Fifty Plus (50+) - How does one build up to a century?

I've been riding a couple of weeks now and have built up to 10 miles before my kroch needs a break. Does it get better or do you just learn to tolerate the discomfort?

Maybe you need to adjust your bike a bit?

I'm sure you can search around here for saddle height and position adjustment questions.

Personally I feel nothing but a bit of knee uncomfort from an old injury for the first 2 hrs.

have fun out there!

Crotch.
Could be that you're new. Could be that your seat is set up wrong. Could be that its a cheap saddle and never will be comfortable. If you google something like "bike setup" or "adjusting bike seat," you'll find more answers than you can use.
If you bought a cheap bike (nothing wrong with that; a lot of us started that way), chances are it has a cheap saddle. and if it was assembled by a discount store, it may not be properly adjusted.

Had the same bike for 20+ years and wondered why my back always hurt and my butt always hurt. Well, it was the bike and the seat. Got a new bike and am so comfortable it is just nuts.
Might be your fit to the bike. Might be the bike.
But, if you are just starting out, a sore butt and maybe crotch is pretty much the norm.
If you have a cheap bike and cheap seat, it may not get better...


Now, as far as building miles up, that just comes with time. Last Fall getting back into riding, I could barely make 5 miles. Now 30 seems easy. Will be doing a metric century next month.

The bike is a department store bike. Schwinn 700c Mountain/Road hybrid. I wasn't sure if I would really get into the sport of cycling so before I dropped $1000.00 on a good bike I spent $280.00 at Target. I like the bike, and I think I found an activity in cycling that I can really get into. I am feeling no soreness like I would after running a few miles.
I'll look into seat adjustment and bike fit.
Happy cycling!!

10 miles so far and you have a bit of butt ache---Get used to it as it will take a few more miles before the butt gets hardened up.

Mind you-Saddle fit is critical but not untill you have that hardened butt. Lots come into this but type of saddle- width of saddle- position of saddle- position of you on the saddle- and finally That tough butt.

Welcome by the way but if you still have a sore butt after 100 miles- first stop will be the shop where you bought the bike. Hopefully they will help a lot but Butt ache and saddles are a common problem when you start out.

I was in the same spot you were 2 years ago. I borrowed my sons Freespirit to see if I would enjoy ridding. Yes at first my butt hurt but it did get better. The thing that really helped was the pair of padded riding shorts my son gave me.

I moved up to a Specialized Roubaix this year and have no problem with 50+ mile rides. It just takes time and the discomfort gets less as you get a better fitting bike and become accustomed longer rides.

The bike is a department store bike. Schwinn 700c Mountain/Road hybrid. I wasn't sure if I would really get into the sport of cycling so before I dropped $1000.00 on a good bike I spent $280.00 at Target. I like the bike, and I think I found an activity in cycling that I can really get into. I am feeling no soreness like I would after running a few miles.
I'll look into seat adjustment and bike fit.
Happy cycling!!

You've gotten some excellent advice already on the saddle, adjustments etc. Are you wearing cycling shorts? If not they can help as well.

A lot of us started the same way you are. It was probably a good idea to see how much you'd like this cycling stuff before investing too much. However, once you decide to upgrade go ahead and spend more that you think you might need to. I'd be way ahead of the game if I'd taken that approach instead of constantly inching up in frame quality and features. However by starting the way your are, you will enjoy the quality of other bikes that much more on down the road. Enjoy your time out on the road!

And once you get the comfort thing worked out doing a century is really not that difficult. You just have to get your body used to it. More on that later as you need it.

Put some miles on that dept store bike and when you are ready to pull they trigger, go for a 'real' bike :). Like the difference between having meat at McDonalds and having a nicely grilled steak at home :). Hey, they're both meat right? But don't rush out right now and buy. Put some miles on that thing. Have fun!

Thanks for the advice. :) I did buy a pair of biking shorts and they do help a lot.

What kind of weekly mileage is recommended for getting into shape for a century?

What kind of weekly mileage is recommended for getting into shape for a century?

