Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Remember your first century (100 miles)?

If so ... tell us about it!


Mine was in 1994. I had been following a training plan I found in a book (although I can't remember which book). I had done about 65 miles and that went well, so 2 or 3 weeks later, I decided to do 80 miles. Then I was going to do my century a couple weeks later.

However the morning of the 80 mile ride, the weather was great and I felt good, so I figured, "why not just finish off the last 20 miles and get my century now!"

My ride was a solo, and consisted of a series of loops of about 25 kms through the city, into the local park, along a quiet road with mansions on either side, and back to my apartment again where I refilled my bottles and ate a little bit. After about 4 or 5 of these loops I got bored and started doing a different, but shorter loop, until I was finished.

Using loops was a great idea (although a little bit boring) which I've used on many occasions since to do centuries, especially winter centuries.

Unfortunately though, I really had no idea about eating and drinking on long rides. Back then the big thing was trail mix (GORP) ... and I've since discovered peanuts and I don't get along. I also remember having a few small perogies on one stop. That was about it!

The last 20 miles was very painful and slow ... and if I weren't the stubborn person I am, I would likely have quit. But I was determined to finish!!

I did ... and then I announced that I would NEVER do something like that again!! :lol: :lol:



The 100+ centuries I've done since then have been much easier than that one ... amazing the difference eating and drinking regularly can make! :)


What was your first century like?

My first century was decided on the fly too. I was initally going to do a long loop around Lake candlewood, going out to NY rt 22 rather than riding closely through Sherman and New Fairfield. When I got to the point of decision, I decided to ride to Kent. After riding to Kent, I decided "That wasn't too bad, I wonder how far it is to the MA border?"

Answer: 51 miles-- and 51 miles back.

Mine was the Apple Cider Century just over a year ago. Great ride in SW Michigan and through parts of Northern Indiana.

I rode it solo and learned a lot about my capabilities to pace myself, join others in a pseudo-paceline to conserve my strength, and about riding in a gentle early autumn rain. It rained the last 39 or so miles, but thankfully was not cold, so it was more refreshing than anything.

I remember getting back to my in-laws place, happy knowing they had a hot tub, but once I got back I laid down and slept for 11 hours!

This year, I've done about 6 or 7 100 milers, the most recent was yesterday with a bunch of forum members at the "BFNIC Century." Ride reports and pics are trickling over in the Great Lakes forum (link below).

100 miles was a mental block last year, but something I know I can do and am constantly improving in pacing and overall speed.

December 1999, 173 in the Tweed Valley in Northern NSW, including about 20km on dirt roads. Actually, it's now one of my regular century "training" rides, so beautiful is the scenery in that part of the world (although I've changed the route after Uki to add more dirt and less suburbia). The thing I recall most about the first ride is that it didn't actually dawn on me for a while that I'd gone over 100 miles. I just thought of it as preparation for my first tour which was about six weeks away, and beating my previous best distance (155km).

My first was around 1987. It was called the Dripping Springs Classic and was somewhere west of Austin, TX. I am from totally flat Houston and the hills had quite an effect on me. The last 15 miles were torture. I think my total time was just under 6 hours. But what I remember most about the ordeal was visiting a friend in Chorpus the previous 3 or 4 days before leaving for my sisters house in Austin. I got a late start and didn't get into Austin until midnight. I had to get up by 5:30 to make it to DS. I grabbed a quick breakfast (probably Pop Tarts) and headed out. After the ride I headed back to Houston. BTW all the non bicycle travel was by motorcycle with bike on the back. I made it home by 6pm or so only to recieve a phone call from a girl who wanted to go out to the Rodeo at the Astodome. We went to the fair, ate a bunch of greasy food and did a bunch of the spinning and rollor coaster type rides. It was the first and only time I have ever puked on a ride. I felt pretty bad and we had to leave early. I guess it was a little too much for the day.

The Tour de Palm Springs in 2004. I wanted to get an early start, so I was in the second group they let go. My adreline was pumping, so I rode faster than I should have. By mile 60 I was starting to run out of steam. It got better by mile 75 and I was barely able to make it to the finish line. The tank was empty, but I did it! 104 miles! Woo Hoo!

