DataJunkie

First and last time I ever did this one.
Snowed the night before and I rode the first 30 miles on a mountain bike while the snow melted. Switched to a fixed gear later.
Low temp of 10F. High temp of 25F.
It took a very long time. Say 8 hrs or more.
I finished right when the sun started setting.


Though I did have a century a month ago where i was completely off my game. That was brutal.

HigherGround

The hardest was the Assault on Mt. Mitchell in 1997. 102 miles, and the last 30 or so are up Mt. Mitchell, the highest point in the US that's east of the Mississippi. I couldn't eat solid food until the next afternoon.

A close second was the Philly LiveStrong Challenge in 2008. I wasn't feeling well during the week before the event, and my overly-cautious doctor thought I might have a cardiac problem, so he admitted me to the hospital for some testing on Friday and Saturday. They found nothing, but late Saturday night I was having an explosive intestinal jihad (which did nothing to improve the reputation of hospital food).

I took the maximum amount of Imodium to get things under control, and I started the ride Sunday morning. The first half of the ride was okay, although I didn't feel great. I was also stung by a bee, and I've had allergic reactions in the past, but fortunately I did not react this time. The last 50 miles was a death march. I think all the Imodium was keeping me from absorbing the water and nutrients, so I was pretty much running on empty and cramping very badly. When I got to the finish line, well after the official time limit, I got off the bike, stumbled about 3 steps backward, and almost fell over. One of the volunteers suggested, "The medical help is still here, if you want to get checked out." I was so out of it that the idea never even crossed my mind until then.

Machka 

This one:

https://www.machka.net/brevet/Coldest_Century.htm

February 2003
Winnipeg
-32C/-25F

bravo106

the ride for autism century i did earlier this year. it was basically as flat as a pancake the entire route. definitely the easiest century terrain-wise i've done. it was so boring, though, that after about 55 miles, i couldn't wait for it to end. i'll take a physically taxing ride over a mentally taxing ride any day. i think i've had more interesting rides on my indoor trainer.

ericm979

For an actual 100 mile century the toughest I've done would be the Tour of the Unknown Coast. The Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge is a more difficult ride with steeper climbs and a timed race up the steepest one in the middle of the event to really test your willingness to stay on the bike, but my TUC was more miserable. I swallowed a bee around mile 65 and my tounge swelled up so I couldn't eat or drink. Then there was a 10 mile section along the beach into a stiff head wind which had me in my lowest gears even though the road was flat. After that was "the wall", a steep climb from the beach to about 2500' which starts off with grades close to 20%, on dirt (it's since been paved). Up in the mountains it got very cold, so I was both bonked and hypothermic. By the time I got to the last few flat miles near the finish I had tunnel vision and could barely navigate. My friends who did a shorter ride and were waiting for me at the finish snapped a picture. In it I look like I am dead.

Fortunately they had a lot of warm food inside a warm school cafeteria, and once I warmed up and got some calories in me I was ok.

I've also done the Markeeville Death Ride (seven times) which is longer than a century (more like 125 miles) and has about 15,000' of climbing. On my first one the temperature on the last of the five passes was around 105 and I suffered terribly from hyponatremia. It took me over 10 hours to finish. I've since gotten my time down to 8:17, which is pretty fast for that event. My fastest century would be the Heartbreak Hundred, which has 8000' of climbing. I did it in 5:45 including food stops and fixing a flat.

I've also done the Everest Challenge, but that's a race, not a century ride.

Biker395 

The hardest: An impromptu 100 mile ride in the Santa Monica Mountains. 14,500 feet in 103 miles. Much of that on 12%+ grades. If I ever try to organize a century, I'll reprise it and call it "Malibu's Mt. Whitney Century."

The hardest to me: Yesterday, with Urbanknight, cuz I'm as out of shape as he is.

merlinextraligh

Fastest would be 4:32. (Next year I'm going to do Swampman and shoot to finish with the sub 4 hour group.)

Hardest Century would probably be this year doing Six Gap on the Tandem, not counting Everest Challenge, or L' Etape.

RedWhiteandRed

Quite a few largish climbs - 1976 Fall.

nesdog

My 1st...Cruising The Conejo....101 miles, 6000+ with 4500' in the first 50 miles. Bonked at 50 miles, somehow pulled it together and finished in 7 hr 15 min of butt time.
Second hardest ride wasn't a century but 70 miles with 7000' with a group of BF'ers in Nocal a couple of years ago. Thought I would drop dead on Las Tunitas but had to keep going as the guy in front of me was pulling away easily......on his fixie......wearing sweat pants.....and SPD sandals!

