit: I can't "post URLS" apparently even though it was a quote, until I have 10 posts...
08-14-17, 06:20 PM
#128
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I started riding again (after 30 years out of it) at the beginning of July.
Rode a 46 mile charity event this past weekend and decided it's not too much to go for the full century before Old Man Winter takes hold.
The longest previous ride I had done was 35 miles, but the 46 miles seemed easier and I felt better afterwards. The primary reason I attribute that to is grade. My 35 mile run, while less average climbing feet/mile, had several much steeper sections (12-15% versus 6-8%). While I do enjoy conquering hills, I will pick a less challenging route to hit the Century first time out.
I am thinking of trying a metric century this weekend. I have a route picked out* that has roughly the same total climbing feet at the 46 mile route (just under 3000) and a max grade of 8.1%.
I will bring (2) 1 Liter water bottles and some food, and plan to stop at at least (2) country/general stores for more water/supplies as needed. My RideWithGPS app tells me it should take about 4:45, so I will be happy to finish in 5:30 with 3 or maybe 4 stops.
*Where I live is at the top of a hill. No matter which direction you come at it from (there are about 5 altogether) there is no easy way home with grades up to 16%. So I will truck my bike down to the valley for my start. I don't mind hills (actually like them), but NOT at the very end of a run. My name is not Alberto and I weigh 210#.
Rode a 46 mile charity event this past weekend and decided it's not too much to go for the full century before Old Man Winter takes hold.
The longest previous ride I had done was 35 miles, but the 46 miles seemed easier and I felt better afterwards. The primary reason I attribute that to is grade. My 35 mile run, while less average climbing feet/mile, had several much steeper sections (12-15% versus 6-8%). While I do enjoy conquering hills, I will pick a less challenging route to hit the Century first time out.
I am thinking of trying a metric century this weekend. I have a route picked out* that has roughly the same total climbing feet at the 46 mile route (just under 3000) and a max grade of 8.1%.
I will bring (2) 1 Liter water bottles and some food, and plan to stop at at least (2) country/general stores for more water/supplies as needed. My RideWithGPS app tells me it should take about 4:45, so I will be happy to finish in 5:30 with 3 or maybe 4 stops.
*Where I live is at the top of a hill. No matter which direction you come at it from (there are about 5 altogether) there is no easy way home with grades up to 16%. So I will truck my bike down to the valley for my start. I don't mind hills (actually like them), but NOT at the very end of a run. My name is not Alberto and I weigh 210#.
08-19-17, 09:14 PM
#129
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if you can ride 100km without falling apart, you can easily do 160km. Work up to that distance first. And on any distance ride, don't think about the whole thing at once, just to the next food stop or some intermediate goal like that. Randonneurs commonly ride 600km in less than 40 hours. I don't think anyone thinks about that whole distance at once. I am usually pretty happy when I hit the 200km mark, generally trying not to think about the fact that I have to ride another 200km before I sleep and 400km before I'm done. I'd rather let that happy fact sneak up on me over time.
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08-22-17, 11:21 AM
#130
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I need this type of encouragement to keep my head in the game.
08-23-17, 08:30 AM
#131
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08-23-17, 08:46 AM
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Never done one or care to, but am a ham and do SAG on supported fund raiser rides. Mostly on Maryland's Eastern shore, hot, flat, humid. The killer is hydration, if you ain't peeing at every rest stop, you ain't getting the hydration. Personally watched healthy, strong, fit people just fall over. That and sunburn. Good luck, go at your own pace.
New thing I do this year, bought a big squirt bottle from Dollartree and keep it filled with ice water for instant mist.
New thing I do this year, bought a big squirt bottle from Dollartree and keep it filled with ice water for instant mist.
