Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - My 1st Metric Century!

I'm so glad I finally reached this milestone, I'm compelled to post about it here at the BF LDC channel.

Started my day at 7am, and had a bowl of rice pudding (yum!) so basically, a little protein, a lot of carbs (mostly good complex ones), and some vitamins and minerals for good measure. I was hopeful it would work-out better than Saturday's breakfast which had me feeling like a slug when I went riding yesterday. (I also packed a protein bar, 3 kaboom gels, a water bottle and a gatorade bottle).

Was on my bike (2001 Devinci Caribou, my only bike, and my commuter) at 9am, and rode out to rendezvous with the "Toronto Donut Ride" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Donut_Ride), which I've done a couple times before, and while I always get dropped, I made it further this time than the prior two times (I made it out to Keele before I got dropped this time). So, I was with the group (about 50+ riders today) for maybe 20-25 km before I was suddenly on my own.

I was, of course, expecting to get dropped eventually. I was feeling good, though, and perfectly ready to do the remainder of my ride on my own. For a change I also had the time to do what I wanted, as I didn't need to get back home at any specific time. About 30 km into the ride is when I started to get the notion to pull-off the 100 km I've been working toward. (I started cycling in June or July of this year after countless years without a bike).

By the time I'd made 40 km I knew there was no turning back till I'd done 50. I made it to Newmarket, and then I knew that the 100 was almost in the bag, after-all, if I was getting home it'd be because I did the 100!

On prior weekend trips I'd been capping out in the 60-70s range, so it was nice to finally break through that threshold, and by a decent margin too. Since I started cycling I figure I've gone almost 2500 km, and burned-off about 30 lbs of fat.

It feels great to have finally pulled-off the century!!! I suppose next season I'll have to be sure I get the time to do a "real" (imperial) century.

Here's the route (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/My-1st-Century-metric) (linked) I took. It felt hillier than Bikely says.. a mere 590ish meters of total climb & descent. Took me 4 hours, 10 minutes (of spinning, maybe closer to 5 hours with stop-lights and pit stops).

:D

Of course, I couldn't have done it without the support and encouragement from my wife & son -- they rock! Thanks Peach! :love:

Congratulations!

congrats!

I did my first Metric (personally, I'm a fan of the metric system....too many people think in Miles!) this weekend too, on my component-modernized 1986 Bertoni "Professionale". Though I've been riding bikes in varying degrees of intensity for 30 years, I had probably never ridden more than 30-40 miles (see, I'm doing it too) in a day...ever. I found the last 10 miles of the ride were tough to find the energy for (even with a fairly steady intake of Clif bar type material), but I also learned SO much about my riding, myself, and what I need to do make all of this more enjoyable & more rewarding.

Thanks, daidalas!

fiataccompli,

~40 miles is my typical weekend ride, but it all depends on how much time I can free up... sometimes I have the 2-3 hours I need, other times I'm lucky to get 30-45 minutes to ride. On those (40 mile) rides I usually don't have to be very prepared, but obviously sometimes it's easier than other times.

For the 63 miles I did yesterday, it wasn't too bad, but I was very prepared... had the right pre-ride meal, took some power gels, and very importantly, I paced myself for most of the ride... I did ride hard for a short bit while I was in the group, but after that the hard pushes were reserved for the hills (or headwinds) alone, and I did a lot of moving recovery by just going easy where possible.

Can you expand on your statement about "make all of this more enjoyable & more rewarding"? I'm interested in what you've discovered. One thing I've learnt is that a long ride feels so much better when executed properly (well fed and properly hydrated). I've also learned that a bib is not very conducive to frequent pit-stops... I'll save the bib for my "short" 45 minute commute rides.

Congratulations! It's amazing how far we think we can go and how we can go. What's your next goal?

I've also learned that a bib is not very conducive to frequent pit-stops... I'll save the bib for my "short" 45 minute commute rides.

I switched to bibs a couple years ago, and I won't go back. The only time I find they're inconvenient is when I actually need to drop trou, otherwise I can just hike the front down enough. For long rides, I find the bibs to be far more comfortable, because I know that no matter how much I shift around on the saddle, my shorts aren't going to shift about. My chamois is always in the right place, which wasn't so for me when I wore regular shorts.

Bibs are all that I use. For me they are so much more comfortable. Having to drop trou could be a problem, but I've gotten use to pulling my jersey off and putting it on with everything still in the pockets and not dropping anything. For most stops I can just pull down the front and take care of things.

Way to go! After a metric you must next stalk the imperial. 100 Miles is not that different than 63 miles.

When it comes to coaxing the extra 37 miles out of bike and body, I think it is 90% mental.

My tip: Heart Rate Monitor, it help me pace myself for energy down the stretch.

Great job, keep up the long rides!

I just meant it was more than just exercise, there was sort of a 'state of mind' aspect that well...I don't know how to say it without sounding super-cheesy, but just put a new perspective on my whole idea of what i could & could not do. I was on a nicely organized club ride with rest stops organized with all sorts of sweets...on the 2nd one I opted for more of those than the bar/gel stuff that I had with me to dole out according to time/miles & that probably wasn't such a good idea. I also reached one point where I was convinced that there was something wrong with my bike & I finally got off & checked for wheel bearing noise, brake drag, gunk in the chain or whatever...and I realized that the bike was fine but I was just running out of energy. A few minutes later my energy came back & I was back in sort of a 'normal' mode. Sometimes, that *first hand* experience is what I need to comprehend a phenomenon that is explained to me a hundred times. I also learned a bit about posture (some of what not to do) and that it's time I enter the latter part of the 20th century and move from toe clips to clipless pedals (had a toe clip break around 35 miles in & McGivered it to work for me for the remaining ride in full comprehension that I had gone well beyond the point at which it was appropriate to upgrade my pedals).

I don't know if that explains exactly what I meant, but I guess I just came off the experience feeling like I just knew myself, my limits, what I wanted to do, how my mind/body interact & all that a little better. Bottom line is that it was a great experience and I want to do it again.

DanteB, well I guess I'll aim for 100 miles.. if I do it this season, great, but if not I'll really have to do it next spring/summer... Maybe make it official doing a charity ride or something!

fiataccompli - thanks for elaborating! About the clipless pedals, you WILL fall over at least once (for me, I'm up to 3 or 4, I guess, but one of those was totally not my fault :)