Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - 2009 Century Challenge

This is the thread for those who will not be able to complete the 2009 Century-A-Month challenge.

The Century-A-Month challenge requires that a cyclist ride at least one century in each month of the year. But sometimes because of weather, accidents, or other commitments riding a century in each month of the year becomes impossible. And sometimes people get into cycling long distances partway through the year, but would like to join a challenge for motivation.

Even if we can't participate in the CAM challenge, it's nice to have a place to log our centuries throughout the year ... so here it is!


The challenge: Let's see how many centuries we can ride this year ... in any month of the year!! :D


Get ready ... get set ...............

Go! :)

Heh. I'll be lucky if I get one century for the whole year. I just did my first half-century yesterday. On a quarter-century-old bike.

I got one today. :)

The Dallas Lone Star Randonneurs have a traditional New Years 200k ride. The weather was nice (about 35 for a low warming up to mid 60s. Pretty windy though, but it was a head wind outbound and a tail wind on the return. I finished 127 miles in 9hrs 50mins.

Heh. I'll be lucky if I get one century for the whole year. I just did my first half-century yesterday. On a quarter-century-old bike.

Well, you've got 12 months to build up to a century. :D

I got one today. :)

The Dallas Lone Star Randonneurs have a traditional New Years 200k ride. The weather was nice (about 35 for a low warming up to mid 60s. Pretty windy though, but it was a head wind outbound and a tail wind on the return. I finished 127 miles in 9hrs 50mins.


Congrats!!

oki doki. This challenge seems more attainable than the century a month. 4 centuries last year, including first one ever. I'm determined to get more this year and to get my first double. But I'll stick to 60 mile rides per week until warm enough.

Count me in on this one.

Count me in! I've been off the bike for awhile, been running but this sounds fun!

01/02/09
100.12 miles today
rank #6 on Bike Journal

1. 03-01-09 -- 161.22km/100.20 miles; 6hr 10min elapsed time (26.14km/h = 16.25mph average); 5hr 54min bike time (27.28km/h = 16.95mph average). Bike = Merlin C110 Works (9x2 sp road).

Wow, this is great and just what I need to gear up for the spring season. I've been off the bike a couple of months but will begin training again and look forward to a March century. Will post when done.

I got one in on 1-3. It was a 200k brevet through PA Dutch country. It was less hilly than the usual PA brevets, but there was a steady headwind for the first half. I was one of two riders on fixed-gear bikes, and the wind took quite a bit out of me. Still, aside from the wind, the weather was fairly nice--about freezing, and sunny. It was good to get back on the bike after the Holidays.

Did one a week ago and posted it in the CAM thread. But who knows how long that will last, so I thought I’d post here, too, in case I miss a month. Did second century of 2009 today, both on a Specialized Roubaix Elite Triple purchased Jan 2. 101.12 miles; 25 F at start, 54 F by afternoon, 39 F at the finish. First 46 miles were into a 22 G 33 mph headwind along wide open farmland; avg speed was barely 10 mph for those 46 miles. Made for a loooooong ride!

Last week’s century was similar (headwind for nearly all of first half). These wear me out far more than my typical centuries; I’m pretty spent after 100 miles when brutalized by the wind so long at the start.

January Century. check

January 3rd in Lake County Illinois. Temps around 30. East wind 15 MPH Average moving speed= 14.9 mph. Good Times

I did a 200km permanenent on the 17th. It was pretty decent considering I had not been on the bike in 3 months. I took almost 11 hours with lots of breaks and rode with somebody that was doing it for her first 200km and we kept a casual pace.

But a January century is now in the bag!

I rode the club century on Jan. 17th, Orange County Rebel Riders from Irvine to Corona via Yorba Linda. 45 degF at the start, 80 degF by noon. Started at 7:00 AM. finished at 1:15 PM.
Probably between 3 and 4 thousand feet of climbing, not difficult and I felt good all day.

One stop at It's a Grind coffee shop in Corona at the 49.9 mi. point. Lovely day, really, no complaints!

Rick / OCRR

I thought about trying CAM, but I'd like to try racing this year, and I'm not sure my training regime would allow for CAM. But I think I could manage to complete 12 centuries in 2009.

The first I rode yesterday, 190 kilometers with a friend. Mostly rolling hills, but also one longer climb of 8.9km, 5.2% average grade. We planned to keep a good pace, but had nasty headwinds for the last 60km that slowed us down, making the whole ride take 10 hours.

The weather was slightly cool (19°C) and cloudy. It was supposed to rain in the afternoon, but luckily all we encountered was few drops.

The local 200km bervet is this upcoming Friday, though I'm still undecided on riding it.

Third century for January today. 101 miles; 32F start, 69F peak, 52F finish; 30+ mph winds. One 20-mile stretch took nearly 2.5 hours (do the math!) ... did I say it was windy? :o Brought me to 1111 miles for the month.

