jppe

Wish me luck tomorrow. 105 miles with an honest 10,000+ ft of climbing. I'm going to wish I had not eaten those french fries and drank all those beers over the last several weeks. Nothing steep but some 12 mile and 8 mile climbs plus lots of 1-2 milers. Weather should be ideal for western NC. Should be terrific views along the far southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I'm hopeful my legs have somewhat recovered from Wednesday night's time trial. It just takes me longer and longer to recover any more.

OldsCOOL

Git some!!

Ursa Minor

Good luck jppe! 10,000 feet of climbing is amazing.

Charlie

jppe

Done. 105.5 miles with 10,600' of climbing. Included a 12 mile and 8 mile climb but lots of hills otherwise. Severe cramps starting at 25 miles kept me from doing a very good time. I was at 3 hours the first 50 miles with over 4000' of climbing but limped in at over 7 1/2 hours. Need to cut out the beer......

az_cyclist

7 1/2 hours with 10,000 ft of climbing is certainly respectable, jppe!

spdracr39

I really want to ride the Big Dam Bridge 100 this September 100 miles and 4000 feet of climbing. I would like to be able to do it in 6 hours.

khutch

I was 58, had been riding the train and a shuttle bus to work for several years, and had not ridden a bicycle in a 2-3 decades. Then my employer decided to cut costs and cancel the shuttle bus. Seemed like an outrage at the time but a few years later my employer decided to cut costs and cancel me, so in retrospect not so big a deal and that is another story. I really did not want to go back to commuting by car and while commiserating with some other former shuttle riders I discovered the world of folding bicycles and the fact that the Chicago METRA rail system allowed them on rush hour trains.

So I bought a Dahon Mu P8 and started the bike/train commute lifestyle. My legs sure hurt at first by my love of cycling was rekindled and quickly grew stronger than it had ever been. I started doing longer and longer recreational rides on evenings and weekends and was soon doing up to 30 miles, probably as long as I had ever ridden a bicycle before. I had never heard of a century so when I read a description of one of the bikes on the Dahon website that said that it was perfect for a ride around town or a century, my initial reaction was that I won't be riding a bike 100 years from now! But of course I had a suspicion they were not talking about years so I looked that up. Interesting, I thought, and quickly forgot about it. I was enjoying riding however and rides of up to 30 miles were teaching me the deficiency of a folder, or at least the folder I owned, for that type of riding. Over that winter my thoughts turned to getting a real bike....

That spring I bought a Fuji Absolute 1.0 and now I was in business! It must have been a warm and early spring that year because I had a ton of miles on it already and things were going great when the Saturday before Easter, 2010, I woke up in a hospital bed. Four broken ribs, punctured lung, bruised or broken coccyx, and a concussion so bad my memory of that whole afternoon was wiped clean and I had some motor function issues for a couple of months. I have little to no idea what happened. What little I know is based on physical evidence and the sketchy details I was able to give my wife when she first found me "looking for skid marks", standing on the corner of the street that turns into our neighborhood. My quickly fading memory of the event was still marginally functional at that time. I knew that I had crashed and that a woman in a car had helped me up and get my bike back home, just a few hundred feet from the accident site. Other than that I know that the bike was ok except for two minor ripples in the rims which were easily trued out, my clothes had grass stains on them, and my helmet was broken and dented. My best guess is that as I was turning left into the neighborhood a car came up suddenly and began turning left in front of me so I went wide, over the curb, and crashed onto the grassy area between the curb and sidewalk, smacking my head but good on the edge of the curb. I don't believe I was actually hit by a car and I doubt very much that I just turned too fast and lost control when entering the neighborhood. But all I can do is guess, really, which is a bit unnerving.

There is nothing to be done about broken ribs, they take 8 to 12 weeks to heal and you just suffer through that. Eventually you reach the point where you can get back on the bike (if you are insane enough to do that!) and resume your life. Once I was back on I bought some clipless pedals and shoes and I continued my quest to find a handlebar for the bike that I could stand to ride for more than 40 miles. I tried some bar ends for the flat bars it came with to give me more hand positions and they did not do it for me. I tried a trekking "butterfly" bar and that was a definite improvement. Finally over the winter I saw that Jeff Jones was now selling an affordable aluminum version of his "loop H bar" and I found my love. That same winter I got the bug to seriously try a century and as spring approached I signed up for the northern Illinois Udder Century. It is 102 miles with a whopping 1200 feet or so of climb but it comes very early in the riding season for these parts: first Sunday in June. I found a 10 week training plan about 12 weeks before the ride and I started in on it. I rode in rain, in cold, in snow. I rode as much as I could. I read all about nutrition. I planned for everything I could think of. Then the weekend before I took my final training ride which I had decided to stretch to 80 miles and got a saddle sore! I had read about padded cycling shorts and skin lubricants but I had never had any trouble so I ignored all that. Now I had to read up on treating saddle sores. I thought my century was done before it started but somehow I managed to heal up enough by Sunday to ride again.

