Cycling 100 miles in a day

[vernon]

I'm thinking of trying to cycle 100 miles in a day. The most ive done is about 60 and tend to get quite tired. If you have cycled 100 miles in a day how often do you take breaks, do you need to build your distances up over the months like a marathon runner would, do you eat and drink often and so on. If you did 100 miles in a day how did you do it?

Regular breaks every hour, top up energy levels with malt loaf, bananas and jelly babies. Keep hydrated. I use orange juice diluted with water. Some recommend drinking 500ml to 750ml per hour but we are all different and hydration is weather and exertion dependent. I've done 100km on as little as a litre of water and my record was 4.5 litres in a heat wave.

I did my first 100 miles - it was 126 miles a fortnight after doing my first sixty mile ride. I took thirteen hours and I felt like I'd been hit by a bus the day after.

 

[Pikey]

I'm thinking of trying to cycle 100 miles in a day. The most ive done is about 60 and tend to get quite tired. If you have cycled 100 miles in a day how often do you take breaks, do you need to build your distances up over the months like a marathon runner would, do you eat and drink often and so on. If you did 100 miles in a day how did you do it?

It's one of the things I've got planned for this year, a century.

Like you I've only done 60's, so I was thinking of upping the mileage by 10-15 miles each month til august.

Then I'm thinking of planning the route on the garmin via villages with decent cafés/chippies/pubs etc... About every 20-25 miles for a nice little break.

However you do yours, good luck!

 

[Dogtrousers]

May be stating the bleedin obvious, but choose a flat route.
Sip your drink often and have ideas for where you can top it up. It's easy to forget.

 

[Kies]

I did 107 miles last year, and we went off way to fast. The result was a difficult final 20. I have learned what i can and cannot do, so the next one will mean a steady pace rather than treating it like some time trial.

 

[JasonHolder]

Nice to see people getting out and doing big rides. Its really nothing hard doing 100miles if you ride under your threshold(meaning no burning thighs and the ability to sing along to music or hold a conversation)


What is hard-is when you do the first 20 harder than you should and dont eat and drink enough.

I did 100 yesterday, just an easy poodle around cranking it up the last 20 miles a touch.
Drank 7water bottles-half coke half water.
5 bananas
400kcal caramel waffle with an expression +8sugars.

Had 750kcal of hot cross buns for breakfast and a litre of water.
Absolute piece of pie-doing another 100 tomorrow with the club. Possibly more because its a 50mile round trip to meet point and back.
f you are comfortable on The bike then the only thing stopping you is running out of sugar and water.

 

[NorvernRob]

'No burning thighs'

- Tell that to all the hills around Yorkshire!

 

[JasonHolder]

'No burning thighs'

- Tell that to all the hills around Yorkshire!

Lol unfortunately muscular strength runs out if you beast it and no amount of sugar fixes that

 

[ColinJ]

'No burning thighs'

- Tell that to all the hills around Yorkshire!

Here's a couple he could start with ...!

 

[JasonHolder]

Not on the schedule but thanks anyway

 

[PpPete]

one Top Tip:
If you are stopping at a cafe long enough to have both a savoury main course (or sandwich) and dessert / cake.... eat the sweet thing FIRST.
The theory is this will give you the blood sugar level straight away as you leave the stop - and the savoury will give you the slightly longer term fuel.
It really does work IME !
In fact if I'm just going in for a sandwich / pie / fry-up I'll eat a few Jelly Babies whilst I'm waiting for the order to arrive.

It's little things like this learned from the veterans of the audax community that have helped me ride "somewhat further" than 100 miles in a day .
Oh yes ... and beyond 100 miles ? It's as much a mental challenge as a physical one.

 

[JasonHolder]

one To
If you are stopping at a cafe long enougho have both a savoury main course (or sandwich) and dessert / cake.... eat the sweet thing FIRST.
The theory is this will give you the blood sugar level straight away as you leave the stop - and the savoury will give you the slightly longer term fuel.
It really does work IME !
In fact if I'm just going in for a sandwich / pie / fry-up I'll eat a few Jelly Babies whilst I'm waiting for the order to arrive.

It's little things like this learned from the veterans of the audax community that have helped me ride "somewhat further" than 100 miles in a day .
Oh yes ... and beyond 100 miles ? It's as much a mental challenge as a physical one.

+1 sound bit of advice.
Simple sugars get ingested at 20kcal per min where as complex is 4iirc-might be 2 but whatever, its dam slow

 

[Shanks]

Our club has an annual Good Friday run and this year we clocked 108 miles with 5344 feet of climbing. We had two good meal breaks of 30/40 minutes and the usual few puncture stops and on this occasion three split tyre stops. It was a good route but for me coming back over the south downs was a brutal end. As others have said it's certainly possible just takes some planning. One of the best parts about it is when people see where we have come from and ask us what we are doing so far from our clubs base (the name is on the jersey). When you say "oh we just come out here, eat breakfast and then go home again" some of the expressions are priceless

 

[classic33]

'No burning thighs'

- Tell that to all the hills around Yorkshire!

They're not that bad!

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Here's a couple he could start with ...!

I love hills like that! I'd be carefully avoiding the loose stones riding up the first one, though, as it looks bloody steep.

 

[Cuchilo]

I keep thinking of going for the 100 miles but always decide at 60 - 65 that ive had enough . I'd never thought of stopping for a break for half an hour , kind of seems wrong to me but I guess its not a race .
Last time I stopped on a long ride I just got cold and it took ages to get warmed up again . All I wanted to do was go home . This was over the winter though so I had that against me .