Kid-Cycle

Attempted my first century today and bailed at 62 miles. I have some excuses but basically I did not train enough and didn't hydrate properly. I went with a neighbor and his friend who are some pretty good cycles and have several century's under their belts. I had been training by riding a many 40 to 50 mile rides and when time didn't permit I would ride 20 to 30 miles. I was feeling pretty good about things and also talked to the guys I was riding with and we agreed to a pace of 15 mph so that we could pace ourselves.

Started out this morning, beautiful day, at 7:30 am and after a couple of miles all of a sudden "let's just catch the group in front of us" started happening. We caught every group and then passed them and on to the next group. We were riding 18 min and mostly 20 mph for the first 25 miles to the first rest stop. We take off and then we are riding into a headwind and hit some rolling hills. I had some food and a gu and thought that would be fine. Apparently not, all of a sudden my legs started cramping as I approached the second rest stop at mile 42. We took off and continued fightin more headwinds and more rolling hills which began to fill like real hills. By the time I reached the lunch stop at mile 62 my calfs, quads, and hamstrings were cramping as well as my stomach (I don't think cytomax and gu's suit me well).

Anyway, at the lunch stop the last thing I wanted to do was eat and thats when I quit because the next part of the ride was 8 miles up cardiac hill and my legs were toast.

On the way to the finish line in the sag vehicle the driver asked me how much water I drank. I said "I drank enough" and then she asked me if I ever had to pee during the first 60 miles. I said "no" and she told me I was cramping from dehydration not a lack of salt or electrolites.

I'm a little disapointed I didn't make the century but I guess I can say I completed a metric century.

Anyway, I can't really blame my shortcoming on my partners, it was my own fault for not training more and for not falling back and riding with a group that rode at a pace I could maintain for 100 miles.

I do plan to go out to where I stopped and ride from there to the finish line just to do it and then I will train harder/better for my next century and I will definately start drinking more water on my rides.

I was not looking forward to posting a dnf for my first century attempt but hey, at least I feel comfortable enough to share with my fellow clydes/athenas.

PS there was a pretty good showing of clydes and athenas who looked to be doing quite well through the century.

Tom Stormcrowe

KC, there's no shame in a DNF. Good failure analysis too, honest and likely a good assessment Good for you! You still made a metric, though and that's no easy ride either You'll do better next time. By the way, 98% of cyclists never ever ever attempt a Century, much less finish one!

fc_

I was there as well, and had hoped to hook up with kc, but that didn't work out since I left my cell phone in the car (doh!)

I made it to the 70 mile mark, and sagged it in from there. The legs just weren't up to it yesterday. But hey, there's always another century somewhere.

Cramps can really ruin a ride KC, and a pretty good sign of not keeping properly hydrated. Don't feel bad, it happens to the best of us. There's an old saying drink before you're thirsty, eat before you're hungry while cycling.

I think the headwinds are what really did me in. At the finish, I overheard someone say "today I rode 100 miles, 200 of those into the wind", that should give you some indication of how it was out on the course.

Sean

BigBlueToe

I've had a DNF too, and I'm okay with it. I didn't train properly and paid for it. I've done a few centuries where I trained pretty well, though not as much as I would have liked. I finished them, although the last 20 miles were not pleasant. I did one three weeks ago. I thought my training was suspect and was prepared to have my wife come pick me up. At about 50 miles there was a strong headwind, I was suffering, and I almost called it off. Luckily, there was no cell phone service so I had to keep going. The turnaround was at about 60 miles. I took a nice break. When I started back the same strong wind was behind me, pushing me along. I felt refreshed after my break. I started having a wonderful ride again! The last 20 miles were still not pleasant, but I finished.

One time I really trained and was in shape. That was fun. At 80 miles I still felt great, and the last 20 miles, though I was pooped, were still pleasant.

62 miles is certainly not trivial. Life happens and we can't always take the time to train properly. I would be glad that I was able to get out on my bike for that long of a ride.

TallSteve

KC,

Two weeks ago, I was doing a two day 150 with a friend that was a much better rider than myself. Halfway through the ride, he started cramping. I think I pulled him most of the remaining part of the first day. I think we averaged around 14 mph or so. He was not hydrated. The 2nd day we averaged around 18 or so. He did his share of pulling on the second day.

it just goes to show you....

Get back on that horse!

Kid-Cycle

Thanks for the support and encouragement

Soonerinfrisco

Be careful mixing Gu-like carbs plus sports drinks. If you are taking more than about 40g of carbs/hour, you are probably in excess and you will not be able to digest it. Carbs setting on your gut can cause bloating, gas and cramps. For me, I try to avoid combining a sports drink (cytomax) with a carb supplement (Gu, Clif, Hammer Gel, etc). Here in TX, the summer centuries pose a real hydration and elyte challenge. I have added elyte pills before the ride and one tablet each hour or so. This lets me consume plain water primarily with sports drinks only toward the end.

Hang in there and good luck!

Edit: Here is a link to a good primer on nutrition/hydration
https://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=2385&p=2223