Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Trying for my first century

Just wanted to get any recommendations for training or psychological conditioning ;) For doing my first century this september.

I know it's next to nothing for folks who do brevets and that sort of thing, but it's a long ride for me... and I'm getting back on the bike after a laziness layoff.

Seems like an endless distance from where I'm standing, but I have until September 10th...

Also, anyone in Brooklyn know of any New York area rides that are a bit more interesting than the prospect park loop for training? I should try and work on climbing a bunch, so that would help...

Thanks!

Just wanted to get any recommendations for training or psychological conditioning ;) For doing my first century this september.

I know it's next to nothing for folks who do brevets and that sort of thing, but it's a long ride for me... and I'm getting back on the bike after a laziness layoff. It hasn't been that long since I did my first century on a Trek 730 hybrid, so I can sympathize with the immensity of the task.

Machka (http://www.machka.net/century.htm) has a pretty good site regarding century training, and I would reinforce the mental aspect of breaking the ride down into smaller parts. It's not a 100 mile ride. It is a set of 10 rides that are each 10 miles long. Focus on completing the first ten. Reward yourself with a bit of rest if you feel like you need it. Then focus on finishing the next 10 mile ride. etc. Repeat until you get to 100 miles.

For training, riding 70 miles in one go is definitely a good benchmark for century prep. Plan on achieving this about two weeks before your actual event or earlier. You want to take the week before the century easy so that your muscles are fresh. Ride during the week as much as you can to maintain fitness between your long, weekend rides.

Remember as well, eat before you're hungry and drink before you're thirsty. Finish your water bottle every 20 miles. Eat something every 15 miles. Eat sooner if you start to feel a little tired. It is also better for your stomach to nibble constantly rather than to gorge yourself at rest stops.

Take advantage of drafting in group pace lines, but don't get seduced into trying to keep up with a group that is going faster than what your comfort speed. Pelotons can be great in efficiently cutting out wind drag, but you're wasting all of those energy savings if you're hammering to keep up with your peers.

and above all, have fun with all of it. You're starting at a good time. Even with a bit of a laziness layoff, two months should be sufficient time for someone to get into century shape.

Where are you starting from? In other words, what's your longest ride been lately? If you are doing 100k rides, then doing a century by September should be no problem. If you are only up to 15 miles you have a challenge ahead of you.

I do a somewhat hilly training loop, 5 k around, about 10 14 or 17 miles for training rides during the week, and am comfortably doing flatter stuff of 30 plus miles on the weekends... hoping for a metric century later this month.

It's going to be tough, but it's not a particularly tough century ride. It's the New York Century, which can't possibly have the kind of climbing that the tougher rides have.

Either that, or I'll just do the Montauk Century course (the 100 miler from Babylon Long Island) solo in September sometime. I have the cue sheets for it.

Lots of stops on the NY century. the streets are not closed and you are in queens most of the time....I h8 queens. May I suggest the Seagull century in Ocean City Md in Oct is a nice flat century with good support? btw: I perferr to trian in CPk vice PPk, or even Flyod Bennett field. Oh, there is also a century that takes you down the Jersey shore, that should be fun.

I'd suggest ditching the mileage computer on the first one.

Also, anyone in Brooklyn know of any New York area rides that are a bit more interesting than the prospect park loop for training? I should try and work on climbing a bunch, so that would help...


Look at a bike map http://www.transalt.org/info/maps.html and get creative as you go along. There are a lot of routes you can cycle other than the PP dog run. You can go to the Rockaways (and beyond), which is really flat. You can do the north shore of Long Island, which has some climbing, or you can go north into Westchester (and beyond) which is hillier still. This is how I started doing greater distances, picking destinations ever further on the map. I just planned and completed a solo century, ending up in Waterbury CT. (Very advanced, killer climbs...just about all climbing). Have fun with it, plot out your own route http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/