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Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling Do you enjoy centuries, double centuries, brevets, randonnees, and 24-hour time trials? Share ride reports, and exchange training, equipment, and nutrition information specific to long distance cycling. This isn't for tours, this is for endurance events cycling

Remember your first century (100 miles)?

Old 03-01-09, 10:44 PM
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mine was in about 1971-1972 age 16-17 rode 100 plus 1 st day from east bay calif
to the south central valley over the hills near fremont ca
slept in a golf course the 1 st night rode anouher 50 or so 2 nd day to a small town east of fresno Reedley CA
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Old 03-08-09, 11:38 PM
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First century ride was Solvang 2008. I was a little nervous for my first century, but when I got into the ride, talked with people along the way, re-fueled and watered at the well staffed pit-stops... it turned out to be a very enjoyable experience. (Well, except for that leg cramp at 82 miles).

I'm riding on March 14th in the Solvang 2009 Century. Can hardly wait!

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Old 08-03-09, 03:26 PM
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Mine was july 23, 2009... aka a few weeks ago

It was fun but only mangaged a meager 19mph average.. ugh
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Old 08-03-09, 04:44 PM
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Originally Posted by TVS_SS
Mine was july 23, 2009... aka a few weeks ago

It was fun but only mangaged a meager 19mph average.. ugh
Congrats!

"Only" a 19mph avg?!

I've never done anything over 50 miles averaging 20 or more. My centuries and brevets land me way closer to 15 mph rolling avg, 12-13 mph avg overall. Looks like you're either fast or you rode downhill!
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Old 08-03-09, 04:59 PM
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My first century was the Spring Death Valley Century last year. I remember being very nervous and wanting to do no more than just finish. My longest previous rides had been 50 and 80 miles. I did it with a friend who has since become my regular riding buddy (and with whom I just completed my California Triple Crown with last weekend.) It was horribly windy with head winds for 90 of the 100 miles. By the end it was steady 20 mph gusting to 40. We were pedaling hard just to go downhill. We finished it in 8:29 with a rolling average of 14 mph.

When we were done I was addicted! Have been ever since.
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Old 08-03-09, 09:57 PM
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My first century was actually a 200K I did last November with the local randonneuring group. My longest previous ride had been 82 miles. It included almost 9000' of climbing. I was so happy that I was able to keep up with the group and finish without any major issues.

I think I ate an entire pizza when I got home after the ride that night.
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Old 08-04-09, 06:01 AM
  #157  
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No, I honestly can't remember my first century. It may have been in the course of an abortive cross country ride in August 1983. I averaged 100 miles per day for 18 days; the longest day was 155 or so, but most days were in the 80 - 120 range.

I don't think I rode a single century between 1985 and 2008.
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Old 08-04-09, 10:17 AM
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I just saw this thread for the first time and had to respond. Some 35 years later and I'm still proud of the accomplishment.

I rode my first century when I was 16 years old, in 1976 in Baltimore County Maryland with a close friend; it was called the Hunt Valley Hundred, it was League of American Wheelman ride (L.A.W. Ride 1976) and what a ball we had. I think it took us about ten hours to complete on 1970ish Fontan ten speeds. People looked at us like we were crazy but we did pretty good for two kids.

I didn't ride another one for years until I rode the 2007 Lake Tahoe Century - What an awesome ride.

This year I will ride the Seagull Century in Salisbury, MD this October.

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Old 08-04-09, 02:42 PM
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Seagull Century 2002. I woke up at 5 AM, sleepless, scared to death I couldn't do it, and it took about 8 hours. Last time out, 2007, I did it in 4:58, my first 5 hour century . Seagull is a nice first century, or metric century.
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Old 08-04-09, 08:21 PM
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Originally Posted by mattm
Congrats!

"Only" a 19mph avg?!

I've never done anything over 50 miles averaging 20 or more. My centuries and brevets land me way closer to 15 mph rolling avg, 12-13 mph avg overall. Looks like you're either fast or you rode downhill!
well.. with the people/group i was riding with, i was by far one of the slowest. which meant i got dropped alot but that allowed me to just take in the beautiful scenery.

either way biking is fun if im fast or slow... but i do enjoy the competition if for no other reason than pushing myself to get in better shape.
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Old 08-24-09, 09:53 AM
  #161  
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I did my first century on Saturday, at the inaugural Tour de Rivet in Cambridge, MD, in and around the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. I'm so glad it was flat! It rained about 10 minutes and was overcast most of the day, so that kept the temps down. I can't wait to do another one.
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Old 08-24-09, 03:59 PM
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Well, now that you mention it, no, I don't remember my first century. But according to the LAW patch on my rack trunk, it was in 1975. Maybe that's why I don't 'member. Pretty sure it was over in the Wilammette valley (OR), but that's about all I can tell you.