That's such a personal thing, the only real answer is "As much as you have time for." But some folks do use a rule of thumb of getting to where you are doing 85% of the event distance. It depends in part on whether you want a century to be just another ride, or something you can eek your way through.

teachme, you dont say when the century is. Increasing your base miles is the key. If you can ride 75-85 miles comfortably, you can ride a century. If I recall correctly, Bicycling magazine has programs from 10-12 weeks to ride a century. As AZTallRider mentioned, it is a matter of how much time you have each week to ride.

To make the most of your available riding time, if it is short (30-40 minutes), try to ride at a higher speed. For longer rides, extend the distance.

One step at a time.

1. Get out there often - at least 4 days a week, but 5 is better. Don't ride 7 days a week - rest is as important as exercise.

2. Don't do too much too soon. You might increase your mileage rapidly at first, but pretty soon you should be at a point with no more than 10%/week increases in total miles.

3. Don't worry about speed or distance on any given day. Just ride. If you feel like crap on a given day, don't beat yourself up about it. Just make sure to get out there the next day.

4. Make sure the ride is enjoyable. Don't do the same route every day. Vary your distances and intensities.

5. If 1-4, the century will come.

Before the 100 miler- there is the riding your age- Then the metric (100 kms)- then the 40 miler at 20mph average and the 50 mile ride with 10,000ft of climbing.

Ten miles brings you pain? I'd say you're not ready for a century yet. Keep doing the ten-milers, then gradually increase your distance. Follow the advice above on saddles.

The last two centuries I did were in 2004 and 2005. They were too painful for me, so I haven't wanted to do any more. I was not ready. But this past Friday, I rode about 62 miles (a metric century), and I was fine, so I think I'm ready to do another century.

You learn to work out all the problems that come up with practice. And you learn your limits. It takes time.

Before the 100 miler- there is the riding your age- Then the metric (100 kms)- then the 40 miler at 20mph average and the 50 mile ride with 10,000ft of climbing.

I'm pretty sure stapfam is joking about the last two of those. Lots of us have done centuries without them. But the first two are excellent intermediate goals.

Ride 1 mile further each day your ride.
In 100 days you'll be answering your own question: How long before I can ride a century.

It took me about four month, riding every day and pushing
myself to the limit on every ride. Came home beat every day.

Now seventy to a hundred is no big deal. Did seventy four today
in just over five hours. Lot of wind today.

I have been riding a year. Average just under forty a day now.

It will get better. The ultimate perfect saddle will hurt your butt when you first start riding bikes. No sense spending money or time trying to buy your way out of it. Ya gots to pay yer dues.

It's great that you are already thinking about riding centuries at such an early point in your development. :thumb: Keep that thought out there as a long term goal. You will soon start making big progress toward riding longer and more comfortably. Just keep pushing the limits a little bit at a time. You'll know it if you are doing too much too soon. Eventually you will get to the point that making real plans and strategies about riding centuries will make sense. For now, work on getting to 12 miles.

The first bike I bought was a $100 bike that had a seat that was about like sitting on a 2x4. I assumed it was because it was a small seat, turns out, it was because it was a cheap seat. Anyway, it can be a challenge finding a comfortable seat. Padded biking shorts may help, but I wouldn't expect them to make a completely uncomfortably seat completely comfortable.

Are you only asking about how to toughen up your Krotch?

I've only done one century, plus some 80-mile rides. Here's how I built up to 100 miles:

1. I did my century on a very comfortable hybrid. I've been told all my life that you can't do long distances on a hybrid. I firmly disagree. The day after my century I got up pain free and went for a 25-mile pleasure ride---thanks to the hybrid.

2. Gears: my bike is set up with full mountain gears. Why suffer on the hills?

3. Nitto North Road handle bar will relieve neck pain on long rides.

4. Seat: Highly personal, but the right width, anatomical relief, angle, fore and aft adjustment, and height are essential. I set my seat higher than recommended., with my leg just about straight. That's what works for me. Most people seem to set their seat with a large bend in the knee. Small increments in the setup---as small as a quarter of an inch---will make a difference. You can also add an anatomical gel cover to your seat for the first few weeks and take it off when your hide is tougher.

5. Training regimen: From your current 10 miles, build up to 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, and 50. I read years ago that if you can ride 50 miles you can ride 100. I believe that's true but can't prove it. I trained up to 80 miles for my century and I think that was overtraining. I biked 1200 miles to train for my century. I don't think that's necessary. It's just that in my mind 100 miles was a really, really long, hard ride. I overestimated the difficulty.

