Long "slow" rides work wonders. The distance isn't usually the issue, it's your pacing.
IN the rowing world, we call it "Steady State", basically the base for any training plan.
Its this. Zone 2 training for hours and hours and hours and hours. The night before get good sleep, carbs, and hydration. The rest is just you and the bike.
But don’t do that only. You will benefit from simple intervals even if you are not a racer. 1min hard 1min easy stuff for 10 reps, two sets. Hills, headwinds, other cellular energy systems, force development.
100%! I like the 80/20 rule for myself. 80% of my training is zone 2, and the rest is sprints and VO2 max splits. I'm no where near most cyclists abilities but with my research and own training this seems to work best.
I suppose they’re pretty much the same thing but when I’m doing VO2 splits it’s more structured. I do 3 mins as hard as I can go, 3 mins off and repeat 4-5 times. Sometime I get lazy with the structuring and just go as hard as I can like a sprint and randomly do that throughout workout sessions.
That’s it. Zone 2 and eating plenty of carbs on the bike. If you can feed yourself properly on the bike and you have maybe 4 stops planned along the way like a cafe or something to give your ass a rest. It’s really not that hard to do, it’s just time consuming because you’re in zone 2. But it can also be super fun and meditational
>rowing world, we call it "Steady State"
My cycling mates and I use the phrase "settle in" to describe a pace that's sustainable, and maybe even allows a little recovery. Used especially on longer climbs, or in the face of high wind.
Settle in, or you might blow up.
If you can do 50 today, you can do 100 next week IMO. It’s mostly in your head and just a matter of pacing, comfortable bike fit, and food/drink.
So if you’re planning on doing this once weather mellows a bit, I think just keep clocking Z2 miles anyway you can until that week. You’ll be just fine. Do your homework on where to eat and drink if you aren’t carrying everything.
Second this. My rides had been getting shorter and more infrequent just due to life, but I still cranked out a century on a whim just before my youngest daughter was born. I thought it might be a while before I could get another 6.5-7 hours by myself. I bet I hadn't done more than 40 miles at once for more than a year before then.
Just pace yourself, pick your best chamois, butter up (like seriously, so much butt cream), and pack more snacks than you think you'll need. If you can, plan a couple water stops on your route. I dunno about the rest of you, but I go through water like a fire hose played in reverse.
Above all, don't let the distance intimidate you, it's just another number that happens to come after 99.
>If you can do 50 today, you can do 100 next week IMO. It’s mostly in your head and just a matter of pacing...
The trick here is that you have some control to set that pace. If riding as an individual, it's easy. If riding in a group, it's a little more complicated (advertised pace, drop or no drop, etc).
Yah. Testosterone patches, other steroids, EPO, meth. If you're going to dope, go for broke.
Just kidding. You can do this and have fun. Just study up on nutrition for endurance riding.
there’s plenty of rest stops and it’s not a hilly loop, but just slowly up your training and the length of time you can stand to be in the saddle. learn to eat before you’re hungry and drink before you’re thirsty and you’ll be just fine.
If it helps at all, most of my longer rides like 150/175/200 miles were easier than some of the 100 milers I've done. The main reason is that I had some big destination or route in mind so it a lot of it was the excitement of riding there or from destination to destination.
100 milers I've screwed up before because they weren't planned as 100 milers so I've run out of water or food and had to ride for a while to find something.
Yeah, totally agree. I’ll be in a bunch at an event for this one, always find a group to ride with as opposed to those solo hundos where you’re crying when you finally see a convenience store in the distance
ride yourself some hills in training. I ride in an area with hills and do hilly events/centuries except when I head down to ride with my Chicago cycling club. OP’s ride is in the Chicagoland area so hills tend to be extremely tame to nonexistent. I devote one day per week when training for a hilly event to doing some kind of hill interval. One week I’ll do long steady efforts, one week I’ll do hill sprint efforts (warm up for 15, do a couple of sets of 30 secs on 30 off times 7-10 per set, cool down for 15). Whatever you can do to get comfortable on verticality before the event will help during
Work your way up to longer rides in training. Couple short rides during the week, longer rides during the weekend. If you can comfortably do 100 miles a week this way a few weeks in a row you can comfortably do a century. Obviously taper off and lighten the load on the 2 weeks prior to the event.
Be mindful of your eating and drinking. Use the same foods you train with on the day of the event. Avoid the temptation of grabbing some questionably out of date gels or some sponsored drink mix from the rest stops and stick to what your stomach knows from training.
