First Century & Flying Solo

[TrekTheKaty]

You'll be great Arielmoon!
I did a gel an hour for the first 4 hours. Then I was at the lunch stop and had a banana and PB&J. Each hour after that I snacked on cookies and crackers w/ pb. I was surprised that was all I needed to get through (also used the cytomax--24 oz bottle each hour). However, I carried an extra clif bar in my jersey in case I needed it.

[ny biker]

In hot weather (when I do most of my long rides) my stomach usually cannot handle real food. I bring one packet of gu per 10 miles, then throw in 1 or 2 extra packets since you never know when you'll wind up spending a chunk of time on the side of the road dealing with a mechanical problem. (It rarely happens, but I like to be prepared.)

I also start the ride with 2 bottles of gatorade. After finishing the first one I refill it with water at a reststop and drink water for a while, saving the second gatorade bottle for later in the ride. Even though they usually have gatorade at the reststops, I figure they might have a flavor I don't like, so I bring my own.

At each reststop I'll have one or two gu packets and some water. If it's really hot, I might have almost a whole bottle of water at the reststop and then refill it before hitting the road again. I try to drink at least one bottle per hour depending on the weather.

I'm not very good at opening gu packets while I'm in motion, so if I decide I'm hungry while I'm riding and the next reststop is still a ways away, I'll pull over for a minute and have a quick snack.

By the way, make sure you have a drink with every gu packet. The recommended amount should be on the packet.

I do most of my riding by myself. This summer part of my prep for the Livestrong Challenge was to play a cd with a some good uptempo songs in my car stereo over and over during the days leading up to the ride, so I would have the songs stuck in my head while I was riding. That helped alot. I also realized that one of my college's fight songs has the perfect tempo for riding, so I was humming that to myself for a while and it got me up some pretty tough hills.

[squirrell]

I'm doing my first Century on Oct. 25th by myself, too. But then I always ride solo--my DH doesn't ride and there's no groups around me to train with or ride with. So, I'm on my own, as usual. The mileage isn't that much of a concern as is keeping my glucose levels up throughout (T2 diabetic). Which is way I'm glad though it's a supported Century--plenty of people around if I start to bonk.

[Brandy]

I wouldn't be too concerned about riding alone. You can ride at your own pace and more importantly, not have to wait for anyone at the rest stops.

If I can give you any advice, it's to not take too long at the stops. Pee, refill and out. Your legs will thank you later!

Good luck!

[Momonbikemob]

Sorry I don't have much to say about doing a century (my max ever was 65miles), but I wanted to cheer you on and wish you a wonderful ride! You're an inspiration to all of us who would like to dream of doing a century on our own (and have the time to train for it)! Go for it and enjoy the peaceful solitude! ... Although you'll probably end up meeting lots of new friends

[arielmoon]

Thank you everyone! I feel really good heading into the ride.

I am going to get more Gu to have on hand and I am going to remember my watch so I can time my stops and hydration.

[OakLeaf]

See if you can find out how far apart the rest stops are, then figure out whether you will need water between stops. That's definitely an issue on some century rides. If you think you'll need more water between stops than you normally carry, then you'll either need to plan to carry more water (hydration pack or bottles mounted on the seatpost or handlebars), or find out whether there's a public park or a convenient store where you can refill.

Good luck and have fun!