Wow, 1500 people do this ride and I had only ever ridden solo so this seemed like the big time indeed. I pushed off and seduced by those around me I went out at a pace much too high for me. But I kept it up for 40 miles and was feeling fine after the second rest stop. As I pushed on from there to the turn around stop for the full century I noticed it was getting warm and my energy level was dropping but I made it to the third stop in good shape and took a long rest and refueled. I seemed ok but I was only a mile or two out from that stop when I realized I was in trouble. The next 20 were just torture as my energy level dropped seriously and the temperature, which had been cool all spring, really climbed. It reached only 85F which is nothing really but that early in the year it was something my body was unprepared for. So I just barely reached the final rest stop and I spent a good 90 minutes stretched out on the ground in the shade of a tree. After that I was ok. I was not in any condition to take the world by storm but I got back on the bike, rode the first 15 miles at a modest pace, and then with the excitement of realizing that my goal was in reach growing mile by mile I finished the ride with a bit of a flourish, speed wise. I'd done it!

A few weeks later I made the mistake of telling a friend that I had ridden a century. This guy had never ridden a bike in the decade or so that I had known him but he not only knew what a century was, his first comment was "dude, we have to do RAGBRAI!" I'm like RAG-what?? I'd never heard of it before but one of his other friends had done a day of RAGBRAI the year before and with two of us unexpectedly telling him about long distance bike rides he instantly decided that that was something we all must do together. So he got back on his old bike, the three of us starting riding together some, we did the metric loop of the Udder Century the next year, and that summer we did three days of RAGBRAI. The first day was about 85 miles, the closest to a century I would do that year, and quite an accomplishment for my friend. By the end of the third day I was totally hooked. On the car ride home from the Mississippi River the two of them said they would like to do this again but certainly not the whole thing. My response was, no, I want to do the whole thing!

Well, the other buddy was out for 2013 due to a conflict with his 20th anniversary that same week. The friend I had initially told about my century ride and thereby started this madness decided over the winter that indeed we should do the whole thing. We MUST do the whole thing. I was ok with that much but then he told me he was committed to doing the "Karras Loop", an extra credit route that is typically added to the ride's longest day to make it into a century. I seriously had my doubts about this because while he was working hard I did not think he was up to it yet. That year the Loop came on the second day of the ride, which did not help matters. On paper it was 107 miles with 5100 feet of climbing which is just monsterous for newbies from flat-as-a-pancake northern Illinois like us. But he was determined. I knew he was in trouble almost from the start. He just hates hills and though none are terribly long or high, they were endless. And the temperature was climbing, it would top out at 97F. We had climbed more than 50 hills by the time we hit 50 miles (I only know that because just before then we were passed by a team that was actually counting them out loud and laughing at the crest of each one!) and we were well behind the pace, almost the last people on the road. He decided to SAG it after 50 miles. I made sure he was ok to do that on his own and he assured me he wanted me to continue do defend the honor of the team. I had a bit of work cut out for me since we were so far behind the pace that the food stops in the pass through towns were closing down before I could get to them. But from the signs we had passed I knew that Mr. Porkchop was just a few miles ahead so I took off. A big, thick porkchop, an ear of corn, a slushy lemonade, and a piece of pie were soon ingested and I was ready to tackle the last 45 miles or so. I was able to pick up the pace quite a bit and passed enough people to be sure that the food stations would still be open if I needed any. I don't know the stats but the last major climb of the day was bad enough for Iowa cyclists to name (which means it is still but a mole hill to many of you) and by the time I reached it I had digested enough pork chop to make it to the top without walking and even passed a few folks on the way up. After that it was pretty flat and I picked up the pace even more. The only thing that slowed me down was the heat, I had to stop in the shade a few times to cool down. The thing about RAGBRAI is that the published distances are from one point on the route to another but by the time you ride to/from the route from your campground at each end I had gone 112 miles, not 107, and while I had had quite enough cycling for the day by the end, I felt like I had conquered my second century whereas I had just survived the first.

