kahn

Heck, it should be done again next week!

kahn

CONGRATULATIONS.

donm1967

Hah yeah right. My feet and ass are still mad at me.

kahn

It is interesting that the feet can really feel long rides and sometimes even shorter rides. Although I recently tweaked my saddle and I get less foot issues.

noimagination

Congrats, sounds like you had an "experience", and although you didn't enjoy every single minute, overall you're happy you did it and feel a sense of accomplishment. What more could one ask?

Now, you can decide for yourself whether 100 mi is a benchmark, or just another random number (both viewpoints are equally valid, it really depends on you).

livedarklions

In my experience, the more you do it, the shorter the recovery time. I swore after my first century that I had done that and would never need to do it again. Now I'm riding one a week (for a few weeks more, fall is upon us).

atnyc

Now that you've done it once. No more big mystery, no big deal either, right?

You can now do it as often as you like. And you should do it more often than once a year.

Maelochs

"Is that all there is to a century?"

livedarklions

Really? Because I did my first century about 5 years ago, and I've done literally hundreds since (and much longer rides). That first one is still a big deal for me.

I have no idea how often he should do it if at all. He's a grown up, I think he can work that out for himself.

atnyc

Really? That's interesting!

I did mine some years ago. For me, the first metric century was a bigger deal, as that was the first one that was psychological intimidating. Once done, all "round number distance" lost their appeal. I didn't do a century until several years later because my "routine" ride was typically 60-70mi. So I knew a century was not biggie. It took that long for me to find the time to do a century. And that year, I did 3! It just happened to be a year I had more time available to ride. As I've been doing distances close to it, it just didn't feel such a big deal.

I'm in favor of setting little goals that are achievable, and enjoy the processing in accomplishing it. The longest I've gone is a "metric double" (125mi). It was enjoyable till the last 10-15 miles, at which point I found it more a drag than enjoyment. I started to ask "why bother". I then realize I don't enjoy rides longer than 110.

The OP seem to take it as a personal goal. And he achieved it. So the psychological barrier is now broken. But if he doesn't do it again, the point of it is kind of lost. As others point out, it's not about bragging rights. It's about pushing and expanding one's capability. So start doing more is part of that expansion. Maybe not centuries, perhaps more 75 milers with occasional centuries? Just a suggestion.

livedarklions

Yeah, I think the psychology of it (and that's really all we're talking about here) is going to be completely different from person to person. For me it was a huge landmark because I went from being about 140 pounds overweight and sedentary to being able to ride 100 miles without those 140 pounds in a matter of about 2 1/2 years. I didn't actually know it was called a century the first time I did it, but hitting triple digits seemed like a very big deal to me. Given the circumstances, I think that it was.

I agree people should probably have goals to keep them motivated, but there's no reason the goal has to be a repetition or even more of the same. Who knows, maybe his next goal is to run up a mountain or something.

I had a major health issue (lung and heart) late last year that stopped my riding cold and my goals for this year got a bit smaller. So my first century last April was a very big deal for me indeed even though it was approximately my hundredth such ride.

I was doing weekly 150 mile rides pre-COVID and cut them back because there was no place to stop for a nice indoor break mid-ride. I did a couple of 130 mile rides this year, but realized, like you, that somewhere around 100 miles or so, they cease to be fun. I guess I'm just getting older.

atnyc

Concur on the cutting back distance due to no good place to stop. Some of my regular/favorite stopping places had not reopened post lockdown. I've been caught out a few times when I arrived at my anticipated lunch stop only to find I had no bathroom nor food! So my distance this year has been cut back considerably.

On the "fun distance" part, for me, it's the hours on saddle that brought on the doubt. As I slowed down in response to my aging body, my ability to stay in saddle is still unchanged (yet). However, that same time no longer cover the same distance!

Congratulation for winning all the health battles.

