Outnumbered

I've done metric centuries before but any tips for making the first 100 miler go smooth. Thanks Kevin

mprelaw

Stop at the rest stops, but don't linger too long, or it'll take you awhile to get back into your groove. Eat a little bit, refill your bottles, use a porta-john if you need to, then get back on the bike.

Don't bite off more than you can chew, and go out like a bat out of hell, or try to hang with a faster group than you can handle.

Other than that, relax, and have fun. You can do it. If you can ride 62 miles, you can ride 100. The goal is to finish when you pop your century cherry. No matter how long it takes, it'll be your PR until the next one. You'll have something to shoot for the second time around.

woodway

Don't overthink it. Go out and enjoy yourself.

StephenH

Remember my motto, "Just how hard could it be, anyway?"
Just have fun, if you normally ride all-out, then back off a bit so you're not toasted before the end. If you're a masher, mash a little less and spin a little more.

OldTryGuy

Some who make the 62 do not always complete 100. Just happens some times. As mentioned, plan should be to go out wisely, enjoy, hydrate and fuel as you did for the 62, take breaks where needed and continue on until the 100 mark.

Have a blast!!!!

Hill-Pumper

I have not done a century in four or five years, but will be doing one on Sunday. My training is done at this point and am resting until then with the exception of an upper body workout at midweek. One of the things I find helpful is to look at the route map and know where you need to expend energy. In my case, all the climbing is done by mile 67, so I know if I can make it to that point, the rest should be easier. Also, anything past your highest mileage total is as much mental as it is physical. Trust your training, and take it easy as others have said. Anyway, best of luck!!!

bruce19

Have the perspective that this is a marathon not a sprint. Sounds obvious, I know, but sometimes we burn matches when we don't need to. Have fun.

OldsCOOL

I know it sounds strange to some but maybe he is riding......SOLO.

Unless I missed something.

WNCGoater

Take breaks even when you feel strong, especially early. Also, coast as much as possible, early in the ride. Pace yourself, early on. Hydrate throughout the ride, even early when you don't feel thirsty. Get your butt out of the saddle...again, early in the ride, and continue throughout. The last 20 miles is what will kick your butt and especially the last 10. Early in the ride will greatly affect what happens later. By then, your butt is sore, you've used up your calorie stores, you'll be wanting to coast and get off that bike. Your legs are tired, arms are tired, neck is tired, mentally you're worn out.
Personally I believe what you do early on greatly affects later. Go too hard in the first 20-30 miles when you're fresh and you may not have what you need in the last 10-20.
The last miles are all mental.
Prepare the whole ride for the last 10-20 miles. You'll feel strong at 20 and 100 will seem an easy goal. Same at 50 and even 70. It's the end when you start asking "why?", when your body is screaming to stop.
What you do early on will greatly affect how or if you finish.
Be sure to stay fueled up and hydrated and don't be afraid to bail out if there is a problem. There is no shame in trying again later. No need to get injured just to say "I did it".
Believe me, it is a great accomplishment but not so great as to risk your health.
Have fun & good luck!

downtube42

If you've ridden 62 comfortably I'm going to assume you have bike fit worked out. If not, that's very key.

Hydration and fueling are critical. If you've been ending your long rides dehydrated and out of gas, that needs to change if you don't want the last 15 miles to be miserable. Make it your goal to finish the 100 miles fully hydrated and fully fueled.

I don't think rest stops are necessary at all - stops to refuel and refill water bottles, yes, but not rest. Take care of what you need to take care of, and get back on the road. It is good to treat the ride as a series of segments from stop to stop - this makes the distance mentally more manageable. But when it comes to the actual stop, short is best.

Enjoy the ride. I mean, literally, don't forget to look around and enjoy the ride as the world goes by.

Miami Biker

Lots of good advice. My emphasis is to slower at least the first hour to build your foundation for later. How fast depends on your fitness. Go as fast as you comfortably can without raising your heart rate. That may be 15, 16 or faster.

