First century ride! Advice?

sarahjen92

I just signed up for my first century ride...coming up soon on October 15th. I have NEVER done any type of fitness event...not even a 5k. So just that aspect is a little nerve-wracking, as I'm going by myself.

Physically, I believe I'm prepared. The longest I've cycled is 40 miles (river hills around my house), and part of the route actually goes right through my area. I weight lift as well, and would consider myself in decent shape. I know a lot of it will be mentally preparing myself.

Anyone on here have experience doing long distance rides? What are the items that I absolutely need for a 6+ hour ride? What is the best way to fuel myself for the day? I saw a MFP article suggesting upping daily carb intake throughout the week leading up to a strenuous event, as opposed to going crazy carb eating the night before. Thoughts?

Any suggestions and/or advice is greatly appreciated!

neohdiver

If you can do 25 miles, you can do 100. (I regularly do 2-day, 150 miles - once without having gotten on a bike since the previous biking season - not a practice I recommend, but I started the ride by giving myself permission to stop at any point. I've done the extra lap to make it a century ride once.)

Take with you: spare inner tube, patch kit, mini-tool kit fpr boles, at least one larger wrench, pliers, a $1 bill (for wrapping around your inner tube, in case of a sidewall blow-out so you can limp to someplace to get a new tire without pinching your inner tube in the blow-out cracks), plastic zip ties, hand wipes, gear lube, either air-in-a-can or a tire pump, credit card and spare cash, water.

My longer rides are with a group that stages rest areas 10-20 miles. I down 8 oz of fluid at every rest stop (whether I feel thirsty or not), and more if I feel thirsty and eat a half a banana and anything else that looks good. I eat a full meal at the lunch stop.

If there isn't a rest stop when you need one, create your own. If you're not riding a recumbent, make sure your handlebars allow you to shift to at least 3 different riding positions. (I find I don't need it on my recumbent.)

Good luck! I haven't been able to get on my bike for two seasons due to time-consuming health issues and an overwhelming job. I'm jealous.

sijomial

Sorry but I think it's a dreadful idea to go straight from 40 miles to 100 miles!
Realistically you only have this weekend and next weekend to do a couple of long rides before tapering down.

Fitness isn't the only consideration, you are going to really hurt if you aren't acclimatised to many hours in the saddle.

You also won't have practised how to fuel, and very importantly, hydrate yourself for a ride of that duration. I could tell you how I fuel my century rides but that might not work for you. Yes it's carbs, carbs, carbs but how you personally react to eating/drinking while riding is going to be something you should practise beforehand.
I can't tolerate all carb gels for example so like to eat majority of my carbs (little and often).
Unless it's a fully supported ride with plenty of stops then I like to carry two bottles.

Make sure your bike fit is spot on. Really high quality shorts are a worthwhile investment.
Be totally rested on the day of the event. Pace yourself as you are going to struggle.

My "must takes": inner tube, patches, levers, combined pump/CO2 canister (assume you know how to fix a flat?), multi-tool, credit card, minimal coins, banknote, phone. Sunglasses/eye protection.
Lights if not guaranteed to finish in daylight.

Nice to carry items:
Small battery pack for charging my lights/phone/Garmin.

How are you navigating? If a signposted event something to think about is how will you get back on track if you miss a sign? (Done that!)

In October temperature variations can be very large - I did one 113 mile October event that varied from 3C and foggy to bright sun and 20C. Do you have anyone to act as support as you want to carry/wear as little as possible?

If a hilly course don't kill yourself on the hills as it will take too much out of your legs. Spin up the hills, don't slog up the hills.

Good Luck!

NorthCascades

I wish you luck. I agree that 100 miles is ambitious when the longest you've done is 40. I also agree fitness isn't going to be the limit, it's going to be just spending that much time in the saddle.

For that kind of distance I'd bring 2 tubes and 3+ CO2 cartridges.

For sure taper leading up to it, don't change anything on your bike the week before, etc.

sijomial

If you want an idea of how I fuel for a century ride....

Have a look at my food diary for 24th July. This one was unplanned solo ride - I was only going to do a training ride of 4hrs @ 17mph but felt good so carried on for another 2hrs.

For a properly planned one - have a look at my diary for 5th June, an organised 129 mile Audax on a very challenging route.

