A-1

So I'm doing my first century at the end of August, I've never really ridden that many miles at once before. Any tips on how I should start training would be great.

twahl

Yep. Use the search feature.

A-1

Wasn't working buddy. Kthx

sfend002

I didn't know you guys were buddies.....

CardiacKid

Since you can't get the search feature to work, try this site. https://www.ultracycling.com/training/century.html
This should give you the basics. Report back with any questions.
Twahl wasn't really being a total smart -ass. There is tons of helpful information on this topic that you can access thru the search feature.

bccycleguy

A century is long enough that any fit problems with your bike will make a big difference. So make sure your fit is dialed in perfectly. This is not trivial, it's taken me months to fine tune my fit. Then ride, ride, ride.

A-1

Thanks for the link, and yeah, I didn't mean to come off like a dick either, but I tried searching and it wouldn't work, so I figured I'd just go ahead and make a thread. Thanks for the help, and for the VA guys in this thread, this is the Reston Century, any of you have plans of doing this?

twahl

The Reston Century covers the Purcellville to Lovettesville loop. Some of that is pretty brutal. I don't know what the rest of the route is but we saw a lot of riders out there when my wife and I were riding it to prep for our first metric a couple of years ago. Come to find out it was the same day as the Reston.

What kind of distances are you riding now?

bccycleguy

A century is long enough that any fit problems with your bike will make a big difference. So make sure your fit is dialed in perfectly. This is not trivial, it's taken me months to fine tune my fit. Then ride, ride, ride.

slacker_express

I did my first century this spring. Previous longest ride ever (last year) was 55 miles. Lousy weather this spring kept the miles down, but I was determined to do it. As it came closer, I started to get worried about whether I would finish. I am in reasonably good shape, but I also wouldn't be confused with a real athlete. I am actually glad I did it early in the season since the fall century should be easier after I get more miles in and my legs are better. Some novice tips:

Ride some longer rides. Not just to get in shape, but also to notice if you have any fit problems. My saddle was not my friend after mile 75.

Learn the importance of eating and drinking during the ride. I actually took too much food, given the two food stops along the way. Lots of options. I like fig newtons best, but also have used Clif Bars and the occasional shot of Gu.

Also, think about your pace early on. It is *so* easy to start out strong, which can make it hard to end strong. I got a flat at about mile 3, and eventually caught up at around mile 20. That means no drafting for 20% of the ride. I felt that afterwards.

Of course, prepare for weather and the flats. There weren't many people behind me once I got the flat fixed. If I didn't have spares (or patches) that may have been the day right there. I also went from cool morning, to warmer midday, to cool showers.

There's lots more information here from people who really know what they are doing (I certainly learned a lot). While I can't say I particularly enjoyed the last 25 miles of the ride, I am already looking forward to the next century.

A-1

I've been doing about 50 mile round trip rides a few times a week. I've also been riding my fixed gear a lot lately too.

twahl

That's not a bad start. If you are out of the Reston area and can get to the W&OD, get in a ride that's takes you to Purcellville then up through Lovettesville and back. From the Reston area it'll be about 70 miles round trip I guess. If you're in Manassas, drop me a PM and I'll take you on my local ride. It's only a little over 30 miles but has some good hills in it, and you need the hill time.

A-1

I'm from Herndon actually. I usually ride the W&OD starting at Herndon Station to either Hamilton Station or Purcellville.

twahl

You need to get some hills in because they will be part of that ride. The trail is flat, even with the slight climb once you get out past Leesburg. I'll look and see if I can find a route for you and PM it to you tomorrow.

Duke of Kent

Ride your bike 300 miles/15hrs per week. No specific training necessary.

And make sure your bike fits, and you have plenty of supplies.

Machka 

Here ... have a look at my article on how to ride a century: https://www.machka.net/century.htm

I've done a few of them myself, so I speak from experience there.

botto 

you forgot to add a smiley face. the dude only wants to do a century.

supcom

You shouldn't have any trouble. Start increasing your mileage to do 60-70 miles instead of 50. When you get comfortable doing these, you'll be ready for 100. When you do you first century, just be sure to take it easy, don't try to hang with the fast guys, and you'll do fine.