6. Train in hills and then select a nice flat ride and a cool day for your century.

7. Go easy. I started biking in March of that year with a ride of just 3 miles, hated it, and threw down the bike in disgust. I did my century in October, so it took about 6 months to train.

8. Respect your body. If a century is going to do you damage (joints, back, neck, etc.), don't do it. Learn your limits. Bike for fitness and pleasure. Plenty of people in their 50s are now learning the joint penalty for excessive exercise over the last 30 years.

Too many variables on the seat issue - as was stated, could e fit, the saddle or just lack of ride time.
As far as training for a century - there is a lot of ground to cover. You need to work up to it, you also need to find out how to hydrate and refuel properly - that is an individual thing. All this takes some trial and error. I find if I can comfortably do a metric and am putting in 100+ miles/week I can do a century very nicely. Took me a bit to learn what food works for me and what drink works for me as well.

Good luck.

Since you are new at cycling and the crotch hurts, be sure to lubricate the area of pain (on either side of the genitals). Your crotch is like a newborn's bottom, so use a cream designed to prevent diaper rash. Before each ride apply the cream. Then after the ride, use a cream with zinc in it to make your bottom feel better. Don't use the zinc cream before the ride, just after. Usually at the beginning of the season, I need the creams until I get used to riding. On long rides of 100 km or more, I still use the cream.

premature anticipation

It took me about four month, riding every day and pushing
myself to the limit on every ride. Came home beat every day.

Now seventy to a hundred is no big deal. Did seventy four today
in just over five hours. Lot of wind today.

I have been riding a year. Average just under forty a day now.

That's extremely impressive! You did all that in one year?!

That's extremely impressive! You did all that in one year?!

Thanks, read about it here!

You just have to make up your mind to do it!

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/735437-Setting-and-reaching-goals!?highlight=goals

One aspect of crotch issues that hasn't been mentioned is the amount of weight that you are making your saddle bear. As you get fitter, you will be putting more force on the pedals which means less weight on your saddle. Add in the fact that you will also toughen up a bit and even lose some weight. It just gets better the more you ride, within reason.

As far as how much training it takes to ride a century, that really depends on your personal fitness level. Many decades ago I rode a century after only "training" by riding my daily fifteen mile round-trip commute. However, I was also playing basketball three nights a week, running, lifting weights and working out with the Tae Kwon Do club at my local college. If I tried to ride a century with so few base miles today it would leave me in a bit of pain.

It took me about four month, riding every day and pushing
myself to the limit on every ride. Came home beat every day.

Now seventy to a hundred is no big deal. Did seventy four today
in just over five hours. Lot of wind today.

I have been riding a year. Average just under forty a day now.

That's very impressive and a testimony to your grit, but I wouldn't recommend it to most people. The risk of injury and burnout is too high. There's lots of literature on the risks of overtraining.

I disagree with those who have posted that they progressively work up to a century. At the beginning of the season, my rides are relatively short 30-40 km. But as spring warms up, I map out a route for a metric century which I did last weekend. Within a couple weeks, I'll do a full century. Why piddle around doing a few miles more in each ride? Just get out and plan a ride of 50 miles and do it. Then plan one of 75 miles and do it. Next go for a 100 miles. Then try a 200km brevet.

If you can ride 10 kms, you can do 20; if you can ride 20, you can do 40; if you can do 40, you can do 80; if you can do 80, you can do 160.

The important thing is to plan the ride. If you are going to do an out-and-back or a loop, determine where you are going to stop for food and a toilet break. At 70, I need to know about the toilet locations because my bladder won't hold for more than 70 kms.

At age 58. I started bicycling. 3.5 months later I "Rode the Rockies" - 350 miles of Colorado passes on a $300 mtn bike. Ride, ride, ride.

That's very impressive and a testimony to your grit, but I wouldn't recommend it to most people. The risk of injury and burnout is too high. There's lots of literature on the risks of overtraining.

It's really hard to overtrain doing only "Long Slow DIstance", which is what the OP would be doing. IMO, most people limit their improvement by wanting to take easy steps. Take chunks big enough to know you are pushing yourself.

