Calls for thoughts/advice 1st CenturyRide

[Eden]

You've probably heard this before, but it always bears repeating.
Drink before you're thirsty
Eat before you're hungry
Don't try new things on the big day - stick with the foods and drinks and equipment that you know work for you.

[Starfish]

All great comments here. And, confidence is king, so take along whatever you have to in order to feel assured. You'll learn over time what you could have left behind. I still drag a lot of stuff with me, but less and less every time.

Also, don't sweat the jitters and lack of sleep. If it is any help, the night before my first century, I never did get to sleep. Just too keyed up! But, I finished in 8 hours, just fine for my first one!

Don't psych yourself out.

[Aggie_Ama]

Don't worry about the extra layers, I read on the Enchanted Circle you can drop them off at one of the rest stops! I am sure they have an organized way of tagging them. Oh and everyone is right, don't let the jitters get you too wound up. Before our first MS150 (probably the most nervous I have ever been) I hardly slept. I paid for it by being sick the following Tuesday. I slept 16 hours.

[makbike]

Ride your ride not the crowd of people you will start with.

If it is chilly in the a.m. try arm/leg warmers for they don't take up a lot of space and can easily be peeled off as the ride progresses.

Drink lots and snack along the way to keep your energy reserves fully stocked. Don't be afraid to eat a good lunch at the lunch stop. Don't hang out at the store stops or SAG areas for too long either.

The last 20 miles or so are the worse so find someone to ride with so you can talk and make those miles click by quickly. If you can't find someone to ride with sing all your favorite tunes.

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy they day for riding your first century is a huge event so celebrate it along the way and treat yourself to something really yummy at the end of the ride.

[Starfish]

Don't be afraid to eat a good lunch at the lunch stop.

Lots of great advice. All I would add here is to know yourself and your history with your intestinal tract. I cannot eat a normal lunch at all on big rides...for me it has to be a little all the time, or I get really upset stomachs.

Definitely figure out, though, how to get enough fuel into you.

ETA: Is it an intestinal tract? Or track? I guess it is not a tract, like a tract of land! LOL