Yep, I'm anxious - so far have not been riding, have not been disciplined, have not put in the time...
I've gone out for about 4 rides, a couple 20 miles, a hilly 15, one 40 mile ride... About 100 miles total in the last three weeks. Now, I signed for a century May 20... I'm mid 20s in good shape, lift weights, but horrible aerobic shape... Plus at 200lbs lean the hills are killing me. 40 mile ride I averaged 12.5 mph with winds blowing me all over the place. What do you think?
What do I need to do now to be there by May 20? I'm going to start riding in to work this week, which should give me about 9 miles each way every day... Can anybody help me with a program, should I start putting a couple 50 mile rides a week, or will 20 miles 4 days a week work, or do I need to do a couple killer 80+ miles? The problem is time, and cruising at 15-18 mph, 30-40 miles that's 2-3 hours... I can do that on the weekend I guess... Please, give me your input, what do you think? Any perspectives will be appreciated...
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
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Plain old miles are what's needed. Do what you can during the week (take a day off, too). Do a longer ride on the weekend, increasing the mileage each time. It seems you know what to do. Do it.
BearsPaw
What do you think?
I think you'll be fine if ride as much as you can before then without over doing it, and if you pace yourself on the day of the century. You need a certain amount of physical ability, but a large part of it is mental.
Last weekend I rode a 100 miles on a bike loaded with gear and then rode 65 more miles the next day. (Philadelphia, PA to Reston, VA) I had never riden more than ~40 miles at once before, and was a little scared the night before that I'd be unable to make it all the way. When it was over, I was surprised at how easy it had been.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.
donrhummy
I think there's a few things you need to train here:
1. you need to be able to take the intensity required to get up hills and then continue riding
2. You need to prepare/train your body for sitting on a bike for 100 miles
I know everyone says, 'if you've done 60 miles, you can do 100," but trust me, if you haven't sat on a bike for that many miles in one ride, you're gonna be hurting and might have to stop your ride even though physically/aerobically you might still be able to continue. Your back might give out, your neck might, your butt will be killing, your groin, etc.
I'd say do this: don't ride to work each day, instead ride 4 times a week like this:
Sunday: long ride
Monday: short recovery ride (perhaps ride to work this day)
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: interval ride (ride to work easily, on ride home do hill intervals where you ride up a hill 3-4 times with 1-2 minute rest in between, then rest and do that whole sequence 1 more time)
Thursday: off
Friday: off
Saturday: 1 hour EASY riding
The Sunday ride you should do the miles like this:
Week 1: 50
Week 2: 60
Week 3: 70
Week 4: 80
Week 5: 90
Then week 6 you do only VERY short recovery rides (maybe only 30-45 minutes) on monday, wednesday and then your century on saturday.
I think biking everyday would be too much since you're just picking it up now and you don't want to overstress your joints and muscles - you need recovery days.
Also, on the long days, do NOT push it too hard. Simply aim for one smooth pace the whole way. Intensity will be taken care of on the interval day, the sunday ride is only for miles.
Anyways, that's what i'd do. :)
blue_nose
I think training to 90 miles is not really necessary, but obviously will not hurt. Personally, if you can build up to 75 miles, you will be fine. I found this site very helpful when training for my first long distance events:
http://www.ultracycling.com/training/century.html
ericgu
You need two things:
1) More aerobic base. This is mostly just riding at a comfortable pace - if you're out of breath, you're going to hard.
2) Experience riding for long periods. You need to fit in rides that get you on the bike for 4 or 5 hours (look for time rather than distance) so that you can figure out what works with food/sports drinks and hydration. If you don't get that right, you will at best have a miserable time, and perhaps not even finish.
You can throw in a few intervals, but keep it light. You aren't going to see great gains in a month.
Oh, bonus tip.
I think it's better to ride 30 miles one day and then skip a day rather than ride 15 miles two days in a row. More stress and then rest is better than constant stress.
Do you have somebody to ride with? Can you find somebody from your local riding club, or whoever puts on the ride? A century in a group is about 1000 times better even without the benefits of drafting...
supcom
My two cents is that if you are only averaging 12.5 mph on a 40 mile ride, then you should not be contemplating a 100 mile ride in less than two months time. That's not to say you can't do it, but your risk of not finishing and your risk of injury are greatly increased. Without a good base and experience doing longer rides, it's going to be difficult to know your proper pace and to eat and drink adequately for a long ride.