DScott

The hardest: Death Valley Century (Mar. '08) - 105 miles, 2800ft of ascending. My time? 8 hrs, 10min., avg speed 13.5mph.

I swear there were headwinds in BOTH directions, with the last 20 miles or so I was cranking along at about 8mph.

Painful. I will never ride there again.


Worst slog, ever: Mulholland Challenge (Apr. '08) - 109 miles, 11,000 ft. of climbing. My time was 11hr, 45min., avg. speed 11.2mph.

Weather was at/over 100 deg. for most of the ride (except for the freezing temps at the start). Never saw so many people barfing on the side of the road before.

This one, I keep coming back to for some reason.

logdrum

That doesn't sound right. Can you point to an online course map. I thought it was 8500 ft or so.

logdrum

The Enchanted Circle ride in Taos, the Gila century and the Durango Iron Horse classic are brutal centuries, if you shoot for under 6 hours. To make it hard limit your resting times. However, the hardest for me is riding up to Los Alamos via the Jemez route in the winter when it never got about 35F. It was solo and self supported.

ZXiMan

Toughest for me was from my house near Denton, Texas to the Oklahoma border and back. 105 miles. Solo. Trip up was with a 20+ mph tail wind. Averaged right at 20 mph average speed on that part of the leg. The trip back I think I was averaging right at or under 15 mph. 3600 feet of climbing round trip (most of which was 12 miles from the border). It was also 100 degrees. It was epic (laughs).

czrich86

My hardest century by far was Etape 14 of the 2009 Tour de France. 124 miles of hills through headwinds in cornfields and then you climb into the alps. it was pretty brutal. took me all day and then some. glad i did it though. a ride of a lifetime.

KendallF

I think my hardest century ever was a totally flat 100 miler with no wind, great support including handups from a "team car". Maybe I'm just a wuss.

Hammertoe

D2R2...

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...h-a-pic-or-two

rc51crazy

my first full century was the Wilderness 101 in central PA in 92..100 miles off road thru the poconos..my shoulders still hurt

brian416

the toughest, and maybe most memorable are ones that were 100 miles of heavy headwind

Red Lanterne

About time someone mentioned D2R2, a killer ride, something like 24,000 feet of climbing.

oujeep1

Fastest- this years hotter'n hell hundred, 4'29" no stops. 84 degrees at the finish so not really hot at all. Hardest- The Triple Bypass, Evergreen Co to Beaver Creek Co, 120 mi, 10000 feet of climbing, fastest time 7'56" actual saddle time.

asmallsol

Shenandoah 100 MTB race. 14,000 feet of climbing. Bruttle race. Will be back.

icyclist 

Two years ago I decided to ride my mt. bike on the annual Chico (CA) Wildflower Century. Before the ride, I was too lazy to put on my skinniest tires. I'd also been lazy enough to have ridden all of 215 miles in the previous month.

There followed some wonderful scenery and some great food, as well as close to 5,000 feet of climbing up and down the west side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and temperatures that were in the 90s by the time I reached the Sacramento Valley floor, with another 40 flat miles.

A little before reaching mile 75, at the final rest stop, I thought about taking the seven mile shortcut back to town, because was well cooked in the California sun. Instead, I stupidly persevered those last miles.

This year, I rode the Wildflower again; I had more miles under my belt, I brought a rode bike, and it was one of the easier centuries I've assayed over the years.

jabbahop

Mt. Greylock Century - I have only done two centuries so I don't have much to compare to but others said this was their hardest.

You are either climbing something or descending. Over 10K of climbing but fortunately the weather wasn't hot.

botto 

this one.

joejack951

Solo ride from my house to a friend's house where I'd be spending the weekend. Rode from Wilmington, DE to Carlisle, PA on a scenic route. 143 miles total carrying about 15 lbs. of panniers plus a 100 oz. Camelbak (wasn't sure how often I'd see convenience stores given my route through farm country). Unfortunately for me, I also had a 15-20mph headwind out of the northwest, meaning I rode right into it all day. Temps got up to near 90F which again didn't help. Total time ended up at 12.5 hours with 10.5 hours of ride time. Polar HRM indicated 9800 ft. of climbing (likely low). I want to do it again some day, without the headwind and without overpacking.