So, of course we did RAGBRAI again this year. Our third buddy was back on board and this year's century was 102 miles (that ended up being 111) with only 2100 feet of climb. And there were 40 mile days before and after. So the organizers had clearly picked the route to encourage people to do the century. My two riding buddies like to cruise at 12mph which is just loafing for me and I have few memories of the century ride itself this year, mostly just some from the stops at the pass through towns. The final leg of the day had us fighting a head wind and we were doing our best to shield my one friend from it but for the most part my third century was neither a victory nor a defeat. It was pretty much just a cakewalk! Even our "weakest link" was more smiles than complaints when we finally reached the campground that night.

So it is three for me so far and several more rides in the 70 to 100 mile range. An event like RAGBRAI makes it fairly easy to do a century. Every town you ride through has plenty of food available. You can stop and rest as much as you might like if you can pedal at 12 mph or more. You can do 100 miles and hardly even notice that you did something unless the weather is awful. As far as eating goes I would say that a ride like RAGBRAI really brings home the fact that you are eating mostly for tomorrow. You do process some of what you eat today but most of it goes into the bank for tomorrow. So I would worry as much about what you eat the day before a century as you do about the day of the century. And I have never eaten anything bicycle or sports-specific while riding RAGBRAI. It is just the normal food you would eat any day. I tend to gravitate towards pasta more than normal, that is about the only concession I make to eating for success. And of course pie and ice cream.... But I would think that if you want to ride a solo century, just route it through some towns that are big enough to have lunch, dinner, and snacks available when you might want them, eat a good breakfast, and you should be in great shape. Or sign up for RAGBRAI, no other ride I have heard of is supported like RAGBRAI is!

kingfishr

Well done!

Gordy. 1888

100.9 miles and 2,629 feet climbed (big chunk was along the River Clyde so flat) on the 11/07/2014 was my first century travelled from Prestwick Ayrshire through Glasgow and followed the cycle path along the Clyde in the direction of Motherwell then turned and came back a different route. Only got my first road bike in January this year so at 57 was pleased with my progress .
unfortunately less than 2 weeks later came off on loose moss and broke my hip but looking forward to getting back on the bike eventually and just love it.

jeichelberg87

Mission accomplished! I completed my first century on 8/24/2014, riding with members of the Calumet Crank Club! I rode fifty miles the day before, so on 8/25/14, I took a day off the saddle.

I do not know how to export the photos here, but you can view my home page at Google + to take a look at some pictures I took along the ride...

JimF22003

good work!

jeichelberg87

Thank you Jim. I appreciate it.

Rick@OCRR

Rode century #22 for this year yesterday. Here are all the details on Strava: Bike Ride Profile | Modified OC Death Ride per David and Ulmont near Newport Beach | Times and Records | Strava

It was a nice tour riding lots of the good climbs in Orange County, California. The weather was cooler than the Sat. and Sun. that preceeded this Labor Day 2014 tour.

The route was (mostly) the OC Death Ride as made famous by Chuck Bramwell, but this one had been modified by David Slaton and Ulmont Smith to add more climbs (Spyglass, etc.) while removing the Corona Del Mar photo op.

Overall a fun ride on a (pretty much) beautiful day. Totals were 102 miles with 8,000 feet of climbing.

Rick / OCRR

bruised

Hi all!

I'm in my first Summer of 'serious' riding. Serious for me means an effort to improve my fitness, endurance and lose weight, versus the casual riding I've done on and off over the years.
Anyway, I started out the Summer doing 20 milers on my MTB. It was a stretch but slowly, over the weeks, I've nudged up on distance and feel better at the fitness level.
Anyway, on Saturday I did my first 80 miles. And on a MTB too, with knobby tires. 20 miles of the 80 was on a trail, packed gravel and dirt.

So I'm thinking about being ready for a Century ride event that's coming up on the 16th Sept. Or maybe it's too early? I didn't have much left in the can at the end of the 80, I think I could've squeezed out another 5 or so. But with the inspiration of my first group ride, perhaps I could hit the big C. What do you think? Pass on the chance and keep training, or give it a shot? I won't get another chance do an event locally until next July so I'm mighty tempted!!

