Machka 

This is the thread for those who will not be able to complete the 2017 Century-A-Month challenge ... or those who want to do 1, 2 or a several centuries this year at whatever time works for them ... or those who complete their first century this year ...


The Century-A-Month challenge requires that a cyclist ride at least one century (100 miles) in each month of the year. But sometimes because of weather, accidents, or other commitments riding a century in each month of the year becomes impossible. And sometimes people get into cycling long distances partway through the year, but would like to join a challenge for motivation.

Even if we can't participate in the CAM challenge, it's nice to have a place to log our centuries (100-mile rides) throughout the year ... so here it is!



The challenge: Let's see how many centuries (100-mile rides), or longer rides, we can ride this year ... in any month of the year!!


Get ready ... get set ............... GO!!


See also this thread for Randonnees: https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dista...andonnees.html

noglider 

This is good for me, as I want to do two or three centuries this year.

Saguaro

I rode my first ever 200km brevet last weekend, the Saguaro Lake 200km Brevet out of Fountain Hills AZ. I logged 126.3 miles, moving time: 10:03, elapsed time: 11:39. Pretty pokey I know but a milestone for me, need to work on reducing the stopped time.

seedsbelize 

I wonder if I'll ride another century. I'll post it here if I do.

znomit

Half a hilly 400k on Saturday for my first century of the year.

Machka 

Thursday 26 January -- Australia Day

Rowan and I made a somewhat spur of the moment decision to cycle a century this month. This was made a bit more difficult by the fact that Rowan is in his busy season at work ... he has been working long days and lots of days. So at the last minute, we decided to squeeze a century into Australia Day.

Today reached 23C, and was partly cloudy. That part was nice. It was also very windy. Roughly 30 km/h gusting to 60 km/h most of the day.

Our route had us riding into the wind for the first 54 km. We were planning to go further, but by the 54 km point we had enough. We also wanted to turn around and take advantage of the tailwind while there was still a tailwind. Winds here have this habit of changing direction mid-afternoon.

It was such a relief to have a strong tail wind all the way back into Hobart.

Because we had changed the route, our new plan was to cycle back out the cycleway to the end, into the wind. Fortunately the cycleway is somewhat sheltered so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Then a quick dash back into Hobart. And finally a short run out the cycleway to make up the distance ... and at long last, back to the start point.

That's our first century since our 600 km attempt in October. Not the nicest century, but it felt good to be out there cycling all day long again.


Distance: 161.9km
Elevation: 1,096m
Moving Time: 8:40:35
Elapsed Time: 9:42:08
Avg Speed: 18.7km/h
Max Speed: 50.8km/h

Machka 

Got a February one in ... see the CAM Challenge thread!

https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dista...onth-club.html

Machka 

March Century Done!!

https://www.bikeforums.net/19419493-post18.html

Machka 

Saturday -- Second 200K of the month complete! This is a route I created from a section of the Hadspen Hike 600K we're planning to host in northern Tasmania later this year. We thought it would make a nice 200K route (and it did) while allowing us to do some route checking.

203 km with 1509 metres of elevation gain. Our total time was 11 hours 9 minutes and can't tell you our moving time because there was a Strava glitch. Strava had us moving the whole time ... but although our breaks were quite short, we did take breaks.

The weather was great ... chilly in the morning and then heating up as the day went on. And it was one of those rare rides where the wind was favourable all the way around!!!!!

Nice route too ... scenic, fairly quiet, and although it was hilly, the hills weren't daunting and gave us some great downhills as reward.


It's been a long time since I've done two 200Ks within 2 weeks of each other! Feels good to be back at it!




And Sunday was a rest day.

wipekitty

Wednesday: First 2017 century - done!

The primary objective of the ride was to scout a potential new 68 mile "coffee and ice cream" route, which stops by several bike shops in Trempeleau County, WI that also happen to serve coffee and ice cream. The starting point was 26 miles from my house, so I decided to catch a lift up with one of the two other riders, ride home, and throw in a few more miles to hit 100+.

The weather was nearly perfect: temperatures ranging from 60-75F, fairly low humidity, and clear blue skies. We started with a leisurely pace into a rough headwind, stopping at Driftless Bike N' Bean in Trempealeau and Brone's Bikes in Fountain Valley.

After a lengthy stop at Brone's, the serious riding started. The third major climb was a doozy: this thing had an extended stretch at 16%, and even in my lowest gear, reverted to some of my fixed gear climbing techniques to get to the top. At this point we decided that perhaps a better name for the route would be "ice cream upchuck ride". After returning to the start in Galesville, I hung out for a bit and continued on to La Crosse. For the final miles, I took a quick ride up and down the bluff in town, then rolled back home.

