Strategy for a hilly century? Tell me I'm ready!

[ny biker]

Ride the practice route. Based on that, you can decide if you want to go for the full century or switch to the metric route, which has way less climbing and no mountains. (Bear in mind that you would have to make that decision before you start, because the routes are not the same in the beginning.)

Whichever route you do, ride your own pace, and do not start out fast and burn yourself out early. There will be pacelines of fast riders who will be looking at the butts in front of them and not noticing any of the beautiful countryside around them. Ignore them, they don't know what they're missing.

p.s. The food at this ride is fantastic, and the Antietam Dairy ice cream at the end makes it all worthwhile. I'm doing the metric.

[khg]

You're ready--go for it, and have a fabulous time!

Definitely do the practice route. It's really nice to have some familiarity with a hard course, so you can tell yourself "go easy here, there's a steep part around the corner" or "power through, there's an easy bit coming up."

Keep eating. I am still surprised by how much caloric energy a difficult hilly course requires. More than once I have struggled on a hill, and thought my legs were just done by that point in the day, only to have later hills feel easy--after pausing for a large meal. I try to keep snacking as I ride, but sometimes in retrospect I can see that I obviously wasn't eating enough.

Try to pick a pace that pushes you a bit, but doesn't put you at your limit. And if you feel like it, on the last climb open it up and see what you can do! Don't get caught up by people whizzing past you in the beginning, unless there's a paceline that is a comfortable speed for you--if you can find your own rhythm and ride your own ride, you'll probably be passing a lot of people at the end. This has always been my experience, and I was interested to read yesterday in the NYTimes an article about women marathoners being better at pacing themselves than men. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...r-than-men-do/

It sounds like an awesome ride, and a great accomplishment, whichever length you end up doing. Have a great time!

[fallstoclimb]

Keep eating. I am still surprised by how much caloric energy a difficult hilly course requires. More than once I have struggled on a hill, and thought my legs were just done by that point in the day, only to have later hills feel easy--after pausing for a large meal. I try to keep snacking as I ride, but sometimes in retrospect I can see that I obviously wasn't eating enough.

Yeah I'm a little worried about this. I did a 60 mile 5500 feet climbing ride a couple weeks ago and my legs just were barely working at the end -- I ate 2 cliff shot blok bars (so 12 shots), a payday (lol) and 2 baby potatoes, plus gatorade. At the time that seemed like plenty but at the end of the day I wondered if that was my issue.

When I did the century before, I was too nervous/excited to eat much in the beginning, and by the end had a real hard time getting any food done. I'm really hoping to eat consistently on this one. Unfortunately I don't have a fancy computer that can beep every X minutes to remind me.

[Veronica]

I do have the fancy watch that beeps at me and it's great! But you could use your cue sheet as a reminder.

Veronica

[ny biker]

FWIW, I have lots of friends who have done this century. They usually ride in southern Maryland where there are no mountains, and it's doable for them.

And yes, ice cream.

[rebeccaC]

Looking at the elevation map I’d pre-ride from around mile 25 to around mile 75 to see how the short steep climbs and the middle long climb goes. I'd also break that into sections in my mind for short goals i can meet to keep my mind on positives. The last 25-30 miles look like they should make for less energy used towards the end.

Climb at your own pace and in your comfort zone. Going anaerobic to keep up with others means you may not recover from the effort…..just know your limits and listen to your body. Climbing drains your body of glycogen and liquid so I make sure I’ve stored up glycogen and fluids, especially the night before, and during the ride eat and drink at constant intervals what I’ve found to work for me during long climbing rides. For your ride I’d have a good breakfast a hour and half before and take in more carbs the first half where the climbs are. Taking in carbs on the right schedule gives immediate glucose and can help protect glycogen stores.

Have a great day of riding and just enjoy the experience!!!!!!!

[Becky]

That's a great ride. They may have changed the course since I did it last, but at one time, there was a significant climb right out of the gate. Do whatever it takes to silence that little competitive voice and pace yourself. Hammering that first climb will not make for a good day As I recall (again, years ago), the last 20 miles or so are flattish, but more exposed. Keep eating and drinking.

Eat more than you think you need and drink often. You're going to burn an insane number of calories. I do better with "gut-approved" solid foods on long rides than I do with gels and blocks. YMMV.

Regardless of the distance, it becomes a mental game at some point. For me, it's invariably at the 80% mark, when I am ready To.Be.Done.Period. Be prepared for it...pack a special snack, tape a photo to your handlebars, whatever it takes to distract you and keep you going.

Above all else, take a deep breath, smile, and have fun. This is one of the best centuries I've done: route, scenery, food, support...all of it!

[fallstoclimb]

Ride the practice route. Based on that, you can decide if you want to go for the full century or switch to the metric route, which has way less climbing and no mountains. (Bear in mind that you would have to make that decision before you start, because the routes are not the same in the beginning.)

Whichever route you do, ride your own pace, and do not start out fast and burn yourself out early. There will be pacelines of fast riders who will be looking at the butts in front of them and not noticing any of the beautiful countryside around them. Ignore them, they don't know what they're missing.

p.s. The food at this ride is fantastic, and the Antietam Dairy ice cream at the end makes it all worthwhile. I'm doing the metric.

I DIDN'T KNOW THERE'D BE ICE CREAM. Score!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah I mean honestly there's no way I'm going to decide to do the metric haha. I've been training for this ride all summer. I'm just nervous, but shortly after I posted I looked at the elevation map which calmed me down -- looks like theres only two MAJOR climbs, one at the beginning and one at mile 57. I can do this.