I learned that I need to pace myself at the beginning of a century so that I can have something for the finish. Also learned to coast whenever possible. :) A little stretching at the rest stops helps, too.

In '84 I did a tour with a friend from college. One day his odometer showed 97 miles, so he rode 3 miles around the campground for a century. I thought he was a nut.
The next year I was in Kentucky en route Florida. Our campground choices were at 65 miles or 117 miles.

I didn't ride around the campground much that day either.

My first metric century I did on my own earlier this year. Bought a bike in April and I had been riding for about two months. Got home and collapsed into bed. Was exhausted. Had pushed too hard at the start and paid the price. Three weeks ago did 160kms (108m) and last weekend rode 220kms (132m) at an average of 24km/h 14.4mph. (not including some short water and food stops) It. At 42 years old, I am finding it takes a couple of days to recharge my batteries, but at the end of the rides I am tired, but not exhausted. Eating and drinking regimes are the key. Keep eating good food and all is well. I like fruit & nut bread with honey. The mid week intervals help a lot too. Am training for the melbourne "around the bay in a day" in two weeks time. 250 kms(150m) route. This is the longest route of the event, most do 210kms and others, but there are 11,000 people registered. Hope the weather holds out! www.bv.com.au (http://www.bv.com.au)

First century. Solo ride Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Plotted the route and caught a ride home with a friend.

First group century. SFVBC training ride for the Grand Tour. 160 miles.

First 'organized' centrury. The Grand Tour 2 weeks later. Part way through I was thinking it would have been easier to do the lowland triple than the highland double.

First ond only organized 'normal' century. The Lighthouse century. That was a rather unique experience. It was also a highland and lowland ride. The two had a common route for about the first 15 miles. For that part I was passing people with ease. After they split and there was climbing I was the one being passed, until they came back to a common route then I was back to passing people.

I even remember my first metric century! Autumn in Bonham, Bonham, TX, Oct. 2002. 63 miles

First real century was Hotter 'N Hell, Aug. 2003. 102 miles.

This year, I've done 29 centuries so far. What a difference a few years can make.

My first century was the 2006 PMC, the first day. It was 110 miles of hilliness and back roads. it was probably one of the greatest things I have ever expirenced. Of course I went on to doing another 86 miles averaging about 25 mph...

My first was the NYC Century on a Rigid SS MTB. I had just started riding again and found out about the century on BF the week of the ride and decided to try it. The SS was the only bike I had in NYC. The ride was fantastic, the people, course, support and the sponsors really made my ride. Even the NYPD helped make the ride memorable.

I just finshed my second century this weekend, the Tour De Poway in California. This century was a little too hilly to ride with no training but I finished.

Funny, I just posted some of this elsewhere...
My wife's cousin is a serious rider and he had been trying to get me to re-start riding for years. I had built a road bike not long after I moved to NYC planning to start riding after grad school but marriage, kids, buying our own house... we all know the story. (I had been an avid mountain biker before and during grad school.) My new bike was in the basement with four years of saw dust on it and the tires still had those little nibs...

Anyway, my cousin said to me this past March, "So, we're doing the Montauk Century this year." He said it with such conviction I replied "Of course..." thinking I had told him at some other point that we would do the ride.

Now I was committed.

So, I broke that road bike out, started half commuting to work. (I would ride in on Monday and take mass transit home that night; then MTA in on Tuesday and ride home that night. Off Wed. then the same on Thurs and Friday.) Did that for a few weeks then added round trip on Wed. Pretty soon I was doing 25-30 miles/day and longer rides on the weekends.

I did a metric as training in April (kind of by accident. It should have been a fifty mile ride but a track fire in Manhattan forced us to ride home and it wound up being 68 miles.) Did the Montauk and have now done the NYC Century too.

