ravenmore

I'm sure there's quite a few out there that have. I'm getting ready to do my first 200k ride this Saturday, and just am checking on what I'm getting myself into.

Here's the ride I'm doing:

https://www.austincycling.org/2005_ahcc/

jslopez

Have you ever ridden long distances? If so how much and for how long?

Outside training you'll need to consider hydration and nutrition for the actual ride but you may want to give a little background on your riding should you be needing tips.

Sounds like a nice ride though

Grasschopper

Man I am really going to have to think about moving to Austin...why can't we have rides like this in my area? I have a MS150 and some races but not enough events like this.

Guest

Yeah I have. Just make sure you have plenty of snacks to prevent the bonks and pace yourself.

Koffee

velocipedio

i've done 180 km. not much different than 100 km, except for the time in saddle.

i really don't understand the mystique around centuries. it's not a big deal. just make sure you eat and drink enough and ride with interesting people.

the stuff matschka does though... that's different.

recursive

I rode 180 miles last Friday. (Madison, WI to Wausau, WI) It wasn't too bad. Actually, when I neared Wausau, I turned up the intensity a couple of notches because I had paced myself pretty conservatively, averaging only 15.6 mph. Hills I would normally attack, I shifted down to granny and calmly spun up them. As long as you don't push too hard, you can probably ride all day. The key is figuring out the pace, and sticking to it.

brunning

if you're reasonably in shape, feed yourself regularly and properly while you ride and pace yourself for the distance, you can ride 300 miles.

telenick

Looks like fun. I wish I were doing it too.

One hint: ride your own pace. Don't get sucked into riding another's pace however tempting it may be.

ravenmore

I usually ride a 40 - 50 mile ride once per week (weekends) and try to get a 10 - 20 miler in 3-4 times during the week. Lot of hills here so a 10 miler can be tougher than some of the 20's depending on the terrain. I was a runner and was training for a marathon before I injured my achilles and turned to a bike about 6 months ago. Maybe some of that conditioning is still left - hope so. 7-8 hrs on a bike sounds a little intimidating - heck a marathon is only 3-4hrs.

Grasschopper - C'mon down! Austin Cycling Association has great rides every week. This last week we rode 55 miles on the country roads NE of Austin. Great place to ride, although I think it was the area where Ekimov had his accident training with Lance....

sat_cycle

I have runner friends who say the same thing all the time . . . they swear that cycling a century is equivalent to or harder than running a marathon in terms of difficulty.

Honestly though, I'd rather cycle 100 miles any day rather than have to run 26.

theden

I did a solo 100 miler on my mountain bike with big knobbies once, never on my touring bike (oddly enough). I did take a nap at about 80 miles though. I would like to try another solo century one of these days, this time on slick tires!

Grasschopper

I will be down in Oct for Ride for the Roses. What is that century like? Lots of climbing? Just wondering how much climbing I should put in my training. I get down to Austin almost every year. My mother lives there just off of Lost Creek Blvd on the hill above Lost Creek CC. In that area anyway there are some pretty good grades to climb but I have no clue where the RfR is as this will be my first. My wife would like to move down there (not sure why exactly as her relationship with my mother is tenuous at best) and I wouldn't be opposed to it if I could get a decent job. It seems like a great area much like the one we live in here in Central PA but larger. The UT atmosphere is much like that here at PSU.

recursive

A nap! I have a hard enough time sleeping anytime 2 hours after a ride, let alone in the middle of one.

joeprim

That ride sounds really nice have a good time. Don't rush it except be at that 30 mile rest stop on time. Here's one I'll be doing
https://www.powhatanchamberofcommerce.org/TourDeVin.htm

Joe

sorebutt

Saturday I will be riding the Wine Country century.. it is an easy ride, and should be fun. Good weather, almost no climbing (3300'). Last month I rode the Tierra Bella, and next week (May 15) I will be riding a local century that raises money for a local school..

Sometime I feel I can ride forever, if my butt could take it.. what makes it harder to go more then 7-8 hours in the saddle is my butt, and my back, and my hands...

recursive

What an appropriate moniker you have. My hands and back are fine, but after 10 hours, it is also my butt that bothers me. Perhaps that planet bike saddle isn't as great as I thought.

velocity

I did RFR last year and it was HOT!!! Defineatly bring enough water .The heat and the wind are what gets you. The sag vehical was a monster tour bus and it was full. At the finish line it looked like a mash unit with people getting IV's to rehydrate on cots in a tent.The hills are really not that bad but then I come fromwhere there are a lot of hills. The terrain is a class C ride. I may do this ride again this year but I am gonna tell you that they could have done a better job of catering-some stops we had to use ice cause they where out of water. We finished the 100 in a little over 6 hours.
Velocity

Gonzo Bob

I rode 220km just a couple of weeks ago. It took me ~9 hours of saddle time and ~12 hours elapsed (I stopped at quite a few historic sites along the way including Mark Twain's Birthplace). It was a very enjoyable ride and I slept very well that night

theden

A nap! I have a hard enough time sleeping anytime 2 hours after a ride, let alone in the middle of one.

But the grass was soft and the creek sounded so nice!

jslopez

Since you've got no training time left I would definitely put in the mentality of finishing versus finishing as fast as possible. Stop at every SAG stop, fill up on food and drinks, eat before you get hungry, drink before getting thirsty, and monst importantly enjoy the ride.

ravenmore

I haven't done the RFR yet - looking forward to it this year. I always train on hill as 1.)they're unavoidable here in Austin and 2.) if you're strong on hills then everything else is cake. N. Austin has some monster grades - I hurt my achilles on a 10 mile footrace that had a 27 degree climb right in the middle of it!

ravenmore

Well - I did the ride. Man absolutely the hardest thing I've done. It wouldn't have been so bad I think if it weren't for the 15-20mph headwind the entire way back. Anyway, there are more details and pics on my blog if anyone's interested.

Now that I've scratched the double century itch, I'm not sure I'm going back.
-Mike

fore0121

Congratulations! That's quite a feat. Most I've ever done is a regular century.

How long did it take you? and how long were you actually on the bike?
f

ravenmore

It took me 7hrs 45minutes of actual ride time. Real time was from 8am until I pulled back in at almost exactly 4:45pm. I guess I lingered at a couple of the rest stops a little longer than I should have.

Thanks for all the tips and advice from here - it helped quite a bit.

Machka 

Yes ... I've done 81 centuries (imperial, not metric) or LONGER rides.

It breaks down like this:

CENTURY - 49
200K - 12
300K - 7
400K - 5
600K - 4
1000K - 1
1200K - 3

TOTAL - 81