kingfishr

Thanks Biker395. I first used only a forward looking camera and realized pretty quickly that filming peoples faces was more popular :-) Nowadays I set the back camera to take pictures at 30 sec intervals on our weekly club rides. It makes for some great action shots and let's people look like cycling pros :-)
The superimposed data is done with Dashware - www.dashware.net which superimposes the GPS data on the video and then it was all put together in Adobe Premiere Elements...

Great website you have! I especially like the canyonlands!

Zinger

Thanks. I was just curious myself. I'll bet some of the serious roadies in here might use that though.

dalameda

How to Ride a Century without Prep

Yesterday I rode the Marin Century - 101 miles and 7500 feet of climbing. My last century prior to that was on June 14, and in the whole month of July I only rode a total of 75 miles, with the longest individual ride of 23 miles. That is not how to build endurance for a century.

What helped me complete yesterdays ride was:
Being well hyrdrated and fed starting out the day
Keeping a reasonable pace (I finished in 8 hours at 13 miles per hour - 1 hour per mile slower than last year)
Positive thinking - telling myself I won't quit
Breaking the ride up into separate segments, and treating each segment as a different ride
Knowing there was ice cream at the end.

The moral of the story? It's much easier to do a century if you are ready, but it can be done if you are willing.

Roger M

Before June of this year, I'd never ridden 100 miles in a single ride. I've ridden many 60-80 mile rides, and a couple that almost reached 90. This year I signed up for the RAMROD(Ride Around Mt Rainier in One Day). I was fortunate to win a spot on the lottery for it, in April. At that point I was riding about 100 miles a week at most. As soon as I found out that I was in, I started riding 140-200+ miles per week with more climbing than usual.

In June I rode my first Century, solo with about 5,300 of uphill. I spent 6 hours and 20 minutes in the saddle. The last 15 miles weren't too much fun. Two weeks later I rode with a group that was training for RAMROD. I rode from home to the start, so my total for the day was 132 miles and 6,300 feet of climbing. I burned out at about the 90 mile mark, so the rest of it was pretty hard to reel in. I found out that day(the hard way) that nutrition is key. I didn't eat anything significant that day. During the ride I only had three Cliff bars, half a banana, and a Coke. I was about a half mile an hour slower(average) on that ride.

Well, last Thursday was RAMROD. Northbend(member here) encouraged me to sign up for it early this year. He's done it a couple of times(I believe once on his FIXED GEAR bike). Anyone that has means to get to the NW should seriously put this on their bucket list. This years ride was 168 miles with 10,000 feet of elevation gain, with over 800 riders. The support and volunteer crew were fantastic. Plenty of water/Gatorade/food stops and any bad sections of road were marked or had someone there to warn us. Long story short, I started at 5:20am and rolled into the finish at 5pm. My seat time was 10:13. I felt pretty good throughout the whole ride with the exception of some slight left knee pain near the end. I took real short breaks at the designated stops, but always ate something.

The only thing I would change(in hindsight) would be gearing. I rode with 53/39 and a 12-26 freewheel. a 28 tooth low would have been much better.

I didn't get much for photos that day, but my daughter took this picture of the mountain the following morning.



Here is the start a couple minutes before I began



Nobody wanted to park next to my old beast.



The long climb up Cayuse Pass.





my next 100 mile ride is goin to be a little flatter.. IMHO, half the battle in riding a long ride is having a good mindset.

Gordy. 1888

Did a few "firsts" this month my first 100mile run and unfortunately my first crash resulting in a broken hip.

OldsCOOL

No century for me this year. I'm struggling to get more than 2 rides a week. At this point I'm doing well to maintain my speed and short course strength. It appears I'm not yet retired from my work.

jimmuller 

A real good news, bad news message. Sorry to hear.

az_cyclist

If it works out I will ride 90 tomorrow, to keep working toward my 2014 goal of the Ultra Cycling Year Rounder challenge (12 rides of 90+ miles in 10 calendar months of 2014)

Biker395 

Awesome pix.

Run? Ultramarathon? What are the details of the crash?

What's yer route?

