az_cyclist

Good Job, Pam. I rode my first TdT in 2006. It is an interesting ride. Some riders take unnecessary chances, in my opinion. The Santa Cruz and Sabino Canyon crossings are a pain (well, the mariachi band at the Santa Cruz crossing is neat). Some climbing... the mountains in the background.

az_cyclist

BikeArkansas, would this be the thread to also ask how many centuries we hope to complete in 2012? I will say 3 centuries, and 3-4 double centuries (depending on my work schedule).

jdon

I am happy with anything below 4:45 these days.

Dudelsack 

Let's see: max speed of 12 MPH divided into 100... 8 hours and some change.

BikeArkansas

Not a bad idea to also list how many 100 mile rides you have planned for the year. I would guess at 5 this year. I rode 13 a couple years ago. Last year I rode 62 metric centuries. Not going to attempt that again.

volosong

I only plan on riding a couple of organized centuries this year and about four self-supported metric centuries. My primary emphasis this year is the state time trial championships. I only have two basic goals this year; (1) to complete a century without cramping, (elapsed time unimportant, but will shoot for just under 7 hours total, start to finish), and (2) finish in the top half of my age group in the TT.

k7baixo

Since my 100's aren't races, anything under 6 moving hours suits me.

drmweaver2

Classic.. I now have to clean the Coke off my monitor screen. Thanks.

RedC

My first century a couple of years ago was so slow the last rest stops were closing before we got to them. We were actually on the bike for about 7.5 hours but were over 10 total from the start..

StanSeven

I accidently did this once. Did a large century (7,000+ riders) with a group. I didn't know but the group intended to miss the first two stops and wait until the third at 62 miles. All I had was two bottles of water. I experiened the worse bonk ever. I was nauseous, pale, weak and disorientated. My wife saw me and said I looked awful. She went and got me food, which I could barely eat, and a 32 oz soda. Eventually I felt well enough to finish the ride.

Mr. Beanz

One can easily look up their time on the results site, I do see some familiar names . I did it once in 1999. Fairly easy ride. I figure that since I was riding a dt shifter bike, tennis shoes, tank top and a $14 helmet from Target. I knew nothing about timed events, didn't even know it was timed till I saw the clock at 15 minutes whlle leaving the start line. I was way in the back of the start. I stopped to visit with Gina along the way on the roadside.

Heck, I cruised the course solo and posted a 6:48 time. If I had known about timed events back then, I could have easily got the gold (under 6 hours).

I was at 6:48 just moseyin' along on one of my first centuries

https://www.perimeterbicycling.com/!ETT/ETT99-111.htm

bigbadwullf

One Metric: Garret County Md. Gran Fondo. Killer hills!
One 'real' Century: Either the Seagull Century or the Bluegrass and Bagels Century

NVanHiker

I sometimes have 100-mile days when touring. Takes about 10 hours.

ArtM

Planning 2 organized centuries in 2012 - first in central PA over some mountains expect to take about 9 hours. Other probably the Seagull - 6.5 hours?

May have to do some "training centuries" to prepare for the mountains.

Terex

Boy, I totally agree. If it took me 7-8 hrs. to do 100 miles, I'd never do one. The last century I did maybe 3 yrs. ago was a bit under 5 hrs. with a group. If I don't get back into that kind of shape, I'm sure not going to sit on a bike all day just to say I rode 100 miles.

BluesDawg

Good for you. I have had some very enjoyable 7-8-9 hour century rides. Not just to say I did it, but rather to experience doing it. I have never even considered the possibility of riding 100 miles in less than 5 hours and don't imagine I ever will.
"To each his own" said the old lady as she kissed the cow.

oilman_15106

My theory also. Did the Garrett County Gran Fondo, MD last year and with 12,800 ft. of hard climbing, time is meaningless. If you cramp up like I did then just finishing is all you hope for. A totally flat century might be fast but sounds boring.

elboGreaze

My one and only century in 2011 was 6 hours, 7 mins. of actual saddle time. That was riding (and drafting) in a group of 10. Figuring in all the breaks, time was about 7.5 hours. I'll probably have close to the same time in 2012.

Terex

So true. I know I guy that I ride circles around, but he's done several Paris-Brest-Paris rides, something that I doubt that I could do either physically or mentally.

Dan Burkhart 

Only done a couple of hundred mile days. Both times towing a trailer and loaded down with camping gear.
I was in the 12-13 hr range.
I was in my mid 40s last time, so not sure if I could even do it now.

cranky old dude

For me, enjoying the ride means physical comfort and a leisurely pace including stops for food, snacks, visits with other cyclists, and photo ops. As much as I respect the training dedication and skill that is required to complete five hour centuries, that's just not my thing.

That being said, so far I've always used one of my LWB recumbents for century rides. I've found that I can ride comfortably all day long at a leisurely pace with only a minimum amount of training.

Time has not been a concern so far and I don't expect it to be in the future. My first century was in September of '07 and I was out for about eight hours total, which included a lunch stop and a couple of short rest breaks. The four or five centuries I've ridden since have been about the same, between eight and nine hours including food and drink stops.

In answer to the OP's question...I do plan on one century for 2012. I intend for it to be my 2nd annual birthday celebration solo century ride. The local recumbent enthusiast group usually schedules a tour for the following weekend and if the weather cooperates I may ride a century then also. They will both be slow and easy.

reverborama

The century rides I've done are mostly through farmlands with rolling hills (where maybe one or two are notably long or steep -- nothing that requires switchbacks or anything). I usually average 15-16 mph on the bike and finish in 7 hours or so. I tend to do these rides with small groups of varying abilities so we wait for everyone to show up at each of the rest stops and socialize a bit. That actually works against me because after a while it really hurts for the first mile back on the bike after a stop! I've never tried to finish one in a particular time or at a particular pace.