Lucky07

Here's my shorthand: Do increasingly longer rides, leading up to the Century. And don't just do long slow rides. Mix it up with shorter sprints, climbs, etc. Do core training to build up strength. Situps, pushups, yoga, etc. Get lots of sleep the days before the ride. Load up on carbs the night before. Get all your stuff ready after your dinner so you're ready to go in the am. Have a good breakfast. Start out at a reasonable pace. You can always ramp it up throughout the ride. Drink and eat BEFORE you're thirsty or hungry. You don't have to stuff yourself, just keep a steady fuel supply coming in. And look around & enjoy the scenery. Have a great day. And check out https://www.machka.net/century.htm for TOO much info.

merlinextraligh

Bicyling magazine always has a first century feature about now, and I think there example training schedule is available on their website. Essentially the program is a couple of long rides on the weekend with shorter rides during the week. Gradually extend your long rides, until you can do 75 miles or so, and then taper down the last week before the event. Also a little bit of intensity work (i.e. intervals, or just spirited pedaling) on the shorter rides will help. Make sure you mix in adequate rest and recovery . At least one day a week off the bike, and one day a recovery ride (short and ant a very easy pace)

And if you can comfortably do a 50 mile ride now, you're already in good enough shape to compllete a century. Some longer training will help you do it faster and more comfortably.

TreyK

Just did my first century at the end of April. Started riding last August, started a new job and didn't get to train in the fall and winter months. Got back to training in January, starting basically from scratch. If you are riding 50mi now then you have plenty of time to ramp up the miles without rushing it. The longest ride I had done prior to the century was 75mi one week prior. I had been ramping up my long rides weekly.

There were a few things that I learned in my training leading up to the century:
1. Drink constantly and fuel your body. I had to really think about eating and drinking until it became second nature. On an organized century this is easier because you don't have to carry as much with you. Don't try any new foods on the ride. The training is for deciding how well foods sit with you.
2. Add daily stretching to your training. The longer rides started to give me tightness in my lower back. Once I started stretching regularly this was no longer a problem. I also would stretch at the rest stops.
3. Add some interval work during the week if you are not currently doing so.
4. Throttle back the week of the century. Your body needs a rest and it will be raring to go if you have given it a break to fully recover beforehand.
5. Fully service/have the bike serviced one to two weeks prior to the century. I actually had mine tuned the week of the century because that was when I was backing off.
6. If you use a heart rate monitor during your training, use it to help you judge effort. This will help keep you from busting out too hard early. I usually train alone, so when I was riding in a paceline I was going much faster than my normal training pace. Knowing what I was capable of maintaining HR wise allowed me to continue on at that pace because I knew I could maintain it. If I had been judging only on speed and had no HR history from training I would probably have backed off early on because I may have thought it was too fast.
7. Don't avoid the wind when training. As nice as it is to haul but downwind, it always seems that my second half ride is smack into a strong headwind when training. Learn to accept the wind. It will actually make you a stronger rider. Thankfully I was used to it, because the last 40 miles of my century was right into the face of 25-30 mph winds.

Good luck with your ride. Hope this has helped some.

Ostuni

have not read thread, but if not already said, find BF member machka's web site for lots of good tips, resources, etc.

angelo

...All of the above...

+ be sure to keep all your mechanical stuff in excellent working order- nothing quite like an annoying breakdown in the middle of nowhere.

+ carry some kind of map in addition to a tested/verified cue-sheet- nothing quite like preparing for 100 miles and having to do 120. A mobile phone, aspirin, credit card, and ID won't hurt either.

All of this applies to any longish ride, of course.

howsteepisit

As King Eddy said - ride lots

cc_rider

Done the Reston ride the last three years, but only the metric route. Last year I was getting over a pulled knee and didn't want to chance the full 100. Probably will go for the century this year.

As twahl said, it can be brutal. Lots of short, steep hills and a couple of big climbs. Luckily the last 15 miles are on the W&OD.

If you want to practice on some of the hills, take the W&OD to Leesburg and turn onto Dry Mill. Past the overpass, go straight up Woodburn. When you get to the other side of the mountain, take a right onto Harmony Church Road to get back to Hamilton. That's just a taste.

If you go to the PPTC website and check their ride schedule, they often do a nice 40 mile CC loop out of Lovettsville that covers much of the same route as Reston. Skips the biggest hills but covers a lot of the smaller ones.

And since it's in August, start as early as you can. Last year the weather was cool, but the previous two were killers, with temps in the 90's by noon. Not the best conditions to take on Stumptown.

If I look around I can probably find my cue sheets from the last couple of years.

+3