Cheers!

chasm54

If you can ride 80 miles you can ride 100. If you put slick tyres on to replace the knobblies, you'll find the 100 easier than the 80.

jppe

Completed another century on Monday. 100.5 miles with 8600' of climbing with 5 climbs in 6 hours 25 minutes. Nothing too steep (maybe 12% on one) or long (maybe 3+ miles) for a change. I was worried after spending a week in Aruba 2 weeks ago and putting on lots of weight from great food and beverages plus no riding for a week. This was actually one of my better efforts as I didn't have the first cramp and rode as hard as I preferred to ride all day. It was pretty warm so I hardly ate anything but hydrated just good enough. I've got to put a plug in for recovery drinks as I felt good enough to do 34 miles Tuesday night with my regular group and still had pretty good legs.

bruised

Congratulations Jppe ^

I registered online today for the Door Peninsula Century ride on the 13th. I'm a little nervous about the distance and time aspect. It's a 7am start but for some strange reason the dinner ends at 5pm ?? Will I get back in time on my MTB? Will I get back at all ? Should I try and grab a cheap road bike off Craigslist before the event, or just stick a set of road tires on my 29er. Just thinking out loud here.....!

tigat

Bruised: that's a pretty ambitious move. I know the area pretty well, and looking at the ride profile, there are alot of shorter climbs that don't add up to a ton of vertical. So I'd say stick with the mtn bike and some slicks, rather than taking a chance on a new to you piece of eqipment that's going to fit and ride differently. At 12mph, you're just a bit over 8 hours in the saddle, so with a 10 minute rest, hydrate and refuel stop every 15 miles, you'll be done in plenty of time. Only you know if you can tolerate the saddle or generate that kind of effort, but the worst that can happen is a ride in the SAG wagon. This looks to be a beautiful and really well supported ride.

bruised

Thanks Tigat, I think that's good advice.
Door County is beautiful and the hills are not too challenging. I live in Egg Harbor so I bike the area all the time and have a good feel for what to expect. So I'm optimistic and really excited about it.
I'll need to start reading up on what people do to prepare ahead of time....i.e exercise/biking routines for the week leading up.

I know I'm starting to sound like a drama queen, but I'm just new to all of this and the bike has been the catalyst for losing a lot of weight that I've been hauling around for over a decade. So I'm enjoying the benefits that come from being a moderately fit and mobile 52 yr old, versus a couch potato with no energy or enthusiasm for life.
It's all good...

Thanks again!

tigat

I'll let the more seasoned riders address the "what to do if you've only got a week left to get ready" questions. But you definitely deserve a shout out for the weight loss and lifestyle change-Congratulations!

My guess is the bug has bitten you, and regardless of how next Saturday goes, you're going to be back next year, on a proper road bike, looking to repeat or one up this year's effort.

JohnDThompson 

Cool! Maybe I'll see you there. Road tires would likely make it easier, but it should be do-able regardless. I've done the Baileys Harbor "Ride for Nature" century (very similar route) three times on my fixed gear, but I plan on using a geared bike for this one.

bruised

Thank you much Tigat. Yes I think I've been bitten and it feels pretty good. (Though my wife thinks I've lost my mind... and she may have a point).

@JohnDThompson - On a fixed gear? Wow. That's inspiring. I can't even imagine attempting this with a fixed gear!

I've ordered some road tires for the mtb and I should be all set. The good thing is that I find the 29er really comfortable - no back aches and manageable butt aches...really looking forward to it!

Cheers !

jwalther

Hey Dudel-I'm riding the Hub City Century tomorrow. Are you going to be there?

jppe

I have back to back centuries next Saturday and Sunday. The nice thing is they are a much flatter profile than what I've been riding lately-maybe 3000' of climbing each. If the weather will cooperate I hope to get in some longer miles this weekend just to keep the legs moving. Today looks to be a wash out though.

And I'd really love to do Six Gap Century in north Georgia the last weekend in September. It's 103 miles with 11,000' of climbing. I'm just not sure I'd be recovered enough to take it on but we'll see.

jppe

I did 100.1 miles with 3600' of climbing at 17.5 mph solo. Nice day to ride with overcast and coolish weather, although there was a pretty good headwind the first 50 miles. My legs felt more tired afterwards than they have after centuries with more climbing. Not sure if it's hydration, working against the wind or just older age..........