Many hit a wall around 80 miles. Just be prepared and tough it out. Advice for getting out of saddle is good as it hurts sitting there for five, six or more hours. Speed in beginning may vary where you get the hills or wind so plan before you start.

Given you are on the Cape not sure of temps but starting when cooler always best plus less traffic.

Let us know how you do.

Outnumbered

I appreciate all the suggestions and tips. Believe me at 58 I'v learned to listen to experience and not try to reinvent the wheel. The ride takes place in Maine and has a nice coastal route, a lot of it by beaches, that goes right by 9 lighthouses so I will be taking a look around to enjoy the sights and get my psyche back in the groove when I am tired. Going to keep my breaks at rest areas short potty/water battle fill/ quick snack grab energy bar for between rest areas. Temps perfect 58 to start high of 73 is the forecast. Going to leave the fast pace to the younger faster crowd. Primary goal is to finish, Secondary goal of average 15-16 mph.

Wife thinks I'm nuts but heck its a nice day for a ride, meet some new people along the way and enjoy what I have.

I'll let you all know how I do. Thanks Again

Biker395 

One last thought about the mental aspect of a longer distance ride.

As others have said, there is a tendency to look end mileage as a goal and count down the miles until you reach it. 80 miles ... only 20 miles to go ... 85 ... only 15 miles to go ... and so on. And when you do that, those last few miles seem to take forever.

Here is a thought. When you start getting near the end, instead of thinking that you have only X miles to go, remember this:

You LOVE riding your bike. You plan it, you anticipate it ... you sit in your office most weekdays DREAMING of riding your bike.

And when you're out there on your first century, that is exactly what you'll be doing. So instead of thinking that you have only 20 miles to churn through to achieve your goal, remind yourself that in only 20 miles, your grand adventure will be over, and you'll be back to dreaming instead of doing. Relish it while it lasts.

I find that reminding myself of that simple truth makes those last 20 miles fly by.

Outnumbered

Thanks Biker395 luckily the last 20 miles are along a beach area where we lived when we were first married and where we spent the first two years of my daughters life bringing her to the beach, hiking and biking with here in the backpack or the old plastic child car seats. So I will have that to think about rather than having the end of the ride drag along saying I only have so many miles left.

qcpmsame 

You have a good attitude, and outlook, about things, best wishes on your ride. It will be neat to read your report of how the event went, next.

Bill

Outnumbered

Thanks Bill I will.

tigat

One of my riding companions in the Ride Across Wisconsin (175 miles, one day) did something I hadn't seen before that really helped the day pass. He taped 10 slips of paper-he called them chads-to his top tube. Each one represented his typical 18 mile lunch ride, which he had completed a thousand times or more. When we reached that point, he tore off a chad and tossed it away. It became a celebration of sorts. All day long, we were just doing lunch rides.

KarlRoberts

I'm 50y and just completed a fixed gear century last week in 95F weather. (Harder for me than doing it on my geared bikes) I've done a few century rides.

My advise is to take a break whenever you feel the need. If your hands, butt, knees or back start complaining then get off and walk, sit, or lie down. Don't suffer thru the pain. You'll be suffering enough at mile 90!
Wear GOOD quality padded shorts and gloves. Make sure your saddle height and bar angle is dialled in, or you'll be stopping to do so.
Drink more than you think you need to. Take Advil or Tylenol on the ride, if you want. (I don't bother)

You WILL finish it. It is a matter of time. You might dread the last quarter of the ride, but remember that in a short while you'll be sitting in your house drinking a beer....relaxed.

If you never do it again, it is an accomplishment you will remember it for the rest of your life. Enjoy it.

jsjcat

You're getting plenty of good advice on food and hydration. My wife and I have done 8 century rides in the last 3 years along with many shorter rides. I'm sure others will chime in about their experiences also. I'm 62 and my wife is 58. We average about 15 mph when all is said and done. One thing I would like to add and maybe others feel that way is the great feeling you get at the end. Very hard to describe but very satisfying. I even feel sad sometimes because it's over. I don't know why but it's there. You'll do fine. Please report back after you've rested.

