Good ones !

(are you kidding? I hate when you reply and it sits at the top of the next page and doesn't make any sense!)

Don't forget to eat. Try to take in 250-350 calories an hour to avoid running out of energy. A sports drink is better than water, especially for those of you who live someplace where there's actually summer type weather. Electrolyte depletion can get ugly.

I disagree on sports drinks. They are all high fructose corn syrup and refined sugars. Dextrose is good for keeping blood sugar stable. One can buy a pound of dextrose from a homebrew shop. Add it to a water bottle with a slice of fresh lemon. There is your energy gel at a fraction of the cost of the other crap.

Hydration is key. It's also important not to "carbo load" Eating a big bowl of pasta the night before is asking for a cramp. A good portion of rice and vegetables is the way to go. Taking a big bowel movement the night before would also be advantageous.

Riding with a colon full of stuff is painful and not going to make the ride easy. Eat a big portion of mineral rich vegetables. Dextrose/lime/ water is a good helpful tool.

The big one for me is stretching the IT band. It takes a lot of hip pain away from my riding that I would otherwise have.

Also, make sure you have 2 extra tubes and some way to inflate them. Some riders like a frame pump, I like the Co2 dispensers.

No they're not.

I think by gel you mean HOMEMADE SPORTS DRINK. A good mix for energy but not good at supplementing electrolytes.

~kn

Entirely too much information.

Add a 1/4 teaspoon of "light" salt, which is a mix of sodium chloride and potassium chloride, and you will take care of the majority of the electrolyte needs.

Another tip: Be in shape for the distance.

These two got me on my very first century so many years ago...

I had a 13-21 freewheel. The first 60-miles were flatter than a pancake. Then the rollers started. Man that was a pain in the ...

And then the cage on the front derailleur loosened up and got twisted up in the chain. I got it loose but I was stuck on the little ring after that. $#@%#$ Valentino derailleur!

Chamois Butt'r and Belgium Budder are popular brands for cyclists. It will be very nice to have for the century but it really does the trick when you start riding long distances regularly. After several days in a row you can get mighty sore if you don't use something like that.

I can honestly say I have never heard of that! :eek:

Which of course is the first post on the page.

Irony can be so ironic.

Or on the edge of the chamois. 65 miles in the pelting rain caused a nasty welt right where the chamois was stitched into the shorts.
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You are also one of the lucky ones. If you don't have a hairy chest, and your nipples stick out a little, this will be a big problem on long, high temp rides.

I never had a problem with metric centuries (63 miles) but anything over 80 or 85 miles was trouble.

Check the top of your car before you leave on a group ride.

I didn't see it mentioned, but what are your views on sunglasses? I can remember quite a few times that they would've been helpful on my longer rides or even the commute to work. Just to avoid the bugs or dirt/dust from getting in your eyes. I actually don't have a pair, but I'm starting to think I should pick up some cheapos

I can't believe anyone would intentionally ride 6 to 8 hours without eye protection. You can buy a nice pair of tinted safety glasses at Home Depot tha are very comfortable. On the other hand, I have never heard anyone say that can't go on because they lost their glasses.

Yea, I've never felt the need for a pair, but they make perfect sense and I dont see a reason NOT to wear them.

Heehee. I have a habit of oversharing.

I often ride the full block, or corncob, cheerfully accepting the consequences, to which those on BF I've ridden with can attest.
I'm a low cadence rider, so grinding up a hill is sorta "my way."

My main error, due to haste and the terrain of my daily route, was not realizing the RD would hit the spokes when I was using the inner 19t cog.
As such, I not only didn't have use of the 19t cog, I was risking a much more serious problem if that RD had gotten caught.
On a Ti framee, it could get very expensive if that happens, has me thinking of a dork disk again, since I'm the dork in this case....

Are you sure your derailleur hanger is straight and aligned? I had some spoke rub on a now sold bottecchia, it turned out the hanger was off slightly, once straightened all was well.

Never thought of that. It actually may be due to chain angle, since I'm too stubborn to get off the big ring, too.

Sunglasses are a really good idea. I have three sets of lenses for mine; yellow for overcast conditions (the sun seems to come out!) and two darker pairs... not sure what's the difference.

Re. food, best go for carbs with low glycemic index. That is, coarsely ground grains that take as long as possible to digest, so you don't get a jolt of sugars all at once. In theory whole grains would be better than refined, but in practice even whole wheat flour is usually so finely ground that the benefits are pulverized.

Question: What do you buy if you have to stop at 7-11? (I get V-8 juice, fig newtons and corn chips).

Always carry money, ID, and a card or something that says "in case of emergency call [someone who's not on the ride with you]".

Some sort of a rudimentary first aid kit is a good idea. The only things I've used in mine are: paper napkins (lots of them!), those wet-wipe things in the little foil pack (just a few), and a pair of tweezers. Bandaids are probably a good idea, but I've never had need of 'em.

The nipple thing is totally new to me, in fact I strongly suspect you guys are pulling my leg. Ditto chamois cream.

No joke. Although I believe it is more common in running. "Warning" the following image may be distrubing. Well, not really.

For those who may be unfamiliar with this phenomenon, it is called male nipple chafing, or sometimes, the "sad clown face". The repeated abrasion between the skin and a wet shirt (particularly cotton) over thousands and thousands of strides eventually causes the below to happen. It's completely preventable - band aids or a lubrication product called BodyGlide will usually do the trick.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/13...450baccb91.jpg

I speak from experience. It happened to me on the bike. It's just the way I'm built, so I have to cover them up on long rides in high hummidity. Otherwise, raw meat. :(

Now the chamois cream is something I never used. Never needed it. Seems like a solution in search of a problem but I'm sure lots of people swear by it. Just the way I'm built. :)

Also, those are some good tips to add to the list. :thumb:

this nipple thing is really scaring me...