Fifty Plus (50+) - 1st century advice...

I'm planning on riding my 1st century in a few weeks and am wondering if I'm 'ready'.

I've been riding a couple of years at 18-20 miles/day 4-5 days a week.
.
Month ago, I got a new bike and have been riding about 25 miles/day 3-4 days a week plus 1 35-40 mile group ride/week

My longest ride to date has been 52 miles a month ago.

I'm 50 years old and have been either running, biking, or elliptical training daily for 7 or 8 years.

any advice or experiences would be appreciated...

edit: I should have mentioned that this is an organized event with rest stops, food, drink etc.
edit 2: avg speed solo rides (20 miles) about 18mph, group rides (40 mile) about 19mph

I think you'll be fine. Bring a bunch of Clif Bars or whatever your favorite on-bike food is. Eat something every half hour or so, keep hydrated, keep a pace that is within your fitness. Stretch occasionally while you are on the bike. Remember, if you have some energy left you can always go faster near the end. This is much more enjoyable than dogging it in because you blew yourself out trying to stay with too fast a group. How do the hills compare with the hills you are training on? I think that's probably more important than miles anyway.

Oh, and have fun!

I think you'll be fine. Bring a bunch of Clif Bars or whatever your favorite on-bike food is. Eat something every half hour or so, keep hydrated, keep a pace that is within your fitness. Stretch occasionally while you are on the bike. Remember, if you have some energy left you can always go faster near the end. This is much more enjoyable than dogging it in because you blew yourself out trying to stay with too fast a group. How do the hills compare with the hills you are training on? I think that's probably more important than miles anyway.

Oh, and have fun!

Stand up and stretch while you pedal. Make your rest stops short.
Clif bars give some people gas.

Century rides are not hard till the last 20 miles or so- Prepare for them. Eat and drink before- during and after the ride. Eats are whatever you want but small amounts frequently. I take dried fruit- Oat based cereal bars- cake and some protein in the form of cheese. There is a worry that you can bonk around the 70 mile mark so I stop at 65 and take a bottle of Drink- something to eat and stretch. Takes a couple of minutes at most. And riding speed- Keep the speed up on the flats and downhill but never attack the hills. That is the place where you will use energy so take them comfortably.

And get your boasting ready for Monday when you go into work. And make certain it is impressive. No- one will believe that you managed the ride so pics help- and they will here aswell.

Nope. No foreseeable problems. Don't sweat it, just go ride.

Don't count on the rest stops- make sure you take some food that you know you can eat on a ride. Have been on many rides where the provided food was less than desirable, or gone.

Eat well before, and at least every hour, as others have already said. Drink... lots...

Ride a little slower or at your average for the first half, then you can speed it up on the second half if you feel up to it.

Personally, I find that more than 10 mins at a rest stop hurts more than it helps.

I take along twizzlers, or jelly beans to snack on. Cliff Shot blocks when I find them cheap. In the last 20 or so, they can be a life saver.

A few Motrin in the leg cramps start have saved me more than once.

I also take two bottles, one with G'ade with a little extra salt, and one with water. A swallow of G'ade, then one of water ever 10-15 mins. I try to finish a half bottle of each every hour.

Don't go eating things that are different from what you are used to. If you can find out what the ride organizers will be suppling make sure you try some of their gu/Clif/Heed/etc to make sure you can tolerate it. Otherwise carry your own supply of food and drink.
Have fun, chat with other riders enjoy the scenery

Nope. No foreseeable problems. Don't sweat it, just go ride.

+1

For someone with the exercise you've been doing the 100 miles is just a psychological thing, a big number.

I don't advise this but I actually rode a solo century on an almost empty stomach this summer just to see if I could do it. Dinner the night before was just a couple of tuna sandwhiches, breakfast prior to the ride was a banana and a slimfast, I carried four bottles of gatorade (drank three of them), and stopped for an ice cream 65 miles into the ride.

So you're more than ready! Just get out there and ride it. Carry liquid and simply enjoy the ride because after just 100 short miles it will be history!

Don't make any changes to your bike or equipment for several weeks before the ride. Nothing worse then finding out it irritates or breaks or whatever in the middle of a century.

Mostly, have fun.

Good advice so far. Not much to add. Don't make more of it than it is. It's just a long ride on a bicycle. Or if you prefer, several short rides connected by rest stops. If your bike needs any attention, do it now, a few weeks before the ride.