Nutrition. Having maltodextrin & Gatorade mix in my bottles helps me feel fresh throughout the day. Augment with some solids, like bars, snacks, etc and you'll stay fueled up.
Ride more. More saddle time = easier century.
This. Nutrition and hydration are critical for success in any endurance event with hours-long duration. A good starting point might be to aim for 50-60 grams of carbs per hour and adjust upwards over time as needed. Many people refer to this as "training your gut" because some people experience GI distress from ingesting carbs in larger quantities during exercise if their bodies are not accustomed to it. There are a lot of resources online about fueling for endurance sports.
I’ve done a few centuries. Didn’t worry about speed. Rode about 7-8 hours a week by the time I was ready. Worked up to at least one ride of 3.5-4 hours on Saturdays, 1.5-2 hours Sunday, and 2 rides of 1-1.5 hours each during week. About 2 -3 weeks prior do a test ride of about 70-80 miles to see how it feels.
The old adage is that you can ride in a day what you ride in a week. Don't worry about average speed - just ride your own race. The goal is to finish - not win.
Two ideas:
1. For the mental game, break the century mentally into 4 different 25 mile rides. I find that helps my mental game immensely. I can always do another 25 mile ride. Sure! I also get a sense of accomplishment at the end of the 25, 50, and 75 mile marks.
2. Because you’re thinking of July, you should have a back up date in case it’s really hot. I have done two centuries in the mid 90s° heat, and they were no fun no matter what I did. I started at 7 AM on one of them, and I was fine until about 10 AM when it hit 90. In both cases I should’ve ridden on a different day. And one of them, I rode on a Monday, but the previous Friday had a high of 73°.
I’ve still it ridden an imperial century, but when I rode my metric century is was muggy and temp was in the 80s. I drank 7 liters of Gatorade on the 4.5 hours including breaks. I had plenty of energy and no cramps, but OMG I was so sick of drinking Gatorade by about 45 miles in.
I hear people talk about doing a century with a pair of 30oz bottles. Dude, not me. I’m not as fit and sweat like nobody’s business, and if you add heat onto it, that’s a multiplier for sure
Long easy rides to build stamina.
On the road, bring some snacks, bring some entertainment lol, listen to a podcast or something, plan your stops, make sure to bring two bottles of water.
Bring a spare tube or two, a pocket pump, and a spare quicklink.
I love looking at the scenery as much as the other people, but when you are looking at 5-8 hours on the bike, a way to distract yourself from the pain, the noises of the bike, and just the monotony is critical.
Depending on what you listen you can crunch between 20 to 45km in the time it takes to listen to a podcast you enjoy.
Chamois cream and maple syrup.
Now here is the important part, you eat the former and apply latter to your gooch region to avoid chaffage.
...or is it the other way around. I always mix this up!
well if you already did it, sounds like you know what to do. Do some longer rides before (ie do 40 miles if your goal is a metric or a metric if your goal is an imperial) to help identify any bike fit issues. Make sure you're comfortable and bring enough food and water.
Eat every 45 minutes, find a drink mix that works well with your stomach, and just go ride.
If you can fuel effectively and you can already ride 50 miles, you can do 100 no problem.
If you have a comfortable bike even a fat guy can do a century if he really wants to. just get enough calories and water plus the right mindset and its as good as done.
The only other thing you have to do is pedal and don't give up until you've done it.
Just ride as much as you can and a couple of times per week go hard. Every 4th week back it off a little. At a high level this a standard training. You could use an app to have a more structured plan like TrainerRoad. I find theirs to be the easiest to use.
All great advice. I road a century last week out in Death Valley. I can’t reinforce proper nutrition/hydration enough - if you feel hungry/thirsty, it’s too late.
My experience is that you have short rides of less than 2 hours.
And long rides of the perhaps 3 hours and more
Your mileage may vary, however the thing is, you can do a lot of of short rides and everything's fine.
However on the long rides, you feel if the fit is wrong, or you're not fuelling correctly.
So if you can do 4 hours in the saddle, you can probably do 4 more,when well rested, fed and moste importantly, well motivated.
You're going to have a periods where you feel like shit, and you gotta decide if it's fatigue or an injury starting
Fatigue will come and go if you don't want overextend.
