I had a friend train seriously for the SF century. He finished barely and now recommends something else for the first one. It really deflated him as he figured he'd run about X mph and ended up finishing at X - 5 mph. I suspect he failed to train on hills at all. From my running days I know that training is specific. Race on hills - train on hills or die trying. We also have an Enchantment Circle or something like that which starts / ends in Red River. That's legendary for being brutal. There also is a Tucumcari event which I'm trying to find out about.
The advantage of going with an organized ride is that I don't have to carry or cache everything. Also the riders pull you through. The book I read uses 65 as the long ride so there is the extra 35 to be pulled through. Then again the first marathon I ran happened after I'd run only 10 miles as my long run. I entered on a lark, but refused to quit after I should. I did finish, but had to walk some along the way.
I just got my first road bicycle. I'd been on a borrowed bike so now have a 'my own' but I'm a bit sick at the cost. After being on a nice bike for a few months, I couldn't bring myself to buy an entry level bike which was, based on my now spoiled self, a downgrade. So I ante'd up a lot more money than appropriate for an entry level rider.
It seems to work well - even better than the one I borrowed except it may be a bit long for me with a 13 cm stem which probably s/b an 11.
Give me a month or two on it to feel the bike and the distance. I'm concerned that it may be too harsh being Al which I've been warned isn't a good material for a bike, but it doesn't seem harsh to me except I can hear the road surface changes. I guess Al acts like a sounding board. At first I thought I'd forgotten to tighten some parts when assembling the bike from the shipping crate.
So after I get a feel for this bike, I'll maybe take you up on your offer for a meet in the middle 100.
Now for a question. The book I read on LD riding said to eat 300 kcal every HOUR and drink about a liter per HOUR. How the heck do you carry all that? Or do you blast the thing at 22 mph so you don't need to eat / drink that much?