I suggest you keep at your 10 miles per day, except one day per week start extending the miles. 10% more than the week before is a good rule of thumb, though if 10 miles is not difficult now (if your crotch issue is solved) you might increase more the first few weeks.

Following that plan, if you get to a distance that is very difficult, then next week cut that distance in half, and then the following week increase again by 10% over the longest you have ridden. Then alternate weeks of 10% of the longest with half of the previous long ride.

As others have suggested, ride often but give yourself a day or two of rest each week. And I suggest that you don't kill yourself every ride, as one poster said he does. That seems uneccessary and unpleasant.

Thanks for the advice. :) I did buy a pair of biking shorts and they do help a lot.

What kind of weekly mileage is recommended for getting into shape for a century?

I try and ride 2 or 3 times a week and work my way up until I can ride 60-70 miles without suffering too much. If I can ride 70 miles on Wednesday, I'm good for a century on Saturday. Take some rest/recovery days before the century. If you get the right mix of being fit and rested you'll feel strong on the century, at least for most of it. I always seem to start suffering around the 80 mile mark, no matter how fit I am.

I'm pretty sure stapfam is joking about the last two of those. Lots of us have done centuries without them. But the first two are excellent intermediate goals.

Should put the smilies in but-Progressive distance and effort till you get to the last two.:innocent:

Just did my first century a little over a week ago. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I did it. I started out on the trainer in January, doing around 20 - 40 miles a week. By the time I got to riding outdoors around the end of February the miles were easier. By April I was up to 100 miles a week, with my long one day rides getting up to as much as 90 miles. The century ride was on May 8. Don't try to push yourself, but build gradually. Almost as important as riding is nutrition and hydration.

Started riding in 1990 and did my first 100 milker 3 years later. It took me the whole of those 3 years to get a bike that was suirable to do it on and to get the stamina up high enough for the ride.

What made it stupid was that I did it on a mountain bike with knobblies. Took 14 hours but there was 10,000ft of climbing in the 100 miles offroad.

Good luck on your quest. I don't have answers as I am still working towards a half century. But the bike and seat sure make a difference. The setup is key as well. I need to take my back to the LBS for adjustments and then I'm working my way to 50!

Started riding in 1990 and did my first 100 milker 3 years later. It took me the whole of those 3 years to get a bike that was suirable to do it on and to get the stamina up high enough for the ride.

What made it stupid was that I did it on a mountain bike with knobblies. Took 14 hours but there was 10,000ft of climbing in the 100 miles offroad.

Are you saying you did a century entirely off road? Isn't that like doing 300 miles on road?

Are you saying you did a century entirely off road? Isn't that like doing 300 miles on road?

Yep.

That was in 93 for the first one and I have attempted this ride 11 times-You always attempt this ride. Only failed twice and the last "failure" was in 2006.

Link to that failure is

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/197532-South-Downs-Way-failure

I only used to do this ride each year but the training for it included several Offroad "Enduros" of 40 to 60 miles- several Road 100 milers (On the MTB) and many training rides round our local hills of up to 65 miles. Training for serious from February also included Gym Work twice a week and November to Feb also included night rides on the MTB. Only one ride a year of 100 miles but 4 to 5,000 miles training. Thank goodness I have got more sense and now gone road.

What is a respectible average speed for doing a century?

What is a respectible average speed for doing a century?

Speed is nothing for the first one- unless you need lights by the end. Some of us slow down on longer rides- me included. I can do 62 miles in 4 hours but the extra milage to 100 will take me an extra 3 hours.

But that also depends on how hilly- how windy and how Hot/Cold/Wet. Every ride is different but one thing about organised rides is that the other riders pull you along and get the best out of you. But anything around 12mph for the first ride is good for a new rider to the distance.

Edit

Link to an old post that will offer some suggestions on that 1st distance ride.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/299032-Warning-on-that-1st.-distance-ride.

What is a respectible average speed for doing a century?
My average speed on my first century was 11.2 mph. About 2 mph less than I thought I would average, but I did finish it, and I wasn't last, though I'm sure I was close.

What is a respectible average speed for doing a century?