My single biggest piece of advice is don't do anything different for the century. Don't eat different, don't wear different clothes, don't ride different, don't eat different, don't drink different, don't eat different, etc. Trust your training and just have fun. Oh, and did I mention don't eat different? Suffice to say, the last half of my ride through the Hamptons and out to Montauk was a never ending quest for porta potties.

I rode my first century in August of 1987. My Dad & I rode from Lexington, KY to Hanover, IN, where I was in school. We were both runners & had been building up mileage over the summer, so riding 105 miles ended up being not that big of a deal except for the climb away from the Ohio River. :)

Mine was in spring of 1973. A group of us had decided that we were going to do a bike tour during our spring break. My longest ride previously had been back to back 60 milers. First day of the tour was 105 miles. It was in late march in Southern Illinois, s there had not been much time for training. As I recall that day was SO long. But we made camp by nightfall. That day was followed by 7 more days of 100 mile plus rides on fully loaded touring bikes. We lost a few guys along the way, but six of us finished the tour. We ate fast food and grocery store crap. At that point I realized that a century was not really that big of deal, just a long day in the saddle.

... and then I announced that I would NEVER do something like that again!! :lol: :lol:

Too funny, M!

My first was June 2003, "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride," around Lake Tahoe. And it *was* stunningly gorgeous, but boy, those climbs nearly did me in . . . I was living and riding in a pretty flat part of the country then. But I enjoyed it (*after* it was over!) and even went dancing (!!) for several hours that night.

I've continued to do centuries, and MS150 rides, and I'm hoping next year to dip my toe into the baby end of the brevet pool. At least I have hills where I live now . . . lots and lots of steep, STEEP hills! :) :eek:

'73 or '74, Tour of the Scioto River Valley (200 miles over two days). I had a white low-end Gitane with plastic Simplex derailleurs, steel rims, and the hardest plastic seat (no padding) in the universe, as was the style in those days. My buddy and I rode together. I don't remember doing any "training rides," at all. On the second day, we started with a big climb out of the Ohio River Valley, with stiff headwind, temperature in the low 50's and rain. My butt was in agony from that hard plastic seat. The rain poncho disintegrated in the wind so I was wet to the core. I was desparate for a sag wagon, but none showed up, so I just had to keep going. By the top of the climb, the wind died down, the sun came out, and I guess my butt was numb. When my friend and I got to Columbus many hours later, we were still a couple of hours ahead of schedule, and neither his nor my parents were home to pick us up. What to do? Sit around and wait. Nah, we rode the 15 miles on home!

What a great topic!

My first century was Feb this year. I had just started cycling seriously in August last year. I picked a flat organized ride in Chico, CA, and I thought I would try to do it in under 5 hours. Seriously, I had no sense of what was doable, so I just picked 5 hours (solo) as a target. Well, I managed to average 18.7 mph for the first 62 miles. Then it kinda caught up to me, with my burning quads as the signal. Plus, the wind started kicking up and I gave up on the "goal". Good thing, too, because I actually started talking to people and enjoying the scenery! Around mile 85 I reached a low point and would have done anything to catch a ride home. However, I stayed with it and actually sprinted the last 4 or 5 miles to the finish. It was my first real experience with the famous "second wind". I was amazed as what my body could do after such a long day and after feeling so rotten just a short time ago. I finished the ride at about 5 hours and 40 minutes.

Fast forward to last month. I rode my bike from my house in Half Moon Bay, CA to Santa Cruz and back for a slice of pizza (just under 100 miles and 4,000 ft elevation), and ENJOYED it! By the end of the season, I will have had 4 centuries and 5 metrics.

Oh, and some friends and I are going to try to break the 5 hour century mark, but as a team. Just one of those goals that I gotta do....

I think I'm hooked....

Back in the Fall of 2002, my 2yo daughter started pre-school. I had been at home with her, I'm a stay-at-home dad, since she was born. I maybe got out to ride once or twice a week but long rides were never in the picture. Once pre-school had begun, I had several hours in the morning to ride 4 days a week. My long ride to date had been 63 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway as part of tour back in 1999.

