Challenging myself to a metric century for a Cancer Ride

Hello Ladies,

I am 41 yrs old and wanting to ride my first metric century for a Cancer Benefit Ride on JUNE 1st :eek:. I have been riding for the last two years on a hybrid and just recently bought a Specialized Ruby Apex Elite (Compact). I rode the 32 mile distance for the race last year and also rode the 25 mile distance for the Hotter 'n Hell in TX. But, I am behind in my training for the ride due to the weather. My longest ride this year has been 30 miles and not many total miles. The race distance is actually 68 and I was wondering if any of you had any ideas for the minimum distance I should be able to ride to attempt the 68 on June 1st. My friends tell me as long as I can do 50 I can do the 68 on race day. I ride at a slowish 14 mph average over the 30 miles. Thanks for the help.

I am sure you can do this. Try to increase your ride length through May up to at least 50 or so. I rode El Tour de Tucson 2 years ago, 111 miles, with 74 being my longest previous ride, although I generally ride about 100 miles a week altogether. Good luck- just ride regularly and longer distances through the spring.

You will be able to do it as long as you keep riding regularly, as AZfiddle says. I was in your position last year. I think my longest ride prior to the 65 mile ride was around 49. The end was tough for me, but at that point, I thought well why would I quit with another 10 miles to go. I also rode around 14mph avg. (If that!)
Will you be riding with anyone? that certainly helped me. I know on the other thread you mentioned you don't do the group rides often, but they may help you hook up with someone around your same ability. Or maybe even more advanced then you, but willing to hang with you on the ride.

I tend to agree. I prefer to do closer to 60 miles in training for a ride that long but 50 should be sufficient. From my experience, terrain is more important -- if the charity ride is hilly, you'll be very glad if you ride lots of hills beforehand. Also when you only have time for a short ride, you'll get more training from hills than from flats.

Also remember that a charity ride is not a race -- just ride your pace and don't worry about anyone else. I used to do the Livestrong Philly 70-mile ride and every year I saw the same group of guys doing the full century riding at my relatively slow pace of ~13.5 mph. They knew they would be among the last riders to cross the finish line but they didn't mind because they didn't worry about anyone who was faster than than they were.

BTW I saw in another thread that you're slow on hills -- I'm the same height as you and am in the "normal" weight range but am also slow on hills. But I'm more interested in having fun and getting some exercise and enjoying the scenery than I am in worrying about faster riders or what anyone else is thinking about me. It can be frustrating to get dropped when you were expecting the group to ride your speed, but when that happens I figure at least I can sing out loud while I ride without anyone complaining. (And yes I have been known to sing out loud on long rides.)

It is a charity ride and not a race and there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to do it. Just get out there on your new bike and ride until the day comes. June is ages away LOL. Plenty of time for getting your mileage up. You also have a nice lightweight bike with great gearing which is nothing like your hybrid, that in itself should be great motivation, heck, just sign up for the 100 miler. The fun of the day really adds to the distraction of the distance, are you in a group?

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Originally Posted by Penny4

You will be able to do it as long as you keep riding regularly, as AZfiddle says. I was in your position last year. I think my longest ride prior to the 65 mile ride was around 49. The end was tough for me, but at that point, I thought well why would I quit with another 10 miles to go. I also rode around 14mph avg. (If that!)
Will you be riding with anyone? that certainly helped me. I know on the other thread you mentioned you don't do the group rides often, but they may help you hook up with someone around your same ability. Or maybe even more advanced then you, but willing to hang with you on the ride.

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YES I am fortunate that my brother has already agreed to ride with me. I talked him into in last year and now he has switched from running to cycling. He is a LOT better than I am so he can pull me when I get tired.

Update: I managed a 42.5 miles this last Sunday. Mostly flat terrain and I was out of gas at the end. Does anyone have trouble eating solid foods during a metric century? I tried the "Cuties" on Sunday and towards the end they bothered me a little. I use the GU packs on longer rides and they seem to keep my legs from cramping.

Any ideas as well on the best Chamois Cream a.k.a. "butt butter"? I am going to try for 45 miles or maybe a little more on Sunday if the weather will cooperate. Thanks for the help.

I can't handle solid food on hot days. Anything more solid than a Shot Blok stands a good chance of becoming pavement decoration, or at least that's how it feels. (I'm okay with almonds provided I eat them a couple at a time, and spread it out, though. Weird.)
If it's a long ride, ~50 and up, say, I'll stop for real food, but I'll take a long break to digest.

I'm ok with orange slices one at a time. Last 50 miler there was some "Dave's Killer bread" with peanut butter at the rest area and I did ok with that also, but I only had half a slice.

Belgium Butt'r.
It doesn't have any of those bad chemicals, etc.

I can't eat solid food during rides on hot days without feeling sick. I drink Gatorade (alternating with bottles of plain water because I can only take so much of it), and I like Gu and Gu Roctane gels and Gu Chomps. Also Jelly Belly Sports Beans are great. On really hot days, I don't love the taste of PowerBar gels but they have tons of sodium. I think the vanilla flavor is the best choice.