As others have said - for the first one, fast enough to finish by dark.
I'm impressed when I hear about 5 hour centuries, particularly when they are on tough terrain, but "respectable" always depends on the audience. No matter how fast you go, there will be somebody who thinks that's not very fast. Unless your name is Andy Schleck.

Speed doesn't matter. And what's "respectable" for you is gawd-awful for some and super-duper impressive for some others.

On Friday when I did a metric century, my MOVING average was 13.0 mph. But it took us seven hours because of stops, an overall average of 9.0 mph.

What is a respectible average speed for doing a century?
Don't worry about that - if you come in before the food is all gone you have done well.

I've been riding a couple of weeks now and have built up to 10 miles before my kroch needs a break. Does it get better or do you just learn to tolerate the discomfort?

Sounds like your saddle may need adjustment. If the saddle is too far back then you need to reach for the handlebars which may mean your hands go numb or you put extra pressure on your crutch.

Without reading through the entire thread I don't know if you are male or female. Obviously men have well known sensitive areas but women can also have issues with sensitivity caused by a badly adjusted saddle (my wife found hers desperately uncomfortable until I adjusted it for her).

Things I've found are that if the saddle is too far back the tendency is either to lean forward (squashing your tender bits on the saddle) or sit forward (which puts your weight on them, as you sit on the narrow part of the saddle). If the nose is too high it can make things worse, as you're just squashing your bits even more.

As I raised my saddle to get extra power down to the pedals I needed to tip the nose forward ever so slightly. Too much and you slide off the front, but the angle of the saddle which had previously worked fine left me squashing tender parts against the nose of it. Dropping the front very slightly solved the problem.


In terms of working up to a century one question to ask is whether you mean 100 miles at race speeds or 100 miles over the course of a day. I couldn't tell you about racing that kind of distance because I'm just not into racing, but over the course of a day it's far less daunting than it first seems. If you think of 100 miles stretching out before you it seems like a mountain to climb, but if you think of it as 15-20 miles before stopping for some water and a couple of cereal bars, then repeat the process, it seems less intimidating.

What is a respectible average speed for doing a century?

Just another note to second what the others have already said. If you complete it at all you'll have earned the right to be proud of yourself. If you don't, you train some more and try again another time.

A lot depends on the bike, the conditions, the elevation profile etc. I did a century yesterday and parts of it were steep downhills, parts were punishing climbs, parts were canalside towpaths with gravel, tree roots and stuff, parts were long smooth flat sections.

The downhill sections saw me hitting almost 40mph, the punishing climbs had me down to about 6-7mph by the time I reached the top, the flat sections we were cruising between about 18-22mph for good chunks of it, and the canalside towpaths varied between about 8-18mph depending on how smooth it was and how bad the roots were.

The group I rode with had an advantage of a tailwind for a good part of the way, moderate conditions and no rain. Swap the tailwind for a headwind and add one or more of a blazingly hot day, heavy rain, more hills etc and we'd have taken a whole lot longer than we did. In the end it took us about 13 hours, of which 8h40 was moving, giving us a moving average of just under 13mph. We weren't particularly aiming for a fast time, we stopped for breakfast at a roadside cafe, stopped for a slowish lunch at a pub we passed, stopped for coffee beside the canal before we rejoined, and stopped a few times to check the maps, eat and drink, rest our legs, etc.

Today I did 109 in just over 8 hours. At 60 miles my average was just under 15
and ended up just under 13. Top speed of the day was 39.7mph.
The legs were not working great for the last 5 or 6 miles. Had to think about what
I was doing or I would bang the freewheel after coasting a minute or so. Legs seem
to go faster than I intended.

This morning I got in 10 miles. Average speed was 11.2 mph. I lowered the saddle about an inch before starting out and it was a much more comfortable ride. I've logged in 67 miles so far since I bought my bike a couple of weeks ago.

Some people are physically sturdier by nature or respond quicker to training. If you are not in this category there is the possibility of permanent damage if attempting some kind of effort beyond current capabilities. I recently read a journal on "Crazy Guy On A Bike' where a man set out on his dream tour after retirement. Even though he had trained with a loaded bike, he very quickly, within 300 miles, developed sever knee problems that ended his dream. There is plenty of expert advice from trainers that stresses the concept of building up base miles. The possible consequences of not following the best available training practices could be fairly serious and expensive.