First century advice..

[Chescadence]

Hi All,

13 days until my first century ride ever; 101.5 miles, 825m of ascent..

Obviously I'll be keeping up food and drink throughout the ride; what other words of wisdom, hints/tips can you offer?

What about pace? Gentle pace the whole way? Fast on the first half slow on the second? Start of slow and build up?

Any advice much appreciated!
C

 

[mattobrien]

Solo ride or with others? If with others I guess pace will be dictated by the group. If with a group, do make the most of someone's rear wheel. A bit of drafting goes a long way.

If doing it solo, then or pace I'd suggest something you are comfortable with / not strenuous. You can always pick up the pace later on if you have plenty in the tank.

Final piece of advice. Enjoy.

Good luck.

 

[Hip Priest]

I did my first century in November.

Some tips that worked for me:

- Have a drink every 5 miles and a bite to eat every 10 miles
- Stop at around 60% distance for a proper lunch
- Take it steady for the first half, and you'll have plenty left in your legs for the end

It took me 7hrs15mins to do 103 miles with 5500ft of climbing, with an extra hour for stops, and I felt strong as an ox at the end.

Enjoy it!

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

If it's a solo ride think about spares you will carry and note any LBS's that may come in handy if needed.

 

[Chescadence]

Thanks for the advice:

Yes it will be solo; I plan on taking a couple of tubes plus a repair kit and the usual tools.

Plan to eat a lot on the ride and stop for half an hour to eat properly; as mentioned probably about 50/60% through; over half way as psychologically I wont be thinking "another half to go". I think the saving grace is there is relatively little climbing which will save the old legs a bit..

Foods? - Flap jacks, chocolate/energy bars and something carb filled for lunch? Pasta box from a supermarket maybe.

C

 

[400bhp]

What distances do you currently do and what time/distances do you usually ride before stopping?

Whatever your answer is then try and break the ride up into manageable chunks, broadly in line with your normal cycling routine.

I generally will cycle for up to 2 hours and then stop. I think the maximum I've done without stopping at all is about 50 miles, but that was done in 2.25 hours .

Is this some sort of audax/sportive?

 

[Chescadence]

In reply to 400bhp:

To answer some of your questions:

I ride a 40-50 mile route during the week and two 30 mile rides on the weekends (average weeks); however, I've ridden several rides of around 70 miles. These 50 mile rides generally have 900+m of climbing and the 70's over 1200m so I'm increasing the distance a lot, but the climbing is relatively low.

Like you I usually stop around the 1.5/2hr mark.

No, it's not an audax/sportif; it's my birthday the day before so it seemed a nice thing to do before hitting the town afterwards!

Thanks for the advice,
C

 

[Risex4]

From my own experience;

Start off at a nice leisurely pace definately, find a speed and rymthm you can sustain quite comfortably without breaking a sweat, relax into it and tuck the first 20-30 miles away without really noticing you've done them. If you do get a climb fairly early on, do not attack it, dont be afraid to spin up it. My first century was a jump from regularish 50 milers, I got cocky and set quite a high pace at the start and was quite aggressive on my first three climbs. Of course, I felt great to begin with, but the final 25 miles were simply hell to the point that when I'd finished - and for a while after - I honestly wondered whether I wanted to go through that again. I've done two more centuries since using the "dont start until the 2nd 3rd strategy" and been fine.

Hip's tips on food seem bang on.

As has been alluded to aswell, know your route. LBS' for spares, food resupplying, hell even transportation options if the absolute worst should happen, but more than that I found it helps in the mind to know which landmarks your going to pass along the way, be it villages, towns, or actual landmarks, so in your mind you can break the ride down into more manageable bitsize chunks; Personally, at the 70 mile mark, I prefer to be "aiming" for the next village 5 miles up the road rather than concentrating on the fact that Im still 30 miles from home!

What are your normal distances currently anyway?

