oldokie

Never done a century before but would like to do one. However, as a senior citizen, I am not able to hammer it straight through without some breaks. Are there any generally accepted views on minimum time span or duration of breaks you take. Example...if I rode an average of 15 mph it would take me about 7 hours actual ride time to do the 100 miles. If I took a 15 minute break ever 2 hours with perhaps a 45 minute lunch break, does that undercut a claim for a century?

merlinextraligh

Not at all. A century is 100 miles in the same day. As long as you make the time cut set by the organizers for the event its legit.

Now if you want to brag about how fast you did it, you need to measure it by total time, including breaks.

But if your goal is to finish, take breaks, enjoy yourselve and be proud you finished 100 miles.

trek1

As long as it is in the same day but don't sit around to long or take a nap. GET 'ER DONE!

the beef

Who ya doin' the century for, anyway? Us, or yourself?

Go ride. Bust out those hundred miles. Take breaks as needed, and eat as needed. There's never been an official definition, nor should there ever be. So don't worry.

DXchulo

Who are you trying to impress? I say make your own definition and stick to it. As long as you're happy and pushing yourself, who cares what anyone else wants to call it?

Anyway, my advice would be to keep your breaks short. You don't want to sit too long and let your body get stiff. It takes older people (no offense) more time to get warmed up, so this might be especially important for you.

VT Biker

My experience with most centuries is that there is a break every 25 miles or so for about 15 minutes. I like to use the centuries to build my base, so this has always worked out quite well.

CastIron

Merlin touches on one issue that seems to come up here: Whether timing should include breaks. Personally, I run with the rolling time on my computer because how long I wait for the john has no bearing on my riding ability. Then again, this practice only seems to have merit if you go, re-fuel, and go immediately (eating on the bike). Chip timing is, of course, merciless in this respect. Just my two cents.

merlinextraligh

I would say keep the breaks short. not because there's a rule, but because its harder to get going again if you take more than 5 or 10 minutes,and if you hit every rest stop, dally for 15-20 minutes, and a longer break for "lunch" it becomes a long dy and just the total time outside starts to wear on you/

Brian Anderson

Agreed, I like to make the first rest stop a bit further down the road, say 30-35 miles, then every 20 or so thereafter, with no more than 5-10 minutes downtime unless weather conditions or mechanicals require extended stops.

I did my first solo century last fall, and just packed 4-5 power bars, and carried 4 water bottles with me so I wouldn't have to stop. Got me through to about the 80 mile mark where I ended up stopping due to rain and lack of water.

schnabler1

On my first century we breaked at mile 25 and 75, and had lunch at mile 50.

ericgu

Don't worry about the breaks.

Eat along the way, and limit how much you eat on the breaks. Most people eat too much, and then end up not feeling very well.

Once I get above about 3 hours, I find that the time to get back into a good state on the bike is equivalent to how long I stop. If I take a 10 minute break, it takes 10 minutes to feel good. 30 minutes, and I'm stuck with half an hour until I'm back up to speed.

The last century I did was with a group. We stopped 5 times, but no more than 10 minutes each time, and sometimes only 5 minutes.

Blue Jays

Rest breaks should be kept under ten minutes. Figure long enough to chug down a medium cup of coffee. Keeps you nice and loose that way.

oldokie

Thanks. The advice on short breaks makes a lot of sense. My most likey route would involve hitting at least one common points more than once so that would allow me to minimize what I carry at one time by reloading water/etc at a common point rather than tote everything for the full distance.

El Diablo Rojo

Personally I believe your time should reflect your breaks. Saying you rode a century in 5 hours with 2 hours of breaks isn't accurate. That should be a 7 hour century.

SDRider

I did my first century last September and my goal was basically to complete it and to try and average about 15mph over the entire ride. I accomplished both actually.

I would recommend a supported ride for your first century. Mine was and they had 4 stops with fresh fruit, gatorade, water, granola and power bars. One stop around noon had lunch (just turkey/cheese sandwiches, ham/cheese and PB&J). The ride was very casual and fun.

Good luck!

SDRider

That's ridiculous. I completed a century in a bit over 6 hours ride time but the actual time it took was more like 8 (we had a few flats in our group...one was extremely long-he had a bur in his rim). According to your logic my average speed was only 12.5mph. According to my cycle computer I averaged over 15mph.

CastIron

My last organized century had a half-hour wait for the john. Standing in cold rain in cleats is bad enough.

merlinextraligh

Only way to make it an apples to apples comparison. Group A averages 25 mph, no stops and finishes in 4 hours even. Group B averages 25 mph on the bike but takes 5 minutes to recover every 30 minutes, and finishes in 4:40.

Any question which group rode the faster century; which effort is more of an accomplishment, which result is harder to obtain?

If you want to treat it like a TT, then you measure the time from when you started to the time you finish.

If you don't care to turn it into a race, then it doesn't matter if it's 4 hours, 5 hours, or 10 hours.

Obviously you can track your actul ride time for your own purposes, but its not a relevant measure to compare to anyone else.

Trsnrtr

To me, that's an 8 hour century and you averaged 12.5 mph, but you can log it anyway that you want.

kwrides

+1

I'm slow, but I recognize that if you want to compare apples to apples, you have to take total time into account. And to quote Merlin, "If you don't care to turn it into a race, then it doesn't matter".

SDRider

Well, I don't think anyone attempting their first century is going to be doing it in 4 hours even with no breaks. Why would I count minutes spent waiting for my buddy who had a flat? Good god, if I was that bent on my time I would have left him behind in the first 10 miles and certainly wouldn't have bothered to regroup with him at the first rest stop after his second flat... Yeah, I go by the ride time.

Hell, 99% of the people I talk to are amazed that anyone would ride 100 miles on a bicycle in one day...I should introduce them to my friend who rides doubles in under 8 hours.

Psimet2001 

Everybody has laid out some good points. Being, in your own words, a senior citizen I suggest you listen to your body. It is common to stop about every 20 miles or so. As others have mentioned...keep it under 10 minutes or your body will hate you when you start up again...senior citizen or not.

There is no need for an extended lunch stop. It just prolongs the pain. Just be sure to eat early and often during the ride.

Surferbruce

stops for pastries or espresso can totally keep me psyched during those tough stretches where you just wanna stop.
who cares how long it takes you the first time. keep lots of fuel and water going in. somewhere around mile 70 i always feel like crap, but push through and you'll get your second (or third or fourth) wind.

onkey

treat it like a TT? who says is has to be treated like a TT?

recursive

Because you were resting.