Double Centuries
 

Any Clydesdales have good Double Century Stories? My brother and I completed the CA Triple Crown in 2005 - and regularly train with 100+ days.

Anyone else putting up over 100 miles a week?

I did 241 this week....I could not imagine riding 200 mile in one day.....when I do a Century I am done....there is something about that 100 mile mark for me...lol I can't imagine thinking lol wow 1/2 way there....wooohoooo lol

Count me in this week. Well, almost there, just need 3.5 more miles today. Did a nice 44 miler this morning, and will take the MTB on the beer run this eve :).

I do 100+ miles per week, but never in one day. How "Clyde" are you?

Tom's been working up to that I think...not sure if he's hit the double C mark.

Next Sunday I'm going to attempt 145 miles from Penn Station NYC to Montauk Point. I was without my bike for a week though and don't want to over train before. I can decide that morning to just do the 100. May try to get to the Century mark on Tuesday and then take it easy from there.

I did the 100 mile Tour de Cure last year at 230 pounds. I was mentally and physically exhausted after that ride. I'm down to 215 pounds now after riding my butt of this year so far.

I'm looking forward to killing last years time when it comes around again in October though. :)

I can do 100 a week, no issues and training to do a Century Ride. My longest single ride so far is 65 miles.

On our MS150 April 21-22, I logged 177 miles on Saturday and Sunday. That's 9 miles short of a triple metric century. I did a double metric century (124 mi) in one day last November. My next goal is 150 miles in one day. Maybe next Friday.

I ride a 2004 Lemond - stock. I weigh 220 and my brother is 250. We train in the San Francisco Bay Area. I good training ride for us is 100 miles north of SF.

In 2005 I did the Solvang Double, the Davis Double, the Marin Double (DNS - mechanical) and the Knoxville Double.

Now I commute 40 miles a day - 3 days a week plus a 3 hour hill climb ride on the weekends.

I did Breathless Agony last weekend. 114 miles with 12,000ft of climbing. 7:29 ride time/8:27 overall. Most I've done is 121 at once. Have riding buds that match my 230 lbs that have done the Triple Crown.,,,2005 was my best with 23 centuries, but no TC.

Outstanding Mr. Beanz!

Thanx!...But anybody can do it, you just gotta wanna!:D

I gotta agree with Biff. One does me just fine.

riding is no big thing. It's being in the saddle that long that stops me at 100

Question - what's a decent, average pace for a century? 12 mph over the span of say 10 hours with breaks? I can ride faster than that, but is that a realistic entry point for a century (or longer)?

I average a little over 100 miles/week these days. I've done a couple of centuries this year, but I'm just not strong enough or comfortable enough in the saddle (even on a comfy bike) to want to spend enough hours to make a double.

Someday I may train for a double, but for now I'm more interested in training for climbing centuries next year. I'd rather have a jersey that says 'Breathless Agony' or 'Death Ride' than 'Hemet Double' :)

Air, any pace you can manange to get you to 100 miles will obviously get you there. It's just about your comfort in the saddle. I'm good for 7 hours or so in the saddle. After that, I'm pretty much done. If you can manage longer, go for it! I did my first century with Team in Training and we had someone come in at 13 hours!

This is a great question as I have been trying to pace myself not to start too fast and maintain a speed that won't leave me dead on the road side 75 miles in. I been training with an avg speed of 15 and can do 55 miles at that pace with no problems. Having not exceeded 55 in a while, I'm worried about that. I have mapped a route that is 33 miles starting right at my garage so I figure after 2 laps, I have the luxury to stop off at the house for food and replenishment of liquids. I don' want my century to take more than about 8 hrs with my stop time. Then after I do my 3 laps, I can do 2 laps in the hood as cool down and trip the mile mark to say 100.6, this of course assumes I can get back on the bike and lose the knee pain. :D

Luckily on this trip there are rest stops every 20 miles (except for the first 50). I also am going to promise myself an actual meal every 50 miles, stop at a deli, pizza shop or something. I think that will help me too - then it's just three 50 mile trips in one day.

Background
I did my first century in over 10 years yesterday. Due to wrong training for it, I wasn't sure I would last the distance. So I decided to stay "within" myself, especially as the first 50 miles had about 4,500 feet of climbing in it.

Staying "within" myself meant: keeping my heart rate out of my red zone, and my muscles away from the anaerobic threshold. This way, I had a reasonable chance of finishing as my body wouldn't manufacture more lactate than it could clear. I understood what my "red zone" was due to my previous riding/training. The red zone for me, BTW, is 162 beats per minute.

You
I didn't care how fast I went. I was only concerned with not over-extending myself and bonking, and having to SAG it back to the start. So, I would advise, don't worry about absolute numbers and pace. Worry about what's good for you.

Follow-Up
BTW, throughout the century, I only hit 162 twice. Average HR for the ride was only 122. Finished in 6 hours, 27 minutes...no problem. I am already looking to see when I can ride again and try to go sub-6 hours.

edit: This was the same century ronjon did.

mkadam68 - that's great advice. Last time when I tried to do a Century (last September) I took my 50 lb mtb, hit heavy, heavy head winds, pushed myself hard (like I normally did), ate but apparently not enough and bonked hard at mile 50 where my chest seized up. From there on out couldn't get above 10 mph and had to walk up any sort of incline for the next 30 miles until I finally got to a subway stop.

So far the roadie I've been riding has been much, much easier to ride. Actually have to struggle to get my HR up (before 65% of my riding was in that red zone you were talking about, on the roadie more like 5%). I've done 60 miles with not much riding this winter and didn't feel it afterwards. So I really think the 145 is doable as long as I don't extend too much at the beginning. And eat real food along the way :)

Eating and nutrition takes personal experience as different people have different needs and reactions. I know people who don't eat anything on 100 mile+ rides using liquid based stuff (like Perpetum) instead. On my long rides, I like PB&J sandwiches. I typically eat 1/2 sandwich for every 30 miles or so I ride, plus a Gu for the featured climb of the ride.

Your training rides will not only help you get in shape, but help you learn what foods work for you and which one's dont.

For instance, I learned that high fiber food the day before a long ride is a bad bad bad idea for me.:eek:

Ouch!

I finished my first 400 KM (250 miles) Brevet yesterday. It was a slowwwwww ride and we finished in 26 hours, 18 minutes. We did about 230 miles in the first 24 hours, so my first double century.

Wow - that's amazing! I'm in awe of you guys!

I was also on that century that Ronjon and mkadam were on, it was fun and not too hard. I think the difficulty is determined by the hills. Next Saturday some of us are doing a ride called Sea to Summit, with 12000 feet of gain in 87 miles.
I have done centuries since 1988 and have never done a double. Never wanted to spend that much time in the saddle. If I was sure I could finish in 12 hours in daylight, I might try it, but I don't think I ever want to be on a bike for more than 12 hours and I don't like riding a road bike at night.
My goal is to have fun and stay in reasonable shape and centuries are part of that, but I see no reason to extend myself to a double, triple, brevet, Paris-Brest-Paris, RAAM, whatever.