How long did it take you to do your first Century?

[Kano]

The three best pieces of advice I can give? Put in the miles, put in the miles, put in the miles. And work on that mental toughness -- that's what will get you through the inevitable stretch when you feel like whale puke on the bottom of the ocean, and then all of a sudden you're feeling so good you swear you could eradicate world hunger, illiteracy, and AIDS single-handedly. Oh, and make sure you stay hydrated and take on enough fuel. And try to make your first attempt at that distance in the company of others -- with a friend or on an organized ride -- that way there's plenty of activity, conversation, etc., to occupy your time and help the miles fly by. (Well now, I think that was actually six pieces of advice. )

Set a goal and work toward it! We are women of the 21st century, and there's nothing we can't accomplish!!

Thanks HoosierGiant!

Except -- I don't think I wanted to know that when I do this thing some day, I'm going to feel like whale puke at some point.....

Karen

[Aggie_Ama]

I got my first road bike May 24, 2004. Did a 50 mile ride in July and then not much else until the next February when I started training for my first MS150.

MS150 2005- Felt great after training and completing the 2 day ride. Even ran 4 miles the following Monday.

Outlaw Trail October 2005- First century, 102 miles. Approximate time of 7 hours (I think). No lunch just rest stops. I hadn't ridden much after the April MS150 due to hiding from heat and I felt it. That century is relatively flat but windy. Was so sore the next day I just wanted to stay in.

Proof that riding lots will make for a better ride- I did a Hilly Metic (62 miler) last spring in 3 hours, 50 minutes. I spent all spring training for the MS150 (did 95 miles on day 1 fast, don't remember the time but we averaged 18 mph).

[luvs2ride]

Hello Jiffer,
My husband and I just finished our first century last Saturday (Lake Tahoe, CA). I started riding in January 07. I've done a few full marathons since 2004 so my cardio. is pretty good. Husband has been riding for years but never tackled the 100 miler. We trained through Team in Training with 3 rides per week (2 mid-week rides and a long ride on Saturdays-also, weights for husband and running for me throughout the week). A lot of our team-mates added a recovery ride on Sunday but we opted out. It took us 9 1/2 hours to finish our century. There were a lot of hills that took A LOT of time. We had over 7 hours total ride time but it took FOREVER at the SAG stops to get your food and go to the bathroom, etc. (very long lines . . was not expecting this!). I had many people tell me that you should NOT have a time goal for your first century. I think this is a good idea! Then you're not disappointed and, I think, don't feel as much "pressure" . . you're free to enjoy the experience. When I finished, I felt like I could have gone farther . . felt REALLY good! My husband would tell you a different story-was not the best day for him. He bonked at about 75-80 miles which also slowed us down. Overall, It was an AWESOME day and I plan to keep up my "base" and get out there again. I do have to say that after getting used to the bike I think my marathon days are over . . it's so much easier on my aging joints!!

Blessings, Susan

[HoosierGiant]

I don't think I wanted to know that when I do this thing some day, I'm going to feel like whale puke at some point.....

You probably won't. However, for me, that stage of anti-euphoria generally rears its ugly head for at least a mile or two on all my long rides. Guess I'm just blessed...

[Jiffer]

Wow! A lot of replies! Thanks to you all. I was referring to a hundred mile century, by the way.

The Amtrak Century Fredwina mentioned is the one I'm thinking about doing. It's supposed to be a good "first century". It's exactly what my parents did when I was a kid with some friends of theirs, except not organized and not all at once! They stayed in a hotel half way. It's a ride up the So. Cal coast from Irvine to San Diego and then you take the "party train" home, a private car with other riders. I remember hearing about their ride and seeing pictures and thinking how cool it would be to do that some day. When I found out there was an organized ride doing this very thing, I was all over it! I initially planned to do the 66 miles at Cool Breeze, Fredwina, but my kid's have a horse show that weekend.

The reason I'm curious what everyone's time was for their first century is because I have to do it in 8 hrs (12 mph avg) in order to take the train home. I'm hoping a girlfriend of mine is doing it as well and we can train for it together and ride together. She's stronger than me, so I'll probably be holding her back, but hopefully she won't mind hanging with me. She'll be doing her first century at Cool Breeze a month earlier. DH is also planning to sign up for it. He'd smoke it if he didn't stay with me. He just found out he was 4th out of 350 at a 10,400 elevation century he did yesterday. He's amazing. And quite inspiring. Anyways, I figure if I didn't feel confident about doing the century on my own, we can always ride the tandem. I sent an email asking if it mattered what we rode as long as we both signed up. So, at least I have a back up plan. I hear this ride sells out within 3 hours and registration is next Friday.

Thanks again for all your input. I'm so excited about doing this!