Eat and drink enough. Relax. Have fun. Meet some people. Take some pictures and post them here when you come back to brag about what you've done.

I'd make sure I was comfortable with a 75 to 80 mile ride before I started the century.

Agree with others about not changing what works for you in terms of nutrition and equipment. I carry my own food and powder to mix sports drink. This worked well for me a couple of weekends back.

BIG THANKS to everyone for all of the great advice.....I've definitely picked up a few new ideas that I think will really help.....I've got another 3 weeks to wait and will be back afterward to announce my success and thank you again!

cheers!

BIG THANKS to everyone for all of the great advice.....I've definitely picked up a few new ideas that I think will really help.....I've got another 3 weeks to wait and will be back afterward to announce my success and thank you again!

cheers!

You will do fine.
Just have fun with it.

Supported centuries are great. If it's a big one with more than 1000 people the two worst parts of the ride will be:
a) the start which will be chaotic with people weaving, passing, being passed, and perhaps falling. I hate the start of these rides.
b) the first rest stop. Everyone heeded the advice to be hydrated and now they are all standing in the longest lines you have ever seen for the porta-pots.

So gut it out through the first few miles and while I implore you to drink throughout the race, don't overdo it at the start!!!

Oh, and bring 2, maybe even 3 tubes, levers, and a pump. I've had 2 flats on a metric before.

I am prepairing to do a charity ride, Signed up for the 100 mile leg. Yesterday i tried to do 100 miles shake down ride and failed.
I had a new saddle that worked very well.

Heart rate was up and maxed out for the first two hours of the ride and still could only get 10.1 mph average.
then after a break my average went down to 8.3 mph after 52 miles. Didn't go back out for the second loop. Themp was 93 with 76 degree dew point some overcast, drank one gal gatoraid and had few energy bars and one energy drink.
My riding weight with bike and cammelbak was 315 lbs. I have ridden this loop faster in the past averaging 9.8 mph.
The failure had to do with the lack of quality rest the night before, new and untested saddle, waking up and checking the time every hour the night before. Also starting out an hour before any daylight

At those numbers i wont make the cutoff time for the 100 mile and be redirected to the 62 mile loop. ( Three hours to get 30 miles to the split of the 100 mile and 62 mile loop.) I think i could do 100 miles it would just take me 16 hours to do it
After 12 years without riding I started riding in Feb 2010

I am prepairing to do a charity ride, Signed up for the 100 mile leg. Yesterday i tried to do 100 miles shake down ride and failed.
I had a new saddle that worked very well.

Heart rate was up and maxed out for the first two hours of the ride and still could only get 10.1 mph average.
then after a break my average went down to 8.3 mph after 52 miles. Didn't go back out for the second loop. Themp was 93 with 76 degree dew point some overcast, drank one gal gatoraid and had few energy bars and one energy drink.
My riding weight with bike and cammelbak was 315 lbs. I have ridden this loop faster in the past averaging 9.8 mph.
The failure had to do with the lack of quality rest the night before, new and untested saddle, waking up and checking the time every hour the night before. Also starting out an hour before any daylight

At those numbers i wont make the cutoff time for the 100 mile and be redirected to the 62 mile loop. ( Three hours to get 30 miles to the split of the 100 mile and 62 mile loop.) I think i could do 100 miles it would just take me 16 hours to do it
After 12 years without riding I started riding in Feb 2010

I think you are asking too much of your body. Why the great need to do a century? Give your body, your joints, ligaments, etc., a break, and build into it gradually.

I am preparing to do a charity ride, Signed up for the 100 mile leg. Yesterday i tried to do 100 miles shake down ride and failed.
I had a new saddle that worked very well.

Heart rate was up and maxed out for the first two hours of the ride and still could only get 10.1 mph average.
then after a break my average went down to 8.3 mph after 52 miles. Didn't go back out for the second loop. Temp was 93 with 76 degree dew point some overcast, drank one gal Gatorade and had few energy bars and one energy drink.
My riding weight with bike and cammelbak was 315 lbs. I have ridden this loop faster in the past averaging 9.8 mph.
The failure had to do with the lack of quality rest the night before, new and untested saddle, waking up and checking the time every hour the night before. Also starting out an hour before any daylight

At those numbers i wont make the cutoff time for the 100 mile and be redirected to the 62 mile loop. ( Three hours to get 30 miles to the split of the 100 mile and 62 mile loop.) I think i could do 100 miles it would just take me 16 hours to do it
After 12 years without riding I started riding in Feb 2010

Riding a bike in hight heat and humidity is very taxing on your body.
Slow is the only way to ride when temps get passed 90*.

