Century Strategy

[ny biker]

Well if you can learn some lessons then even bad experiences can end up good in the end!

I was thinking about the "use the big ring when riding downhill" advice. In most of the places I ride, the downhills are followed by short bridges over small creeks which in turn are followed by big uphills. So if I shifted to the big ring going downhill I would have even more downshifting to do at the bottom than is already necessary. But then between the finicky right knee and the asthma, I probably ride up most hills in easier gears than many of my riding buddies.

[luvmyguys]

Well if you can learn some lessons then even bad experiences can end up good in the end!

I was thinking about the "use the big ring when riding downhill" advice. In most of the places I ride, the downhills are followed by short bridges over small creeks which in turn are followed by big uphills. So if I shifted to the big ring going downhill I would have even more downshifting to do at the bottom than is already necessary. But then between the finicky right knee and the asthma, I probably ride up most hills in easier gears than many of my riding buddies.

I actually do find that this helps me - it just means I'm going back and forth between the big and small chainring. If I hammer down the hill (and I can't do that in the little ring), I have an easier time getting up the next hill. I'm going faster and can use that momentum up the next hill, and if I'm not coasting, my pedal is at a nice rhythm going up the hill.

I did experiment a little more with the small ring today - I definitely need the big ring on downhills, but I did use the small ring a little more on flats today - and I did have an easier time going into some of the hills. I'm guessing it's still a matter of finding the happy spot? There were times in the small ring where I just felt like my feet were out of control, and not really being productive on the gears - and switching to a harder gear in back didn't seem to make much difference.

[Boudicca]

Back to the food, and another vote for beef jerky in the middle, or the back end, of a long ride. I can't stand the stuff normally, but there's something about easy-to-chew, super-salty protein that works for me. Eggs, bikes and me are just not a good combination, my stomach goes into can't cope mode and I suffer.

Another "does-not-work." Ice cold chocolate milk mid-ride. Works just fine at the end, but afterward?

[luvmyguys]

Woohoo! I made it!

I was thinking about this thread and thought I'd come back to it . . .

I took to heart the general advice of a quick but easy cadence, and that served me very well, especially when we hit the wind head-on for the last 40 miles of the ride. Some of the time, I was on the big chain ring (but not pushing a hard gear in the back), and others, I was on the small ring. I know there are similar gear ratios between the big and small rings, such that they feel about the same, and I think this is why it's more a question of finding that "sweet spot" and less a question of exactly where you are in your gears. We saw quite a few people pushing big gears early on, and they were hurting toward the end. That's probably one of the things I didn't get (and couldn't experimient with, due to the conditions) when I tried the first time - I was pushing too big of a gear early on and wasn't spinning enough. This time, I had the time to get comfortable, and I was able to find that sweet spot.

The other thing was the food - someone had asked why I was planning on bringing so much with me. This being only my second organized ride, I guess I'm realizing what a well organized ride is now. The first ride wasn't nearly as well organized and stocked as this one was - I probably could have gone this ride without bringing anything with me. However, I'm still glad I had mostly my own food with me, because you never know what's going to agree with you and what won't. I have to force myself to eat during rides, so the food better be happy food (which of course varies wildly from person to person). I've got my little routine, it works, it's comfortable. I brought 4 packages of Honey Stinger chews (ate 3), two Honey Stinger waffles (small and fit in a top tube case well, ate 1), donut holes (my happy food, ate most of them), and some beef jerky based on recommendations here. Everything seemed to fit between my jersey and top tube bag without issue. I also stuffed some pre-measured Powerade in my saddle bag, and toward the end of the ride, I had some crazy, high sugar concoction in my bottle. I knew I was starting to run out of gas, so I wanted to make sure I could drink my calories easily to get me through the last 10 miles.

The other thing that worked well for me - the bottle holder on my seat tube is pretty much useless - it only holds a 16 oz. bottle, and I absolutely cannot get it out while riding (another reason the Camelbak comes in handy). I kept it filled with ice water (or iced it down at stops), and used it as a squirt bottle to wet down my cool sleeves (YAY for Craft cool sleeves!) and head/hair. There was one point toward the end, when the headwind was still brutal, the heat had really kicked in, and I needed stop for a minute to catch my breath. That squirt bottle came in really handy to cool myself off quickly and get me to the last stop and then on to the finish.

Yay!!

[mzone]

Congratulations!

I also did my first century last weekend, and this thread helped me organize my thoughts and develop my packing list. I appreciated everyone's input.

[luvmyguys]

Congrats, mzone!!