Road Cycling - Minimalist centuries?

I just realized that I did a half century in about 2:30 yesterday and all I had was 3/4ths of a 24 ounce bottle of accelerade (kind of like gatorade). How much harder does it get as you approach a full century?
Everyone keeps talking about loading up during the ride with food and gel and whatnot. Has anyone completed a century on just two bottles of water and a big breakfast?

I've never done one that minimalist but I would think that you could find a grocery store, convenience store, or sandwich shop along your route where you find find enough nutritious food to get you through a century. If I knew the route, I would have no problems going out with just a couple of water bottles and buy whatever I needed along the way.

I regularly ride unsupported centuries with just two bottles and a couple of energy bars. One is filled with water (my rule of thumb is to always have water) and the other with an energy drink. And like SteveE says, I'll usually be able to find a convenience store or gas station or something to replenish my food supplies at. If I'm really intending to go out into the middle of nowhere then I'll of course take more.

Yes. I often do 100-160 km with just the bottle on my bike. I keep an energy gel in my saddle bag in case of an extreme bonk.

I have done century ride with just a bottle of water, but I stop at convinience store or Gas station to buy me some food, (Junk food ), Oh, I forgot to tell you before I start my ride I would have a very heavy breakfast,

I generally ride centuries on a few cookies or crackers but don't skimp on water/fluids.

The one century I've done I managed with about 32oz of water and some light snacking at a few rest stops. However, it was pretty cold during the ride and I tend to drink very little when it's colder weather.

i do not understand the appeal of riding with inadequate hydration or why that would be considered a "good" thing to try.

dehydration is never good for you. it makes me feel bad, ride poorly, and be grumpy when i get home. it can also be dangerous both from a physical standpoint and your decision making skills

i usually drink one full bottle on long rides...even in the winter

i will carry 3-4 bottles on long rides in the summer...most of my rides are well away from any stores or any place to "fill up."

Well, after 60-70 miles, most people use start using up their stores of glycogen. So eating something is a good idea. Now I never bother to carbo load or anything like that unless I rode a long ride the day before and I am eating carbohydrates to replenish my depleted stores. Now I suppose I could ride a century on water only. I routinely do 50-60 mile rides on water alone and no breakfast but after a certain number of miles my body seems to want something. So as I said, I could probably do a century on nothing but water, but I really don't care to try.

i do not understand the appeal of riding with inadequate hydration or why that would be considered a "good" thing to try.

dehydration is never good for you. it makes me feel bad, ride poorly, and be grumpy when i get home. it can also be dangerous both from a physical standpoint and your decision making skills

i usually drink one full bottle on long rides...even in the winter

i will carry 3-4 bottles on long rides in the summer...most of my rides are well away from any stores or any place to "fill up."

It's not as much an appeal as a necessity. There's only a certain amount that I can drink before my bladder fills up and then I get uncomfortable and have to go to the bathroom. I was wondering if it's an absolute necessity that I be nonstop sitting and snacking for the whole ride.

I did a half century on Sun. Two bars and two bottles and i needed more to drink the last 5 miles. The 25 coming home into a headwind KILLED me.

It's not as much an appeal as a necessity. There's only a certain amount that I can drink before my bladder fills up and then I get uncomfortable and have to go to the bathroom. I was wondering if it's an absolute necessity that I be nonstop sitting and snacking for the whole ride.
For me it is a necessity. Not non stop but usually a Cliff Bar or some such thing every 20 miles and tones of fluids. I did a century lats month that was very well supported. I ate food at every stop and filled my bottles. I probably went through 8 bottles and I had to pee at every stop. As a minimalist if I do a solo century I cary 4 bottles and about 5 bars. I eat a big breakfast and start eating at 20 miles. Then I will stop at a store and fill my bottles again. But thats me, I always feel the need to drink...

I'm really new to riding long distances, but isn't "stoping at a store": cheating ???
It's in my book anyway, I don't know, maybe I'm hardcore or a purist, but for me stoping, or at least to take a break would be cheating, even if it is not a race I'd feel that way.
I come from a running background, and I feel it would be like trying to run a marathon but stopping to rest at midway, no way! the challenge is to ride the 100 miles non-stop, making sure I prepare myself carrying the "fuel" on me, or at least eat well, carbo load well ahead of time. My take.
Corsaire

I'm really new to riding long distances, but isn't "stoping at a store": cheating ???
It's in my book anyway, I don't know, maybe I'm hardcore or a purist, but for me stoping, or at least to take a break would be cheating, even if it is not a race I'd feel that way.
I come from a running background, and I feel it would be like trying to run a marathon but stopping to rest at midway, no way! the challenge is to ride the 100 miles non-stop, making sure I prepare myself carrying the "fuel" on me, or at least eat well, carbo load well ahead of time. My take.
Corsaire
I don't see it as cheating because for me long rides are part of my training and the real compitition come on the weekend races. I don't compete with myself on training rides nor compete with group riding partners. But I suppose you can look at it any way you want. The thing is if you don't carry enough stuff with you then you risk injury and then your training is compromised.

