Originally Posted by
sstorkel
I think most century riding plans I've seen require 8-12 weeks of training with 10 weeks being pretty common. Most of the 10-week programs assume you can ride 30 miles at the beginning of the program. If you start training now, doing something like this in May or June shouldn't be a problem. When I was riding consistently, I found I quickly got to the point where I could average 15mph and stay on the bike until I got bored or ran out of time to ride due to other time commitments.
Here's a 10 week schedule that works very well for century training.
Originally Posted by
sstorkel
1) Camelbaks aren't necessarily a bad thing. Lots of people don't like having weight on their back, feel the the Camelbak is too sweaty, etc. If, like me, you don't mind riding with a Camelbak they can make life a lot easier! Part of the secret, I think, is to train consistently with the Camelbak. If you just wear it once a week, you won't get used to it and you'll hate it. If you don't want to ride with a Camelbak, consider strapping one to a seatpost-mounted fender and using it to periodically refill the bottles you drink from. The Camelbak Unbottle is an easy way to carry 70 or 100oz of liquid. That said, I would do everything I could to find a route that allowed me to resupply my water along the way and not have to worry about either the Camelbak or carrying six water bottles.
I'll add that a Camelbak can be packed with ice and will remain cold...even in very hot conditions...for many hours. Most of a 7 lb bag of ice can be forced into one. Cold water is much nicer to drink than warm water, the water is 'right there' so you drink it more often and the ice melting in the bag takes care of the sweaty back problem. It's like wearing your own air conditioning unit. Very nice for a dry boy from Colorado riding in Missouri
Originally Posted by
sstorkel
2) For me, long-distance riding is much easier if I have a clear mental picture of the route. This really helps me to pace myself, so that I don't work too hard at the beginning of a ride and then struggle at the end. I'd suggest driving the route you intend to ride by car at least once before you attempt to ride it. If possible, do training rides on some parts of the route, too.
I don't know if you need to drive the route but breaking the route into 10 mile segments helps. Ten miles is easy to do and if you know...from maps...where each 10 mile segment ends, the task looks less daunting.
Originally Posted by
sstorkel
4) Don't bring too much junk along for the ride. I wouldn't, for example, bring a spare tire or spokes. If I cut a tire so badly that I can't fix it with a new tube and a tire boot, I'll call for a ride home. Same for a broken spoke. To me, it's just not worth the weight or hassle to try to make major repairs on the side of the road. If mechanical failure keeps me from completing the ride today, there's always tomorrow or the following weekend... That said, it's not a bad idea to have a bike shop check your wheels out a week or two before you plan to do the century. Also not a bad idea to use a tire that's known to have more puncture resistance (e.g. Gatorskin).
I would, however carry 2 tubes
and a patch kit
and a pump.
Originally Posted by
sstorkel
5) Plan for rest stops along the way. Don't know about you, but I couldn't imagine being on the bike for 6- or 8-hours straight. When I'm doing longer rides, I like to hop off the bike for 5 minutes every hour. Every 2 or 3 hours, I'll take a 10- or 15-minute break. I stretch, walk around, maybe sit down for a couple of minutes and eat, refill water bottles, etc. For me, breaks work better if there's a decent place to stop; standing by the side of the road with cars whizzing by isn't as restful as being able to stop at a convenience store, gas station, or a park.
Something that works for me on solo rides is to take along a watch with a count down function. I have an Iron Man that allow multiple count downs and it set to a 1 hour, 5 minutes, 1 hour, 15 minutes sequence. A short break after 1 hours isn't bad and then I take a longer break after 2 hours. I eat something at both breaks. Going solo usually makes me push harder and longer than I would if I were riding with someone. I tend to forget to eat and then bonk. Not a good thing
Originally Posted by
sstorkel
6) Consider drinking something other than water. On longer rides, I'm a big fan of
CarboRocket. I'm an insulin-dependent diabetic and CarboRocket doesn't make my blood sugar yo-yo up and down like Gatorade any many other sports drinks. It also isn't sickly sweet; even when it's warm it still tastes good, which means that I drink more consistently. I always eat and drink the same things when riding, so there are no unexpected stomach problems when it comes time to do a longer ride.
I'd also suggest a sports drink. That's what you carry in your bottles. I find that while something like Gatorade tastes watered down in the first few miles, it taste impossibly syrupy after a couple of hours. Experiment during your training cycle and don't make any major changes on ride day.