Training & Nutrition - What to bring to first century?

I know i need tools , tubes, and all that stuff but do i need to bring food and my camelback or am i using waterbottles. I also have never ridden in anything in the back jersey pockets as i only do mountain biking and have a camelback, but want to try a century. So i am worrieed that since i am not used to carrying stuff there, i should just bring my camelback. What do you guys think??

Originally posted by Mambwe
I know i need tools , tubes, and all that stuff but do i need to bring food and my camelback or am i using waterbottles. I also have never ridden in anything in the back jersey pockets as i only do mountain biking and have a camelback, but want to try a century. So i am worrieed that since i am not used to carrying stuff there, i should just bring my camelback. What do you guys think??

Well, mostly what I carry there is a banana, perhaps a "nutrition bar" of some sort or two and not a whole lot more.

It really depends on the Century - how often are the rest stops, how tough is the terrain, etc? Are there stores that will be open along the way?

Nothing wrong with a Camelbak - and it also depends on the type of Camelbak - some have a lot of space for carrying stuff, some don't.

I have ridden with only waterbottles (one filled with a sports drink - I prefer Performance) and one with water. I have ridden with waterbottles AND a Camelbak when the terrain was tough and the rest stops sparse and far between.

You will have to make up your own mind.

By the way, if you still have knobbies, replace them with 1.25 or 1.5 x 26 slicks before the ride.

i always think of centuries as 4 or 5 consecutive 20-25 mile rides. and the organizer's think that too,. i'd just wear jersey that allows for storage - - > take extra cookies,etc from rest stops to sustain you if you feel you need it. i usually carry 2 bottles, one for water and one for gatorade.....

good luck.... enjoy the ride.

I've found a camelback (HAWG) works well. There is plenty of room for the extra clothing I peel off as the day warms up. Also the extra water capacity is great in hot weather. The water stays cooler too.

For unsupported centuries I like to carry a pair of flip flops to go into restaurants. I prefer road pedals for long rides so this keeps me duck walking off the bike.

Before I switched to a camelback I'd have my seatbag and pockets packed full by the end of the ride. I'd occasionally lose things and getting at my energy bar wasn't always convenient.

On a hot day my two large waterbottles weren't always enough to get me to the next stop (especially true if you ride unsupported).

What do you guys mean by unsupported? Also what would be a good breakfast for the morning of the race? I also know i need to eat 3 hours before i just do not know what to eat. Thanks for all the replies it really helps.

Originally posted by Mambwe
What do you guys mean by unsupported? Also what would be a good breakfast for the morning of the race? I also know i need to eat 3 hours before i just do not know what to eat. Thanks for all the replies it really helps.

If you alone or you and some of your friends decided to go on a 100 mile ride just for the heck of it, that would be an unsupported century. A lot of folks on this forum do just that. If you go on an organized century with a start and a stop and break places and portapottys and drink and food - that is a supported century - probably have a jersey or t shirt also to commemorate the event.

I personally do not go for the 3 hour before the ride meal - just doesn't fit my metabolism. I eat about an hour before, and I have real oatmeal and juice. But, this is a VERY individual matter, and not something you should try just the day of the century.

BEFORE the century, try out different things and see what works for YOU. Some folks like eggs - eggs would make me barf. In this case, it is truly to each his own, as all of our metabolisms are QUITE different.

Oh . . . remember to have fun. That is what it is all about.

On a 160 km ride with a half-dozen guys, I would expect to stop once -- maybe twice or three times if I had to answer a call of nature, more often for watering if it was hot. That one stop would be at a convenience store for 10 minutes, to get water, gatorade and food and to stretch. I would have two large bottles full of 60/40 water/gatorade, a baggie with 6-8 fig newtons [that is, 66-88g of carbohydrate], an energy bar [@ 40g of carbohydrate] and that's about it.

My typical pre-century ritual meal:

A bowl of Cheerios with goat milk and strawberries.
A piece of toast.
Two eggs.
A piece of ham.
Coffee.

In othjer words, a pretty normal big breakfast.

I've never bonked on a century.

It's not what you eat that morning near as much as what you have eaten, and not eaten, the 3 or 4 days before.

In the three or four days before you need to get good rest. You need to eat very sensibly for you (for me a day without HOT peppers is a day without sunshine). Do not over load with fats or what ever your body defines as heavy food. Be sure to drink properly......in other words prepare for the event.