I have a lot of friends riding in the Sierra this weekend, but I had too much work and couldn't swing it. So I'm doing the Adobo Tour de Francis tomorrow. I've been to Dawson's Saddle countless times, but never climbed it from the desert side.

TOUR DE FRANCIS (TDF) SUMMER 2013 - PALMDALE by RRSL01 at Garmin Connect - Details

It should be effin hot, but the Adobo always give great support.

az_cyclist

The club ride is about 41 miles in north Phoenix. I ride to the start and back home, which adds 14 miles. that will leave me with 35 or so to get to 90. I normally will ride back home, eat something, then head back out. Since the temps will be approaching 100 , I will keep the extra miles relatively flat. I will post the Strava .

Gordy. 1888

[QUOTE=Biker395;17017998]Awesome pix.



Run? Ultramarathon? What are the details of the crash?


Just a run after coming off my last nightshift the day before, original route was closed so ended up on a short but busy stretch of road and used a Tarmac area along the shoulder where I hit loose moss on a corner and the bike went from me. I hit the deck and knew immediately I had a bad injury.

jeichelberg87

Hi, I am looking to do a century ride...why? Because it is there...

Could someone take a look at my latest fifty miler and tell me what, if anything is wrong...and how much time I should allow for the century, based on the results they see from this ride? One of my problems I believe I have identified is not enough water...I only consumed about two quarts...

Dudelsack 

That's a lovely area IIRC.

I suspect you could do a century on that terrain, assuming your delicate bits are tough enough, just by dropping your speed to 12MPH. I bet you could cruise all day at that speed.

jeichelberg87

Hi, in the hopes you were responding to me...

Yes...it is a quite lovely area...relatively flat, but the roads have suffered as a result of the last winter...nothing too terrible, but still a lot of buzz translated to the arms and hands...

We have two supported century rides upcoming in this area... one is scheduled for August 24, 2014...if you look at the support available, I would be worried about getting caught out after hours with no one to call...

The other has support available for a longer period of time...

But still, I am worried about the second fifty...at twelve miles an hour, that translates into just over eight hours for a century...then again, once I get my road shoes and SPD-SL pedals, that would make a difference in my average speed...right?

Dudelsack 

No, but it might make a difference in your degree of comfort.

I've done two centuries this year averaging 12-14 MPH. You start early and plug away. I don't stop at SAGs for very long. On my second, which was board flat, I felt like I could have gone on forever.

Anyway, as I said, you're ready for a century, but if you blast off, you might be pretty miserable towards the end.

jeichelberg87

Thanks Dudelsack...I do not plan on blasting anything...

I appreciate the vote of confidence!

jimmuller 

I have no idea whether you shoes and pedals will make a difference. I'd guess not much over the long run. But you'll do fine. 12mph means 8hrs20min not counting time stopped. But you should be able to do better than that. Just 12.5 means 8hrs, saving you 20min. Remember to eat often, drink often. If you can do 50 you can do 100!

jeichelberg87

Thank you jimmuller! I appreciate it!

volosong

jeichelbert87,

For several years, I rode the Cool Breeze double-metric century. First year, there was no more "good stuff" at the turn-around lunch stop. The century riders cleaned out all the desirable food. That sucked! There was a pretty good post-ride dinner, so I went home well fed.

The next year, in an attempt to mitigate missing lunch, I started about 20-30 minutes before the official start of the ride. I missed the first rest stop because it wasn't set up yet, but that was okay because it was only about 15 miles in and only consisted of a water stop at the top of the KOM for the day. The next stop was only 10 miles further along, so I didn't mind missing that first stop.

But . . . and this really disappointed me as the last stop of the day is a tradition. The only thing they give out at that last top is water/juice, and POPSCYCLES! The popcycles are the tradition. As I said, I started the ride early, (also because I don't climb very fast), I spendt minimal time at the rest stops, even skipping a couple. Did have a good lunch. But, when I got to that last stop, the last popcycle was handed out to the rider who arrived just before I did! I missed it by just a minute or so. Uugh!

All this to say, if you can, and are worried about not having support near the end of your ride . . . consider leaving a half-hour early. Start out well-stocked just in case the early rest stops are not set up by the time you get to them.

