Century and amatuers

[Cyclesome]

I am new to this sight but loving the wealth of information I have already obtained. I am currently trying to get myself in great shape for a 60 mile ride on June 3rd. I go to the gym 3 - 4 times per week and ride the exercise bike 15 miles each time in addition to lifting weights. I mainly ride my bicycle on the weekends: long treks 38 miles, 24 miles. This Saturday I plan on biking 40 miles. The weather here in Western Pa has been horrible for the last 10 days.

I am interested in doing a Century in my area "Mount Davis Century" but have never even thought of doing this before. My questions is: Are Centuries for professionals on fast road bikes. I have a Cannondale Hybrid, I use for both rails to Trails and paved roads. Will most of the bicyclers be flying at great speeds? Am I out of my league? Should I wait until I am better than an amatuer. If not, how can I prepare myself for this venture? Any advice would be appreciated.

[maillotpois]

Century riders consist of fast experienced riders riding fancy racing bikes and beginners riding mountain or hybrid bikes with flat pedals and tennis shoes - and everything in between!

A century ride is for everyone, provided you build up to the distance and train for it. If you start by doing a metric century - in the 60 mile range like the ride you describe in June, then you can get yourself ready for a century relatively shortly thereafter. Just keep building on your long ride, adding 5 - 10 miles each time. At the same time, work on nutrition and hydration to keep youself fueled and find out what works for you.

[SadieKate]

Hi, Cyclesome. You can do a metric century (60 miles) on any bike on which you feel comfortable and, no, we're not professionals. Not even good at pretending to be.

Most folks use road bikes with drop bars for the more aerodynamic position, the multiple hand positions, the narrow tires with less rolling resistance, the lighter weight, etc. All of this translates into higher speeds for the same energy output.

If you want to do the century on your hybrid (and lots do), I'd recommend you look at the route start and close times. Calculate the number of hours that the course will be open (they'll SAG you in if you're too late) and then look at your average speed as you ride longer and longer distances. Calculate in the time you will spend at each rest stop and see if you think you can complete the course in this time. Be sure you take into account difference in terrain, such as more hills, than your training rides.

Go for it!

[Starfish]

Congrats on setting a neat goal! As you have mentioned, you are already discovering the wealth of info on this forum, and there is lots of great info around the site for the specifics of riding centuries.

As for me, am I a professional? Yes...I'm a professional slowpoke who loves centuries! LOL If I can do it, you can do it!

[Fredwina]

You can do a century on anything that rolls and is human powered! on the last one I did, Cruisin' the Conejo. One guy used a unicycle! I think he may only done the metric. You wil probably find people on hybirds on the ride. I did my first century on a hybird.
I would second the advice of looking at the start/finish time. I usually like to start as soon as I can, just in case. I think most rides have a 10-12 hour time limit.

[cindysue]

It was my first organized ride (an all women's metric century) that really turned me on to cycling (I was a gym rat before). I think being in shape from the gym will help, but time in the saddle is crucial for building up your endurance. I think it also helps to ride with someone that day that will challenge you a bit but still be supportive and friendly. Do you have a friend signed up with you? Someone who perhaps has done a metric century before?

June 3rd isn’t far off. Make sure you get at least one 50-60 mile ride in before then and try to get on the bike (outside the gym) 2 times per week (about 20 miles or so each) and another 1-2 times per week at a longer distance (30-40 miles).

What’s your average speed on your 38 mile ride? Do you stop? For how long? Is the terrain of the ride you want to do similar to what you’ve been training? Take the other’s advice about calculating how much time you’ll need.

And let us know how your training progresses and give us a ride report for the big day!

[bikerchick68]

good advice from everyone here! In Jan 2005 I rode my first metric century ever... 3 weeks later I rode my first century with no problems at all... My personal feeling is that anything over 50 miles is mostly mental. If you're convinced you WILL do it... then have a great ride and be sure to tell us about it!

For me the most important thing on a century is pacing myself... I go out at the same pace I intend to maintain... and lordy... I can honestly say I am NOT a racer! LOL... not even close...

[Geonz]

Speedy folks *will* go by you - and some of them will have the courtesy to call out "on your left!" as they do. (If they're close enough you'll get a nice break from the wind as they stream by.)
Other folks will be going at gentler paces, though - lots of people do them on hybrids and sometimes on really eccentric vehicles.
A hundred miles **is** a whole lot longer than a metric century, though. It's more than 150% of it - it's not like converting from yards to meters :-)
A rule of thumb I've heard is that on a supported, find-your-pace-and-cruise, rest-stopped ride, where you pay attention to drinking and eating and heat and cold and all that, you can go about 3 times as far as you can comfortably go on a "regular" ride. So, not three times as long as the longest ride of the week, where you're pushing yourself - but three times as long as a sort of reasonably fun challenge. Your own personal mileage is going to vary a *lot* though - get to know where your bonking point is and what's most likely to trigger it.

[Cyclesome]

Thanks for the great information and encouragement! I'll post a report after both the "Wind and River Challenge" as well as the "Mount Davis Century or Half Century".

My husband and I biked forty miles on Rails to Trails for added practice yesterday. Another couple who rode with us had just ridden on roads not trails and indicated forty miles was much more difficult on the Triails than doing forty miles on a paved road.

[bcipam]

good advice from everyone here! In Jan 2005 I rode my first metric century ever... 3 weeks later I rode my first century with no problems at all... My personal feeling is that anything over 50 miles is mostly mental. If you're convinced you WILL do it... then have a great ride and be sure to tell us about it!

For me the most important thing on a century is pacing myself... I go out at the same pace I intend to maintain... and lordy... I can honestly say I am NOT a racer! LOL... not even close...

This is perfect advice! Yes it is mental and yes you must know how to pace yourself. Plus you should also understand proper nutrition and hydration.

The Century distance on a bike is like the marathon distance to a runner. It is a goal to acheive and every rider should do at least one . Centuries are routinely done by serious cyclists - those that ride centuries every month and recreational/casual cyclists, those that train for and do just the one all year or ever. Times vary from the very fast, say 5 hours, to something in between (my best time was 6 1/2 hours, worse 9), to you might get swept off the course at 12 hours+.

To train properly develope a base. In other words you should be riding at least 2 - 3 times a week and one of those rides should be 30+ miles. At least a month before the century you should be able to do a metric or 62 miles without too much trouble. Just keep in mind after 60 miles, the body starts to break down and that's where the mental challenge comes in. Things may hurt but that too will end when the ride is over. Have fun! Pick a good first Century.

[Cyclesome]

This site is so fantastic. I appreciate all of the great advice. Since I am riding in the River and Wind Challenge on June 3rd. I should have a better idea whether I should tackle the Mount Davis half century of full century in July. I plan on continued training in the gym and longer rides on the week-end. The weather here has been lousy the last two weeks.