At 54 I fianlly achieved another goal. I've run 4 marathons but never did a 100 bike ride. Well....today I fixed that! No wind and a cool start to the day here in Omaha. Wasn't sure I'd do the 100 today but it started out good and by the time I got to 75 I knew there was no stopping short of a C-Note! It took a while...just over 6 hours...but it's on the books!

Jim J

Congratulations!!
That is my goal for next summer. This year I just want to ride my age, (51). Thats a terrific acheivement in my humble opinion.

Hey, cool Jim!!!

I've done 100 mile rides a few times in my life, but the thought of running a marathon intimidates me to no end. I did one 10K when I was a lot younger, but that's it. Six hours sounds like a good pace. Good going!!!

Congrats!! That is my goal for next year - at the end of September I'll be 47 and haven't set a goal to ride my age.....yet.....need to find a ride that's ALL flat. Ha!!

Congrats Jim! Great job! When you need another goal shoot for a Double Century!!

Great work, Jim!

Good work, Jim!

At 51, I haven't done any long rides since my 20's (how do those guys find the time??It's like golfing, which I don't do, mainly because I could never find 4 or 5 hours free on a weekend!! Maybe it's because we started late with the kids and still have teens down to a 10 year old at home). But this summer I did some 50s and it felt GREAT!

Just picked up a ridiculous deal on a mid-90s perfect Cannondale 600 for my 15 year old, and I've been showing him something about PACE lately. He's super-competitive and at every hill he takes off, and at every summit, I still catch him! That will not last long.

Is there a better feeling than doing something, under your own power, for an hour or two, then looking back over the landscape, or at a map, and knowing you can still do that!!

6 hours for a 100 miles!! thats pretty good, in fact when you find your legs after a ride like that, I'd like to borrow them. Well done and welcome to the No brain brigade.

"No brain brigade"! I love it!

In all honesty I thought the 6 hours was a bit on the week side. After reading all the various posts from guys I had visions of doing it in about 5 1/2 hours. At 65 miles I was still averaging 16.9 MPH bu that last 25 miles really took its toll.

I will say this: My first marathon was not pretty but then I started training and knock off almost 30 minutes to get it to a 3:33. I would wager that with proper training and extended rides the time could come down considerably. The "kicker" is....how many of these does a guy want to do at 50+ and how fast does one really need to go??? With age sometimes comes wisdom! :-)

Thanks for reading...

Jim J

Now that you've done both, which would you say was the most challenging?

Streetdoc,

Without question running a marathon is the greater challenge. The training to do a marathon is the secret to being able to pull one off. If you do the work and put in the required miles the race is very doable. The pain after racing a marathon is very real...and lasts for more than few days. After the 100 mile ride my thighs were very tired but that night I went for a 2 mile walk with my wife and the next morning did a 7 mile run. I could not have done that after running a marathon.

Thanks again to all for reading of my adventure,

Jim J

Slight addition to this as the other club is the "Numb bum Club" Or in case it means something else over there "The Numb But Club"

So..what did you say your name was? Clark Kent? I did three centuries last month but I didn't want to go running the day after any of them. Good job!!

I've done several marathons and now am hoping for a fall century try. I'm very new to bicycling and have 'lost' my running conditioning, but I think it's coming back some. I was aiming at a Sept event, but my friend who used to be a pro at this said the one I wanted to try was one that 'kicked him hard". Since he used to ride 100 miles on a mountain bike (dirt roads) for Sunday fun during this time, I need to find another event.

I live in a scenic mountain area which is great on the eyes, but the one I had in mind had about 17k feet of climb in it. I'm looking for with with about 17 feet of climb :D

Do your own century! More fun, set your own route and speed.

DUH!!! Of course and that's probably just what I'll do. One of my concerns was that my intent on entering an event was time on course. I planned on starting easy and tapering off so as to enjoy the ride as, after all, I"m not going for the trophy here.