That next Spring, I had set my sites on the Assault on Mt Mitchell, a 102 mile ride from Spartanburg, SC to the top of Mt Mitchell. Unfortunately in order to get a number for the ride one has to complete the Marion portion the year before to make the list. It seems that today it is easier to just buy someones entry without doing the Marion ride. I and a friend did the ride to Marion that May in the rain and wind, 74 miles and 4:06 time. What I remember about that ride is that even though there was 3800 ft of climbing in 74 miles it was easier than most of the much shorter rides I do around home.

So ten days later, that same friend and I left town and rode up to the Parkway and came back 8.5 hours and 108 miles later. We had climbed almost 11k with a riding time of 7.5 hours. I was so glad the last 25 miles were back down to town. I think on the last climb I managed 5 mph but somehow didn't stop until I made the top at mile 83.

The next May, I did the Assault and a couple of other century rides. I've continue to do them as time allows each year. Lately I've enjoyed reading the reports of PBP and perhaps one day soon I'll set my sites on qualifying for it if time permits.

September 1975, in the late and lamented Hekaton Classic that the Valley Spokesmen (Dublin/Livermore/Pleasanton CA) put on for something like 30 years - but, alas, no more. I did three or four more Hekatons in the late '90's, including once on a tandem, and it was always a great ride, well-supported and with a variety of distances and routes, so that just about anyone could find a good ride. I remember that first one was pretty cold at the start with some seriously thick fog over the first climb of the day, but was hot and windy by the end. (The windy-at-the-end part was a constant - many years later, on the tandem, I discovered that, in a headwind, tandems attract singles the way s*** attracts flies.) I also remember that first one taking a bunch longer than I, in my 18-year-old-thought-I-was-a-racer foolishness, though it should. My times never got faster, but my expectations sure got more realistic.:rolleyes:

My first century was in 1997 on my fully loaded Perth-Adelaide trip across the Nullarbor Plain. It was from Kimba -- the geoegraphical east-centre of the Australian continent -- to Port Augusta. It came after I spent a couple of days replacing the rear wheel after the original hub collapsed, taking out the derailleur and numerous spokes in the process.

It was a perfect day with a tailwind and reasonably flat country -- a few rollers to help boost the average :D Go here (http://www.cycling-adventurer.net/perth-adelaide/day-033.html) if you want to read about it.

My second century wasn't for quite sometime afterwards, about three years, I think. It was a "reconnaissance" ride for another ride I was organising for a social bike group. I rode from home, fully loaded in anticipation of probably spending overnight in the bush, did the recce over gravel roads, then road home. It was about 161km -- I just couldn't be bothered stopping to put up my tent.

My third, in January 2002, was a practice run over 200km from the north of the Tasmanian island to the south to introduce me to the concept of randonneuring with the ultimate aim of PBP-2003.

my first century was in the 2000 Boston - New York AIDSride. I was doing all 360 miles on a $300 Trek 720 hybrid bike in the middle of July, and the century day was on Day 3, when we rode from Rhode Island into Massachusetts. The memories from the ride sort of blur together, but the ones that still linger in my mind include:

1) getting a flat in the middle of Rhode Island after running over a roofing nail. Swapped out the tube, reinflated everything, then rolled about a block down to a nearby Harley Davidson dealership to see if they would recycle the tube. Guy minding the store asked me where I was headed and I said, "Boston." He replied, "Hell, man, that's a long distance on any bike, even without the pedaling."

2) stopping briefly in a bank to use the ATM and feeling nearly orgasmic with my first exposure to air conditioning after three days of riding in the height of summer.

It certainly felt like an epic accomplishment when I finished. Nowadays, even with riding brevets on a 'real' road bike, there's still a small thrill when the odometer kicks into triple digits. Novelty gets a little dull, but it never gets old.

Heh.

Mine was last year and was about 4 months into my cycling career, and I did it solo. I managed to pick the hottest day of the year to do it on. 90+* and humid, so everytime I exhaled it felt like I was being hit in the face with a brick.