When it's not too hot, I'm able to eat some food. Before afternoon rides I often eat Pop-Tarts for lunch because they digest fast and don't feel heavy once I start riding, and lately I've been trying them for snacks during rides. They're okay but probably best for shorter rides. I've also bought lots of Craisins lately (they were on sale, buy 2 get 3 free) so will be trying them for ride snacks. I think I have some raisins in the pantry so maybe I'll mix them together.

For chamois cream -- I like Hoo Ha Ride Glide. It works well and is available in small packets for mid-ride touch-ups.

As you're learning, an important aspect of preparing for long "event" rides is to experiment with different things during training rides -- food before and during the ride, clothing and equipment -- so you have your best chance of enjoying the big event instead of dealing with unexpected discomfort from trying something for the first time. Earlier today I did a 48-mile charity ride which is one of my favorite rides of the year, and the folks at Power Bar were nice enough to contribute free products for the rest stops and post-ride picnic. They have a new product call "Performance Energy Blends" which is made with fruit puree. I took a free sample and will try it during a shorter ride, to minimize the impact if it doesn't agree with my stomach. I did have a real banana during the rest stop today and was fine with it, although during some summer rides I can't even look at a banana or other solid food.

I made it 50.2 miles yesterday. 15 of that was pretty ugly, but I made it. Lessons learned: sunscreen rubs off in unexpected places. And chamois cream says reapply as needed for a reason. I went with chamois 'buttress for now and it worked. The food I used tiny dill pickles, cuties, and my Gu packs. I ate small amounts at 15 mile stops and didn't seem bothered. I ate a tiny piece of a Clif bar at 30 miles.

I adjusted my cleats last week and my feet were ok. Thanks for the tips and keep them coming. I am not certain I can make 68 miles, but I am still learning.

Ok I finally decided to try my 60 mile training ride. I made it!! After a seat tweek of angling the nose downward I did ok. I need some advice though. My chamois decided to "creep" and I had to stop a couple of times to adjust the shorts. It seems to only happen soon after I apply the chamois cream. Is there any way to keep this from happening? I have lost some weight so was wondering if the shorts might be too big now? Help!! Only two weeks until my 68 mile attempt.

congrats, and your shorts are too big. Buy them small, if you try them on, all the better. They want to be tight so that pad does not move. They want to feel like a compression fit for a long ride IMO.

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Originally Posted by Skippyak

congrats, and your shorts are too big. Buy them small, if you try them on, all the better. They want to be tight so that pad does not move. They want to feel like a compression fit for a long ride IMO.

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Thanks for the help. I might look into getting a new pair this week so I have them to try BEFORE the ride. If not I am going to stick with what I have for now. My LBS sometimes doesn't have a good selection in the "larger" womens sizes so I will also look on the Team Estrogen site since that is where I got the pair I am riding in now (sheebeast Triple S). Thanks again.

Congrats! You'll be so proud when you complete your first Metric Century! I agree with the others, that the shorts are too big.

If you really like Shebeest, then go for it, otherwise, I highly recommend Terry Bella shorts! There's NOTHING negative I can say about those shorts. I have tried so many different ones, and these are my only shorts that I'll ride with. The reasoning is the pad does not move, and the lining goes down much further on my leg, so I don't really get that "bunching up in my crotch" problem. I use little chamios cream, and I never had to reapply for my last two long rides (95 miles/90 miles). I use it just for preventative sake. It does give a slight sausage look, but because these shorts are LONG 8.5") it covers up pretty much my thigh and slightly compressive so it doesn't "jiggle". True to size too!

Wish you best of LUCK!!

:( We decided for personal safety reasons not to do the ride on Saturday. There was a huge line of storms headed our way and with SEVERAL tough railroad crossing on course. We were hoping they would reschedule for Sunday but they didn't. Several people at my LBS couldn't believe they went ahead with the ride. I was disappointed I didn't get to try my first metric century, but we all went for a ride on Sunday in the beautiful weather and had a great time. I will still ride a metric century this year because it is one of the goals I set for myself. My brother suggested we might try the 68 mile route for the Katy Flatlander. Has anyone here ever tried the Katy Flatlander? Suggestions for other metric centuries are welcome too. Keep in mind I would like a flat route if possible for my first metric.

You don't even need to do an organised ride, just try a gas station to gas station type route for your miles. I am getting a little tired of the expense of some rides so this is a feasible option.

Sorry to hear this. We had just the opposite problem. Our ride was scheduled on Sunday and got rained/thunder/lightninged out. It was a bummer after driving 1.5 hours to get there.

Yeah my brother and nephew drove all the way from Houston to ride with me. We just didn't feel comfortable riding on a major highway with cars splashing us along the way as well as the railroad crossings. I have a route I ride 15 mile laps on and completed a 60 mile ride while training for this ride. I will continue to train in the next couple of months and I think we may try the Katy Flatland metric distance. I will just keep riding and working toward that goal. Eventually I want to do a full century.