On this ride, I tested out a handlebar bag (the Jandd bike bag), and found it very effective for storing the things I might need on a longer ride. I was overall very satisfied with my comfort level, energy, and hydration, though the great weather helped!

The total for the day came to 102.3 miles/164.6 km, with 5136 feet/1565 m elevation. Moving time: 7:15:27, elapsed time: 9:12:17. We had some very lengthy stops at the bike shops.

CliffordK

I fell behind a bit with my riding early this year, plus I got pretty snowed under with the flu, but I've been catching up.

April 28: 200 miles Eugene to Portland
May 4: 145 miles Portland to Eugene
May 6: 121 miles Eugene to Albany (RT)
June 2: 150 miles Eugene to Portland
June 6: 165 miles Portland to Eugene

So, I'm now up to 5 century+ rides, totalling a bunch of miles.

Another century ride this month, and I'll be back on schedule

Ok, so most of my Century rides are long commutes. I do vary my routes somewhat which can affect the daily mileage considerably. The longer rides do tend to be relatively flat. I've done a few hilly rides, but generally a bit shorter.

wipekitty

Good ride today! I did a 75 mile group ride plus to/from the ride and a little bonus loop to get a bit more time on the bike.

The group portion was the Mini Donut Ride - so-called because of a stop in Houston, MN at a coffee shop that offers...mini donuts. There were four riders, and the route was through rural SE Minnesota. The lovely 70F start was followed by a brief downpour with light thunder (but no lightening!), a drop to about 60F after the rain, then gradual heating to a sunny, sticky, 86F at the end.

I had a fairly miserable 10 miles or so toward the end, as my water supply was running low. I luckily found some water at a trailhead, and had a nice chat with a Vietnam era vet going out to ride a recumbent e-bike.

Total for the day: 108.5 miles (175.6 km), 5,047 ft (1,538 m) elevation.

John_V 

I did my first century of the year on Sunday with my friend, Frankie. We were challenged to get on Amanda Coker's 100 Mile Club board but he has never done a century. To get on the board, you have to do a century before she breaks the 100,000 mile record. She'll have that record broken in about 10-12 days and I have cataract surgery this week so it was Sunday or bust.

wipekitty

Good ride yesterday (Sunday July 16)! I met up with six other riders from the local endurance group to ride the Whitehall English Century route. It's an "easy" century: seven baby hills, and no major climbs. Like other "official" Bicycle La Crosse routes, it's designed to be a self-supported route, and we indeed rode it self-supported. I also rode to and from the start, putting my day a bit over 200K.

Weather was good for July: low 70s F with a muggy dew point in the mid 60s at the start, warming up into the mid 80s by the afternoon. The ride was mostly uneventful (no flats or mechanicals) other than my crash just under halfway through. A poorly positioned pothole on a descent knocked me airborne, but fortunately I pointed my bike toward a nice fluffy patch of weeds on the side of the road and walked away a bit stiff with a few scratches and no damage to the bike. For the rest of the ride, I was sensible and followed other riders on the descents and took it easy on the rougher roads.

Since this was my longest ride ever, I planned my nutrition a bit more than usual. I learned that I do not do well with normal solid foods on rides, and generally do not eat anything on rides under 60 miles. For this one, I went through 4 GU packets, about half a dozen NUUN tabs, and a half pound of agave gummy bears. I had no caffeine other than my pre-ride two cups of coffee. Contact points with the bike remained comfortable throughout the ride, and I would have felt just fine by the end had it not been for the silly crash.

Distance total: 129.7 miles/208.7 km
Elevation: 4202 ft/1281 m
Elapsed time: 9:53:40
Moving time: 8:09:04

wipekitty

Saturday: Century #4 for 2017 is in the books!

This ride was the 100 mile version of the Norski Tur, a self-supported ride that is part of the La Crosse Bike Fest. I volunteered to be a ride ambassador (basically a rider who makes sure that everybody gets out of town and often guides riders through the course.)

My group had five riders (including me) to start. There was some heavy rain at our scheduled start time, so we waited a few minutes to let it pass. Most of the day was cloudy and in the mid-60s F, though the sun came out and hit the low 70s by the end of the ride! We had some nice stops at everyone's favorite local gas station chain, Kwik Trip, and regrouped at the top and bottom of the hills.