Anyway, didn't eat nearly enough, didn't drink nearly enough. I felt relatively okay until around mile 60. Felt like I was going insane by mile 70, felt like I was going to die by mile 80, found my second wind at mile 90. There were two significant climbs, one of 1500ft and another of around 800ft or so. The rest was rolling. Around 4000ft of climbing for the day, 15.66mph avg. Took me a couple of days to recover, I could barely breathe or stand after I finished it (literally)...I never wanted to do another century again.

I Did my last century a couple of weeks ago and considered it a long training ride. 6000ft of climbing, a bit over 19mph, also solo. And I felt perfect afterwards :)

My first century was in August, 1979. It also happened to be a double century. It was time to return to college in Potsdam, NY from my home in Rochester, NY. Dad had gotten a small u-haul trailier, and despite that, the little trailer was filled, as was the trunk and the back seat - this without having loaded my bike. Then, the night before the return trip, my stepmother said she wanted to see what the campus and my room was like. This precipitated a rather rash decision. That evening, at about 7:00 pm, I decided to ride my bike the 218 miles.

I was up and out about 5:30 am, with a couple sandwiches, snacks, some water, a packet of electrolyte powder mix, and a shade under $4.00. I had no spares tubes, no tools, and just a mental image of my route. Aside from the hills going into Oswego, I was cruising along just fine. Fortunately, I had the benefit of prevailing breezes and a relatively flat journey, so when my Dad and step mom passed me on their return leg and asked me how I was doing, I gave them a smile and a big thumbs up.

A little before 7:00 pm , I reached the DQ in Canton, NY, ready to wolf something down before undertaking the final 11 miles of the trip. The sky was rapidly clouding, and I no sooner stepped inside the place when the skies opened up with a torrential deluge. Fortunately, my roomate was there in about 20 minutes, and I ended the day only about 95% successful.

That night, I slept 15 hours, and I was too sore to ride my Super Course for about 4 days. Oh to be young, very physically fit, and extremely stupid again. :)

My first was the Hardscrabble Century in Canon City Colo. in 1984. The event was put on by the Colorado Springs Bike Club, but is no longer held, they have moved the century to Buena Vista Colo. The ride was magnificant, starting on the Arkansas River, then south for 15 miles to the base of Hardscrabble Pass. Hardscrabble Pass is a 20 mile climb from 5500 ft elevation to the summit at 8500 ft, and just a beautiful ride. At the top of this pass riders are treated to a full view of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and the town of Westcliffe at their base. From the lunch stop in Westcliffe, riders descended Texas Creek to come back to the Arkansas River, then to the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas. From the Royal Gorge it was a pleasant downhill run to Canon City and the finish. It still ranks as one of my favorite centuries, and it was a great first.

Sangre de Christo, Colo.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d126/telehammer/Sangre.jpg

My first century was from St Quentin to Chalons en Champagne in France. I was bored of the flat landscape of the north of france so I wanted to clock a few miles and make some progress. I was riding a fully loaded mountainbike.
My longest ride though was about 150miles, from Nice in France to Genova in Italy. That was also fully loaded and on the same trip. I did this to catch a ferry, which I missed for 5mins thanks to the burocracy at the harbour in Genova!

The 43rd TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley -- the original supported long-distance ride in the United States) in May 2003. I rode it on a Fuji hard-tail mountain bike that I put slicks on for the occasion. The ride is back-to-back centuries on a basically flat course. I had such a blast that I bought a road bike the next weekend (the Giant TCR that I'm still riding, nearly 20,000 miles later!). I quickly rode another century and then started to wonder what might lie beyond 100 miles. I discovered the Ride Across INdiana (RAIN) and rode that -- 158 miles -- in July 2003, my 4th century ever. Needless to say, I've been totally bitten by the long distance bug!

My first century was the Seagull Century a year ago this week, it was rainy and windy. My latest century is the Seagull Century 3 days ago, it was slightly less wet, but twice as windy. Looking forward a double metric and then a double century. Now to clean the sand and salt off my ride.

USAZorro, that's a cool story.