6 100's this month

Todays 85 mi ride

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Jan091762mi1.jpg

Months miles 1762

6 100's this month


Months miles 1762

Dang! I did 350 miles for January, the longest day being a measly 25 miles...it doesn't help that temps here are in the teens most every morning and lucky to hit 40 for a high, but I know I know - more riding, less excuses.

February is in my sights now....

I missed the CAM by a few miles, so I need some catching up to do! I'll post my 1st 100 miles hopefully this weekend!

My personal goal is to win the centuries competition held by my club. Last year, the winner completed 5 organized rides.

I've decided to participate, but because Jan and Feb are the hardest months for me to get a century done in, I've decided to start in March. Then, when they roll 'round again, I'll have added impetus to get out and ride.

Got a century in today (161.01 km); my first of the year. Got going by 05:45, in the dark and below freezing. Everything was sparkly and, as I travelled north, there was lots of snow left from the weekend flurries, hiding in the forest.

I put in 50 km on my Bleriot (http://www.veloweb.ca/mybikepages/blerioso.html), some of it on gravel trail, returning home to switch to my Ciclo (http://www.veloweb.ca/mybikepages/randononi.html). I grabbed a muffin, washed down with microwaved tea, added my nylon booties over the neoprene ones (cold feet!), refilled my bottles, transferred my computers, and was back on the road within ten minutes.

I rode 8 kilometres to the meeting point for the Wednesday Ride (http://www.veloweb.ca/storypages/wodensride.html), but missed the group by a couple of minutes. A headwind came with the dawn so I didn't manage to catch them for another 20 kilometres. That was hard work! I fell in behind the 15 riders.

The ride out around the peninsula, though the sun was shining, was darkened by a constant barrage of abuse and obscenity shouted from motor vehicles and glaring faces in town, set off by this story (http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Olympian+Whitfield+among+elite+cyclists+could+charged+failing+ride+single+file/1376687/story.html) in the morning paper. The energy was homicidal! Mostly fat, red-faced blimps screaming from pick ups and SUVs.:(

Hope it settles down before someone is killed. As you can imagine, not the best century I've ever experienced.

100.6 miles today. Winds under 5 mph all day!:) Can't remember the last time that happened. 6th century of the year; 2nd for March. (This makes a nice place to keep count.)

Some how lost this thread.
Jan 6 100's
Feb 2 100's
Mar 2 100's

100.5 miles. 3rd century for March; 7th for the year. Had the day off; headed east across Tallgrass prairie to the start of the Flint Hills. There's a wind farm out there for a reason. I got tired. :p.

Some how lost this thread.
Jan 6 100's
Feb 2 100's
Mar 2 100's


Do you ride long rides every day?

Do you ride long rides every day?

Most of my rides are 80 plus miles.
When ever I pass the 90 mile mark I finish it off with a 100 miles.
I ride with a group of retired bikers.
Dave the ring leader, rides 6 days every week. He rides 66 miles, his age.
I commute to his house which is 7.5 miles cross town.
That gives me 15 miles more than what he rides.
The eldest rider is 76 y/o.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=488767

Most of my rides are 80 plus miles.
When ever I pass the 90 mile mark I finish it off with a 100 miles.
I ride with a group of retired bikers.
Dave the ring leader, rides 6 days every week. He rides 66 miles, his age.
I commute to his house which is 7.5 miles cross town.
That gives me 15 miles more than what he rides.
The eldest rider is 76 y/o.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=488767


That's great. You've got a lot of rural area to ride in.

I lived in the Houston area for a lot of years including Webster, Friendswood and Clear Lake City. Never did any cycling when I lived there.

Hope to work up to similar numbers as you. What do average as far as speed when you ride?

That's great. You've got a lot of rural area to ride in.

I lived in the Houston area for a lot of years including Webster, Friendswood and Clear Lake City. Never did any cycling when I lived there.

Hope to work up to similar numbers as you. What do average as far as speed when you ride?

12.5 mph most days.
We have slow riders in the group.
Dave and I race after we pass 70 miles, get up to 31.8 mph on flat roads.

Join up here. It is free.
And move back to Houston area and ride with us.

http://www.bikejournal.com/index.asp?timeout=1

12.5 mph most days.
We have slow riders in the group.
Dave and I race after we pass 70 miles, get up to 31.8 mph on flat roads.

My goal, this year, is to work up to, at least, 50 miles per day and average somewhere between 11 - 14 mph. Hope to do a couple of Centuries once I get my stamina up and weight down.

Maybe next time I come to Houston for some good C&W Dancing, I'll bring my bike.

And move back to Houston area and ride with us.



I'd love to move back to Houston. I married a gal 18 years my Jr. and she has Children/Grand Children here. I'll have a hard time talking here into moving to Houston.

My goal, this year, is to work up to, at least, 50 miles per day and average somewhere between 11 - 14 mph. Hope to do a couple of Centuries once I get my stamina up and weight down.

Maybe next time I come to Houston for some good C&W Dancing, I'll bring my bike.