[Fredwina]

registration for Amtrak is this Friday (6/15), not next.
Cool Breeze, I've heard the climbing is seriously underrated (advertised at 4K and Tom and Sue came win with about 8K), pule you have to ride about 10 miles on the shoulder of 101.
Amtrak. You star out at the Irvine Metrolink station, You then climb up to the 241 toll road before heading down to the beach. Remember to bring ID, as you'll need it to get in to Camp Pendleton. Mostly flat to rolling till you get to Torrey Pines (mile 90) You climb about 500 feet in 2 miles. OCW has a rest stop with Ice cream at the top
I think you can be slower than 12 mph, just depend on when you leave. The train leaves at 4:30 ,and we rolled at 6. Also, the "private" train is a MetrolInk(it used to be Amtrak, but ML underbid them) Charter, so don't expect the Orient express. Tom and sue usually con their daughter into driving down there,so maybe you could hitch a ride with them
I did this in 2005. it was fun. Was going to do it in 2006, but that was when I broke my arm. Not sure about this year.
Have Fun, and give us a report!
PS
The link: http://www.ocw.org/Amtrak/Default.asp

[Dr. Liz]

I did my first century in May of this year (my second season cycling), the Salt Lake Century. It took us a little over 6 hours, and we were riding fast (18+ mph average - that said, I was riding with a group of guys who kept a high pace, and while they all cycled through the pace line, they let me just hang on the back of the 5-6 guys who were taking turns pulling - so I got carried quite a bit). It was great for the first 90 miles. The last 10 miles sucked. I was overheated (hydrated okay, but it was dry and hot and windy, and I don't seem to be able to cool off well, other than dumping water on my head - and my water was all warm by the 90 mile mark), and really started to fade. I don't take on solid food well when I ride, so I was pounding the FRS (lots of carbs, and simple sugars) the entire time, and didn't have any cramping or anything. I was just overheated, and my tepid (at best!) water wasn't cooling me off, although I kept hydrated.

But.... When I got back to the start point (we were parked about a quarter mile away, and DH had arrived about 4 minuted before me - his neck (he broke his neck in 2003, and has this horrific plate in his neck) was bothering him, and he had to get in and get off his bike, so I came in on my own, which was fine), I grabbed 2 bottles of cold water, dumped one on my head, and drank the other while I sat in the parking lot. DH called me on my cell phone to make sure I was okay. I told him I was in the parking lot, so all was fine, but I SWEAR, it took me 15 minutes to make it from where I had stopped to the car (again, .25 of a mile away). I was not exactly setting land-speed records at that point.

That said, I'm ready to do another one in a heartbeat. I learned a lot about how to manage myself, I learned a lot about how to communicate with other riders (especially ones I didn't know), and I KNOW that I can do it.

(Oh, and after the ride? We have a massage therapist who comes up to our house on a regular basis, and he came by after the ride, so the next day, while we felt beat (it was a fast ride, and certainly long given our training by that point in the season), we didn't feel awful. We did take the day off, and do nothing more than walk the dogs, though!)

But I'm REALLY looking forward to next year!

[Alex]

So, Dr. Liz. How 'bout one of the days of the Dual State Dual Century Challenge?

http://www.tailwinds-tours.com/centu...challenge.html

After LRRH, I've been looking for a second century and ULCER is not until August!

Alex

[Jiffer]

Fredwina ... yah, I knew registration was 6/15, I just said it wrong. But thanks for clarifying anyways, cause it would have sucked to miss registration day completely had I not known!

I've done that Torry Pines climb on the tandem. It SUCKS! But I'm guessing it's the worst part of the ride and, at least I'm familiar with it. I heard about that climb back when I was a kid and mom and dad did it. They called it "Killer Hill" and have pictures of their friend at the top having conquered it! I didn't know exactly where it was or that it was Torry Pines, but when I rode it with DH last Fall I told him this HAD to be the infamous "Killer Hill"! And I was right.

When you said the climbing in Coolbreeze is underrated, do you mean it's more difficult than people think? Because DH just said that very thing. He said it's a tough first century and that Tom and Sue just said the other day that this not a century you don't train for.

Thanks for the other tips about Amtrak. I was thinking it seemed like you had more than 8 hours when I saw the starting times and the train departure time, (even with being there an hour early) but I thought maybe I was missing something and didn't want to take any chances. The site says it's a good first century. Would you agree?

[Fredwina]

Torry pines - yeah. it's the rough spot. it's even more doing at mile 120, half an hour after sunset (how would I know that ?) I've done it twice, and will be doing it again in couple of weeks.
Cool Breeze I think Tom and Sue were saying it's a lot harder than what was advertised. I've never done it. I was going to do it last year, but I crashed and broke my arm the week before.
when we did amtrak in 2005, we left Irvine at 6. I had carpooled down with Fred Roth. I managed to hang with Tom and Sue for 5 miles before getting dropped. I got to the pier at SD with an hour to spare. I had about an 11 average. I remeber being really bummed, since the last century I did( Ms 150 City to the Shore (Philadelphia to Ocean City, NJ)) - i had a 16.8 avg, but that had almost no climbing. we had one lady that was new, and no one had seen her except at the beginning, and I remember Fred and I being glad to spot her getting on the train.
Yes, I think it's good first one to aim for.

[Kimmyt]

I rode a century about 3 months after starting to cycle. Two weeks before that though me and The Boy did a self-supported 90-miler and then about a month after that we did another self-supported 100-miler.

Anything can be done if you include enough ice cream breaks.