It's a new year, let's keep each other motivted for the century a month challenge. Be sure and report multiple centuries in a month, or maybe you are stepping up for a century-a-week. Good luck with weather as we start the year, and most of all, be safe on all your long rides this year!

I'd Like to try this challenge! I'll be a bit hard with work and all but I'm planning a 200k January 1st. That will be my longest ride to date and a great start to the new year! Thanks!

Christine Hastings

I'm certainly planning for CAM 2009, but if January continues with weather like we're having now, I may have to double up a few months later in the year. It's too dangerous to ride on the streets right now with the amount of snow we've gotten.

It would be wonderful if that counted in the CAM challenge, but it does not. The challenge is at least one century ridden in each month of the year.

If doubling up counted, I could say I've completed my 2008 CAM because I have done more than 12 centuries this year, but unfortunately the weather has made it very difficult for me to ride my December century, so I'm out of the 2008 CAM. That's how it goes sometimes.

We could start a thread for a Century Challenge ... for overall quantity of centuries in a year. And here it is: https://www.bikeforums.net/long-distance-competition-ultracycling-randonneuring-endurance-cycling/496675-2009-century-challenge.html

I think this is much more difficult for people who live in cold climates. Where I live winter temp is about 5 / 10 C, maybe 4 or 5 days per year at 0 C, so I can ride anytime. Snow was recorded 2 times, in 1918 and 2007...

It's more challenging. But I managed it in 2003 in Winnipeg, and in 2005 and 2006 here in central Alberta. I've come really close to managing it this year too ... but December's unseasonably miserable weather and the lack of street clearing has made it very difficult for me to do December's Century.

I'd like to give it a try this year. I'm planning 200k on Jan. 10 for my first notch. No cold weather blues down here, but it does get hot and rainy and hurricaney around August.

I might just have to go for the CAM! I did two centuries last year. Attempted four, but wussed out and caught the train to my destination twice.

I'm going to start tonight by mapping out some local loop centuries. Last year's were Point-To-Point, Vancouver to Tumwater, WA with a train trip return.

One way of dealing with really rotten cold and snow was used by Caalvin Congdon of Ohio when he went for the UMCA Centuries in a Year Record. When roads got bad he would stay on plowed roads closer to town. Sometimes he had to do many, many loops around a few blocks near his home but he got the miles in.

That's how I did it. You don't want to venture too far away from shelter when the temps start getting dropping well below freezing. In fact, my own policy is to remain within walking distance of shelter if at all possible.

I may give that a shot. It's not the temperature that bothers me; I'm fine with the 15 - 20 degrees we're getting.
It's the lack of safe clearance on the roads. With how they're cleared for the cars, there's maybe 1 foot of clearance on either side (between the shoulder pile of snow and the median pile of snow.) Definitely not safe to ride a bike on them. I have a short loop around my side streets that I could do a boatload of loops around, if this snow doesn't clear up in the next few weeks.

WOW, kudos to you for being able to do that. That would add a completely different level of challenge to me personally. That would be incredibly tedious and boring to me, so I would not have the tenacity to do it just for the sake of putting in a given number of miles. Heck, I even hate doing rides that have an out and back route because I hate going over the same terrain twice. I need change in scenery. I also need to feel like I am going in a loop in which I can't decide half way through it to cut it short. I understand you have to d what you have to do in places with harsh climate and other difficult conditions, but again, more kudos to you for being able to do that.

On vacation, did the Pinnellas Trail yesterday, with a side trip to downtown St. Petersburg. At the end, I had racked up 86.3 miles, but it was getting a little late in the afternoon, so I had to head back to check in with the wife and kids to make sure we had nothing planned. We didn't. Being so close, I hopped back on the bike to finish off the last 14 miles. But there was a 45 minute gap between the initial 86 miles and the remaining 14. Does that count, or do you need to do the entire 100 in one uninterrupted trip?

I think it's OK. You could have stopped 45 mins for lunch and some rest as well.

I guess you're right, doesn't matter what the interruption was for, could have been lunch instead of heading home to check in.

Got January done today. 102 miles. This is the one I was most concerned about since I couldn't really find a warm climate ride for January within a reasonable distance. But the weather today was nice... mid 50's, clear, light wind, so I did a solo ride at a military park near here.

01/02/09

100.12 miles today.

January:
03-01-09 -- 161.22km/100.20 miles; 6hr 10min elapsed time (26.14km/h = 16.25mph average); 5hr 54min bike time (27.28km/h = 16.95mph average). Bike = Merlin C110 Works (9x2 sp road).

I'm going to try, but January will be difficult (not exactly a good start for the year). Kasia & I are in Poland for the holidays; we'll return to the Seattle are on 01/13. That gives us about 2 weeks to get our legs back and do the first century.

Difficult, but not impossible .

CliftonGK1: We can always go do 400+ laps at the Marymoor Velodrome. Last person to go insane wins.

January done. 173 km at 27.1 average.

Jan 1 100miles

January century completed 1-9-09, 101.2 miles, Eugene to Corvallis, lunch and back to Eugene. Hi temp today was 39 and foggy most of the ride, I've ridden in worse conditions, it was a nice ride today.

As long as the roads are dry, where there`s a will there`s a way:

January century done on Jan 6! 103.8 miles, time 7:21:00, avg speed 14.31mph, 3070 ft of climbing.

Temp at start of ride was 8 degrees Fahrenheit (-13C), but it warmed up to 30. By the end of the ride it was back down to 26.

Kept warm with wool base layers, Lake winter cycling boots, wool socks, chemical warmers, lobster gloves, the usual winter cycling stuff.

This is a route I did in August with an average speed of 16.89mph. What a difference five months make.

So, along the lines of what gdg is saying: what constitutes a century? Is it 100 miles within a 24 hour period? 100 miles within a rough sunup-to-sundown day? 100 miles between the time you wake up and the time you go to sleep? What about naps ?

If I do 50 miles in the morning and 50 miles in the evening, is that still a century?

I'm confined to Saturdays, and the 17th and 24 are already claimed for other activities, so I was thinking today - until I saw the weather forecast. They're calling for a blizzard.

The 31st had better work out, or I'm sunk right at the start.