I dont like to stop either except 50 plus,i'll stop for 5 half way.

I dont like to stop either except 50 plus,i'll stop for 5 half way.

That's what I mean, how can you test yourself, your endurance, stamina, mettle, pain threshold, mental toughness if you STOP ? slowdown maybe, you could "crawl" your bike, that would be acceptable, but never stopping. I don't know that's how I see it, even ultramarathon runners (over 26.2 miles: 50, 90 & 100 miles!) don't stop, why should you on a bike?
I hate traffic light and stop signs, 'cause they force me to stop (and cheat), at least for 1 minute or two and disrupt my cadence and speed, but is one of those things can't do anything about.
Corsaire

Well that's what I was wondering too, cause I've heard people talk about "comfort" centuries where they bike 40 miles to one place, sit down for lunch, bike around for 20 miles exploring the scenery, and then bike back, that's a full century too.
Then there's just going out and pushing it for 100 miles nonstop, no breaks and eating on the bike.
Then there's just going out with nothing but a bottle of water and pushing yourself the full 100 on just that and stored energy.

Then there's just going out with nothing but a bottle of water and pushing yourself the full 100 on just that and stored energy.<<<<<<<<<<<

The latter I think would be foolish, no need to punish the body by running on empty.

Corsaire

Then there's just going out with nothing but a bottle of water and pushing yourself the full 100 on just that and stored energy.<<<<<<<<<<<

The latter I think would be foolish, no need to punish the body by running on empty.

Corsaire

I haven't had enough experience to figure out if there's a difference but I've gone a lot of miles on just a bottle of gatorade watered down 50%, which adds at most 60 calories or so.
People go 40 miles on just water, maybe add a little sports drink for 50-60 miles, and so on and feel fine but is there a limit like say, around 80 or so before a full 100 where the body says, "ok, i'm all out, you're on your own."?

I don't think the 100 milers don't stop on unsupported runs. It would be impossible to carry the necessary fluids and keep the joints together under that kind of weight over that kind of distance. When someone has nice cups or bottles of gatorade and stuff ready for you to grab it is all well and good not to stop but when you are all by your lonesome sometimes you need to do your own support and that means stopping. That being said 100 miles should be able to be done without carrying too much but you are going to be carrying a lot of weight in water (especially if it is hot, I ran through a gallon in 50 miles last saturday) and if you are doing a lot of hills that will make the hills a lot harder.

I haven't had enough experience myself either, the farthest I've gone by bike was 55 miles a week ago with two steep uphills at almost the beguinning and half way, (went out very early to avoid heat exhaustion), round trip, started at my house, returning to the same point, my only cheating (hated it) was when forced to stop at traffic light and stops signs to check for incoming cars. I only had a bottle of water with me (had taken a milkshake of protein, bananas & peaches for breakfast), the last 3 miles I confess felt a bit tired, but had enough power to finish my circuit, but being my first time don't think it was bad at all.
But the real fun and excitement for me was to know the I was challenging myself for real almost w/o stopping, self reliable.
I'm sure that farther than 55 miles I would've bonked, but I'm training....
Corsaire

Corsaire - I would venture a guess that most folks on this or any other board dont have folks to hand them food / water during a long ride. Would be something to see a guy take enough food and water with him to hammer for 100 miles non-stop. If you are able to do this, cool, most of us remain mortal and require stops for more supplies. This isnt cheating, its logistics.

To many folks just riding 100 miles is the challenge, they can then progressivly improve. Perhaps reduce time at each water stop, maybe only stop at every-other one.

I agree with you, were I to ever run a marathon I would want to do it without stopping, however during training or organized rides I dont hold myself (nor do any others that I know) to such a hard rule. Maybe we view the marathon as a personal test/race whereas a century is just another training venue?

I dont like to stop either except 50 plus,i'll stop for 5 half way.

That's what I mean, how can you test yourself, your endurance, stamina, mettle, pain threshold, mental toughness if you STOP ? slowdown maybe, you could "crawl" your bike, that would be acceptable, but never stopping. I don't know that's how I see it, even ultramarathon runners (over 26.2 miles: 50, 90 & 100 miles!) don't stop, why should you on a bike?
I hate traffic light and stop signs, 'cause they force me to stop (and cheat), at least for 1 minute or two and disrupt my cadence and speed, but is one of those things can't do anything about.
Corsaire


For me the problem occurs when you report your time for the ride.