Throughout the ride, the group had two flats and one dog attack (just got a sock!) but everyone finished! Three of the riders were completing their first century, so we had the festival organizers take some group photos when we returned to La Crosse.

My total for the day...
Distance: 101.6 miles/163.5 km
Elevation: 4141 feet/1262 m
Moving time: 7:02:36
Elapsed time: 9:29:03 (including the rain delay and photos afterward!)

MinnMan

Saturday (9/2) was century #7 for the year. At 140 miles, it was my longest ride to date (the previous mark was 120 miles), so I'm happy about that. Also, my tally is well-ahead of any other year, as I haven't previously surpassed 3.

I rode the first 22 miles with some friends at a relaxed pace (16 mph average) and the remaining 118 with a much stronger group, at a faster pace (20 mph average).

I don't do many true distance rides, and I found the 140 mile ride challenging - particularly owing to leg cramps. I am very susceptible to them and I can usually keep them at bay with electrolyte supplements (endurolytes), but they came and went with varying severity from miles 90-140. Leg cramps are a bit of a mystery. Some people I know never get them.

Rowan

You're a real dark horse with this long distance stuff, aren't you? Really happy for you that your riding has you posting centuries with such a sense of fun.

Rowan

Yes, leg cramps can be a real mystery. I've found that when I have been suffering them, on the insides of the inner thighs, it's more down to lack of adequate training over the distances I'm riding. That is, as a season progresses, the susceptibility to cramps reduces substantially.

Congrats also on being so much further head of previous years with the century tally.

wipekitty

One more in the books

We called this one the Root Beer 100, thanks to a stop at a drive-in (or bike-in) with root beer at the end of the ride. The route went south along the Mississippi River in Minnesota, out through northern Iowa, and back through eastern Minnesota to Wisconsin. There were three riders - all of us girls - and we zipped along pretty well with only three stops!

Distance: 104.2 miles/167.7 km
Elevation: 3273 feet/997.5 m
Moving time: 5:42:45
Elapsed time: 6:25:36

Indeed; I think I caught the bug. I'd like to try some actual brevets, and have been sort of stalking the two nearby randonneuring clubs, but it's a matter of finding the time away from home. I'd like to start a series and work up to a 400 or 600km. One of these days!

OldTryGuy

Sept. 3rd was The Tour of Sebring 104 miler with 1,611' climbing. Not too shabby for Florida.

Yesterday was 109 miles around home with a WHOLE 91' OF CLIMBING. That's SW FL bike riding.

Should be a 9 to 10 hour drive to Dahlonega, Ga. on Friday morning/afternoon to ride Sunday's Six Gap Century with 11,200' of climbing. Just a weeeee bit more climbing than around town. CycleNorthGeorgia.com Home of the Six Gap Century

FlamsteadHill

Wow! I can't ride from home more than 1/2 mile in one direction, or just 1/4 mile in the other without doing 91'

Still working up to my first Century. Right now the biggest holdup is working in the time to do it - too many "before winter" things to do...

noglider 

I rode a century solo on Saturday (Sept 16). I had a great time. I did it to prove to myself that I'm ready to ride Hillier Than Thou on Sunday (Sept 24). It has two routes: 100 miles and 100 km. Both are foolish, because they have insane amounts of climbing. I'm not supremely foolish, which is why I'm doing the shorter route. It has 7,000 feet of climbing. The longer route has 12,000 feet. My ride this past weekend had almost 6,000 feet of climbing. I fared pretty well. I was slow, but I was relatively fresh after it was over.

This was my first century in over two years. My previous one was a lot harder because I wasn't in as good condition and because my rear derailleur failed before I hit the big hills.

wipekitty

Which bridge did you go over?

OldTryGuy

Rotonda West's HUMPBACK canal bridges. They are a killer!

amedias

Great thread, sorry I'm a latecomer but only recently joined :-)

I've managed to get 4 >100milers in this year, was aiming for at least 6 but home life put a spanner in the works in the early part of the year so didn't get to do as many longer rides as I hoped...still time to get one or two more in before 2017 is out though!

I'm planning on working my way up to doing an SR series next year so the plan was to get to the point where doing 200k is comfortable, and 300k bearable, before I try moving on to 400s and 600s next year.

I find the hardest thing is actually getting the time to do longer rides, I spend a lot of time riding faster 30-60milers with my local club or solo, and 50-70 miles is easy to fit in a half day, but going longer means a bit more planning, taking it a bit slower and a whole day out so just that little bit harder. Next year is going to be tough trying to move up to longer rides again but I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, heres my 4 so far...