Kneez

I thought I was going to do about 60-70 miles today but it turned into 103.13 miles. I just felt like going on and on. That is the most I have ever done in my life! I did it in about 7 hours, including a lunch break and a few water bottle refillings. Not so bad given that I didn't even think I was going to do it today.

Neil_B

Congratulations!

And now, tell us all about it. Where, when, how hot, how much climbing, high points, etc. Don't leave us hanging!

fc_

Congrats! You always remember your first century! Now, details, details, details, don't leave us hanging...

Mr. Beanz

Wow, that's pretty good! Funny how you just ride and don't make a big technical thing out of it, it seems it aint all that hard...Just do it!

canopus 

Better than my time on my second century today. Congrats.

Neil_B

Maybe it shouldn't count since it was ridden without an approved training plan. :-)

Mr. Beanz

Maybe it shouldn't count since it was ridden without an approved training plan. :-)


...

X-LinkedRider

Awesome stuff man. The best longer rides are unintentional. (Unless completely lost)

wild animals

"whoops"

Kneez

There isn't a whole lot to tell. I thought I would do around 60 miles but as I left the house I was feeling a little lazy, like I didn't really want to go all that fast. That usually means I will ride on the MUP for a while. The MUP, however, added maybe 20 miles to the route I had planned. So, I was looking at maybe 80 miles. I wasn't really sure.

I toodled on down the MUP for about 23 miles until it ended, which was a good thing because after 23 miles of all the usual MUP hazards I was glad to get back on the road. There was a faster rider just a little ahead of me so I marked him and away we went. I managed to just catch up with him before he turned off to some other route. I count that a success! From this point in the ride the road gets faster and more interesting. I was at mile 35 or so and went off down a well-paved descent that pulled me down into a small town in a green valley where I arrived on the main drag right at noon and about the 40 mile mark. Knowing that I had a long way yet to go I stopped for an obscene slice of sausage pizza and water before taking off again. From this point the territory was new and thus terribly exciting. The roads here were were a little heavy on the traffic but the shoulders were good.

A little ways out of town there was a road I was heading for with the word "mountain" in the name but it turned out not to be so bad. It was a gentle and completely lovely climb through the woods and at times eerily quiet save the the rhythm of my breathing. I had some mild knee pain but in all it wasn't too bad and I was rewarded with with 40+mph descent once my labors were complete.

Once down off the "mountain" I headed for the next unknown (to me) road which turned out to be a very nice rolling route graced with manure and silence. Even though I knew I wasn't really all that far from home and that I was already heading back, the very fact of being on a new road made me feel that I was indeed very, very far away. This is one of the things I like best about cycling. I like the feeling of being far in both distance and mind from the everyday with only the single task of heading down the road before me.

Within a few miles I connected with roads I knew and I was back on one of my regular loops where I stopped for a bottle of fruit juice and to refill my water bottle. At this point I was able to get a better idea of how many miles were ahead of me. By the time I hit the 70-mile mark I figured I would do 85 miles by the time I got home. I was tired and this was more than I had ridden in a very long time but the thought occurred to me that if I stopped only 15 miles short of 100 I would not forgive myself. I knew there was an 17-mile loop on the way home that I could add but I thought I would probably not feel like taking it by the time I got to it. To my surprise, however, I took it. Not only did I take the extra loop, I took it at the pace I normally do when that loop is my entire ride!

At 97 miles I came across a couple on a tandem that were contemplating maps so I stopped and directed them. I was feeling a little loopy at that point but I was able to gather my wits and dispel their disorientation... my good deed for the day!

I live on top of a hill so I oozed on home for the last three miles but even then, I was not as tired on that climb as I have been on far shorter rides. I don't know what happened but I just had a lot more in the tank than I normally do. Was it the pizza? Was it the fact that I had had family over for the previous two days and we ate more than anyone should? I don't know but it all worked out very well. I think I will do a similar route, minus the MUPs, next weekend. I will certainly go to the same area but I don't know what the mileage will be. I'll just go.

