About the century... I did one with no special training at all. Just my usual riding of anywhere between 12 and 65 mile rides, with short, steep climbs. I think the longest ride I did that year was 68 miles. Sure, the century I did was flattish, but with vicious headwinds. I mean vicious. I finished in 6 hrs 27 minutes riding time, which was fine with me. The last 15 miles were hard, but I was fine the next day.