- - - - -

On the shoes and cleats. Whenever this topic comes up, there are "fistfights" between those who love them and those who hate them.

Myself? I started out in the early 60's, (Yeah, the Nixon years), using the old "rat trap and strap" pedals. Migrated to clipless when they replaced the old style toe cages. Everybody is different, but for me, I cannot ride without being clipped/strapped in.

I have only fallen off a bicycle thrice in my life. All three have been very low speed "crashes". They were more of 'falling over' than crashing. First time was as a teenager leaving school and there was a patch of sand in the gutter at the school parking lot exit. I just turned too sharp, the front wheel went out from under me, and I just fell over. More embarrassing than anything, in front of my classmates and all.

Second time was also in sand/dirt on my cross-country bike ride in 1995. I was making a left turn on a dirt road when two dogs ran out. Again, I turned too sharply and fell over. (No witnesses this time, except for the dogs, who left me alone after I fell.) Third time was in Rome a few years ago on some wet cobblestones. Once again, I turned too sharply and again fell over. (Wet cobblestones are slippery.) I was barely moving. That one was embarrassing too. Way too many witnesses.

Do they allow me to ride faster? I think so. It is next to impossible to pull up on a pedal back stroke if your feet are not attached securely to the pedals some way.

Rick@OCRR

Volosong,

You will be happy to know that the Channel Islands Club, the ones that put on the Cool Breeze, have gotten their act together well and now there is plenty of food for the double metric riders at lunch and more than enough pop-sickles at Rincon, the last stop (near the beach).

I started at the normal time and don't ride that fast, so I'm sure you'll be fine if you ride it this year (next week!).

Rick / OCRR

az_cyclist

Biker395, it was the Bull club ride, then I added an extra loop of 27 miles after stopping home for more water and heed. The Bull ride was snappy for me... I had 58 miles @ 19.1 rolling ave when we got back to the start. Obviously I slowed down a bit for the last 35 miles. I was finished and back home by 1 pm, and the temp was still under 100 (96).

Bike Ride Profile | Bull Shifter 56th Street + extra miles near Phoenix | Times and Records | Strava

Dellphinus

I was fortunate enough to get to ride a charity ride across Illinois, to support families of fallen police officers. We rode 4 days- 97 miles, 83 miles, 107 miles and 54 miles. Started with our back tires in the Mississippi at Alton, Il., and finished with our front wheels in Lake Michigan, at Chicago. Best part? A police escort the entire trip- not one single stop sign or stoplight.
We (my wife and I) trained for it as much as we could, but not as much as we would have liked. Longest ride prior was 60 miles at 16mph. I don't know if it was the adrenaline, the pack (60 of us) or the pace (14.4 average over the entire ~350 miles), but we were in worse shape after several of the training rides than we were on any of the four ride days. That was my only century so far this year; I plan to do the Ride the Rivers century (St. Louis) this fall.

az_cyclist

3 or 4 of the Bull Shifters will be riding Cool Breeze this weekend, Rick

Rick@OCRR

Sorry, I won't be there this year but I'm sure the Bull Shifters will have an excellent ride!

Rick / OCRR

jeichelberg87

Thank you volosong. I went out and purchased my shoes and pedals today. I bought a set of Wellgo pedals (SPD and platform) and a pair of Bontrager shoes.

While I was at the LBS where I made the purchase, I was talking to another cyclist who was taking a break from a fifty miler he was on...He has been on both of the centuries I plan to ride. He also stated I should be okay, but the first one he did remind me had some (for around NW Indiana near Lake Michigan) significant climbs for people not accustomed to biking for long periods. When I told him I was getting clipless for the first time, he told me this," I will tell you what my friend told me when I got my first pair...there are two kinds of cyclists...those who have fallen, and those who are about to fall..." Little did I know...I was set up on a trainer in the store and practiced about twenty times with both feet...Felt pretty comfortable and they were about to close, so I loaded up the bike, went home, put on my shoes, aired up the tires and off I went...first stop sign, unclipped my right foot and promptly fell to my left, skinning up my elbow and knocked by left brake handle an inch to the right...the motorist behind me (containing a chuckle) asked if I was okay..."No problem," I replied..."heading back home for my training wheels now...."