Originally Posted by
Andy_K
I'm 42 years old and in marginally good shape most of the time. I commute 14-20 miles round trip each day. In a pinch I could probably do a metric century without any other preparation, but I generally try to get in 20, 30, and 40 miles on a single weekend ride in the weeks leading up to it. Being prepared makes it more enjoyable.
For a regular century, I definitely need to prepare. The level of climbing involved is also worth considering. Many organized centuries have a lot of climbing. If your training miles are on relatively flat ground, the mountains can crush you. I speak from experience.
Same here. I'm 44 and "marginally good shape", I carry at least 15-20lbs of unwanted cargo around my belly. If you ride that much daily you should be able to to 60 mile ride without any preparation, unless it's extremely hilly. You may want to get some extra rest a couple of days before the ride, but that's about it.
But yeah, I wouldn't attempt a full 100 without doing at least some 40-60 mile rides every weak prior to the century.
Finally, I have weak upper body which led to neck and shoulder pains on longer rides. My legs, heart and lungs could still pump it, but my neck was killing me sometimes, I'd get bad tension headaches and I had to rest more often after 40 miles or so. So I'm trying to work out with some weights and also stretch. Last 60 mile ride was much better after only two weeks of working out and stretching. So I guess you can call that "training" too, but again I only do this so I can have more fun riding. I'm not looking to beat any records or even prove myself. I enjoy being on a bike all day and I want to get stronger to avoid fun-destroying physical discomfort.