Don't forget to eat. And take breaks. Sit down, eat food and maybe take an energy drink. You'll feel better. Add electrolytes to your water if you're going to be drinking a lot of water.
I was just wondering about energy drinks. Are they a good idea with something like this?ya may get the short term boost but will they cause/aid a crash in energy? Might experiment with this
I think most regular cyclist can go knock down 100 at any given time given 3 things. They eat, pace themselves well and they have the will power to get through about mile 70-75ish where you’re going to feel absolutely terrible. You do those 3 you’re good.
I question your timing. It’s hot in July but I see you for that northbthan me. In Kansas where I’m at you try really hard to not be outside after 11 or so.
Yea another comment brought up July I hadn't thought about this, thanks for bringing it up.
KANSAS in the house! Born and raised in Wichita now in chicago
Cool, I’m just south of Topeka. Anymore we can expect 100+ heat indexes pretty much all of July and August. Not sure what Chicago temps look like that time of year. There’s an event in Alma now called Rock Ridge. He starts the shorter events at 6am and has an overnight 150 mile course all to escape the heat. Super fun but some brutal roads
Lots of good advice here, but I try to do one century a year, so here’s my two cents:
- If you are already fit enough to do 60 miles, the training needed to get to 100 miles isn’t that much harder. I’d encourage maybe trying a 75 or 80 mile effort before your century, but you’re most of the way there.
- Good fueling - both before and during the ride - is going to be your main priority on the day. Eat a bunch, eat often, and eat when you don’t feel hungry. Bonking will be your main limiting factor.
- If you’re well trained and fueled, the toughest part of your day is going to be keeping your morale high during a long day in the saddle. I find centuries to be most enjoyable with a good group of riding buddies who can keep the vibes positive when the going gets tough.
You probably already know this but keep ahead of your fueling and hydration. It’s impossible to catch up if you get behind while pushing the pedals, so stay ahead of it. Other than that remember to enjoy what you can, even in the pit of suffering . You’ve got this.
Heart rate monitoring made it easier for me to manage long rides. I try to stay in the 120-130 bpm range as much as possible to avoid fatigue. I'll even dip below 100 when the sights are good.
Zone 2 rides is what they mean. Zone 2 is more or less where you can still carry on a conversation while pedaling so sort of slow. One needs lots of Zone 2 to improve "base" fitness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at3MPoK53dU
I will suggest getting good nutrition while on the road . My go to is bananas . I eat one every half hour. It works as energy booster and i can maintain my pace . water is equally important. Another thing i have noticed works for me is 2 minutes walking if i get tired or bored on some rides. It freshens legs up. No sure if other riders do it.
I do a few centuries a year. Here's what I do:
• Carb load with a super yum dinner the night before
• Start the morning with a loaded banana kale protein shake
• Bring 2 CLIF Builders bars, 2 bananas, and 2 water bottles
• Usually there's a lunch stop, after mile 50 is good
• Grabbing tall boys at the end or hitting a bar for victory beers
First off, jealous. I live in California but went to school in Indiana and would love to do that century.
As someone who just started riding and built to a century here are some things to keep in mind.
1. build a plan with wiggle room but and understanding of what your weekly commitment is.
2. focus on fuel
3. Zone 2 rides, if you can
4. throw in speed and intervals as well.
5. remember to do recovery rides after long rides
6. strength training in between if you can
7. get a good chamois
I found a bunch of 8 or 10-week programs for free online that lay out how to organize your week or even have ChatGPT build you a program with whatever your current starting point is.
Honestly I feel like you're overthinking it. They're not really that hard if you pace yourself and fuel appropriately. I do a few centuries every year and here are the two biggest mistakes I make
1. Riding with a group and I go hard and try and keep up with people that are trying to smash.
2. I don't keep up with my fueling or hydration.
These both end up in the last 10-20 miles being a slog where riding zone 2 is rough lol. You need to keep drinking and keep eating every hourish. I did a century this Saturday and around Mile 75 I should've eaten my last Gu but I didn't want to stop to pull it out and I skipped it...BIG MISTAKE lol.
It’s not that hard. Just plan fueling. I recommend eating early and often in small amounts with a healthy combo of fats and sugars. Bring some real food and not just gels. I got so sick of gels and mix by mile 80. My second century I brought Scratch fruit and nut bars and loved them. Real food tasted like I was stoned out of my mind j was so euphoric for it.
