Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - My First Century Attempt

I'm going to try a century today. My bike is a kona hardtail front suspsension with slicks. It's the only bike I've got. I don't have a time goal, I just wanna finish it. Got some snacks and water. It's about -10C out now but is supposed to be warming up.

I'm posting a series of youtube videos, an introduction, 2 breaks, and a conclusion (if i finish it).
You can check it out here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVei7VFki8o

Good luck

Hope your ride went well.

I failed. I ended up doing only 73km. It was quite cold in the morning. Within 5 mins, the tube on my hydration pack was frozen solid, at 20mins, my water bottle nozzle also froze up. I stopped at my place to trade in my gloves for mitts, and put on a second pair of socks. At my place, I also drank some water. I was stopping every 16km to get a drink and a snack. I think this was too infrequent because at around 55km I had a raging headache, no doubt due to under hydration. At 73km, I was near by buddies house where I stopped and called it a day.

Boredom played a big role too. Maybe next time I'll bring along an ipod, although I don't like the distraction from a safety perspective, it might help break up the boredom a little.

I'm going to continue to do these longer rides, perhaps on warmer days, until I can turn out 160km.

It was quite cold in the morning. Within 5 mins, the tube on my hydration pack was frozen solid, at 20mins, my water bottle nozzle also froze up.

I would have to assume that you knew these things would occur under the conditions you set out in. Good luck next time.
I live in LA and I can't imagine doing a century in those conditions. I don't think I'll last even an hour on the bike.....It is definitely much easier to complete a century under ideal conditions.

Try again next week, you can do it!!

Riding a century in sub-freezing temps takes a bit of extra planning and preparation. I would not recommend a sub-freezing century as someone's first century unless you were riding with an experienced sub-freezing century rider. And even then it can be a pretty miserable experience.

For example, as you discovered, there is no point bringing a waterbottle! Instead, you've got to plan your route so that you can hit a convenience store (or home) about every 1 to 1.5 hours. Then during each break (at convenience stores or home) drink approx. 750 mls of water or fruit juice or sports drinks, etc.

Try it again when your starting temp is 0C or so, with the promise that it will warm up from there.


If there's a day like that in February, I'll do a century ... but I've done way too many sub-freezing centuries in the past 5 years or so, and I'm sick of them.

Try again next week, you can do it!!

Next week is supposed to be even colder!

I failed. I ended up doing only 73km. It was quite cold in the morning. Within 5 mins, the tube on my hydration pack was frozen solid, at 20mins, my water bottle nozzle also froze up. I stopped at my place to trade in my gloves for mitts, and put on a second pair of socks. At my place, I also drank some water. I was stopping every 16km to get a drink and a snack. I think this was too infrequent because at around 55km I had a raging headache, no doubt due to under hydration. At 73km, I was near by buddies house where I stopped and called it a day.

Boredom played a big role too. Maybe next time I'll bring along an ipod, although I don't like the distraction from a safety perspective, it might help break up the boredom a little.

I'm going to continue to do these longer rides, perhaps on warmer days, until I can turn out 160km.
Experience is the best teacher! Good try!:D

sorry to hear you didn't make it...

if you can possibly find some people do ride it with, it becomes much easier...i've done 2 and a half centuries in the past two weekends, after doing just one very slow, oft interupted (due to my poor willpower) solo century about a month ago...these are the only real long distance rides i've ever done, and these past couple weeks have totally changed my perspective on cycling...i've caught the long-distance bug and am doing a brevet next weekend...but sorry to threadjack

really, if you can ride in a group, it really helps, physically (because of the ability to draft each other) and especially psychologically (i can't really explain this one so well, but i tend to make a lot of unnecessary stops when i ride solo)

however, i live in maryland, not canada, so the centuries i've done have started just below freezing and risen to well above that, so of course you have some additional challenges to face

better luck next time!

if you can possibly find some people do ride it with, it becomes much easier...


Unfortunately in this part of Canada there aren't many people who ride centuries. In fact, the only ones in the entire province I know of who ride centuries, or anything like centuries, are:

1) The Alberta Randonneurs (of which I'm a member) ... and we ride brevets.

2) A group of riders in the Cardston area who post on bikejournal, and who I am going to try to ride with one of these years.

3) A few of the Edmonton CycleTouring Club members - they have one organized century a year, but it is actually quite expensive.

4) Me, in central Alberta.


If there are others out there ... I'd love to hear from them!!

Maybe you should wait until June when the days are longest and weather more enjoyable. An organized century may be best, lots of others to motivate you, good food and water support, and sag support if you need it.

Maybe you should wait until June when the days are longest and weather more enjoyable. An organized century may be best, lots of others to motivate you, good food and water support, and sag support if you need it.

Well, the weather here should be good for riding centuries in late March/early April. :)

But as for organized centuries, there are none in Calgary. I listed, in a post above, all the options in Alberta for riding centuries with someone. I don't get it ... we've got the mountains, we've got great roads ... but there are next to no long distance riders here, and it seems there is very little interest in things like officially organized centuries.

Several things
from A guy who has done centrys in the cold.
get a hydradro pack and put it on under your second layer of clothing (it wont freeze) run tube up to mouth but make it so you can tuck it into a neck wrap. the wind chill is the thing that gets you not the cold you deal with cold every day so limit the wind exposure ways to do this include 2 LTR bottles cut out and taped to your handle bars to keep wind off of your hands ( if done right you can put a little chem pack warmer in it along with your hand and be very toasty) those balaclava (face mask) things work if you get the ones for really cold places and not the lite duty junk for the mid west. you didn't fail you just didn't think it through. I learned to tour in the mid west and did a bit of mid winter rides in dead horse Alaska ( hey wintering over sucks but riding under the northern lights rules)

Thx for the support and tips, I'll give it another go when the weather is better.

Funny, same thing happened to me. I set out on Sunday to ride my first century and also fell short. At around 35 miles I popped a tire and lost my enthusiasm. Made it back home though ... so 70 miles is only a few decades short.

I had to put my camelbak under my coat. It worked pretty well, but I kept losing the hose inside my jacket so I had to stop for a drink every time anyway.

We'll make it next time :)