 

[Risex4]

Or, more concisely, what 400 said.

 

[Chescadence]

Or, more concisely, what 400 said.

Thanks Risex 4,

Current distances are as above, between 40-50 in one stint every week (sometimes 40, sometimes 50, sometimes a bit more) so it's probably balances itself out at around 47miles or something averagely and then two 30mile rides on weekends. Like I said, I've done a few longer rides too..

Thanks for the pacing tips, really useful to break the route down- I have done the ride in two sections before so I'm pretty familiar with the terrain/land marks and know where the hills are etc.

C

 

[Risex4]

Reading your previous post I shouldnt have thought a century as you describe should hold only great fear for you as long as you approach it sensibly; by knocking out regular weekly 50s-70s with greater climbing than your c. will yield, you've already done the leg work.

Good luck!

 

[MattHB]

Make sure you keep hydrated and carb'ed up the day before, but don't over do it on the evening meal. Have a very good breakfast an hour or 2 if you can before the ride.

Take as much fluid as you can with you, plus normal on ride snacks that are tried and tested. Make sure you know where to refill bottles, have this planned out on the way round before hand and make sure you know where the stops are. There are no rules on how much and when, what works for someone else might not for you.

Take it steady.. Find a pace that you can tap out in a comfy rhythm. Know your route, plan stops before big climbs, and don't stop for more than 5 minutes. Better to do lots of shorter ones than few long ones and risk cooling down too much.

Keep your head in order know that you got the miles in your legs already.. If you feel your mood dropping, stop and eat something sugary and/or with caffeine in it. Make sure you drink all the way through the ride. With the rides you've done you should know roughly what you need per hour. Stick to that

I did my first century last July, while it was a big charity ride it was solo as we all had different start times.

I'd not ridden more than 60 miles when I rode it in July. I'd done 2 or 3 of them, and quite a few 50's. It was no problem, it wasn't a fast century, just over 7 hours, but I could have done 20 miles or so after easily.

Good luck! its a huge achievement

 

[Chescadence]

Thanks for the responses:

Risex4- I'm hoping you're right, I feel strong and not near my limit after 50 mile rides during the week - It's usually free time that dictates the distance.

Matt- Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely be sticking to the tried and tested ride food and morning breakfast as I know I can comfortably digest it without any trouble; regularish shorter stops does seem better than taking a big one in the middle- I rarely stop for long normally anyway so being consistent seems best. Not interested in doing the century quickly; just to get it done and hopefully enjoy it (then get utterly hammered with friends/family afterwards- after I've re-hydrated of course )- I'm quite happy I know my body as far as food and drink goes when riding; again, I'm going to be consistent and stick with what works- there are plenty of shops to restock too.

What about rest? I normally have 3 days before a 50 and a day before the two 30m weekend rides. Should I take a week out and be completely fresh or should I ride a few days before?

C

 

[400bhp]

To be honest, given the mileage you do, fitness wise I think you will be fine continuing with the pattern of riding you already do.

You should concentrate on the non-fitness stuff I think. As has been mentioned, think about nutrition whilst riding. Also make sure you are wearing the right clothing for the conditions. 100 miles is a long way to go when cold and wet. Take into account the wind direction and tailor your efforts to align with that. For example, if your route is south then back north and you have a fairly strong northerly, make sure you have plenty left in the tank for the second half.

I asked about the audax/sportive because your mileage is very specific which suggests you already have a route in mind. Have you ridden the roads before?

Good luck with it.

 

[Risex4]

To be honest, given the mileage you do, fitness wise I think you will be fine continuing with the pattern of riding you already do.

This. I'd say taking a week off before hand could be counter productive. If your body is already atuned to doing plenty of milage, its ready to roll; theres no reason to give it the idea of having time off!

I'd personally suggest a smaller warm up ride of 30-50 (not too strenuous) a few days before if you can fit it in, maybe a day or so off, than hit that century.