My first century was on a 48/16 fixed wheel from here in Canberra out to Gunning across the state border and back in. 161km in around 8 hours which I was happy with. A very hilly and windy ride too, with water and food in my backpack.

a few since then, but my most recent one was at this past weekend's Scott 24hr mountain bike race in Canberra. I rode 8 of my team's 14 laps, totalling 164km on rutted, rocky, bumpy and very very dusty singletrack. On a 32/16 singlespeed hardtail with a practically rigid (seized) suspension fork. My wrists are still giving me grief!

- Joel

1st century was the Sea Gull in MD a few days ago. 49th B'day gift to myself. Brutal wind and some rain but felt extra good to get it done in those conditions and the upside was the high-wind and flood warning conditions kept bike traffic down. This century gets traffic jammed w/riders I've been told - in nice weather years, 1/4 mile long packs of 300 riders and mucho accidents are common. This year= ~6500 registrants, ~2500 riders showed, estimate no more than 1500 finished the hundred. Next Oct. will opt for the nearby Water-to-Water Century tour which has several hundred instead of several thousand riders.

1st century was the Sea Gull in MD a few days ago. 49th B'day gift to myself. Brutal wind and some rain but felt extra good to get it done in those conditions and the upside was the high-wind and flood warning conditions kept bike traffic down. This century gets traffic jammed w/riders I've been told - in nice weather years, 1/4 mile long packs of 300 riders and mucho accidents are common. This year= ~6500 registrants, ~2500 riders showed, estimate no more than 1500 finished the hundred. Next Oct. will opt for the nearby Water-to-Water Century tour which has several hundred instead of several thousand riders.

Yes. The Sea Gull was not a ride that I enjoyed this year - due to the conditions.

1st century was the Sea Gull in MD a few days ago. 49th B'day gift to myself. Brutal wind and some rain but felt extra good to get it done in those conditions and the upside was the high-wind and flood warning conditions kept bike traffic down. This century gets traffic jammed w/riders I've been told - in nice weather years, 1/4 mile long packs of 300 riders and mucho accidents are common. This year= ~6500 registrants, ~2500 riders showed, estimate no more than 1500 finished the hundred. Next Oct. will opt for the nearby Water-to-Water Century tour which has several hundred instead of several thousand riders.
You share my outlook on events with large numbers of riders. PBP is the exception, of course.

Did I ride with you guys this Sat at the Seagull? bk & red w yellow helmet on a smoked chrome Austro Daimler

I started riding only last July (2005). I stepped up from my '88 mtb very quickly and soon bought a 98 Trek 520 from a local seller. First thing I did was ride south to Seattle to meet up with a group I ride with. We did a half Lake Washington ride over the floating bridge. I never bothered to check the mileage on a map til I got home. I was fine until I discovered it was 111 miles round trip. At that point I sort of slumped to the deck, a quivering, gelatinous mass of non-distinct parts and appendiges. Knowledge can be a terrible thing. :)

We have an "Epic" ride in the South of England called the South Downs Way. Runs along the Chalk ridge that makes up the South Downs along the southcoast of England. Not a bad ride and some people take it as a 2 or 3 day trip as hotels and Youth Hostels are just about placed correctly. The real challenge is to do it in one day. Not that easy but 100 miles and 10,000ft of climbing should be do-able in a day- providing the weather is right and not not too much wind. Still sound easy- It's offroad.

First did it in 94 on a day when the 20mph wind was in the wrong direction and it started raining at 9.20am, from a 6am start, and it did not stop all day. Have attempted it 10 times now and done it 7 times- Latest attempt was this year in high winds- very deep mud and no grip. Got to about 55 miles and the weather got worse so me and my co- rider stopped at 65 miles. That was enough- Co-rider- See the attachment

penny farthing century ride across tasmania, australia.
held every summer by the tasmanian velocipede society.

http://static.flickr.com/91/279820117_8f9cc7db4e_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/115/279822943_d6809dc08e_o.jpg

