Originally Posted by
BrooklynRider
Relax, enjoy the scenery. You'll meet more ladies taking your time, than riding behind some dude at 20 mph worrying you're not doing it right.
Okay this will get me in some trouble but I prefer riding behind a lady.
IME, centuries are when I help fix 4 flats for folks in trouble. Last year I helped a lovely lady pull the chain out of her bottom bracket on a Great South Bay Bridge with my my 600 gram Gerber Multi Tool that I bothered to take with me. She remembered us at the bar and was vexed by all the people who just passed her by in trouble! Take a few minutes to see the surf rolling in and take some pictures.
If you're ever in NJ and you see a guy riding with a LARGE orange Camelbak and you need a tool, just ask. I probably have it.
If you're unlucky I might hand the Camelbak to you to hold (be prepared for a lot of weight). I usually carry 2 tires, 4 tubes, patch kits, first aid, tools and enough coins for bail.
There are no bike shops on my commutes or on my weekend rides. I have to have enough to fix most problems. And I help when ever I can. It's as much fun to save someone's ride as it is to complete a ride in a 20mph avg pace. Not all Hammerheads leave the wounded behind but then I probably don't look like a hammerhead with the Camelbak.
If you're riding to ride through pain, and are worrying about. Then you really do have a long way to go.
Take a chill pill.
Very good advise, there is sore as in I haven't ridden this far and I'm sore and then there is sore as in I think I pulled a muscle. The later is bad, the former is normal at first but shouldn't be the norm.
You really should put some hours in the saddle and get your ride feeling right to be sure. If you ride 50 miles a week for a few weeks prior, like a regular city commuter, you shouldn't have any major problems.
If you want to join a 22mph pelaton then go for it. Long distance riding, for me and a lot of folks, should not be about training for the Olympics! But you do not want surprises either. If you go unprepared, your knees ITB and a** will be really angry!
Swollen, Swollen, Swollen, Raw Hide! The real training here is, as Brooklyn points out, saddle time/mileage. You are getting your body used to what is about to happen. If you were a club rider and you consistently did 40 mile rides with your group and suddenly decided to jump to a century you'd find the following: Swollen, Swollen, Swollen! You'd have saddle sores. Your hands would most likely go numb because you weren't aware that you needed to change your hand position more often. Your legs, arms, shoulders and neck would be sore because they hadn't built up to that strain before. You'd be tired of drinking that same flavor of drink you've been drinking for the last 60 or so miles. You'd find that at about mile 65 - 75 you'd start wondering why are you doing this. And a few more things. You'd experience this all at once (I've done it in the past when weather messed up my schedule). That is not an enjoyable ride. Build up to your ride, at your pace (I think that's what Brooklyn is saying) the rest of the training is to prepare you for the ride.
Enjoy it. Some things require more time to see where you are. Enjoy a rest stop off-the-course fo 20 minutes, that no one else even bothered to take the time to enjoy!
The Montauk Century on Long Island NY is a perfect example. There are gorgeous beaches and rest stops that 99% of the rider miss, worrying about their time to finish on that ride is silly, IMO.
I don't remember beaches, except at the end, but I do remember that tail wind. Most of the time the wind is from the West, sometimes also the South. That makes for one hell of a Montauk ride, though I am more partial to NJ.