But if I just to it myself, I can pick the course and stay out there as long as I want. Sometimes I function as if I have an IQ of 4. Thanks for the kick up the side of the head.

I agree with DnvrFox. You don't need an event...just work out a schedule of longer and longer rides and then when the weather is right and you feel right...like the Nike commercial says, "Just do it!"

Events ...be it a bike race or ride or a running race...are nice for the fellowship but you don't need them to accomplish goals. Heck...this spring I did a marathon on a treadmill...just because I could.

Go for it! You can do it!

Jim J

Hey, I live in Denver. We can meet in Trinidad or Raton and do one together :D Trinidad to Delhi and back would be 88 miles. Just 6 miles into the National Grasslands and you have your century!

Or, the Santa Fe Century next May is a fun Century, without a whole lot of hills. Keep your eye on that.

http://mq-mapgend.websys.aol.com/?e=...c%26yt29%40%24

I had a friend train seriously for the SF century. He finished barely and now recommends something else for the first one. It really deflated him as he figured he'd run about X mph and ended up finishing at X - 5 mph. I suspect he failed to train on hills at all. From my running days I know that training is specific. Race on hills - train on hills or die trying. We also have an Enchantment Circle or something like that which starts / ends in Red River. That's legendary for being brutal. There also is a Tucumcari event which I'm trying to find out about.

The advantage of going with an organized ride is that I don't have to carry or cache everything. Also the riders pull you through. The book I read uses 65 as the long ride so there is the extra 35 to be pulled through. Then again the first marathon I ran happened after I'd run only 10 miles as my long run. I entered on a lark, but refused to quit after I should. I did finish, but had to walk some along the way.

I just got my first road bicycle. I'd been on a borrowed bike so now have a 'my own' but I'm a bit sick at the cost. After being on a nice bike for a few months, I couldn't bring myself to buy an entry level bike which was, based on my now spoiled self, a downgrade. So I ante'd up a lot more money than appropriate for an entry level rider.

It seems to work well - even better than the one I borrowed except it may be a bit long for me with a 13 cm stem which probably s/b an 11.

Give me a month or two on it to feel the bike and the distance. I'm concerned that it may be too harsh being Al which I've been warned isn't a good material for a bike, but it doesn't seem harsh to me except I can hear the road surface changes. I guess Al acts like a sounding board. At first I thought I'd forgotten to tighten some parts when assembling the bike from the shipping crate.

So after I get a feel for this bike, I'll maybe take you up on your offer for a meet in the middle 100.

Now for a question. The book I read on LD riding said to eat 300 kcal every HOUR and drink about a liter per HOUR. How the heck do you carry all that? Or do you blast the thing at 22 mph so you don't need to eat / drink that much?

Generally there are gas stations and 7-11's along the way.

I did the Santa Fe Century when I was 59, and I didn't start "riding" until I was 58.

Of course you are exhausted at the end - that is sort of the point!

And your goal is NOT x miles per hour. Your goal is to finish, as plain as that.

Please see:

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox/santafec.htm

for pictures and a description.

Here is a sample.

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox/openspc2.jpg

Or, if you want to come to Denver, I can take you on 100 miles of trails in a circular loop, with all the support you need from stores along the way.

Give me some time to get used the new bike and some practice. I do need to get the bike to fit me before I consider anything long distance - agreed? Oh, my buddy tried the SF 100 in his late 50's. I don't know how much general experience he had before, but he hadn't tried a 100 before. That I do know.

I think it's reasonable that I do this next year if I continue to be able to ride and maintain my enthusiasm. Let me assess myself in about a month and then I'll see about coming to Denver. If I could ride my motorcycle with the bike mounted it makes a bit more sense. I figure the round trip would cost $320 in running expenses even in my small truck. Bikes make more sense, but motorcycles are somewhat awkward for larger loads.

I never considered stopping at stores for food and drink. I pictured the people doing this festooned with huge pockets loaded with gallons of water and kgs of trail mix.

I'm such a newbie....