08-23-17, 09:27 AM
#133
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That's about 28.5 kp/h, which if the course is not totally flat, is pretty fast by my standards. On most of my long rides (100 mi and more) I don't even average the brevet minimum of 15 km/h, admittedly usually in hilly terrain. If a distance feels too hard, you can always drop the pace a notch or two
The ride I'm talking about is fully supported so all we're carrying is a bit of snack food, water, tube, pump/CO2, tools, cell phone and some will carry a rain jacket if the weather is iffy but I'll just either flag the SAG for my jacket if it gets rainy or endure the rain as it shouldn't be cold.
08-23-17, 10:50 AM
#134
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I am thinking of trying a metric century this weekend. I have a route picked out that has roughly the same total climbing feet at the 46 mile route (just under 3000) and a max grade of 8.1%.
I will bring (2) 1 Liter water bottles and some food, and plan to stop at at least (2) country/general stores for more water/supplies as needed. My RideWithGPS app tells me it should take about 4:45, so I will be happy to finish in 5:30 with 3 or maybe 4 stops.
I will bring (2) 1 Liter water bottles and some food, and plan to stop at at least (2) country/general stores for more water/supplies as needed. My RideWithGPS app tells me it should take about 4:45, so I will be happy to finish in 5:30 with 3 or maybe 4 stops.
Looking towards my full Century now.
08-24-17, 08:59 AM
#135
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05-01-20, 12:41 PM
#136
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Tips for riding a century.
Gotta admit, I had to find a post just add this:
If your ride is on a Saturday, drink much coffee Friday morning. Why? Trips to bathroom throughout the day to flush away some of your, ahem, "ruffage". So that when Saturday comes about, there's one less thing to worry about.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Gotta admit, I had to find a post just add this:
If your ride is on a Saturday, drink much coffee Friday morning. Why? Trips to bathroom throughout the day to flush away some of your, ahem, "ruffage". So that when Saturday comes about, there's one less thing to worry about.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
12-25-20, 08:57 PM
#137
Junior Member
The new route
Good thread.
I just heard of plans to start a new 100 mile ride right here in Fort Worth next June (the idea is to make it a prep ride for the Hotter Than Hell 100 in Wichita Falls; I think the HTH organizers are involved). That gives me 12 months to prepare. This thread has great advice regarding what to do the day of a century, but is there any advice in terms of preparation in the time leading up to the ride?
Is there any way to know how to use that time to prepare for the century distance? I currently ride 75-100 miles a week, have no problems riding 40 miles at a stretch, my longest ride in a day is 71 miles. I think I can do 100 no problem, but what should I do in the next year to make sure? Should I just keep riding for now, and ramp up the miles as I get closer to the ride? Or do you think I could probably just wing it and show up that morning, considering how much I currently ride?
I just heard of plans to start a new 100 mile ride right here in Fort Worth next June (the idea is to make it a prep ride for the Hotter Than Hell 100 in Wichita Falls; I think the HTH organizers are involved). That gives me 12 months to prepare. This thread has great advice regarding what to do the day of a century, but is there any advice in terms of preparation in the time leading up to the ride?
Is there any way to know how to use that time to prepare for the century distance? I currently ride 75-100 miles a week, have no problems riding 40 miles at a stretch, my longest ride in a day is 71 miles. I think I can do 100 no problem, but what should I do in the next year to make sure? Should I just keep riding for now, and ramp up the miles as I get closer to the ride? Or do you think I could probably just wing it and show up that morning, considering how much I currently ride?
12-25-20, 08:58 PM
#138
Junior Member
The new route
Good thread.
I just heard of plans to start a new 100 mile ride right here in Fort Worth next June (the idea is to make it a prep ride for the Hotter Than Hell 100 in Wichita Falls; I think the HTH organizers are involved). That gives me 12 months to prepare. This thread has great advice regarding what to do the day of a century, but is there any advice in terms of preparation in the time leading up to the ride?
Is there any way to know how to use that time to prepare for the century distance? I currently ride 75-100 miles a week, have no problems riding 40 miles at a stretch, my longest ride in a day is 71 miles. I think I can do 100 no problem, but what should I do in the next year to make sure? Should I just keep riding for now, and ramp up the miles as I get closer to the ride? Or do you think I could probably just wing it and show up that morning, considering how much I currently ride?