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Bend, OR
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Old 08-25-09, 07:13 AM
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Mine was in 1983...as a 16 yr old, I jumped on a Raleigh Super Record with running pants, a t-shirt, and running shoes for the American Cancer Society Bike-A-Thon. Spent every bit of the 8 hours allowed, and ended up riding 120 miles. Shocked quite a few people that were "serious riders" since I wasn't kitted up to look the part. The following year I rode the event again (night after Sr. Prom) and managed to set a ACS chapter record of 150 miles. Still wasn't kitted up, but this ride was on an old Gitane TdF (have since inherited that bike and made it my winter trainer).
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Old 09-15-09, 06:29 AM
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My first century was Saturday. I rode the Old Kentucky Home Tour, put on by the Louisville Bicycle Club. 102 miles through the rolling (and not so rolling) hills of Kentucky. Beautiful scenery, well executed SAGs, a really great ride....though maybe not the best choice for a first century...the longest and steepest series of hills comes at mile 96! Saddle time: 8:12. I need to add more hills to my diet for next year.

Now that I have my first century done, I have 4 more on my ride calendar over the next 3 weeks.
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Old 09-15-09, 10:51 AM
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My first century was two years ago. A friend & I were going to ride our own unsupported century for the solstice, but he had life complications. So, . . .

As the amount of daylight started to dwindle, I decided that I'd ride the route on Saturday, Sep-29. The spouse was on a bus heading to West Jefferson, NC for her first "touring" experience on Cycle North Carolina, so I had the day to myself, and the next day to recover if needed.

My longest ride prior had been 78+ miles the Saturday before when I had ridden the first ~ 35 miles and the last ~ 34 miles of the century course to test to see if my "abrasion" issues had subsided. Excellent 78 mile ride, solo after ther first ~ 24 miles. 15.6 avg pace while riding.

So, the spouse catches her ride to the bus, and I go to the "start" location. Again, the possible "come-with" guys had life issues, and even the guys I was expecting to ride with me for the first 35 or so miles failed to show. I got on the bike and started at about 7:05 a.m.. A tad chilly on the feet.

The sun started to make its warmth felt at about 8:20, and about 15 minutes after that, the breeze started. I modified my intended course slightly to stay on tree-lined roads for a bit longer, and then cut over to the intended course.

Stopped around mile 33 to purchase and drink a pint of chocolate milk. Then set off more-or-less due north for the Virginia border. By now, a little after 9, the breeze had started its boxing of the north compass points (it would go from WNW to NW to N to NE to ENE to almost E during the course of my ride) and was no longer a breeze, but was up to being a light wind with some light gusts. It took me 72 minutes to cover the last 14.5 miles to the NC/VA line, which knocked my avg pace for the first 47 miles down to 14.5 mph (if memory serves).

Upon reaching the state line, I laid my bike down on the grass at the top of the ditch on a mostly east-west road, and sat down next to the bike so the sun could warm and loosen my lower back. Seven minutes later, after having eaten a banana and consumed some of my gatoraide, and my back feeling better, I got back on the bike.

Rode the ~ 5 miles of Virginia (if I'm going to the state line, then by gaw, I'm going to ride some on the other side), and that brought me back headed SSE (with a now quartering NE or ENE breeze/wind). After about 12 miles of the SSE with what felt like BIG rollers, I reached the carefully planned part of the course. Carefully planned to go between two sets of hilly roads (one name Mountain Rd) and stay on the flattest options available.

Around 70 to 80 miles into the ride was some of the BEST riding I have ever experienced. Miles clicking off effortlessly with a gently swaying bike and a slight (mostly) tailwind.

The last 4.7 miles included three valley crossings, each with a steep section to get back up from the creek to the plain. Sucked two or three tenths of a mile off my avg pace for the whole ride.