Where was this ride?

I think you'll be fine. Bring a bunch of Clif Bars or whatever your favorite on-bike food is. Eat something every half hour or so, keep hydrated, keep a pace that is within your fitness. Stretch occasionally while you are on the bike. Remember, if you have some energy left you can always go faster near the end. This is much more enjoyable than dogging it in because you blew yourself out trying to stay with too fast a group. How do the hills compare with the hills you are training on? I think that's probably more important than miles anyway.



Oh, and have fun!

Excellent advice. Blowing up at mile 75-85 is the pitts. Pace is key to an enjoyable first century.

If the ride is supported then you do not have to haul all the food. If not plan it around some C stores. A $10 bill is much lighter than a box of Cliff bars. Take an extra tube in your flat kit.

Start out easy. I always feel great at first. I find that I can keep up with people and even pass them and I ride fast. I ride my normal-length distance (30 miles?) and feel like I could do this all day. Tra-la! But after 50 miles things start to catch up with me. I start to feel tired, soreness in my arms, soreness in my butt, etc. The last 20-30 miles can be agony!

Now I try to go my normal pace at first - not slow, but trying not to hammer to keep up with people. I keep that up. The last 30 miles I don't worry about pace - I just pedal as hard as it takes to finish.

The thing that best helps me survive and finish is frequent rest stops. Even if I'm not hungry, have plenty of water, and don't have to go to the bathroom, I still stop at all the stops - just to get off the bike for 15-20 minutes. As I get more tired (and over the halfway point) my breaks might stretch to 30 minutes. I've never had trouble finishing within the time limit. In fact, one of my guilty pleasures is driving off after I've finished, eaten the post-ride barbecue, and packed my bike into my truck, and seeing all the people still on the course, struggling to finish what I finished an hour ago!

Good advice so far.

I would suggest riding at an easy cruise. Try not to get "caught up" in the excitement. On a century, it can be easy to start out at a pace that you can not maintain. If you do that, you will end up paying for it later.

Good advice so far.

I like the 70 mile ride rule. Try to get in a ride that is 70% of your target distance in training (or 70 miles for a century).

Do not change anything for the century. Do not drink a new concoction, do not use new shoes, gloves, shorts etc. Stick with foods that you know you can handle and so on.

Do not stop long at rest stops. Get off your contact points, relieve yourself, charge your water bottles, grab a fast snack and get going.

Oh, and be sure to try to have a good time. Let us know how it turns out.

You can take everyone else's very good advice. Or, you can do it the BlazingPedals way.

Get lots of sleep the night before. OK I lied, I don't do that; but I would if I wasn't up late making last-minute changes to my bike. Oops, forget I said that! OK, now, when you take off, see if you can pass a couple of bikes right away. Now they're behind you and you MUST maintain your speed or they'll re-pass you and think you're a weenie. At your new, higher speed, you will pass more riders. Similarly, you must keep going faster and faster rather than let ANY of them re-pass you!

At the first rest stop, KEEP GOING! You don't need a rest that soon! Instead, aim for the second one, which is usually the lunch stop. Ride your bike right into the food line and pig out. Grab a quick nap in the shade, then hit the kybo before heading out again. Remember your pace before lunch? Now you have to go FASTER to make up for all the time you lost with that nap.

By the third rest stop you will be feeling worn out. Don't worry, that's normal! Drink lots to avoid heat exhaustion. Take another nap. For the last quarter of the ride, find a paceline of mountain bikes and hang on their wheels. Or, deflate your front tire and signal to the SAG van for a ride.

Or, you could do it the wimpy way: pace yourself a mile or two per hour slower than your normal week-day rides, eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty, take short breaks, and ride in a group to conserve energy. Which way do you think would be more fun?

You can take everyone else's very good advice. Or, you can do it the BlazingPedals way.

Get lots of sleep the night before. OK I lied, I don't do that; but I would if I wasn't up late making last-minute changes to my bike. Oops, forget I said that! OK, now, when you take off, see if you can pass a couple of bikes right away. Now they're behind you and you MUST maintain your speed or they'll re-pass you and think you're a weenie. At your new, higher speed, you will pass more riders. Similarly, you must keep going faster and faster rather than let ANY of them re-pass you!

