amerpie

I completed my first century in December, an organized, supported ride in Johns Island, SC. In early January, one of my riding buddies and I completed a century on a warm Wednesday. It was a spontaneous ride. We took a break at lunch for some pb&j action, but otherwise we just rode, stopping at a store once for water and Gatorade refills.

Tomorrow, I'm attempting my first solo century. I'm carrying a cell phone, a few bucks, some chow, a spare tube and patches, and a multi-tool. My main concern is the mental aspect. I've never ridden more than 40 miles all by myself. I like solo riding and do a lot of it, but mostly at lunch. My weekend rides are normally with friends.

Any long-distance folks out there have any advice to offer?

Peace,
Lou

RWTD

Maybe I'm biased since I do alot of touring but my advice would be ride to somewhere you want to go and relax and enjoy it awhile when you get there and also make periodic similar stops along the way .

velonut

I did a solo century last year and really enjoyed it. To make it even more interesting, my family was out of town and I was home by myself so I was really on my own. It did seem like I had been riding forever by the last 10 miles. Had some interesting experiences that other cyclists can relate. At one point I stopped at a volunteer fire house that had some activity to ask for a bottle refill and ended up being invited to a lunch and plied with questions about riding 100 miles. Just make sure your velo is in good repair, ride against the wind for the first half, pace yourself and keep those legs turnin'. Nothing like the satisfaction of pulling off a big ride.

Styk33

I do a lot of centuries in the summertime and riding someplace that you want to go is great to keep you motivated. Also riding someplace that you enjoy riding is important.

Sometimes I grab my MP3 player and put on a headphone and listen to some tunes to pass the time on the flat parts of my rides.

I spend a lot of time thinking of what I have done and what I plan to do in life

Triker

You could plant an obnoxious song--"Don't worry, be happy" comes to mind--and go crazy singing to yourself for 100 miles

Apart from that, keep in mind it is not race (if anyone asks or cares how long it took you can lie) so enjoy yourself and the folks you meet. Look for auctions, bake sales, church doings for good eats.

Maurizio

---- Please don't listen to music while you're riding on open roads unless you WANT to get into an accident! ----

I do centuries about twice a week to get in my endurance miles, and a great deal of them are solo ones. I end up letting my mind drift, I visualize about all sorts of things, I make reflections on my life, and think about my future.

Sometimes my mind gets so lost that I find myself SNAP back to reality after having forgotten what I was doing for a long time -- although I will just naturally be following the route of the ride, and perforiming all of the necessary cycle related functions simply out of instinct.

You'll get good at this with time. When I'm on the trainer indoors, I can close my mind and enter a meditative state while I'm spinning my legs at an aerobic pace, and SNAP out of it about an hour later. It makes those three hour trainer sessions more tollerable.

I always end these long solo sessions with my mind very collected -- it's kind of nice.

- Maurizio

Chris L

Most of my centuries have been solo (in fact, I can only remember one that wasn't solo). My advice is to take your time and just enjoy the solitude of it. Personally I love not having to speak to anyone for a few hours.

Just take your time and enjoy the scenery. Who knows? Along the way you might discover somewhere new to ride next time (it's happened to me a few times).

amerpie

Everything went well. I finished 100.3 miles in 6:10. There were mixed winds in the 9-15 mph range, the last 20 miles was all headwinds, go figure. The temperature ranged from 38 at the start to 49 at the end. I made three stops, none of which was longer than 10 minutes.

I stopped by my LBS afterwords and only then learned of teh shuttle tragedy. It puts things in perspective.

Peace,
Lou

mikemets5

[QUOTE]Originally posted by amerpie
[B]Everything went well. I finished 100.3 miles in 6:10. I made three stops, none of which was longer than 10 minutes.

question, does the 6:10 include the 30 minutes of stopping or were you out for 6:40?

amerpie

Time from start to finish was 6:40. Time on bike was 6:10. You can compare this to other compulsive century riders at https://www.big-dogs.org/scripts/bdhome.asp.

Regards,
Lou

uciflylow

What a load! Don't listen to music but zone out?:confused:

I listen to music on lot's of my rides and have never even came close to being involved in an accident while doing so. I find that wind noise is quite sufficent to cover up most autos overtaking you from behind. Listen to music if you want, but be aware of your souroundings at the same time.

huffman 

Listening to music is a great way to help pass the miles but it is illegal to use headphones/earbuds in some states. I'm not sure how you go about finding out or how strict they are about their use.

uciflylow

I still think its STUPID that you can drive an auto that is so tight that you can't hear an ambulance untill it's on your bumper, but you can't wear head phones. You can talk on your "hands free" cell phone but don't get cought using those nasty head phones!:confused:

mrfix

I solo centruy and double century all the time, it's a rare occasion when someone comes along. The only thing I can tell you is that you must like your own company and you should carry tools and small parts to get you back if your bike should break down. My summer riding schedule looks something like this, Sunday, 75 mile easy rest ride. Monday 18.5 mile commute (each way), Tuesday commute. Wednesday, Commute to work 18.5 miles, Home 107 miles, Thursday, regular commute, Friday, normal ride to work, 30 mile ride home, Alternating Saturdays, 1 century, next double century, next century and so on. throw in a few trips to the post office and the grocery store and you have my cycling schedule for the year. Once in a while I ride an organized cenury on a weekend for the social aspect of cycling. Anyone can do it, just eat correctly, take care of your body and ride the bike.

Pat

Most of my centuries have been unsupported and quite a few have been solo.

The thing I do is I don't push too hard. I make sure I drink plenty of water. I get off the bike for a few minutes every hour and a half or so to relieve the pressure points. I snack some. It is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. It just takes awhile.

A big thing is to avoid the bonk. Quite a few people ride close to flat out. And you can do that for 40-50 miles. But try that for a century and you will bonk and end up riding really slowly for 40 miles which is no fun at all. I ride easy and if I want to kick it up, I can do that in the last 20 miles if I feel frisky. By backing off, if your maximum sustained cruising speed is 22, backing off to 19 is enough to do the trick.

akshobhyavajra

Wow - that's roughly 10,000.00 miles in six months. Heck - I think I read once ol' George Hincapie only does about 18,000.00 per year...that's a thousand less in six months. You're ready for Ride Across America! A couple of short brevets like BMB and you're nice and warmed up

Godspeed!

~Michael~

mrfix

My riding season in new england is short, last years total was 12,989, we'll see what happens this year