Anyway, finished 109 miles at 3:01 pm with 7 hrs, 1 minute of ride time, for a total avg pace of 15.5 mph. Tired, but excellent ride.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Near the end of August last year, I lead 5 others on the same course (except we didn't keep to the tree-lined roads mentioned above), so we ended up with 108.2 miles. The riding speed was a bit faster, but the elapsed clock time was half-an-hour more. Too much "male-bonding" story telling at the main lunch stop.
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Old 09-15-09, 07:48 PM
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just did mine this sunday! it was the indian head century in southern maryland. it was an absolutely gorgeous ride. i did it with a friend of mine who also had never done a century. everything was great until around mile 90 when we missed a turn and accidentally went 5 miles out of the way....so it was really more like 110 miles.
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Old 09-16-09, 04:10 PM
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I don't remember the entire course that I took for my first century... I think it was in 1996 (when I was 20). I rode the thing on my mountain bike, with knobby tires. What a great idea!

I do remember that I started from home (in north San Jose), and rode through Los Gatos and Palo Alto among other local towns. And I vividly remember how sore my butt was after the ride! And that I could barely walk the next day, so I sat on the couch watching football on TV.

From little things, big things grow... I've gone on to do quite a few rides of 100 miles or longer.
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Old 05-03-10, 02:32 AM
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Have you got a first century story to tell ...... or maybe you'd like to read over our first century stories to get an idea what you might be in for on yours.
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Old 05-03-10, 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Machka
Have you got a first century story to tell ...... or maybe you'd like to read over our first century stories to get an idea what you might be in for on yours.
Since the thread has been bumped...I did my first century on April 11. It was a solo ride in preparation for the brevet that I had to scratch myself from April 24 due to a knee injury. I wrote up a report on my blog (mostly for myself and a couple friends). Here's an excerpt:

"Having done a hilly 80-miler on April 4, I decided to aim for a relatively flat ride north along the Connecticut River for my first century. Since much of the ride was on familiar ground, I should have known better…it turned out to involve some 5300 feet of climbing...."

Anyone interested in reading the rest can do so here. (If you do, please excuse the simple design: I'm still learning Textpattern in the limited free time I have left after work and cycling.)
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Old 05-05-10, 01:27 PM
  #170  
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You never forget your first.
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Old 05-06-10, 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Phil85207
You never forget your first.
I have. I know it was with the Roanoke VA club in the '70s, but other than that I have no clue. They used to ride to the Peaks of Otter fairly frequently, I think that may have been the route.
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Old 05-17-10, 07:13 AM
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My first century was inadvertent. A friend of mine and I did a bike tour in Nova Scotia in the late 1980s, and were aiming for 60 to 75 mile days. One day our planned route was about 80 miles, but a detour -- quite a bit of which ran over coarse gravel roads -- stretched it out to about 110 miles. I was running with front and rear panniers, it was hot, the hole in the ozone layer (remember that?) was right over Nova Scotia and newscasters were advising people to stay inside ... all in all, it was quite a day. The beers we found in the town where we eventually ended up were quite satisfying.
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Old 06-04-10, 09:51 AM
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I just did my first century 3 weeks ago. I participated in the Montauk Century on my Jamis Quest. I had a blast! The ride was well-organized, the weather was beautiful and the scenery was breathtaking. I was super nervous going in, sure that I hadn't trained enough (I bike a lot but my longest ride in the previous few weeks had only been about 45 miles). I felt great almost the entire ride. The first 2 rest stops, at mile 20 and 50, I stopped just long enough to refill my bottles and got back on the bike. The 3rd rest stop I took full advantage of. My muscles were aching and I relaxed on the grass for about 20 min, after that I got my 2nd win and finished with a smile on my face. I definitely plan on doing more!
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Old 06-04-10, 01:58 PM
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Metric Century

I did my first metric century accidently everal weeks ago. I was going for a training ride that I had planned on being about 50 miles. I stopped at my planned 20 minute stop, I ate, drank and was on my way. I had changed trails at the stop. I had ridden this trail before but had come from the other direction and hadn't ridden the whole thing. I rode it to where I usually started it. Had lunch, talked trash and smack with the other riders who had stopped there and headed back home. Stopped at the first stop again for another 20 minutes and rode on home. 64.8 miles in around 4 hours and 45 minutes saddle time.
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Old 06-04-10, 03:58 PM
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I did my first metric century at age 7 on a 20" one-speed coaster brake bike. It was the 70 mile charity bikeathon in Eugene Oregon in 1973. My Dad brought a tow rope that he ran from his seat post to my head tube to help tow me up the last couple hills. But I made the entire distance and finished well in front of many many adults riding much fancier bikes.
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