Personius

I'm still new. I want to do a solo century. I have an aversion to stopping even on my long rides(50 mi). Is a century still a century for "real riders" if you stop. I can carry food, water etc. or get help with these on the fly so its not a health or safety issue to not stop. Frankly I'd hate to go to the time and effort of a century only to have it "not count " as a real century.
thanks
Personius

DamnRock

yes, a century is a century is a century, so long as it's all ridden in the same day. VERY VERY VERY few people ride centuries w/o stopping at least once or twice, if for anything other than to relieve themselves.

Now, a century on a trainer? that's a whole other story!

Rock

GuitarWizard

Stopping for short breaks.....food, pee, 5 minute rest, look at a map, etc......is normal practice on a century.

GuitarWizard

That involves a lot of pain.

big john

"Not count?" To whom does it count? If you ride 100 miles in a day, that is a century. It doesn't matter if you stop to pee, eat, stretch, or even rest and talk to friends. Maybe you're thinking of a race.

jthurman

Even in a long race, the riders will sometimes stop to answer nature's call. CSC's TdF FAQ (wow, that was a lot of TLA's - three letter acronyms) even addresses this question: https://www.csc.com/features/2004/34a.shtml#tdf7

reneuend

The typical century is as stated by everyone else that has posted above.

I base my rides on the rules set by rusa.org. The rules needed to qualify for riding in the PBP(paris-brest-paris) or the BMB(boston-montreal-boston), but thats only because my goals are to qualify.

Good luck!

cc_rider

Who's counting?

AndyGrow

Heck, even pro-riders stop and do their business while in the Giro, the Tour, and any other race...and that doesn't make the event NOT a race...!

lrzipris

cc rider asks the right question. One of the most frequent--and wisest--bits of advice you'll get here, which you are certainly free to take or leave, comes down to this: don't let other people define what's important to you about cycling, unless you choose to let them. So who cares if someone doesn't like your cycling outfit, your mirror, the color of your bike, or the two, three, four stops you took on your solo century? It only matters if you decide the opinion of other people on these things matters to you.

This is, don't stop if you don't want to; stop if you do. Either way, always have fun.

Machka 

The general definition of a century most people I know go by is this:

100 miles, completed within a 24-hour period of time including all breaks, and ridden as "all at once" as possible.

"100 miles" - of course, because anything short of that would not be a century

"Completed within a 24-hour period of time" - because some centuries ridden in adverse conditions can take a long time. Take the Susitna in February in Alaska, for example.

"Including all breaks" - because the time you record for your century should include all breaks.

I've mentioned this before, but if it is possible for Person A to do a 5 hour century with no breaks, while Person B rides for 5 hours (like Person A) but needs an hour's worth of breaks during the ride in order to complete the century, thus actually covering the distance in 6 hours .... those are two completely different rides. If Person B were to announce that he/she did a 5 hour century, it would detract from the accomplishment of Person A who really did the 5 hour century.

"Ridden as "all at once" as possible" - because riding for 50 miles, then taking 12 hours off to sleep, go shopping, go to work, or whatever, and then riding another 50 miles really doesn't capture the spirit of the century. Breaks are fine, of course, so the rider can stop to eat, use the toilet, stretch, change clothes, make adjustments to the bicycle, or whatever ... but within reason.




So in answer to your question, yes, a solo century that includes a few short breaks counts as a century.

Personius

Thank you to all who wieghed in. I've got the idea now.As with any new activity or event its difficult to know the norms without asking insiders.
Personius

lrzipris

I don't mean to belabor the point, Personius, but some things are merely matters of opinion or preference, and not norms or "right or wrong." There are some things you'll never find agreement on, and everyone's right!