I just started riding this year after a break of 15 years spent raising kids and working. I started off at 3-5 miles a day this spring and now I do 25-35 almost every day. Once a week I have been pushing it just over 40 for the past month. Yesterday I did
57, after a day of 35. 100 seems freekin impossible given
how I felt at 57 @ 15-18ish mph. The last 10 miles where quite
painful!

I would really like to do one 100 mile ride before the snow falls.
Or, would it be best to wait for next year?

What is the best path to reach 100? Go easy on my, cause
I'm gonna be 46 soon.

Thanks...

there is a century training schedule here.

If you can get 57, a century is a snap. Im 42 and just finished first
century, the adrenaline and other bikers get you past mental hump, which is all it is. A century will make you feel great, go for it,
and when its over you will wonder why you stressed out. You may be over training, dont forget easy days, your muscles need to recover.

And on a less enthusiastic note :
If you aren't out to set a new land speed record, the difference between 57 and 100 is 90% logistics. Ride conservatively, eat and drink by the numbers and you can do it. But if you want to ride a supported century this year, time is short... around here, the last of them are in October. And, too, sometimes when riding a supported century it's easy to be too enthusiastic during the early miles. It's important to pace yourself at the beginning so you aren't toast when mile 75 rolls around.

There's a lot to what Marrs says. If you can fall in with a group riding the same pace as you, you can take turns at the front, reducing the work. And if worse comes to worst, you can always bag at a rest stop, and catch a ride back with a support vehicle. You might consider shooting for a Metric (64 miles) this year. That's definitely within reach, and give you a better feel for the whole experience. Then, go for the big one next spring... a goal to help keep you motivated and working through winter and into the spring.

PS. Excellent progress.. good job! :thumbup:

I used the century training schedule listed above and completed my first century last weekend. There are two things that helped me finish.

1. 120 miles per week training. (I didn't do the 60 miles as suggested, but I would do two 30 miles rides in a day)
2. Group riding. Having someone else to pace with on your ride does make a difference.

Oh, the worst is mile 80 through mile 90. Mentally, you think, I could just sag, 80 miles is enough. But after 90, you think, just 10 miles to go. It is all mental.

Belive ROADBUZZ.

The HHH century ride is extreme heat 106F this year, recommends that you be regularly doing 100+ miles per week to be able to pull a slow century...and its true.

someone should make a 40 hr working person's weekend warrior only century schedule. i have been working up serious mileage on my bike only riding 3 hours every saturday, and just increasing the miles ridden every week. i think those bike everyday schedules are somewhat bad because they discourage normal people like me from doing big rides like that.

Just increase your longest ride each week by ten per cent. That gets you from 57 to 100 in about 6 weeks or so. That should not be too taxing, as long as you ride conservatively as mentioned above.

Cheers,
Jamie

True enough, deliriou5, and this is why bike-commuting is an effective means of accomplishing this type of training. My bike-commuting allows me to ride 100-120 miles during the week. And who works a mere 40-hour week?

I just rode a century yesterday (see my thread in under general discussions). My job schedule doesn't provide any time for riding during the week, so all my training was on the weekends. I rode about 1200 miles before the century, most of which were 20 to 30 mile rides. The last month, I rode 50 to 60 miles on one day of the weekend and 30 or so on the other. While this is not a great training plan, I completed the very rolling century in 6-1/2 hours of riding time. And I will be 49 in a couple of weeks. Bottom line, if you can do a comforable 50, you can complete a century as long as you pace yourself, stay hydrated and eat. Good luck. If I can do it, anyone can do it!

FWIW, here's a completely unscientific, anecdotal piece of tid-bit with regard to preparing for long distance riding. I've heard this, and my experience seems to bear it out.

You retain endurance (slow twitch) conditioning much better than speed (fast twitch) conditioning. That doesn't mean that you can quit your 50 mile week-end ride today, and start again in February with no problems. It does mean that your legs will "come around" faster, and you'll be back up to your previous levels much sooner. The problem is all that Thanksgiving and Christmas weight.

To start with, 46 is not all that old to be doing a first century. I did my first at about that age, but I had been riding for quite a few years. It may be a little late in the season to be thinking of doing a full century, but a metric century would be easily in your reach. If you are riding every day, you may need a day or two off the bike to rest yourself before a long ride. You don't mention if you ride with others, groups are a great help in doing longer rides if you know how to ride together. I checked my logbook for the year I did my first century, I finished 170 km (about 166 miles) in 4 hours and 26 minutes.

That's good, but not that good! 105 miles in 4:26 still gets you some pretty decent braggin' rights.

I had meant to write that 170 km was about 106 miles, somehow my finger must have slipped. The extra mileage was during our warmup. Actually the ride was more of a race, with several elite riders, including one rider who is currently a member of the Canadian national team. At the time, the bike that I was riding was older than some of the guys I was competing against