Forgot to say that we are riding in the Trenton DARE century this Saturday along with my 70 year old buddy and his wife who have never gone longer than 62 miles before. We'll have fun.

Jarrett2

I think everything has been covered:

Rest before the ride - I like to take a couple of days off so I'm itching to get on the ride
Get a decent breakfast before the ride - something you know works good for you on rides
Draft when you can - at the big T-shirt rides, there will always be a sizable pack for the first 20 miles, take advantage of that. Catch pacelines later if you can.
Drink and eat often - if its a ride with rest stops, hit them. Get some Gatorade and whatever snack your body asks for. Don't eat or drink too much though

One thing I didn't see mentioned:

Spin more than you mash - Higher cadence is your friend on longer rides. Less fatigue and cramping. This will get you from mile 62 to mile 100 more easily.

Good luck, have fun. I've done two in the last couple of months and glad I did... afterward

h2oxtc

Good luck and have fun on the ride!

Some great suggestions - great thread.

mprelaw

If you ride today, make it short and easy. Put the chain on the small ring up front, and just turn the pedals at recovery ride tempo. All you want to do is loosen everything up. I benefit more from what I call "active rest" with a short, easy ride the day before a big ride. But YMMV.

Randy Bosma

Kevin,
One other bit of advice I found to be true: invest in quality biking shorts or bibs. Figure on spending about $1 per mile- you'll not regret it. $30 shorts will not make for a happy bum at the end of your century.

OldsCOOL

How was the ride?

Outnumbered

First I would like to thank all of you that provided me with good ideas and suggestions for my ride.

The ride went great. Not the fastest nor slowest 6:58:02 minutes of moving time over 102.46 miles. Speed really didn't matter I just wanted to have fun and enjoy the ride which I did. That pace allowed me to walk all over Portland ME that night with my wife without any pains. My wife followed my progress and was at most rest areas except the first, which she missed because she thought I was going to be a lot slower than I was.

I started out slow and tried to maintain a steady pace after the first 10 miles or so. I made sure I was well fueled as I ate like a healthy pig the day before with a huge early dinner so I could sleep well the night prior to the ride.

Since I use my bike for commuting I stripped it of its rack, bags, lights and checked the tires the rear looked like it was worn a little too well at the bead threads coming off so I replaced it Friday night. Bad move not to do it sooner. The morning of the ride I walk up to starting line with the wife and I get on bike and tire was very low, very very low. I filled with air from support vehicle pump wanted to start with the group so off I went. I figured well I can change it on the way if I need to, I had patch kit and extra tube in shirt pocket, or just keep adding air. So every rest stop I would add 15 pounds of air and it made it to end. Turns out leak was right next to valve stem very small.

I ate every 10 miles and when I took extra bars I would slightly open them and put in pocket so I could easily open and eat while riding. I wish I had practiced reaching back while pedaling as I wasn't too comfortable with it at first but became a lot easier as I did it. Made sure I continuously drank a little water and kept rest stops to under 10 minutes.

I used my favorite bibs so i would not be uncomfortable, had my new over 50 shirt on. The only body part that got sore was my left small toe for whatever reason hurt the last 12 miles or so. I stood, stretched, varied position, rode no hands when safe to do and it all worked.

Funny thing was I never felt tired or overly worn out. I hit 80 miles and the last 20 seemed to go by the quickest, maybe because it was my first one. If I look back at the app on my phone my 10 mile segment times at the end were just about the same for the beginning. It was a really good time enjoyed talking to the other riders when they passed me or I passed them, enjoyed the scenery.

I have already signed up for next year’s century, already started looking for a lighter bike than my steel workhorse of a commuter.
Sorry it’s so long but wanted to cover everything. Thanks again for the input everyone. Here I am with 12 miles to go.