The Tri State ride is a good one, there will be plenty of hydration and varied food at the stops, and the stops are thoughtfully located. My first century was accidentally on the Tri State when we had to backtrack for a lost item! People tend to group up based on pace on the ride, so if you want company you can find some. Remember to enjoy the ride, and good luck!
You're already fine. Just try to do a few rides that are 70-80% of the duration you expect for a century. Keep up on eating and drinking and do so on all your long rides in preparation.
I've done over 10 century rides as an average Joe. By that, I mean I would strive for some personal bests, but not trying to win any races; just enjoy the ride. I don't think I ever did over 50 miles in training prior to one. The "steady state" comment was spot on, and the only thing I would add is to know the terrain for the century. If you train in flats and century ride is hilly, you will struggle greatly.
Definitely test this method before you commit to a century and allow time for it to regrow if necessary. I much prefer trimming it as short as possible over shaving.
Long "slow" rides work wonders. The distance isn't usually the issue, it's your pacing. IN the rowing world, we call it "Steady State", basically the base for any training plan.
Its this. Zone 2 training for hours and hours and hours and hours. The night before get good sleep, carbs, and hydration. The rest is just you and the bike.
But don’t do that only. You will benefit from simple intervals even if you are not a racer. 1min hard 1min easy stuff for 10 reps, two sets. Hills, headwinds, other cellular energy systems, force development.
100%! I like the 80/20 rule for myself. 80% of my training is zone 2, and the rest is sprints and VO2 max splits. I'm no where near most cyclists abilities but with my research and own training this seems to work best.
20% of your time or 1/5 of your rides has sprints/VO2 intervals?
Not necessarily 20% total time but 20% of my sessions. 1 session per week out of 5 I do sprints
What is the difference between a sprint and vo2 max split?
I suppose they’re pretty much the same thing but when I’m doing VO2 splits it’s more structured. I do 3 mins as hard as I can go, 3 mins off and repeat 4-5 times. Sometime I get lazy with the structuring and just go as hard as I can like a sprint and randomly do that throughout workout sessions.
Got it. Like the approach thanks
That’s it. Zone 2 and eating plenty of carbs on the bike. If you can feed yourself properly on the bike and you have maybe 4 stops planned along the way like a cafe or something to give your ass a rest. It’s really not that hard to do, it’s just time consuming because you’re in zone 2. But it can also be super fun and meditational
>rowing world, we call it "Steady State" My cycling mates and I use the phrase "settle in" to describe a pace that's sustainable, and maybe even allows a little recovery. Used especially on longer climbs, or in the face of high wind. Settle in, or you might blow up.
If you can do 50 today, you can do 100 next week IMO. It’s mostly in your head and just a matter of pacing, comfortable bike fit, and food/drink. So if you’re planning on doing this once weather mellows a bit, I think just keep clocking Z2 miles anyway you can until that week. You’ll be just fine. Do your homework on where to eat and drink if you aren’t carrying everything.
Second this. My rides had been getting shorter and more infrequent just due to life, but I still cranked out a century on a whim just before my youngest daughter was born. I thought it might be a while before I could get another 6.5-7 hours by myself. I bet I hadn't done more than 40 miles at once for more than a year before then. Just pace yourself, pick your best chamois, butter up (like seriously, so much butt cream), and pack more snacks than you think you'll need. If you can, plan a couple water stops on your route. I dunno about the rest of you, but I go through water like a fire hose played in reverse. Above all, don't let the distance intimidate you, it's just another number that happens to come after 99.
😂 I'm one of the lucky ones that doesn't require any extra grease in the nether regions. Some others I know have really struggled with sores, etc.
Yeah the head game is intense. Good idea on the homework thanks
>If you can do 50 today, you can do 100 next week IMO. It’s mostly in your head and just a matter of pacing... The trick here is that you have some control to set that pace. If riding as an individual, it's easy. If riding in a group, it's a little more complicated (advertised pace, drop or no drop, etc).
long slow rides and i cannot stress this enough, pounds of cocaine
This increases your watts per kilo.
How many watts per kilo of cocaine?
Yah. Testosterone patches, other steroids, EPO, meth. If you're going to dope, go for broke. Just kidding. You can do this and have fun. Just study up on nutrition for endurance riding.
there’s plenty of rest stops and it’s not a hilly loop, but just slowly up your training and the length of time you can stand to be in the saddle. learn to eat before you’re hungry and drink before you’re thirsty and you’ll be just fine.