Let us know when. We can go for a ride.

It will take about 1500 miles on your legs to get fast.
I can hold 16 mph all day.

Your PM will not accept mail?
Did you set it up that way?

Your PM will not accept mail?
Did you set it up that way?


I thought it was enabled. Should work now.

I just found this thread. I completed my first century ever February 21st (link (http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/or/corvallis/942148559801)).

103 miles total, 11 hours (est. 10 on the bike). I slept in and didn't leave until after 9 so the last 20 miles or so were in the dark.

It was a solo ride, so I had no one to draft, and I'm on a 30ish-year-old steel frame that I've yet to install clipless pedals on. My next goal is to complete a full century in under 10 hours.

101 miles today; winds 23 gusting to 31 by the afternoon. Ugh.

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31
Feb 1
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18

101 miles today; winds 23 gusting to 31 by the afternoon. Ugh.

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31
Feb 1
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18

whoa... 14, 16, & 18... hundred mile days each. yee haw!

whoa... 14, 16, & 18... hundred mile days each. yee haw!

Spring Break for us school teachers. Been riding my motorcycle on the odd days...like today. :)

100.6 miles today; winds 20s gusting to 30s again...sigh...

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31
Feb 1
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18, 20

You might see a pattern there in March. Sunday? Nope. They're saying gusts to 40 for Sunday, and they've underestimated the winds all week. Taxes; yeah, that's the ticket: gotta do my taxes Sunday. And then it's back to work.

101 miles today; winds only made it to 39, not the projected 40. :p Taxes remain undone.

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31
Feb 1
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22

I thought about trying CAM, but I'd like to try racing this year, and I'm not sure my training regime would allow for CAM. But I think I could manage to complete 12 centuries in 2009.
The first I rode yesterday, 190 kilometers with a friend. Mostly rolling hills, but also one longer climb of 8.9km, 5.2% average grade. We planned to keep a good pace, but had nasty headwinds for the last 60km that slowed us down, making the whole ride take 10 hours.

The weather was slightly cool (19°C) and cloudy. It was supposed to rain in the afternoon, but luckily all we encountered was few drops.

The local 200km bervet is this upcoming Friday, though I'm still undecided on riding it.

Didn't ride that bervet.

But my team had a training camp last weekend; We rode 160km (with ~2500m elevation gains) on Thursday, a bit less on Friday, and then another 160km of rolling hills on Saturday, which makes it another two centuries. I believe those were the fastest centuries I have ever done, probably because they were at race pace.

i'm happy and exhausted with my first century of the year. did solo 100.3 miles in 7 hours 26 mins (i know it's slow before anyone says it). London to cambridgeshire and back. might have been a bit early in the build up but i didn't get to ride on saturday so i wanted to make up for lost mileage.

cool, still and sunny in the morning but on the return journey the breeze picked up and seemed to be always in my face. grinding into the wind my leg muscles were knackered by mile 80. some fit issues with saddle height and cleat position were exposed on the longer ride. need to adjust before next century (maybe next month or end of this).

ate peanuts, 2 cans of coke, a chocolate bar and bacon & egg mayonnaise sandwich at mile 50.

104 miles. Had the day off and listened to it rain from midnight until 6 AM. Turns out it was mixed with light snow, in Wichita, in April, again! What is this nonsense? Fortunately everything cleared up by 9 AM.

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31
Feb 1
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22
Apr 4, 10

4/11/09
100.78 miles on this rear tire.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/100miles.jpg

10 Wheels: What kind of tire is that on your Felt? (Make/model/size) I'm amazed it didn't blowout. I had a complete blowout on a 23 mm Specialized Pro (Roubaix OEM) with a hole smaller than that. Replaced them with a 25 mm Gatorskin and Armadillo. I'm intrigued with your tire and the amount of tread that apparently was there when new. I'm assuming it's in the 23-28 mm range.

Michelin (TransWorld City) 700 x 28 The tire now has 2900 miles on it.

The White you see is the boot.
The cut came from a Brown Beer bottle glass two days before.

I used a Heavy duty mailing envelop as a boot.
Time of pic, the boot had been in for 190 miles.

104 miles. A rare day with light winds; storm clouds all day kept the temperatures moderate; promised thunderstorms waited until I'd been home an hour. Life is good. :)

2009 Century Log:
Jan 11, 17, 31
Feb 1
Mar 7, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22
Apr 4, 10, 18

First Century ride.. Brag STU Madison, GA.

Perfect weather today, and I did my first century ride in about 15 years. Two loops around Stukel Mountain, and then a little jaunt through the neighborhood to round it out: 100.3 miles, 6 hours 2 minutes. I tried pushing the last ten miles to get it under 6 hours, but didn't quite have the stuff.

Anyway, it was a great ride. All the mechanicals were good, fit felt good through the whole ride, no aches or pains except one toe that felt like it was going to catch fire toward the end. Probably need some decent cycling socks.