Yeah, some people love setting goals and meeting self-imposed challenges. I fall midway on that spectrum. I set goals that aren't too hard to achieve. But make sure I enjoy the "work" of getting there. It's not so much a challenge but more of an excuse to get my butt off the couch. I see a few too many people who're younger than me, in decent healthy, did one big challenge and then promptly settle back on the couch. They just miss all the fun of the activities and the skilled they recently perfectly.

livedarklions

I try not to worry too much about other people's fitness strategies. I'll feel free to copy someone if I like the results, but we're all so different that I'm pretty sure I have no clue what should work for them.

The 100 mile fun limit seems to be a new development for me, and it's not a physical thing, I'm not out of gas at the end of a century and can go on further if I want. I just have found this year that I get really irritated with traffic and stuff at much more than 6 hours riding, and it starts to feel like a chore I've got to work through. Sort of defeats the purpose of using cycling as my main fitness activity, which is I enjoy it. I try not to do anything that takes the joy out of it. I'll push myself very hard if I'm having fun, but if I'm getting bored and irritable, that's when I stop doing things.

Thanks for the congratulations! I was really worried my riding wouldn't come back this year, and while I've lost an MPH or so (for now, I think it might come back), I can't tell you how relieved I am that I could basically fully recover.

Maelochs

Rare moments of wisdom and understanding (well, rare for BF .... I have no idea how smart or wise either of these people are in real life (or even if one is a sock-puppet of the other .... or both of them don't exist.))

atnyc

I don't so much "worry" about other people's fitness/health strategy. Just sharing what us "mileage junkies" takes that for granted but might not be immediately obvious to others.

One of the "problem" slowly creeping in for those of us who enjoy really long rides is, we eventually run out of new roads to ride around our house! It takes some years. But eventually, I just ran out of combination to make routes "fresh". After all, part of the fun of long rides are to see different vista throughout the route. But after riding every weekend for a few years, all the "good" roads had been lapped zillion times.

The other thing I found is as we get more efficient in our riding, it takes "more" riding to keep the endorphin machine going (which is what makes us feel so good to keep on ride endlessly). Doing the same, or riding the same distance, no longer gets us the "highs".

I've migrated to dirt road riding about 10 years ago, before the term "gravel bike" became known. I knew exactly what I was after: roads less traveled (by me). Just this weekend, I "found" a new loop by connecting two paved roads with a stretch of dirt! What was dead end roads that I rarely go in, are now part of a lovely long loop! On the negative side, my mileage drops significantly in number. A 60 mile dirt road ride takes the effort of 100 mile pavement. That said, the endorphin machine gets cranking sooner too. So I get the same fitness and enjoyment in shorter distance. Not to mention not having to deal with traffic (while I'm on the dirt part of my ride)

PeteHski

Congrats on completing your first Century!

My motivation for Centuries is to complete them as fast as I can with as much suffering as I can possibly take. Ideally including at least 3000 m and preferably 4000+ m of vertical. For that reason I limit myself to just a couple of major Century events per year. But I ride a lot of metric Centuries during the year, which I find ultimately more "enjoyable" in the moment, but less memorable in the long run. Sometimes the suffering and pain, especially when shared with good friends, is what makes an event something to talk about years down the road.

livedarklions

What I love about you is that philosophically, we could not be further apart, but it's fun to explore that with you. I will wear myself ragged on a ride, but only if I don't let myself think of it as suffering and would love a nice lunch break in the middle. I don't know how I'd work out a 100 mile course that started at home with 4000 m of vertical in this part of the country, maybe I'll have to drive to a starting point in the White Mountains. Something to work out for next year, I guess.

PeteHski

Yeah it's fun to hear a totally different perspective on pedalling 2 wheels! I must admit I do like the sound of your nice lunch break in the middle.

Maelochs

Nothing I like better than an evening with good friends, sitting around a fire hammering nails into our hands while holding our feet in the flames. The shared suffering makes it all worthwhile.

PeteHski

A group Everest attempt is beckoning this winter. That would be a "fun" ride.

CAT7RDR

I start feeling guilty about five hours into a ride and I am no where near 100 miles at that point.
There is always something to do around the house or giving the dog a walk that being away 7-8 hours becomes selfish.
Time to sell the house and give up the dog.

Trek1100FeltZ5

What a fun reference - I may quote you