In case anyone is from the Seattle area, this was the route I did:

Capitol Hill - UW - Burke Gillman Trail - Sammamish River Trail - West Lake Sammamish Pkwy - SE Newport Way to Issaquah - Issaquah-Hobart Road - SE Tiger Mountain Road - Issaquah-Hobart Road SE - SE May Valley Road - Coal Creek Prkwy - SE 89/88th Place - Lake Washington Blvd to Renton Airport - Rainier Ave to Seward Park Ave - outer Seward Park Loop - Lake Washington Blvd to I-90 trail - Mercer Island Loop - Lake Washington Blvd to Interlaken - Galer Street - Volunteer Park/Capitol Hill

Neil_B

Hmm. Interesting. Although my flat century in 2007 doesn't compare as far as climbing goes, I recall having the same problem of fatigue at around the 70 mile mark. And then riding through it and finding a second wind near the end. Like you, my speed at the end wasn't below my normal riding pace.

Increasing calorie consumption before a big ride is sometimes a good thing. You probably drank more as well, so you were well hydrated and fueled - "carb loaded", perhaps? - before you set out. And since you had family over, you might have been exercising less before the ride. Rested, fueled muscles are happy muscles!

Did you eat or drink anything aside from pizza and water at one stop?

Kneez

I was thinking the same thing. I did not ride for two days while my family was here AND we ate and ate. I guess that counts as carb loading. For breakfast that day I had a cup of coffee w/ cream and four slices of toast with butter and honey. During the ride I drank a total of five bottles of water and one bottle of cranberry juice cocktail and ate that huge slice of pizza. There was one brief stop to empty the bladder and fill the bottle at mile 26, the pizza and second bottle refill at mile 40, third bottle refill and juice purchase at mile 60-ish (?), fourth bottle refill around mile 75, and a bathroom break at mile 95 or so.

Now that I have thought this through I see there was another bottle of water involved. I thought it was four but really it was five. I normally go through one bottle every 20-30 miles but I can go longer if need be without too much trouble. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I may invest in a larger bottle.

Kneez

Yeah, I think people tend to overthink these things. Over the past few months I have been increasing my mileage, venturing a little farther as I felt more confident. The more you ride, the more you ride. At least that's how it works out for me. The more I ride, the more I ride.

Neil_B

Toast with butter and honey - starches, fat, and simple sugars.
Pizza - lots of fat and protein.
Cranberry Juice cocktail - sugar, sugar, and sugar.

It seems you gave your stomach lots of slow-digesting foods mixed with stuff that burns off quickly. I might have added a banana at some point to ward off cramping.

Sorry to dwell on your ride, but I'm pleased to read about someone who "just did it" without training or swallowing gels and tablets.

Kneez

Hey, that's OK. I love the attention

A banana would have been good. In the 70-80 mile range I did have a mild abdominal cramp, something that has never happened to me while cycling. Bananas have saved me in the past when I was a younger and thinner cyclist. I think I will start carrying them in my jersey pockets again when I do longer (40+ miles) rides.

I don't know that I didn't "train." It is true that I wasn't planning on riding 100+ miles that day but I have been ramping up mileage over recent weeks, thanks in no small part to the "500-mile Challenge" thread. I did 500 miles in April, nearly 700 in May, and am on track for 800 this month. Like I said, when I ride more, I ride more. But I get what you are saying. I didn't have a training schedule, for example. I just rode when work and weather allowed, increasing distances as I felt stronger. When I did increase distance, I didn't think about increasing by a certain amount. I just looked at a map and decided to go somewhere I hadn't been before that was a little farther. Also, I didn't have a particular date in mind for when I might ride 100 miles. I just knew I wanted to break that barrier sometime this summer.

I have long felt that cycling is really simple. It's a sport that anyone can be good at. As a kid, I was terrible at just about every other sport but there was something so accessible about cycling that even to this day attracts me. Just get on the bike and go and you'll naturally get better at it. Some advice from the more experienced always helps but I think most people can just do it and figure many things out on their own, even if it takes a little while.