The difference in 4 - 25 mile rides and a 100 mile ride is there is no rest and recuprate time in between. You have to eat during the ride. You have to not push the early stages. If your early stages are too hard, there will be no later stages.

Just like weight training there is a point that the muscle decides to stop...."no more reps, dude". If you hit that point, its over.

a hundred miles is a long ways, take it slow at the first and then have the fun and satisfication of finishing.

When I take a long ride I have problems when I stop to eat.. my stomach cramps. I have read that woman empty their stomach slower? and may get cramping when eating.

Good luck on your first 100 miler!! just have fun and smell the cow patties! if you are in an area with such rewards....


Annie:fun:

Mambwe,

A supported century typically has rest/food stops every ~20 miles, and should have support (SAG) vehicles riding the course looking for people who have had a mechanical, or have bonked.

If you're paying for a supported century, travel light, have a good time, and avail yourself of the rest stops, grabbing enough goodies to get you to the next one while you're there. Many organizers don't provide food/drinks at the start, so bring enough for the first leg. I eat a largish, normal breakfast, at least 1 hour before starting. 2 hours if I'm going to attempt a land speed record.

If the ride has a web page, it should tell how many rest stops and about how far apart they are. If not, you can contact the organizers.

Congrats in advance on the first century!

(next topic: saddle sores ;) )

Be sure you drink lots of water the day or two before the ride and lots of water during and after the ride.

Among other things the lack of proper hydration causes cramps. :(
This is the voice of experience speaking. :eek:

Originally posted by Mambwe
I know i need tools , tubes, and all that stuff but do i need to bring food and my camelback or am i using waterbottles. I also have never ridden in anything in the back jersey pockets as i only do mountain biking and have a camelback, but want to try a century. So i am worrieed that since i am not used to carrying stuff there, i should just bring my camelback. What do you guys think??

It depends. Organized centuries usually have rest stop with food and water provided. On those you don't need to bring as much stuff.

For breakfast, I eat a bowl of cereal, an orange and a banana.

On the bike, I have my 72 ounce Camal Back and 1 18 oz water bottle. Under less than sauna conditions, I can get about 50 miles out of this. I will carry salt. If I sweat much more than 2 Camal Backs, I will need to eat some salt to avoid hyponatriumia. The fruit provides a decent source of the other electrolytes. I don't fool with sports drinks but most people like them. Sports drinks by the way, do not provide significant amounts of sodium (sodium tastes too salty to be palatable in useful concentrations is drinks). By the way, I sweat profusely so am prone to hyponatruimia.

In an unsupported century, I will carry 2 bananas and 2 oranges. I eat 2 of them at about 30 miles and the other 2 at 60 miles. After that, I will eat cookies at the convenience store for the 80 mile stop.

Supported centuries will usually have oranges and bananas at rest stops and lots good yummy BAD stuff also (YUM). On a good organized century, I just carry water and salt.

Originally posted by Pat
I will carry salt.

This brings to mind something vlad posted in the T&N forum several weeks ago. His suggestion was (I think) to add 1/2 tspn Morton Lite Salt per 2 liters in his Camelbak. Lite salt because it's a mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride... so you get both electrolytes. I tried it recently on a particularly hilly century (http://www.bikemountainmama.com/) and it worked great... no cramps, anyway.

Originally posted by roadbuzz


This brings to mind something vlad posted in the T&N forum several weeks ago. His suggestion was (I think) to add 1/2 tspn Morton Lite Salt per 2 liters in his Camelbak. Lite salt because it's a mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride... so you get both electrolytes. I tried it recently on a particularly hilly century (http://www.bikemountainmama.com/) and it worked great... no cramps, anyway.

I tried it to....could not stand the taste in the water.

BUT, since it is lighter in sodium and gives me a daily dose of passitum(sp), I have started using the Morton lite salt instead of regular salt.

I like to give everyone something to talk about, I ride my touring bike with trunk bag, fenders and rear panniers, I leave my night rider in place and carry three water bottles. I carry all my tubes and tools that I generally carry and a good supply of food. I usually ride from my home to the start of the ride if it's under 100 miles away, I ride the century, then ride home. Sometimes it takes more then 1 day. At the start of the ride my bike usually weighs around 55 pounds. I always have a great time and meet many new people, cycling is a great sport, good for the body and good for the mind.