In my previous 55 yrs, I probably had not ridden a total of 100miles. Bought a bike in Jan and have ridden 6 centuries with a long of 160 miles. When I was younger, I was into long distance motorcycle rides with a long of 1731 in a single day. I find it really takes a similar mindset to do long distance on a bicycle but with all the physical conditioning. My first century was tough because I was not yet prepared physically and did not yet understand proper hydration and nourishment for me. In July I did a ride of 550 miles in 6 days with every day getting over 100 degrees F. It was two weeks after that when I did a 160 mile day and found it to really be relatively easy and would have gone on to a double but short of daylight and I don't have lighting. Right now I'm really getting fired up to ride across Ia next summer in a day. That thought will keep me motivated thru-out the winter as I build up for it. Looking back on what has really been my first year of riding a bike, I'm just SO glad I fell into it with the only regret....What took me so long to find this great sport?

My first metric century was the 2003 Assault on Marion (http://www.geocities.com/thornhillmobilehome/cycling03.html). I had done a couple of 40-50 mile rides beforehand, riding a department store mountain bike with semi-slick tires. For Marion I borrowed a friend's wife's road bike. It was the first time I'd ridden a skinny tire bike since I left behind my 10-speed when I moved from Florida to North Carolina for college 19 years earlier. It was also my first experience riding in the rain, which was pretty much nonstop, though never really heavy.

My first English century was the next year, a ride during our bike club's Spring Fat Burners (http://www.blueridgebicycleclub.org/fatburners.html) series. I planned to ride all of those rides leading up to the Assault on Mt. Mitchell, but only started two and finished just one: from Asheville to Rosman, up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and back to Asheville. 104 miles (http://www.geocities.com/thornhillmobilehome/cycling04.html). My wife went to a mall kiosk and had a baseball cap embroidered for me with a picture of a bike, the date, and "First Century" (and she made a certificate for it, too -- no wonder I let her keep me around). Mitchell that year ended up being my second century. I tried another couple that year, but took a shortcut on one with another rider who was pretty much toasted, and missed a time cutoff for another one. I think I've only done one or maybe two other full 100 milers, although I've ended up with several 85-95 milers on those failed century attempts.

mike

I rode my first century in May of 2005, shortly after getting my road bike. I road 113 miles to my parents house for Memorial Day weekend. I left on a Friday morning at around 6 AM and didn't arrive till around 1 PM. It was a pretty awful day with lots of headwind and some rain.

But my biggest problem was that I drank too much Gatorade and ended up with a knife in my stomach at about mile 100. I learned a lesson that i should just eat and drink normal stuff on century rides. I had been reading accounts here on bike forums and all different sorts of advice.

I ended up drinking 3, 20 ounce bottles of Gatorade and that was waaaaaaay too much. Plus i was eating powerbars on the way and that was the first time i had ever had one. Turns out that those things KILL my stomach.

On next my ride to my parents that year i ate normal and had a tailwind. I averaged 19 mph for 113 miles.

Mine was in the 9th grade...must have been 73 or so. My typing teacher started a bike club...and man she was hot...a hippie chick with long red hair who never wore a bra. Guys took typing...and joined the bike club, just to get close to her, hoping for a peek or one of them teacher-student flings that seem so common nowadays. (before someone gets offended, I'm just being honest here...I was a kid just past puberty for chris' sake!)

Well she decided to do a century for a field trip...a metric that covered much of what is now known as the Emerald Necklace near Cleveland. I had this old Schwinn cruiser bike that I loved...coaster brake, no gears, big ole spring on the front, balloon tires, 'tank' on the top tube and heavy as a bulldozer. I had taken the fenders and chain guard off when I got it and flipped the bars to make it look cool.

I was thinking I was really cool, keeping up with all the fancy ten speeds for most of the ride, which was flat for the most part, and staying right up there with the teacher...showing off at how macho I was. Then we hit the first big climb...and I made it up, getting dropped, but able to make up the distance on the downside. Then we hit the next big climb and I was toast. On the last big climb, I had to walk the bike up, embarrassed as hell. I think I limped into the finish about an hour behind the teacher's group...just in time to see her kissing her boyfriend, husband or whoever the putz was.