I think the correct time for a century ride is the time that elapsed from when you began to when you crossed the finish line. If you have to take a break, then that counts, too. With the advent of cyclocomputers that track "ride time", people tend to report how long they were on the bike or the average speed for when they were travelling.

For example, I did a 60-miler a week ago. The average travelling speed was 15.5mph, but when I divided the distance by the time recorded on the stopwatch function (records time even while the bike is stopped), then my actual speed was 14.1mph. It's my fault for stopping at lights and taking a short break in the middle. But 14.1mph represents (in my mind) my actual speed. If I want to improve my time, I need to find a course with fewer traffic controls, carry more food with me, and pedal faster.

Last year I did a solo century (100 miler) on my loaded touring bike. Took me 10 hours - 8 hours pedalling and 2 hours resting in the 95 degree heat. Earlier this year I did the same ride under cooler conditions in 8.5 hours total. I now have a sport tourer and would like to see if I can break 7 hours in an organized century. Maybe later this year.

I did a 50-mile ride on Friday. I don't like to stop so I took two bottles of Accelerade along. It was a nice 73-degree day with a mild headwind on the way out. Last 2 miles I started to cramp slightly in my left leg. I realised when I finished that I'd had nothing to eat all day - no breakfast or lunch, and had drunk only coffee in the morning. It was a dumb mistake as an hour after I finished I felt absolutely terrible. Eating a melon and drinking a load of water helped, but it took a while before I felt well enough to get off the couch. Needless to say, I learned my lesson.

People do centuries for different reasons. For some of us, it isn't about the time or the speed or how long we can go with or without stopping. It's simply a ride to see things, to experience things, the 100-mile mark is simply that... a mark. To be honest, I couldn't really tell you what my century times are because they vary all over the place and it doesn't really matter to me. Stopping isn't cheating for me and I almost always plan to stop... if not for food supplies then to take in the sights because I try and plan my rides to places that have a view. I'll almost always find something along the side of the road that I will want to get a closer look at. For me, a ride is not training... it's not about pushing myself to some limit... it's about obtaining an experience and pursuing an adventure. I bike to explore... not to race.

There's nothing wrong with "stopping to smell the roses", I do it myself sometimes, just don't religiously go out on a ride to test or push myself.
But I thought we were talking about century from a sporty/challenging point of view.
I don't race, I ride for enjoyment and as another way to discover myself and see what I'm capable of.
Corsaire

Now don't get me wrong but I was talking from more of a challenging point of view too. Hell my 60 year old parents can do a century if it took them all day and a lot of breaks. But like those crazy marathon runners and adventure racers who go all out for 48-72 straight hours, I was just wondering how many people do unsupported nonstop centuries.
Seems to be more of an elistist attitude and ego clash. I've talked to people who squak at the idea of taking breaks during a century and then also people who think it's just fine to take one or two breaks for lunch while on a century.

I have done fully unsupported non-stop centuries before. I even did it while mountain biking on trails where there was very little chance I could get easily rescued much less find pottable water. It required 100 fl. oz. of water in the Camelbak plus water bottles and about a dozen energy bars. It also required things like spare tubes and folding tyres, extra spokes and all the essential take-along mechanical tools. By the end of it, I had run out of water and I was horribly dehydrated. I thought to myself that the next time, I would take along a filtration kit so I could make use of water from streams, ponds and rivers. On every other ride I've ever been on, there's always been somewhere I could stop and get water every 20 or so miles so I never let it get to the point where I don't have a full water bottle. Now mind you, I have never tried to bike across a desert yet.

Seems to be more of an elistist attitude and ego clash. I've talked to people who squak at the idea of taking breaks during a century and then also people who think it's just fine to take one or two breaks for lunch while on a century.<<<<<<

sloid, you hit it on the nail, I guess it's just a matter of how you approach the sport, and that can be as varied as the colos of the rainbow.
I personally like challenges, unconciously sometimes I find myself driving up a hill while out in the car and wondering: hey, this hill looks and feel challenging, then I want to come back to defy it and conquer it (non-stop, of course!). Like mountain climbers, once Mallory was asked why does he want to climb Everest (what's the sense of it): he replied his famous words: "because is there".

Corsaire
"Security is only a superstition, it does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is not safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing"
Hellen Keller

Seems to be more of an elistist attitude and ego clash. I've talked to people who squak at the idea of taking breaks during a century

those same people average a 30km/h century wheelsucking the whole way and proudly announce their speed, "unsupported".

sd