Giant Doofus

Hi all,

I'd like to do a century ride some time this summer, and I'm trying to gauge my readiness for that and how hard it will be to get there from where I am now. I'm a bike commuter and typically ride about 60 miles a week or so for that. I'm 44 years old and in good shape, though not an athlete by any stretch. I ride a ten year old Giant hybrid, a Cypress DX, with flat handlebars.

I just took my first recreational ride in quite a while this afternoon. I went 30 miles, averaging 13 mph, not really pushing myself. At the end of the ride, I felt like I could have kept on. My legs weren't tired and my butt wasn't screaming to get out of the saddle, though I would have appreciated some bar ends to give myself another hand position.

I'll be in Flagstaff, AZ for the summer. I see that they have an organized century there in July (Absolute Bikes, Taylor House Benefit Century Ride), but but I'm thinking of doing a solo century because the elevation gain on the organized event looks insane to me given that I'm coming from nearly-as-flat-as-a-pancake Memphis, TN.

I've read lots of threads on this forum and have already learned a lot. If you have any advice for my specific situation, I'd be glad to hear it.

-Giant Doofus

StephenH

On the organized ride, check if they have a maximum time limit or when they start shutting rest stops down; that'll give you a better idea.

If you're going to be there a month or two prior to the ride, wait until later to make the call. That'll let you get out on some of the local climbs and see what you think, also give you time to get in lots of climbing. You may need lower gearing, for that matter.

Meanwhile, get in a lot more of those 30 miles rides, and start looking for hills instead of avoiding them.

Bacciagalupe

A few things to do / try....

1) At your next physical, let your doctor know your plan.
2) Do long rides on the weekend, and slowly increase the length.
3) Increase your weekly total cycling by no more than 10% per week.
4) Do some basic intervals. At least one day a week, do some training where you push yourself as hard as you can for 1 minute, then ride at a relaxed pace for 1 minute. Do this a bunch of times.
5) Make sure to rest 1 day a week. On the remaining days, ride an hour or so. As you get closer to the event, bump it up a little bit.
6) Last but not least, take it easy the week before the century.

Giant Doofus

They do have some cut offs, which look doable just in terms of the mph I'd have to maintain. It's the climbing that concerns me, though, given that I have essentially no experience doing that at this point. I do plan to start working on hills this summer though. Just to give you a sense: Between miles 60 and 80, it looks like I'd have to climb straight up from 4700 feet to 7300 feet. I don't think I want to attempt that on my first effort at a century when I'll also still be pretty much a newbie at hills. For that reason, I'm thinking of plotting out a century that I can do on my own. It'll be hilly, but not quite *that* steep. Maybe by next year I'll be more confident on hills and be riding something other than a 32-pound hybrid.

Giant Doofus

Great advice. Thanks. Regarding #3 : Do you think I can bump up more than 10% for the next few weeks? I don't want to push too hard, but 30 miles felt pretty easy for me.

Edit: Oh, wait, I see you said total weekly mileage. So, since I rode 95 miles total this week, I could do my usual 65 miles of commuting and still bump my longer ride up to 40 miles or so. That makes sense.

Cyril 

Everything said thus far is excellent, sensible advice.
That said, after a few weeks of 20 and 30 mile recreational rides,
I got up early one Saturday morning and just up and did 60!
And that worked so well, I got up the next morning (Sunday) and did a full 100.
Was I sore on Monday? Yup.
But I sure was happy.
I did this on a mountain bike.
I was 50.

Not advising anyone else do it this way.
Just reporting what worked for me.

Giant Doofus

You did 160 miles in two days on a mountain bike at 50 years old after just a few weeks of 30-mile recreational rides? I call that inspiration! (Don't think I'll try to replicate your feat though.)

Cyril 

thank you for the kind words.
my main point is; don't overthink this.
just get out and go as far as you can.
when you can't go farther, stop.
who knows, you may have gone 100 miles.
and if you haven't, there's always next time.

good luck and enjoy!

Cyril

Machka 

If 30 miles felt pretty easy, try 40 miles next week. If it feels really easy, try 50 miles the next week. If it feels just OK, do the 40 miles again. If you struggle through the 40 miles, back off to about 35 the following week, and then try 40 again the next week.

It had been a couple years since I rode a century, and I used that sort of pattern to build up to the one Rowan and I did a few weeks ago.

We did 50 km together, and it felt great, so I did 60 km the next weekend ... also good. Then we did 80 km, and I struggled, so we backed off a bit and tried 80 km again.


You might also try riding various terrain.

bikemig 

That looks like a great ride. A 100 miler on your own is a long, long time on a bike. It is a huge motivational thing to ride with other riders. I think you should do the ride but shoot for the 65 miler if you are concerned about the climbing. You'll have a great time and a real feeling of accomplishment in doing it.

Giant Doofus

Sounds good. My plan is to try 40 next Saturday. I'll resist the urge to go ahead and do 50.

That's a good idea. I have almost two months in Flagstaff before the ride, so I should have plenty of time to learn how to climb.

1speeder

As you get closer to doing your century, plan at LEAST a 50 miler on Saturday and another 50 miler on Sunday. The back to back riding days should equal your total mileage that you are trying to accomplish. This is the formula I used when training for double centuries but used 100 miles plus per day. Also, with using flat bars, I can see where your hands or wrist could become uncomfortable. Perhaps adding bar ends for having more hand positions. With more climbing, you will most likely be seated for longer hours, make sure you love your saddle!
Make sure you have at least two water bottles/cages, keep hydrated and your nourishment up while riding. If the weather is going to be hot, start at the earliest time possible and wear the proper clothing to keep you warm or cool.

Sounds like much fun,
Mike

Giant Doofus

Good ideas. It's not uncommon for me to ride 20 miles two days in a row just for commuting/utility purposes. I'll be sure to do at least two consecutive days of 50+ as I get closer. I already love my saddle, which saw me happily through a relatively flat metric century a few years ago. And, yes, bar ends are already on order!

1speeder

If you end up doing the century solo, you should have a camel back for storage and extra water/electrolytes for hydration (really depends on if water is easy to find). Also, I would carry two tubes, CO2 tire inflators (I hate using up energy pumping up tires when riding long mileages), tire levers, room for food (energy bars). Also things to think about are sun screen, ibuprofen, tums (for muscle cramps), small tire pump, a dollar bill for a tire boot repair. Lights if you start out early or end in the dark. Make sure you lube your chain before the big day. I'm sure I forgot something?

Mike