I tend to use a race pack from High5 but other brands are pretty similar.
A useful read: http://highfive.co.uk/high5-faster-and-further/road-cycling-nutrition-guides/

But can't stress enough the need to try your event day strategy, what works for me may not work for you, also my calorie needs are no doubt rather different to yours.

kcjchang

Stand and stretch, change your hand position, and pace yourself. It's a big jump from 40 to 100. Eat something, ~200 calories, per hour starting after the first. Drink as needed. Go at a pace much slower than your 40 miler! Find a group and sit on it. Get a 60 miler or more tomorrow or the next 2-3 days. Don't cram. You don't want to build up too much fatigue and it's not going to help much on conditioning. It's just for saddle time. If after the 60 miler you are somewhat fresh, you'll be ok. Stop lifting. Up your hydration the week of but don't over do it especially just before the event.

Carbo loading is best 2 to 3 days before the event. Eat a slightly larger meal with emphasis on carbohydrates. Complex is better. Eat normal the night before. Have a slightly larger breakfast with emphasis on carbo and give yourself time for digestion.

That said, if you haven't been regularly emptying the tank it's probably not of much use. (e.g. 2-3 days of heavy anaerobic workout followed by a long steady ride, 3-4+ hours. Rinse and repeat for a number of weeks but ymmv.)

I would still eat a slightly larger breakfast the day of.

Good luck, have fun, and don't bonk.

sarahjen92

Thanks for all the replies! Now I'm realizing it was pretty ambitious to sign up for it. Lucky for me, it has four routes (40, 60, 80, 100), and I chose the "unsure which route" option. With all the information you guys gave me, I think it would be better to shoot for the 60 miler. I know I can do that - especially being as unprepared as I now realize I am. I honestly don't even *prepare* for a 40 mile ride...just bring two big water bottles (electrolyte drink if it's super hot/humid) and my cell phone.

Unfortunately I have straight handlebars on my bike right now. I recently upgraded to my Scott, which I bought for $300 (was $800 new). It came with straight bars and I can't afford to change over to drop bars yet (that's another $100 or so for what I'm getting). I was hoping to do that sooner, but you know...life. That said, I've done 40 miles with the straight bars, and while I don't prefer them, I can do it just fine.

I work 7 days a week so getting in long rides is difficult. One of my jobs is riding horses, so I do have a pretty tough toosh...not too worried about the saddle time, though I know it isn't quite the same. I did take next Saturday off though (was originally going to do a different century ride that would have been easier), so I will use it to do a long ride and see how it goes. That will determine if I choose the 60 or 80 miler...I think I'll wait till spring to give a full century ride a try.

I believe they have rest stops every 10 miles, and the route is marked. I wasn't really thinking about the route beyond that - I was thinking I could just use my phone's GPS if I get off track. And I was kind of hoping there might be at least one person I can stay in seeing distance from. Like I said, I've never done a group thing so I don't really know how that works.

Temperature was one of my concerns. If it's rainy and chilly - I'm not entirely sure what to do. I've only done shorter rides (no more than 15 miles) on a rainy day. I'm definitely going to have to think about what to wear, and I don't really have a lightweight waterproof jacket. I've been meaning to get one...should probably do that.

I wasn't thinking of all the preparation needed for such a long ride (I'm not much of a planner haha). Thank you for all the information! I've read everything and am making lists of the things I need to buy. @sijomial I'm going to check out your diary and the guide tomorrow morning, it's 1am here so bed time!

sijomial

Drop bars are better (better aero and long distance comfort) but I've done plenty of long rides and my first couple of centuries on hybrids with straight bars.

Here's my slightly odd solution to give me an alternative hand position - I bought some MTB bar ends but mounted them inboard of the handlebar grips to give a more aero position.

Machka9

Yes, some of us are into long distance cycling.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10366563/ultradistance-cycling#latest

I've done 170 centuries now, but my first was in 1994 and it was a killer ... so bad, in fact, that I said I'd never ride that distance again. I didn't for the next three years, then in 1997 I did two of them, and it just progressed from there.

This is a thread in Bike Forums ... a forum, similar to this one, which is all about cycling. And this particular thread has tips for riding a century ...
http://www.bikeforums.net/long-distance-competition-ultracycling-randonneuring-endurance-cycling/808559-tips-riding-century.html


More specifically, I agree that going from 40 miles to a 100 mile ride is ambitious. You need more than just fitness to ride long distance ...
-- there is the mental aspect you mention.
-- there is saddle time which can alert you to bicycle fit issues. What feels fine on a 40 mile ride, might not feel so good on a 100 mile ride.
-- there is the whole area of hydration and fuelling. Many of us start to have trouble eating as the ride gets longer, so it is all very well and good to figure you're going to eat this or that throughout the ride, but what if, at 65 miles your stomach simply will not tolerate this or that anymore?

One of the more common recommendations is to be able to comfortably ride 2/3 of the distance you intend to do. And some suggest being able to comfortably ride 3/4 of the distance. So in this case, if you can comfortably ride 65-75 miles, and you've done a few rides of that distance, you should be fine on a century.