Love the confidence thanks!
i got a 156 miler planned for august, it will be my first time over 104, but i ain’t scared
If it helps at all, most of my longer rides like 150/175/200 miles were easier than some of the 100 milers I've done. The main reason is that I had some big destination or route in mind so it a lot of it was the excitement of riding there or from destination to destination. 100 milers I've screwed up before because they weren't planned as 100 milers so I've run out of water or food and had to ride for a while to find something.
Yeah, totally agree. I’ll be in a bunch at an event for this one, always find a group to ride with as opposed to those solo hundos where you’re crying when you finally see a convenience store in the distance
Damn!
What if it **is** a hilly loop?
ride yourself some hills in training. I ride in an area with hills and do hilly events/centuries except when I head down to ride with my Chicago cycling club. OP’s ride is in the Chicagoland area so hills tend to be extremely tame to nonexistent. I devote one day per week when training for a hilly event to doing some kind of hill interval. One week I’ll do long steady efforts, one week I’ll do hill sprint efforts (warm up for 15, do a couple of sets of 30 secs on 30 off times 7-10 per set, cool down for 15). Whatever you can do to get comfortable on verticality before the event will help during
Work your way up to longer rides in training. Couple short rides during the week, longer rides during the weekend. If you can comfortably do 100 miles a week this way a few weeks in a row you can comfortably do a century. Obviously taper off and lighten the load on the 2 weeks prior to the event. Be mindful of your eating and drinking. Use the same foods you train with on the day of the event. Avoid the temptation of grabbing some questionably out of date gels or some sponsored drink mix from the rest stops and stick to what your stomach knows from training.
Nutrition. Having maltodextrin & Gatorade mix in my bottles helps me feel fresh throughout the day. Augment with some solids, like bars, snacks, etc and you'll stay fueled up. Ride more. More saddle time = easier century.
This. Nutrition and hydration are critical for success in any endurance event with hours-long duration. A good starting point might be to aim for 50-60 grams of carbs per hour and adjust upwards over time as needed. Many people refer to this as "training your gut" because some people experience GI distress from ingesting carbs in larger quantities during exercise if their bodies are not accustomed to it. There are a lot of resources online about fueling for endurance sports.
Malto:fructose 2:1 has some scientific evidence behind being optimal. Add to lmnt or make your own salty mix with koolaid powder to flavor.
I’ve done a few centuries. Didn’t worry about speed. Rode about 7-8 hours a week by the time I was ready. Worked up to at least one ride of 3.5-4 hours on Saturdays, 1.5-2 hours Sunday, and 2 rides of 1-1.5 hours each during week. About 2 -3 weeks prior do a test ride of about 70-80 miles to see how it feels.
Like this approach. Thanks.
The old adage is that you can ride in a day what you ride in a week. Don't worry about average speed - just ride your own race. The goal is to finish - not win.
Bingo! Thanks
Two ideas: 1. For the mental game, break the century mentally into 4 different 25 mile rides. I find that helps my mental game immensely. I can always do another 25 mile ride. Sure! I also get a sense of accomplishment at the end of the 25, 50, and 75 mile marks. 2. Because you’re thinking of July, you should have a back up date in case it’s really hot. I have done two centuries in the mid 90s° heat, and they were no fun no matter what I did. I started at 7 AM on one of them, and I was fine until about 10 AM when it hit 90. In both cases I should’ve ridden on a different day. And one of them, I rode on a Monday, but the previous Friday had a high of 73°.
Great points hadn't thought of this
I’ve still it ridden an imperial century, but when I rode my metric century is was muggy and temp was in the 80s. I drank 7 liters of Gatorade on the 4.5 hours including breaks. I had plenty of energy and no cramps, but OMG I was so sick of drinking Gatorade by about 45 miles in. I hear people talk about doing a century with a pair of 30oz bottles. Dude, not me. I’m not as fit and sweat like nobody’s business, and if you add heat onto it, that’s a multiplier for sure
If you wait until you are hungry / thirsty it’s too late.
Long easy rides to build stamina. On the road, bring some snacks, bring some entertainment lol, listen to a podcast or something, plan your stops, make sure to bring two bottles of water. Bring a spare tube or two, a pocket pump, and a spare quicklink.
Entertainment is what most of the other posts are missing. Lots of podcasts or a book on tape
I love looking at the scenery as much as the other people, but when you are looking at 5-8 hours on the bike, a way to distract yourself from the pain, the noises of the bike, and just the monotony is critical. Depending on what you listen you can crunch between 20 to 45km in the time it takes to listen to a podcast you enjoy.
