Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Commuter Preparing for First Century

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting in this forum.

I am planning on doing a century on June 6. I've never done a ride nearly this long before, but I believe I can do it. Tell me if I'm being naive. I'm a year-round commuter and I bike 90% of the time. My commute is 14 mi. RT and I have no problem doing that even 7 days in a row. The most I've ever biked in a day was about 35 miles and that was last year, about 28 miles before work and then the commute home. I had no problem with that and had only very minor soreness the next day, and I believe I commuted then too. No problem. I don't give up easily at all. I'm not in fantastic shape (want to start doing more regular resistance training again) but I believe above average, and 6'0", 200 lbs.

This ride is going to be a casual ride, about 12 MPH. My normal pace is about 15 MPH w/o stops. I don't have to do the whole thing, but I would very much like to. I have to work the following day at 4 PM and I would prefer to ride but can drive if I need to. There will be frequent but short breaks. The time alloted for the ride is 10 hours. My plan is to drive to the starting location the day before with my wife and take the bike, but if I can't get the day off I will have a much more difficult time since I will be working until midnight. The bike is a Swobo Dixon commuter. Wind is planned to be on our side.

http://burnhamplan100.uchicago.edu/events/id/956

So what do you think? Am I being reasonable? Should I not try to do the whole thing? Do I need to do some longer rides first (I know, I should have asked that earlier...)? I'm going to pack my usual supplies - Turbo Morph G pump, Park GP-2 patch kit, spare tube, tire lever, Topeak Toolbar, tire boot, 24 oz. bottle of water, U-lock. I'm also planning on taking some granola bars or something like that and possibly a second water bottle but don't want to be weighed down too much. I have some Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires I plan on putting on before the ride. It looks like there will be one stop for eating. There should be water on the way.

Tips? I imagine stretching before the ride is a good idea, but what about on the breaks? Should I eat a ton of spaghetti the night before (I certainly wouldn't mind that...). And what should I do after to recover?

Thanks for any advice.

I am no expert by any means - but I recently went through the same thing.

I am really just a mountain biker, who uses a road bike for commuting (35 miles round trip) 3 or so days a week.

What I did was go for a solo ride of 60 miles the weekend before the century - and told myself if I felt ok afterwards I would commit and do it. I did - it was pretty cool. Actually going to do another one this weekend because it is pretty close to home.

I would recommend going for it - I mean what is the worst that can happen? You cant finish and pull out and jump in the SAG wagon.

First, 28 miles to 100 miles is a big jump. Stuff that you don't even notice after 28 miles -- i.e., hydration, calorie intake, a little extra pressure on your hands, etc. -- can become a royal bother after 100 miles. Do you know that what you eat and drink isn't going to bother your stomach while you're riding for the next couple hours?

That said... centuries are really just another ride, albeit a really long one. You're obviously in good shape. Don't overthink it too much. As has been said... if things go bad, it's a supported ride, the SAG wagon will pick you up.

I did my first century with no more training than a 12-mile round-trip commute. You already know to pace yourself, so my only suggestions are don't change tires and ditch the U-Lock.

I'd also suggest stretching things out a bit beforehand before then. Try a 50 miler at least. Make sure to follow the old dictum: drink before you're thirsty and eat before you're hungry. I'm sure you can do it.

No need to overeat the night before, but a good pasta meal is usual for me.

The other important thing is to ride within yourself. Don't push the pace. Know your limits.

Sounds as though you have a reasonable "base" in though. Good luck and have a poke around VeloWeb for tips and encouragement.

I did my first century with no more training than a 12-mile round-trip commute. You already know to pace yourself, so my only suggestions are don't change tires and ditch the U-Lock.

Thanks, everyone!

Out of curiosity, why not change the tires? Because it wouldn't be a good time to try something new, or is the Marathon Plus not a good tire for a ride like this?

Change the tires. I do.

Out of curiosity, why not change the tires? Because it wouldn't be a good time to try something new, or is the Marathon Plus not a good tire for a ride like this?

I use Marathon Pluses daily on my commuter and love them in that context, but if I were attempting 7x my usual distance for the first time, I'd prefer to give up some flat resistance and stay a little lighter and quicker.

It's a personal thing, though. Whichever makes more sense to you.