I did this for the first time this year. I took up cycling last year, and this year one of my goals was to complete my first century. I completed my first metric century in May, and throughout the summer slowly increased the length of my rides. I picked a relatively easy organized century in early September for my first century ride, but we experienced such perfect riding weather the week before, I decided to do a solo century. I planned a route based on loops, sticking mainly to the MUP I ride most often. I put a cooler with extra water in my car, and refilled my water and food supplies at the halfway point. Due to my inexperience, I planned too many water/nutrition stops, and so my ride took a bit longer than I would have liked, but I finished strong and had a blast. I plan on doing more centuries--most solo--in 2013.