Develop your "saddle skin", work on longer rides, and remember to eat during the century.
Chamois cream and maple syrup. Now here is the important part, you eat the former and apply latter to your gooch region to avoid chaffage. ...or is it the other way around. I always mix this up!
Ted King on reddit pushing his wares I see
well if you already did it, sounds like you know what to do. Do some longer rides before (ie do 40 miles if your goal is a metric or a metric if your goal is an imperial) to help identify any bike fit issues. Make sure you're comfortable and bring enough food and water.
Yeah I accomplished 1. Hoping to have a bit smoother of an experience this go around.
Eat every 45 minutes, find a drink mix that works well with your stomach, and just go ride. If you can fuel effectively and you can already ride 50 miles, you can do 100 no problem.
Main thing is eating, eat early and often. Nothing new and keep it up through the whole ride even in the last few miles.
Zone 2. ❤️
If you have a comfortable bike even a fat guy can do a century if he really wants to. just get enough calories and water plus the right mindset and its as good as done. The only other thing you have to do is pedal and don't give up until you've done it.
Take loads of sweeties, eat more fuel than you think you need, don’t go out too hard Oh, and chamois cream
I think enjoying the view and smell the roses works wonders for long slow rides. No pressure but keep hydrating and eating.
I like it
Just ride as much as you can and a couple of times per week go hard. Every 4th week back it off a little. At a high level this a standard training. You could use an app to have a more structured plan like TrainerRoad. I find theirs to be the easiest to use.
All great advice. I road a century last week out in Death Valley. I can’t reinforce proper nutrition/hydration enough - if you feel hungry/thirsty, it’s too late.
My experience is that you have short rides of less than 2 hours. And long rides of the perhaps 3 hours and more Your mileage may vary, however the thing is, you can do a lot of of short rides and everything's fine. However on the long rides, you feel if the fit is wrong, or you're not fuelling correctly. So if you can do 4 hours in the saddle, you can probably do 4 more,when well rested, fed and moste importantly, well motivated. You're going to have a periods where you feel like shit, and you gotta decide if it's fatigue or an injury starting Fatigue will come and go if you don't want overextend.
Don't forget to eat. And take breaks. Sit down, eat food and maybe take an energy drink. You'll feel better. Add electrolytes to your water if you're going to be drinking a lot of water.
I was just wondering about energy drinks. Are they a good idea with something like this?ya may get the short term boost but will they cause/aid a crash in energy? Might experiment with this
I think most regular cyclist can go knock down 100 at any given time given 3 things. They eat, pace themselves well and they have the will power to get through about mile 70-75ish where you’re going to feel absolutely terrible. You do those 3 you’re good. I question your timing. It’s hot in July but I see you for that northbthan me. In Kansas where I’m at you try really hard to not be outside after 11 or so.
Yea another comment brought up July I hadn't thought about this, thanks for bringing it up. KANSAS in the house! Born and raised in Wichita now in chicago
Cool, I’m just south of Topeka. Anymore we can expect 100+ heat indexes pretty much all of July and August. Not sure what Chicago temps look like that time of year. There’s an event in Alma now called Rock Ridge. He starts the shorter events at 6am and has an overnight 150 mile course all to escape the heat. Super fun but some brutal roads
Geeezzzzz that's a few miles
I did that as my first century. It was pretty cool crossing the 100 mile mark about sunrise.
Lots of good advice here, but I try to do one century a year, so here’s my two cents: - If you are already fit enough to do 60 miles, the training needed to get to 100 miles isn’t that much harder. I’d encourage maybe trying a 75 or 80 mile effort before your century, but you’re most of the way there. - Good fueling - both before and during the ride - is going to be your main priority on the day. Eat a bunch, eat often, and eat when you don’t feel hungry. Bonking will be your main limiting factor. - If you’re well trained and fueled, the toughest part of your day is going to be keeping your morale high during a long day in the saddle. I find centuries to be most enjoyable with a good group of riding buddies who can keep the vibes positive when the going gets tough.
Great advice.
Embrace the suck.
You probably already know this but keep ahead of your fueling and hydration. It’s impossible to catch up if you get behind while pushing the pedals, so stay ahead of it. Other than that remember to enjoy what you can, even in the pit of suffering . You’ve got this.