Doing "killer" rides is not a good way to train for an endurance event. It will likely just cause an injury. the best stategy is to do a steady and moderate increase in mileage so your knees and tendons can adjust to the strain of hours of continuous use. If you are planning a very hilly century, it's even more critical to condition your knees correctly.
donrhummy
My two cents is that if you are only averaging 12.5 mph on a 40 mile ride, then you should not be contemplating a 100 mile ride in less than two months time.
That makes no sense at all. If he is fine doing a 10-11 hour century (which many people have done) I don't see why he couldn't EASILY achieve that in 2 months. And actually, I think he could do better than a 10-11 hour century in 2 months time.
Mach42
Hi, Romulus, I'm in the same boat as you are. Heck, I might even be in the same century as you (Cycle SLC Century? May 20th also!). Since this is only my first half-year on a bike, I'm training to do the metric century loop for 64 miles, but if I'm strong enough, I'll be shooting for the full century loop. I'm trying to fit in rides but with school, work, and a craptacular schedule between those two, it's hard.
I'm up to 30 mile rides on the weekends and hoping to push it to 40 or by the end of the month.
Donrhummy, thanks for the schedule. It seems feasable and will get me to the metric century at the very least.
Now to find the time. :D
Romulus
Thanks to everybody for the information... I know the concern of doing the century considering I have averaged 12.5 on a 40 mile ride, but it was the wind, it took me 2:15 one way and only 45 minutes back... On a relatively flat, small grades terrain I push 16 mph averages. I did a 80 mile ride last year, and you are right, it was much easier than I thought... even though the last 10 miles I was ready to walk up the hill... West of Philadelphia it is relatively hilly, and by hilly I mean you run into quarter mile hills of 35 degrees, whatever that is in grade... I will let you know how it goes... I am in very good shape overall, just need to kick in the aerobic shape... get those legs going... I think I can ride to work, and then take the long rides on saturday and sunday... perhaps toss a long ride on wednesday on the way back... will see... I will update you...
It's been again very busy in the last week, but today I put in 20 miles at 15 mph through city traffic... Work and back...
zowie
I'm in this boat too. Planning for century on 5/22 - one month from now.
Thought it'd be a piece of cake because I was finishing 1/2s and metrics pretty strong last year.
Unfortunately, I have been having a really hard time fitting rides in so far because of weather, family and work, and I'm also really feeling the 15 lbs I packed on this winter (when I really needed to lose at least 15). I figure if I ride easy enough and eat/drink well I'll have enough cardiovascular endurance to finish, but I'm worried about pain and cramps.
We'll see. I'm not backing out.
Machka
Here .... a little inspirational reading for you, plus some training ideas:
http://www.machka.net/century.htm
GuitarWizard
With really no cycling base, I think you're going to be a hurting unit. Sure, you can get yourself into much better aerobic shape with a solid month of riding than you're currently at now, but you really need the base miles in if you want to be at all comfortable while doing the ride.
With that being said, if you're still aiming to make a go of it, a limited base is better than no base at all....and yes, I've done a century+ with no cycling base.....it wasn't a lot of fun, and I wasn't exactly out of shape at the time, either. Make sure you eat and drink enough on the ride.
aham23
With really no cycling base, I think you're going to be a hurting unit. Sure, you can get yourself into much better aerobic shape with a solid month of riding than you're currently at now, but you really need the base miles in if you want to be at all comfortable while doing the ride.
With that being said, if you're still aiming to make a go of it, a limited base is better than no base at all....and yes, I've done a century+ with no cycling base.....it wasn't a lot of fun, and I wasn't exactly out of shape at the time, either. Make sure you eat and drink enough on the ride.
so what is a good base? how many miles should we have under our shorts before we partake in a May century? thanks. later.
zowie
Here .... a little inspirational reading for you, plus some training ideas:
http://www.machka.net/century.htm
That's a nice page.
