First 100 miler - tips?

[iamRayRay]

Going to go for my 1st 100 miles
Starting in Cambridgeshire area
Up past Newmarket
Round Feltwell
Through Thetford Forest Park
Swing through Bury St Edmunds
Back towards Cambridge/Royston

Is there a good TomTom like device that I can purchase under £100 that will help me load a route and guide me along the way?

Any hints and tips as well?
Three of us going, furthest two of us have gone is 50 miles, the other 70 miles.
Assuming loads of liquids and sugars along with keeping the pace low?

 

[steveindenmark]

My biggest tip is dont panic or get worked up. If you can ride 50 mile you can ride a hundred miles. It is a ride not a race. If you race you will probably struggle.

Take snacks you like to eat, jelly babies seems to be favourite on here.

Just to show you how difficult it isnt. I did my first ton last year. I had no intention at all to do it. I had fitted a brand new Brooks Imperial that morning and thought I would try it out. I dont even class myself as a "Cyclist". It was a lovely day and I had packed a flask and sandwiches. Thats OK because I ride a Koga World Traveller and not a road bike. At the 30 mile mark I thought I would just keep going. I made lots of stops for food, drink and sightseeing.

So if an untrained, knackered old geezer like me can do it on a whim and on something the weight of a moped. You should have no problems.

A Garmin Edge 200 would do the job. You can download your route into it via Garmin Connect.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Garmin-Ed...K_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item43cbcb6146

 

[User6179]

My tip would be to head into the wind first , if you run out of steam in the last 20 miles it is a lot easier with a tailwind .

 

[Dogtrousers]

Start nice and early, so you don't run out of daylight.
Enjoy it.
A Garmin Etrex 10* is less than £100 I think, but you may have to pay a bit more/spend time fiddling around with OSM to get the maps

(*NB this isn't a recommendation as I have no experience of these - I use a Garmin Oregon, which cost a lot more. I do recommend that tho!)

 

[Rooster1]

Drink regularly, eat before you get hungry, stop and have a 10 min break at half way.

A Garmin with directional info is going to set you back £140 notes unfortunately.
Best deal on a Garmin Touring is here

 

[BSRU]

Also eat and sleep well the night before.
The hardest part of my first 100 was the mental side, of course my legs complained but I just ignored them.

 

[steveindenmark]

Drink regularly, eat before you get hungry, stop and have a 10 min break at half way.

A Garmin with directional info is going to set you back £140 notes unfortunately.
Best deal on a Garmin Touring is here

The Garmin Edge 200 is £78. I have not had one but surely it would do the job. Why would you only stop for 10 minutes at the halfway point. I thought the idea was to do the distance not race yhe distance. Or did I get it wrong?

 

[I like Skol]

A few things that I would suggest just from my personal opinions/experience.

Have a reasonable breakfast, a large bowl of syrupy porridge will fuel you for most of the ride so you really only need to snack to keep going for the rest of the day.
Lay off the sugars and chocolates! It is widely accepted that these foods (especially after you have started to tire) lead to massive highs and lows in energy supply as they hit your blood system too quickly and are soon used up, making you feel even worse than before.
Take snacks like cereal bars, dried fruit or nuts. These release energy a bit slower in a more controlled manner allowing your body to cope better. If you must reach for that chocolate save it for the last 5-10 miles if you are really desperate.
It isn't a race, take your time early doors. If you still feel good after 50 miles and want to pick up the pace then that is ok but don't go mad. If you still feel ok after 75 miles then you have cracked it, GO NUTS!
Enjoy your ride/day/experience. You always remember your first 100 mile, make that memory a good one

EDIT: Navigation. I don't hold with these modern fangled navigation devices for cycling as I am a bit old school and also quite well travelled as an ex commercial driver so generally have a good idea where I am going. However, I will happily use satnav in a car so can appreciate you might want it on a bike. Even so, I would try to print of a few pages of paper maps for when/if the satnav fails/expires so you have some idea of which town you passed last and what town you should be heading for next.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The Garmin Edge 200 is £78. I have not had one but surely it would do the job. Why would you only stop for 10 minutes at the halfway point. I thought the idea was to do the distance not race yhe distance. Or did I get it wrong?

+1
Stop for 10 mins whenever you feel like it. Stop for an hour for lunch at a cafe/pub or somewhere. (If you want to of course, there are no rules).

 

[CopperBrompton]

When I did mine, I did it in 20-mile chunks with a break at each. Ate at some, just had drinks at others. As everyone says, don't treat it as a race, take it easy and enjoy. :-)

 

[iamRayRay]

CycleChat support is always the best, I'll update you all on which Garmin / GPS I decide to put the down on.

Thanks for all the advise, nuts seems to be a good option as I'm allergic to Chocolate so that's really not an option!

Hopefully the weather holds up next weekend then we may attempt it then, failing that, it will be December when no doubt there will be a wall of water and wind waiting for us!

 

[steveindenmark]

EDIT: Navigation. I don't hold with these modern fangled navigation devices for cycling as I am a bit old school and also quite well travelled as an ex commercial driver so generally have a good idea where I am going. However, I will happily use satnav in a car so can appreciate you might want it on a bike. Even so, I would try to print of a few pages of paper maps for when/if the satnav fails/expires so you have some idea of which town you passed last and what town you should be heading for next.

I had a motorbike friend with that attitude but he was talked over to using a GPS. He wouldnt be without one now. I carry a mini i pad , a cycle computer and paper maps. My cycle computer not only shows me where I am going it can also tell me where the nearest campsite or accomodation is, supermarkets, food, petrol stations, hospitals etc. My ipad is a book and camera and can tell me interesting facts about where I visit or animals I see. It can pinpoint me on a map to couple of metres. That was useful Im Mallorca. It could come in handy at the scene of an accident. The maps are a standby but have never used them as such. When touring I quite often follow a direction, using the compass on the cycle computer. But I do carry a Silva compass as well.

The Technology we carry on bikes is not just about direction its about a lot of other things. I am also an ex truck driver and have this inbuilt direction finder but the things are carry make cycling even more enjoyable than it did before they came along.

 

[ColinJ]

The other important thing (VERY important thing!) is to make sure that you are all comfortable on your bikes. If you start getting sore after the first 30 or 40 miles then you will have a horrid time for the second half of the ride!

December could be a challenging time to do the ride! You will probably be riding for several hours in the dark when it will be pretty cold. Set off as early as you can because it would be better to do the riding in the dark while you are all feeling fresh, rather than limping back, frozen and exhausted, hours after sunset.

 

[steveindenmark]

Its a good point Colin. I would rather ride in morning darkness when I was fresh as opposed to evening darkness when I was all washed out.

 

[Fubar]

I'm with the others re relying too much on gps for routes - plan in advance by picking 2-3 cafe stops and aim for those places, nothing nicer than working out and completing a route from memory, use gps to that back up if you have it. As others have said leave early so you have time to spare if there are mechanicals, if it's a hot day (unlikely now) you might need more stops - take them as and when you need to. Go for it! If I can do 100 miles anyone can