Anyway, as for fuelling and hydration ... the general recommendation is approx. 200 calories per hour while riding and one 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink every 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on heat, wind, and exertion. On your 40 mile rides, are you used to doing that? If not, it's a good habit to get into for the longer distances.

And as far as saddle time and bicycle fit, it's more about ensuring that the fit of your bicycle is right so you don't end up with knee and ankle issues.

gojaqs

I did my first century this year. I didn't do anything special to train for it, although I was comfortable doing a 65 mile ride the month before.

If you haven't had a bike fit, do that.

My recommendation is to make sure your seat is comfortable. I can't wear chamois because I get rashes from sweating down there. But my bike has a woman specific seat, which makes a big difference. Try a few styles before you choose one.

Eat every hour is the recommendation and stay hydrated. I used to not do enough of either of those, and it makes a big difference.

I'm doing a second century tomorrow with some friends.

meritage4

my simple advice is to go commando under good women's specific bike shorts. Much less rubbing.

BrianSharpe

Your new best friend......

MiloBloom83

The hardest thing to get into shape for a century ride is your butt. Wear your best fitting shorts. I've forgone the chamois butter and i've used it as well. If the shorts fit really well, I don't need it.

Machka9

Yes, good cycling shorts ... no underwear, of course.
Plus a good saddle.
Plus a bicycle that is set up correctly so that it fits you well.

And chances are you won't need a cream of any sort. The most I go with is a tiny dab of Ozonol on my really long rides.

lodro

What are the time limits on your century (or other distances) of that event? One of the hardest things (for me) is the mental state needed for riding to a time limit. Audaxes have that, with controls and foodstops opening and closing. On Audaxes you need to maintain an average speed of about 15 km/h to be within the time cut offs, which seems easy enough. However, you need to keep up the pace if you want to have substantial rests, and you need to plan your route with time off the bike accounted for. Setting up your cycle computer to show you not only speed, but also overall average speed can help with that. And it's also a good idea to plan your ride to the stops you want to use and the controls you must use. Be aware that if it's a timed event there may also be "secret" controls: if those are busy you'll be off the bike too.

My own experience re comfort on the bike is that once I had the fit and the saddle figured out my main worry now is about knees and ankles, especially on long rides.

sarabushby

I'd be taking caffeine pills or caffeine drink/gels and plenty of painkillers in addition to all the above great advice. I too believe there's a world of difference between a 40m ride and 100m. It's going to hurt - my neck & shoulders suffer when I go up in time/distance in the saddle. Granted you're not meant to take ibuprofen whilst exercising but heck it's got me through a few nasty rides - including having come off & smacked myself pretty badly.

neohdiver

meritage4 wrote: »

my simple advice is to go commando under good women's specific bike shorts. Much less rubbing.

It took me a long while to get over the "ick" factor, but once I did it made all the difference between coming home with sores and not. (On my recumbent I no longer have to worry about saddle sores.)

neohdiver

sarahjen92 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies! Now I'm realizing it was pretty ambitious to sign up for it. Lucky for me, it has four routes (40, 60, 80, 100), and I chose the "unsure which route" option. With all the information you guys gave me, I think it would be better to shoot for the 60 miler. I know I can do that - especially being as unprepared as I now realize I am. I honestly don't even *prepare* for a 40 mile ride...just bring two big water bottles (electrolyte drink if it's super hot/humid) and my cell phone.

Sounds similar to the rid I do. The cut-off for the century used to be at the 50 mile mark of the 75 mile route. At that point I assessed how I was feeling about being 2/3 done or only half done. If I was find being only half done, I did the century lap. They've now moved the cut-off point earlier in the ride (at about the 25 mile mark) - it is harder for me to assess at that point what I'll feel like closer to the end of the ride. See how your ride is structured. You might have the ability to make the decision on the fly.

Since you don't prepare for a 40 mile ride, I suspect your ability to jump from 40 miles to 100 miles will be similar to mine. I nearly always start the biking season with a ride of around 20 miles - and I've never yet even had sore muscles to show for it. (Even the year I did the 150 mile ride without any training I wasn't any more fatigued or sore when I finished than in years when I was fully prepared.) For some reason, biking and swimming are sports I can jump in and do effortlessly - unlike running, which gives me tremendous aches and pains until I am conditioned.

meritage4

No to the caffeine pills. Unnecessary for me.

kcjchang

Carry a few Tums to prevent/ease cramping.

meritage4

It is easiest if your feet are attached to your pedals. That allows you to pull up as well as push down on pedals-recruiting another whole group of muscles.
I clip my shoes to my bike but you can get "cages" that fit on regular pedals to hold feet. Try them!