Artmo
Thanks to everybody for the information... I know the concern of doing the century considering I have averaged 12.5 on a 40 mile ride, but it was the wind, it took me 2:15 one way and only 45 minutes back... On a relatively flat, small grades terrain I push 16 mph averages. I did a 80 mile ride last year, and you are right, it was much easier than I thought... even though the last 10 miles I was ready to walk up the hill... West of Philadelphia it is relatively hilly, and by hilly I mean you run into quarter mile hills of 35 degrees, whatever that is in grade... I will let you know how it goes... I am in very good shape overall, just need to kick in the aerobic shape... get those legs going... I think I can ride to work, and then take the long rides on saturday and sunday... perhaps toss a long ride on wednesday on the way back... will see... I will update you...
It's been again very busy in the last week, but today I put in 20 miles at 15 mph through city traffic... Work and back...
And don't forget nutrition prior to and during the ride.
For the two days before the ride, load up on carbs - pasta dishes are great
The night before the ride have a pasta dish, but don't have spicy food. Don't eat after about 9.00pm
two hours before the ride have a bowl of oatmeal and a banana, plus a drink at least 16oz of fluids
at 20 miles eat an energy bar - drink
at 40, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a turkey sandwich and fig newtons - drink every 30 min at least
at 65 miles eat a Milky Way - drink
at 85 miles drink Gu2O or similar
at 100 miles eat chicken and pasta within two hours
Carry extra snacks with you even if there are rest stops. carry Energy Gels
Good luck. At 20, it should be no problem for you.
donrhummy
Just an aside here.
I am NOT from the camp that you only need to do a 65-75 mile ride to be ready to do a century. Sure, in the short term you'll complete a century, but in the long term you're doing yourself a disservice. For example, a friend of mine wanted to ride a century about 13 years ago. He worked up to doing 70 miles in one shot (which I think he did once) before the century. He did complete the century but around mile 75 or so his knee started really hurting him, as did his back and butt to lesser degrees. He completed the century in absolute pain. As well, he got sick off the power bars he was eating. Well, his knee was hurt so badly, he couldn't ride for 8 months. He also was a bit sick of biking and did it only occasionally over the next two years. And now? He hasn't biked in 10 years; instead he plays tennis.
Will that happen to you? Maybe not, but pushing yourself 100% in an event you've never tried before and only trained to 66% of is asking for injury and mental stress. During the event you'll have adrenaline pumping and it'll be hard to hold yourself back as much as you could in a training ride of 100 miles. Just my own 2 cents. :)
Machka
That's a nice page.
Thanks ... and the information comes from many, many years of experience and nearly 100 centuries or longer rides. :)
Machka
so what is a good base? how many miles should we have under our shorts before we partake in a May century? thanks. later.
Pretty much anyone in any sort of reasonable physical shape can hop on a bicycle and ride a century. It probably won't be comfortable ... but it's doable.
However, IMO, if you are able to comfortably ride 100 miles or more a week, and have been doing so for several weeks, you can be relatively comfortable on a century. By doing that, you will have worked on bicycle fit issues, you'll have some idea if your saddle is comfortable or not, you'll have gotten some miles in so that your legs are more used to the idea of pedalling for a while, and hopefully you will have done some experimenting with nutrition.
If you've got a century coming up in 3 weeks though, and you aren't at the point of being comfortable with 100 miles a week, my suggestion would be to get out and get riding. Don't worry about doing intervals or anything like that ... just take the distance you're comfortable with right now, add a few miles to it, do that for 2 or 3 days, then add a few miles to it, and do that for 2 or 3 days ... and build up. Don't forget to rest 1 or 2 days a week in order to build your muscles.
aham23
Great info so far guys. My concerns deal with the food and eating. I will carry Cliff Bars, GU gels, 24 oz Accelerade and 24 oz water. I have tested out this stuff out on shorter ride of 30 to 40 miles but never all of it all together. So, how much and when do I start? What goes first, bar, GU, drink? GU gels state take one 15 minutes before then every 45 minutes after during activity. So that would be around 8 gels? Seems like a lot to me. Thanks for any tips. Later.
!!Comatoa$ted
I found what has realy helped me latlely is to eat lots of food on the road. Every 15 or 20 minutes I nibble on something so there is always a bit of food in the tank.