At the first rest stop, KEEP GOING! You don't need a rest that soon! Instead, aim for the second one, which is usually the lunch stop. Ride your bike right into the food line and pig out. Grab a quick nap in the shade, then hit the kybo before heading out again. Remember your pace before lunch? Now you have to go FASTER to make up for all the time you lost with that nap.

By the third rest stop you will be feeling worn out. Don't worry, that's normal! Drink lots to avoid heat exhaustion. Take another nap. For the last quarter of the ride, find a paceline of mountain bikes and hang on their wheels. Or, deflate your front tire and signal to the SAG van for a ride.

Or, you could do it the wimpy way: pace yourself a mile or two per hour slower than your normal week-day rides, eat before you're hungry, drink before you're thirsty, take short breaks, and ride in a group to conserve energy. Which way do you think would be more fun?

I LIKE IT !

If I burn out, which I WON'T, it will be in a BLAZE of GLORY !

:giver:

Good advice about nutrition and hydration. I think you need longer days in the saddle prior to the century. You did not indicate your crusing speed but plan on 6 or more hours in the saddle. 15-25 mile rides several times a week do not prepare you for that. Increase your ride time so you can comfortably ride 60 - 75 miles before the century. They the jump in miles is not so great. Also you did not indicate the terrain. If you normally ride hills and the century is relatively flat you will be fine. If there are some sustained climbs in there and you are not used to climbing, you need to expose youself to hills before the ride. I concur 100 is just a number but prepare youself well.

Enjoy the ride!!

1st Century advice? I would have told the Romans not to spread their forces too thinly. It was obvious that the Roman army could not sustain themselves indefinitely in Britain.

Power gels----Normally called gels. Full of sugar and sticky stuff to give you energy and they do---But not immediately. Takes about 20 minutes to come in for me and are effective for a while. Always take water with them and I only use them for emergencies. Major problem is finding one you like and one that likes you. Some of them can cause you a stomach problem so test them before using them on an event.

Just ideal if you feel you are about to bonk and if this does occur- take a bottle of water with the gel- Try to eat something and slow down. Then take it steady till the end of the ride.

+1

For someone with the exercise you've been doing the 100 miles is just a psychological thing, a big number.

I don't advise this but I actually rode a solo century on an almost empty stomach this summer just to see if I could do it. Dinner the night before was just a couple of tuna sandwhiches, breakfast prior to the ride was a banana and a slimfast, I carried four bottles of gatorade (drank three of them), and stopped for an ice cream 65 miles into the ride.



Back when I was racing, I would have a big vegetarian dinner the night before a road race (and I am NOT a vegan!). This way, the body operates very efficiently (is not still trying to digest meat). You can also have a big breakfast with lots of protein, as long as it is >3 or 4 hours before the ride starts. An organized century ride with food stops (usually spaced about 20 miles/30 km apart) is actually quite easy. I usually start with an empty water bottle (why carry two unless it's really hot?) and fill it at the first rest stop (who needs to drink in the first 20 miles?). I think most people overestimate their calorie consumpiton, so they end up gaining weight at the rest stops. Foodwise, anything you eat your body has to spend energy digesting, which takes away from energy used cycling, so the main idea of eating during a ride is fooling your body into thinking that you are not hungry. So you can actually do the ride powered solely on what's available at the rest stops, no worries. (Hey, on the track we ride 40 or 50 km points races and we are not allowed to carry bottles on the track bikes! And we are gong flat out most of the time!)

Don't worry about spending too much time at the rest stops. If you're not used to riding long distances, your body does need time off the bike. I think your main problem is not going to be food or drink over the distance; I think your main problem will be saddle and position discomfort. Time off the saddle will help with this. If you spend too long at a rest stop, your body will feel stiff and creaky when you start rolling again, but believe me, this will only last for a few pedal strokes, and then you will no longer notice it, once the blood starts flowing again and the muscles get back to operating temperature.

This is stuff learned from doing the longer randonneur rides - 200km to 1000km. The longest ride I've done this year is 1000 km in just over 45 hours. My longest ride leading up to this was less than 200 km this year (600 km if we count last year), but most of my weekly rides totalled over 400 km over the week. Applying this to your situation, I would not worry about your maximum distance leading up to the century. You're reasonably fit, you're not racing a marathon, you will be sitting down most of the time, you can go as slow as you like, there will be lots of food stops so you are not likely to bonk even if you tried, so just listen to your body and ride it!

- Luis

I'm planning on riding my 1st century in a few weeks and am wondering if I'm 'ready'.