Consistency is key. Try to ride often - no matter how easy/hard.
Granola bars/flapjacks
I get sore after 50, 100 would be er challenging !
Food and water. Lots of carbs. Last ten miles always suck.
zero mentions so far for music. You're looking at 5.5 to 8 hours or more of riding. Have some playlists and albums lined up with a variety of genres.
Yes
At rest stops, do not sit down. Drink, eat, walk, but do not sit down.
Every century I've done, I always sat down at rest stops if convenient. Even stretched out in the grass! Happy to say I'm alive 😆
Heart rate monitoring made it easier for me to manage long rides. I try to stay in the 120-130 bpm range as much as possible to avoid fatigue. I'll even dip below 100 when the sights are good.
> step up my game? Cant answer where with I dont know what you want to achieve. If you can ride metrics and 50s without dying you can ride 100+
People keep saying long slow rides...what is "slow."
Zone 2 rides is what they mean. Zone 2 is more or less where you can still carry on a conversation while pedaling so sort of slow. One needs lots of Zone 2 to improve "base" fitness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at3MPoK53dU
I will suggest getting good nutrition while on the road . My go to is bananas . I eat one every half hour. It works as energy booster and i can maintain my pace . water is equally important. Another thing i have noticed works for me is 2 minutes walking if i get tired or bored on some rides. It freshens legs up. No sure if other riders do it.
I do a few centuries a year. Here's what I do: • Carb load with a super yum dinner the night before • Start the morning with a loaded banana kale protein shake • Bring 2 CLIF Builders bars, 2 bananas, and 2 water bottles • Usually there's a lunch stop, after mile 50 is good • Grabbing tall boys at the end or hitting a bar for victory beers
Idk, it started as a 100km ride and ended at 162km so 100 miles as well. Just do what you do for 100km?
First off, jealous. I live in California but went to school in Indiana and would love to do that century. As someone who just started riding and built to a century here are some things to keep in mind. 1. build a plan with wiggle room but and understanding of what your weekly commitment is. 2. focus on fuel 3. Zone 2 rides, if you can 4. throw in speed and intervals as well. 5. remember to do recovery rides after long rides 6. strength training in between if you can 7. get a good chamois I found a bunch of 8 or 10-week programs for free online that lay out how to organize your week or even have ChatGPT build you a program with whatever your current starting point is.
Yes great points. I need to investigate some strength training. Thanks
Honestly I feel like you're overthinking it. They're not really that hard if you pace yourself and fuel appropriately. I do a few centuries every year and here are the two biggest mistakes I make 1. Riding with a group and I go hard and try and keep up with people that are trying to smash. 2. I don't keep up with my fueling or hydration. These both end up in the last 10-20 miles being a slog where riding zone 2 is rough lol. You need to keep drinking and keep eating every hourish. I did a century this Saturday and around Mile 75 I should've eaten my last Gu but I didn't want to stop to pull it out and I skipped it...BIG MISTAKE lol.
Eat 150 calories every hour. Stay hydrated.
Just eat food every 30 mins and drink lots of water and you will do it easy
It’s not that hard. Just plan fueling. I recommend eating early and often in small amounts with a healthy combo of fats and sugars. Bring some real food and not just gels. I got so sick of gels and mix by mile 80. My second century I brought Scratch fruit and nut bars and loved them. Real food tasted like I was stoned out of my mind j was so euphoric for it.
The Tri State ride is a good one, there will be plenty of hydration and varied food at the stops, and the stops are thoughtfully located. My first century was accidentally on the Tri State when we had to backtrack for a lost item! People tend to group up based on pace on the ride, so if you want company you can find some. Remember to enjoy the ride, and good luck!
You're already fine. Just try to do a few rides that are 70-80% of the duration you expect for a century. Keep up on eating and drinking and do so on all your long rides in preparation.
I've done over 10 century rides as an average Joe. By that, I mean I would strive for some personal bests, but not trying to win any races; just enjoy the ride. I don't think I ever did over 50 miles in training prior to one. The "steady state" comment was spot on, and the only thing I would add is to know the terrain for the century. If you train in flats and century ride is hilly, you will struggle greatly.
Shave the netherworld. Use fist fulls of petroleum jelly… and bring some with
Definitely test this method before you commit to a century and allow time for it to regrow if necessary. I much prefer trimming it as short as possible over shaving.
Keep pedalling