But when she saw me, she got a big smile on her face, came over and gave me a peck on the cheek and told me how proud she was of me for making the entire trip on my old beater...and pointed out that I was not the last one in. Tired as I was, for that moment, I was in heaven. :)

Sangre de Christo, Colo.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d126/telehammer/Sangre.jpg

Oh man, that pic makes me homesick for Raton, NM.

First metric: summer of 1991 on a Slingshot mountain bike running Specialized Turbo/S ATB road tires and Scott aero bars. Rode with two other riders, both masters road racers (I'd just graduated from high school - much younger than the other two). The route started and ended at East Canyon Reservoir in Utah.

First English: this July, during a Potomac Pedalers ride originating from Riley's Lock, MD. It was cued for 99 miles, so I tacked on a little loop at the end to push over 100. It was lot of fun, and didn't really feel like 100 miles.

Hardest English: the Mountain Mama Road Bike Challenge - a great ride.

Latest English: the Great River Ride out of Westfield, MA.

penny farthing century ride across tasmania, australia.
held every summer by the tasmanian velocipede society.


http://static.flickr.com/115/279822943_d6809dc08e_o.jpg

BRAVO!!! This is the best post yet, I don't know that I could do this ride, but what a unique ride:)

My first century was about 35 years ago - summer of '71 or '72. The March of Dimes used to put on Bike-a-thons in the Detroit Metro area. My friend and I decided to give it a try - the intended route that year was from Metro Beach to Port Huron and back. Due to rain, the ride organizers decided it was too dangerous to put 100's of bicycles out on the road (times have changed!), and instead we rode 10 mile loops on the road leading into park (Metro Parkway, for those who live in the area). The route really was kind of boring, but for a couple of 13 year olds, the desire to complete 100 miles was enough to keep us going, and really launched us into 7 or 8 years of great cycling together.

My first century was the Solvang Century in March of 1994.

Did my first century today. Wind was nasty. Navagation left a lot to be desired ended up doing 107. Blisters on my butt. Can't waite for the next one.

Mine was in 1995 at "The Flattest Century in the East" in Tiverton, RI. I wanted it to be the easiest I could find so that I could definitely finish and feel good during and after. I was 48 and it was my 2nd year of riding. I followed a 10 week training plan in Bicycling magazine. I'd done some solo 70 mile rides with apprxoimately 3000' of climbing in my local area so I was reasonably confident I could do it. It was a great experience riding with other people for the first time. I was well prepared, it was easy since there were no hills and I had a wonderful time. I was thrilled to be able to complete it in 6:05 including 3 short stops. I've never gone back to do it again (maybe some year) but do a couple of solo centuries in my local area every year just to prove to myself than I still can.

Mine was in 1995 at "The Flattest Century in the East" in Tiverton, RI. I wanted it to be the easiest I could find so that I could definitely finish and feel good during and after. I was 48 and it was my 2nd year of riding. I followed a 10 week training plan in Bicycling magazine. I'd done some solo 70 mile rides with apprxoimately 3000' of climbing in my local area so I was reasonably confident I could do it. It was a great experience riding with other people for the first time. I was well prepared, it was easy since there were no hills and I had a wonderful time. I was thrilled to be able to complete it in 6:05 including 3 short stops. I've never gone back to do it again (maybe some year) but do a couple of solo centuries in my local area every year just to prove to myself than I still can.Funny, the Montauk Century here in NY claims to be the flatest century too.

Next time I'm visiting RI (Mother in law is in Narragansett), I'll have to check this out...

I haven't done the Tiverton ride since, but it was very well organized and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. I have a friend who's done it a few times over the past 5 years and really enjoys it. I do know that it's popular enough that the registration closes early. It's in early Sept I believe. As I recall, this is the club that runs it. http://www.nbwclub.org/

Weird ... I don't know. Seems like a person should remember something like this clearly. It bothers me that I can't place it.

Thinking back, I remember doing 100+, loaded, on along the Oregon Coast back in '86. I suppose that might be my first.