I just heard of plans to start a new 100 mile ride right here in Fort Worth next June (the idea is to make it a prep ride for the Hotter Than Hell 100 in Wichita Falls; I think the HTH organizers are involved). That gives me 12 months to prepare. This thread has great advice regarding what to do the day of a century, but is there any advice in terms of preparation in the time leading up to the ride?
Is there any way to know how to use that time to prepare for the century distance? I currently ride 75-100 miles a week, have no problems riding 40 miles at a stretch, my longest ride in a day is 71 miles. I think I can do 100 no problem, but what should I do in the next year to make sure? Should I just keep riding for now, and ramp up the miles as I get closer to the ride? Or do you think I could probably just wing it and show up that morning, considering how much I currently ride?
08-22-21, 09:46 AM
#139
You gonna eat that?
I haven't heard anything since. Maybe Covid put it on hold.
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Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
08-28-21, 05:20 PM
#140
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When I rode brevets (my longest ever was a 300km) I used to set my GPS to tell me the distance until the next control. Sometimes it was depressing to realise I was flagging and still had 30km to go but it meant I was never presented with "you've cycled 173km so far" with the associated "so don't be surprised if everything hurts".
08-29-21, 09:22 AM
#141
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I don't think telling myself I'm halfway there would work, although telling myself it's only 50 miles might work. If things are really going badly, I just pick a point along the course where it's the same distance as my commute, 7 miles. Or just 20 miles to the next stop. Or just 100km to the end, I've done that many times. On a 1200km ride, I have thought, "well, it's just 200km to the end, short ride."
11-19-23, 10:46 PM
#142
Full Member
Depending on the temperature, you might sweat quite a bit, as you apparently did. The next time you may wish to consider a drink with electrolytes to replace potassium. It doesn’t have to be a fancy or expensive brand, as long as it has the approximately correct amounts. You could even go the opposite route of sports drink by using a generic version of Pedialyte - inexpensive and effective.
11-24-23, 11:07 AM
#143
Full Member
When riding TOSRV, 100+ miles Saturday, 100+ miles back Sunday.
I know that I need to keep my Heart Rate BPM, lot lower on Saturday than I do in a 50 mile group ride.
A high Heart Rate on Saturday makes the Sunday ride challenging.
I know that I need to keep my Heart Rate BPM, lot lower on Saturday than I do in a 50 mile group ride.
A high Heart Rate on Saturday makes the Sunday ride challenging.
11-24-23, 03:53 PM
#144
Banned.
A century may seem like a lot but if you can bike at 15 mph for 6.7 hours then you will travel 100 miles. Best advice is to warm up for 20-30 minutes and drink water to stay hydrated and eat snacks that provide energy (raisins work very well).
On hills as it is not a race take a pace that is comfortable and when choosing between two gears use the lower one. Easy to psych oneself if thinking that you have arrived at the top of a grade and then round a turn and find it continues further. Using a lower gear to conserve yourself makes this less daunting and bicycling is as much mental as it is physical.
For clothing I like the bicycling jackets that have a wind shield on the front and lots of side and back vents and that have removable sleeves. I wear it over a synthetic material bike jersey and depending on the weather it may be a short or a long sleeve jersey.
It is more about duration than speed or distance as such.
On hills as it is not a race take a pace that is comfortable and when choosing between two gears use the lower one. Easy to psych oneself if thinking that you have arrived at the top of a grade and then round a turn and find it continues further. Using a lower gear to conserve yourself makes this less daunting and bicycling is as much mental as it is physical.
For clothing I like the bicycling jackets that have a wind shield on the front and lots of side and back vents and that have removable sleeves. I wear it over a synthetic material bike jersey and depending on the weather it may be a short or a long sleeve jersey.
It is more about duration than speed or distance as such.
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