Last ride which was over 100k, mostly into 30-40 k head winds, I took 3 bananas, 20 dates, a whey protein fortified power bar, 2 bottles of water, and 2 of gatoraide. I found that I did not really feel tired or uncomfortable. The funny thing is that usually on anything over 50K I get real sore soulders and back, and into the wind I am almost incapacitated at the end. But this time all I had was tired legs at the end, and I was able to maintain an average of about 25 kmph.
Wait till that wind shifts direction I will be able to fly. I am still aiming to cruise at an average of about 33 kmph but anytime I go out it is into the wind. Hopefully this is making me stronger cause I am gonna need it if I am to do a century a week starting in June
Machka
Great info so far guys. My concerns deal with the food and eating. I will carry Cliff Bars, GU gels, 24 oz Accelerade and 24 oz water. I have tested out this stuff out on shorter ride of 30 to 40 miles but never all of it all together. So, how much and when do I start? What goes first, bar, GU, drink? GU gels state take one 15 minutes before then every 45 minutes after during activity. So that would be around 8 gels? Seems like a lot to me. Thanks for any tips. Later.
I'd save the GUs for emergencies. They are intended more for people who race who need a sudden and short term burst of energy and not so much for people riding centuries. They can be good to bring on a century in case you need a sudden burst of energy, or in case you are having trouble stomaching real food, but I wouldn't recommend depending on them.
Aim to eat 250-300 calories per hour, and get those calories from a combination of energy bars (and/or bananas, dried apricots, salted almonds, cookies, pastries, hamburgers, subs, etc.) and your sports drink. Nibble your food rather than trying to down a whole energy bar at one time ... it goes down better that way.
Aim to drink one 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink every 1 to 1.5 hours.
aham23
OK, last question, I am thinking of going with two bottles of Accelerade and a Camelbak with water. The question, is a Camelbak NOT cool in the roadie world? I only have two bottle holders and think for a century a smaller say 50oz Camelbak would be smart? Thanks for all the great info. Later.
zowie
OK, last question, I am thinking of going with two bottles of Accelerade and a Camelbak with water. The question, is a Camelbak NOT cool in the roadie world?
Why in the world should that even be a question?
aham23
Uh, cause I want to be cool and fit in? Really, just wondering if a Camelbak is a good idea for a century. Does it strain the back? Is it not cool, like say showing up with hiking boots for riding shoes? I dont know, just a question. Later.
Albany-12303
A 10 or 11 hour century?
Granted, it wont be hard on the legs and the slow speed should prevent bonking but unless you are used to long days in the saddle (like Machka) then you are bound to have a very sore butt!
supcom
Uh, cause I want to be cool and fit in? Really, just wondering if a Camelbak is a good idea for a century. Does it strain the back? Is it not cool, like say showing up with hiking boots for riding shoes? I dont know, just a question. Later.
You will see plenty of people wearing CamelBaks. You will also see plenty of people without them. However, keep in mind that most organized century rides have rest stops every 10-15 miles stocked with water and sports drink. A couple bottles should be sufficient in all but the most extreme conditions to get you from one rest stop to the next. A CamelBak is great if you don't want to stop very often or you want to carry a particular sports drink but don't want to have to keep mixing it up one bottle at a time.
As far as looking cool goes, no matter what you do, you'll find groups that you fit in with and groups that you don't. Chances are that those who would look down at a CamelBak probably will be riding way out ahead of you anyway.
I can wear a CamelBak all day with no problem. Some people find the shoulder straps annoying after a few hours, but it doesn't bother me.
Romulus
Life is not always as expected... I ended being very very busy in the last months... So have been the people that I'm planning to ride, but at least they have double the miles that I have. So far I've put only 260 miles this year with an average of about 14 miles in 8 rides. The group has gone down to doing a metric century with which I should be relatively fine.
I did 50 this weekend up where the ride it's going to be, and even the metric century will be painful I think for me. The problem is the hilly terrain up in central PA, and after about mile 50 any incline even a couple percent as small as any out there forces me into granny gear at 7-8mph uphill. We were going to do 60, but luckily for me my chain snapped a little bit past 50. I did the 50 on no energy though after a full night of partying and 2 hours of sleep.
Next week I'll be well prepared. And thankfully, I have the greatest people riding along that I am sure will pull me through. Good people make a difference between life and death on such rides.