There could still be plenty of climbs, just not at altitude. Our Heart of Arizona Century has 6500 ft of climbing but never gets above 4900 ft.
As others have said, build up saddle time. if you can comfortably ride 70 miles, you can finish a century. Enjoy the ride and dont worry about average speed.

I'm slowly getting there with the training-- up to 35 miles now. I'm trying to add about 5 miles each ride, and I think I'll be ready by June.

Sorry if I am thread jacking but didn't want to start another century thread.
How hard is 3240 feet of climb on a century? Is that lots of hills to climb?

Seems to cover the topic well, among many others.

It is hard to tell. Most of those hills on that chart are less than 100 feet tall, so nothing really big. They look steep from the chart, but it is hard to tell without seeing an actual slope. Also, how are the ones that look like a very sharp V laid out? There are times when you can pedal as hard as you can going down and get 3/4 the way back up the other side without a lot of effort.

I think GPS often over-estimates the elevations, or over-emphasizes the small elevation gains and losses. So 1500 to 2000 feet in 100 miles would be basically flat.

So, over the course, you're really only climbing about 1000 feet worth of hills total. Although I counted maybe 15 "significant" hills over the course.

Anyway, it doesn't looking anything that would be particularly worrisome.

thanks

Not for SW FL. Around here you're talking 50'/100 miles and that means going over canal hump-back bridges.

Do you have GPS estimates of a typical 50 or 100 mile ride?

Here is a recent ride I did. Strava lists it as 2988 ft of climbing.


A few rolling hills at the beginning.

A couple of rolling hills in the middle and a couple of plateaus to climb.

The gentle rise and overall gain of 300 feet is essentially imperceptible.

Overall, I'd call the ride mostly flat.

Norboo's ride appears to have about twice as many hills. Or, perhaps the same number of hills and half the distance.

I recently went on a ride that averaged a bit more than 1000 feet every 10 miles which I'd call downright hilly. Even a Swiss rider might have considered it hilly, although they might have missed the long mountain climbs.

How much climbing is involved on this ride? A bike is a bike, but hills humble humans. Is there a map we can check out?

My first Century was about identical. 3200 of climbing isn't bad at all, NOW! In 2010 when I did the VIVABIKEVEGS I had a spell where I doubted my own sanity at ever wanting to do such a horrible thing- - - until I finished! What a RUSH!

get a good saddle and break it in before you attempt a 100 miler

Now that's another whole new thread...."what is a good saddle" *sigh*

you will get a thousand answers, but of the ones which I have, and which I have used, here are the best 3 that suits me:

the most comfortable straight out of the box: Gilles Berthoud Aravis (I have this one on my Surly LHT)... not cheap though

Brooks B15 narrow champion: I have this on my daily commuter ... took a while to get used to it, but it's comfortable now

Charge Spoon .... incredible value for money and comfortable

Any kind of training is better with a riding partner or group.

The biggest thing for me is overcoming the mental challenge that last 20 miles. You can train, do 60-70 milers with ease, have confidence, good nutrition, good sleep, take a few days off before, take breaks during the 100 miler, take your time, keep hydrated.... all of that. But for me, at around 80 miles, and especially 85 miles on, man, that is when my mind starts working against me. My butt is sore, muscles all used up, tired of pedaling, tire of riding and just want to quit. My mind starts saying, "you can't make it" and "what's the point, just go ahead and quit now". It's all in my head at that point and the struggle becomes, defeating negative thoughts AND STILL staying focused on what I'm doing. It's easy to get sloppy and quit paying attention to what's going on around you.


At the end, it's all worth it. Lift you bike over your head and let out a yell! Then go sit in a hot tub with a beer.

Awesome advice! When I need to kick it up a notch, I find friends who are better than me, tell them what I am doing and chase them for as long as I can. They are always willing to help.