I've been riding a couple of years at 18-20 miles/day 4-5 days a week.
.
Month ago, I got a new bike and have been riding about 25 miles/day 3-4 days a week plus 1 35-40 mile group ride.

My longest ride to date has been 52 miles a month ago.

I'm 50 years old and have been either running, biking, or elliptical training daily for 7 or 8 years.

any advice or experiences would be appreciated...

edit: I should have mentioned that this is an organized event with rest stops, food, drink etc.
edit 2: avg speed solo rides (20 miles) about 18, group rides (40 mile) about 19

I haven't done a century yet, but I did my first metric 8 weeks ago and three additional ones since then. Here's how I prepped for that, based on reading and trying the detailed plans in Cycling Past 50 (these are too much work and focus for me!):

The basic idea is to be able to ride 60-70% of the event distance 1 week ahead of the event. Then the week before, ride but shorter distances, and not to ride hard. So, you need to do a metric the weekend before.

The weeks before that, you need to verify that your saddle, bike fit, and pacing strategy are ok, combined with eating and drinking. Do those by doing your normal riding, but build up the distance where possible. I'd expect your basic fitness is adequate now - it's mainly being used to the bike.

So again, I haven't ridden a century yet, but this is the plan I'm trying to follow right now, given I can keep my new job (yay!) schedule constant and out of the way. The basic strategy worked very well for me with my first metric. It won't get you into butt-hauling condition, at least didn't for me, but I finished the metrics in very decent comfort.

Just because it can be such an issue here and in other hot areas, I'll add: don't neglect your electrolytes! Using a capsule (I use Hammer Endurolytes) is one way to ensure you are getting what you need: you just pop one every 15 minutes or so with water.

I have always belonged to the Why Train When You Can Suffer Club. Works for me,

Go for it.

I'm kinda old school. I like a big bowl of spagetti and meat balls for dinner the night before. NO alcohol. No caffeine, for me anyway. Usually water or lemonade.

Bowl of cereal and bananas for breakfast. Lots of fluids. I like HEED. In the heat I also take Enduralytes.

I make my own goo out of natural peanut butter, nutella, molasses, honey, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Heat over a double boiler and mix. Fill 5 oz squeeze bottles. Take a gulp every 30 min or so.

Get off the bike every 20 - 25 mi and stretch. Not more than 10 min.

Keep a reasonable pace. Draft if you know how.

A century without stop lights and other traffic interruptions is very different to one with frequent traffic stops. It will make a big difference.

I think you are ready. Enjoy, and don't forget to take a picture of your odo at the end. You only do your first century once!
http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac46/handsonpromos/Photo_120609_003.jpg
I had to ride around the parking lot to get the last .3 mi on the odo! No way I was taking a photo of 99.7 mi.

1st Century advice? I would have told the Romans not to spread their forces too thinly. It was obvious that the Roman army could not sustain themselves indefinitely in Britain.

Sounds like they needed Clif bars and gels ... and to ride in groups, and to carry more water.

I forgot to mention something that helps me. Strike up a conversation with a stranger as you ride. Several times I've chatted with someone for half an hour or more, and it helped take my mind off the suffering. It's also nice to meet new people and talk bikes (or whatever - I had a long talk with a guy about politics and the education system in California - dangerous to talk politics, but if the other person sees fairly eye to eye it can be diverting.

Sounds like they needed Clif bars and gels ... and to ride in groups, and to carry more water.

Man, it must have been hard to carry water on their backs in those ginormous urns. I prolly would have just biked the aqueduct system.

The ride I'll be participating in is sponsored by a local bicycle club and open to the public. There are usually 3-400 riders on 33, 52, 63, & 100 mile routes.

Is it necessary to ask permission to draft on organized rides such as this?

I don't ask permission as much as announce my presence. And I only draft on these kind of rides if we're heading directly into the wind AND the person in front of me looks like they know what they are doing.

All good advice.
Mentally, think of it as just four 25 mile rides.
Pedal on!

Man, it must have been hard to carry water on their backs in those ginormous urns. I prolly would have just biked the aqueduct system.

I think they used the elephants as SAGs.

I don't ask permission as much as announce my presence. And I only draft on these kind of rides if we're heading directly into the wind AND the person in front of me looks like they know what they are doing.

Yeah, some kind of announcement is necessary. If the person is not comfortable, that is he/she worries about if they can slow down or move laterally without affecting people behind, you have to fall back and not draft. I learned that from my cousin on my Upper Peninsula tour.