First 100 miler

[Rebel Ian]

In September I'm going to tackle my first 100 mile ride . The most I've done in one day was 78 as part of London to Paris last year. That was punctuated by multiple stops however as I was in a big group and we were taking it easy. On the ride I'm planning there'll be some time pressures so I need to crack on.

Should I plan rest stops, i.e. 2 hours then rest, 2 hours then rest etc., or should I just see how I feel at the time? On the one hand a target of 2 hours seems good as I should be able to cover 30 miles or thereabouts which sounds a good target before a break. Doing it that way also breaks the journey up from being 100 miles into 3 or 4 smaller journeys which mentally is easier to focus on.

Any thoughts?

 

[ASC1951]

A lot depends on how fast you go, what distance you can sustain at that pace and how comfortable your bike is. I do my monthly 100 milers at what you could at best call 'steady' i.e. 13-15 mph, but I can carry on at that pace indefinitely, so I just stop once at a cafe at about 50 miles.

The mental focus point is a good one. On a frequent route I know the landmarks, on a new route I count up in fractions, then down again. 10/100, 20/100, 25/100, 33.3/100, 50/100 ... it keeps me going. On a couple of my flat routes I use the fixed wheel, so without gear changes to distract me I develop an 'inner focus' which is one of the benefits of long solo rides.

I would just see how you feel. There are no rules.

 

[BenScoobert]

A lot depends on how fast you go, what distance you can sustain at that pace and how comfortable your bike is. I do my monthly 100 milers at what you could at best call 'steady' i.e. 13-15 mph, but I can carry on at that pace indefinitely, so I just stop once at a cafe at about 50 miles.

The mental focus point is a good one. On a frequent route I know the landmarks, on a new route I count up in fractions, then down again. 10/100, 20/100, 25/100, 33.3/100, 50/100 ... it keeps me going. On a couple of my flat routes I use the fixed wheel, so without gear changes to distract me I develop an 'inner focus' which is one of the benefits of long solo rides.

I would just see how you feel. There are no rules.

Where on earth do you ride 100 miles in yorkshire without gears? Yesterday I went form 1 extreme to the other, a hill I couldn't get up in 1st and one I couldn't keep up with in 18th