# Good Time to Complete a Century?



## tuck (Oct 4, 2011)

I know it's not a race, but I'm curious. In GENERAL, what's a good time in which to complete a century? What would you goal time be? 

Moderate to hilly terrain, with one or two moderate climbs toward the start and rollers (good ones) that comprise the last 20 or so miles.


Yes. I have a reason for asking. 

Wheels of Fire in Harris County, GA. My first century, and I came in at 5:50:53 ride time, with 17 average.


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## mmoose (Apr 2, 2004)

I think Spring is a good time to complete a Century. 

Serious answer, depends on many factors. How many people you ride with, temp, wind, hills are the big thing of course. Fairly hilly century with misc other riders around under 6 hours is very nice. 

More importantly, how did you feel for the last 10? and then how did you feel afterward?

I did a fairly flat (maybe 3500') solo, windy, way over dressed for the end of it, 100 in 5:30. But, in the weeknight group rides, everyone else is so darn strong, I get spit out the back quickly. The relative part of cycling is so...relative.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

tuck said:


> I know it's not a race, but I'm curious. In GENERAL, what's a good time in which to complete a century? What would you goal time be?
> 
> Moderate to hilly terrain, with one or two moderate climbs toward the start and rollers (good ones) that comprise the last 20 or so miles.
> 
> ...



What kind of wheels do you have?


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## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

Depends a lot on...
- Weather
- Number of "engines" (the guys who actually pull)
- Range of fitness in the group (engines can only do so much)

Under 6 hours would be a great target for a first century.

Oh, and don't let the description of the event you're doing fool you... it's a race! ;-)


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## onespeed (Mar 21, 2002)

*Fastest/Flattest is the Montauk Century*

There is only 600 feet of climbing for the whole 104 miles. It is a straight shot out to the end of Long Island. 

There have been some rough years where there was rain and a headwind, but most of the time it is a blast. 

I do it on the track bike nearly every year. Fastest time (years ago) was 4:45. 

5:30-45 is what I try to do it in now. 

There are people that drop the hammer and do it in 4 hours.


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## tuck (Oct 4, 2011)

tihsepa said:


> What kind of wheels do you have?



Bontrager Race X Lites. Had R3 tires, but had a nasty cut on the rear after mile 40, and replaced both with T1s from the SAG.


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## Gimme Shoulder (Feb 10, 2004)

It's all relative to your fitness and expectations. That would be a very good time for me.


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

Well, congratulations on setting your bar. Sounds like a fine time, even a good time - but like others say, it's all relative. You'll easily find numerous guys who'll point and laugh at you over that time and you'll easily find numerous guys who'll be well over it and admire you.

Log the details of the ride (# of people, how much did you suck wheel, how much did you pull, how was the wind, etc.), do the same ride again but better - taking the circumstances of the ride into account.


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

Under 5 hours is a good time. That's 20mph average, which isn't crazy fast, but a decent speed for that distance. Under 5 hours is very doable in a larger group, where you can share pulls at the front.


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## kfurrow (May 1, 2004)

onespeed said:


> There is only 600 feet of climbing for the whole 104 miles. It is a straight shot out to the end of Long Island.
> 
> There have been some rough years where there was rain and a headwind, but most of the time it is a blast.
> 
> ...


600 feet of climbing over 100 miles is pretty darn flat, but for the flattest, you need to check out the Seagull Century on Maryland's eastern shore. There are two hills -- the bridge to Assateague Island and the same bridge back the other way. That is it. Maybe 100 feet of climbing in 100 miles.


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

And if you do the Seagull Century with the race-team group (which is a conglomeration of teams from around the Mid-Atlantic area), you'll be well under 5 hours. It's the fastest way to do the Seagull, and the average speed is usually around 24mph at the end.


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## tuck (Oct 4, 2011)

I had trouble finding a group to ride with. I was either way to fast, or way to slow. And when I DID find a good group to hang with...about 20-22ish, IIRC..., I had a flat at mile(ish) 42, and lost them. By the time I was ready to roll again, they wre long gone. 

For the next 25-30 miles, I was pretty much on my own, in decent headwinds for much of it. At around mile 71 (the last good stop), I hooked up with a crew of about 6 who were on the same level as myself. We stayed together until the bigger rollers in the last 10 miles. After that, I was on my own again.


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## PoorCyclist (Oct 14, 2010)

tuck said:


> I had trouble finding a group to ride with. I was either way to fast, or way to slow. And when I DID find a good group to hang with...about 20-22ish, IIRC..., I had a flat at mile(ish) 42, and lost them. By the time I was ready to roll again, they wre long gone.
> 
> For the next 25-30 miles, I was pretty much on my own, in decent headwinds for much of it. At around mile 71 (the last good stop), I hooked up with a crew of about 6 who were on the same level as myself. We stayed together until the bigger rollers in the last 10 miles. After that, I was on my own again.


I found this is what happens when you average around 17mph on a century with other riders, not exactly hammering but churning along at a decent pace, the groups I come up to are too slow and I would pass them at any slightest slope and I would never find the groups going 22 mph.. 

Pretty much I'm on my own. I usually ride centuries by myself unless it is an event I paid for.. don't worry about drafting so much.


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## xxl (Mar 19, 2002)

kfurrow said:


> 600 feet of climbing over 100 miles is pretty darn flat, but for the flattest, you need to check out the Seagull Century on Maryland's eastern shore. There are two hills -- the bridge to Assateague Island and the same bridge back the other way. That is it. Maybe 100 feet of climbing in 100 miles.


There's a century ride in NW Ohio, the Hancock Horizontal Hundred.

The_ total _change in elevation for the ride (not counting a couple of highway overpasses) is less than five feet.

But pray there is no wind that day.


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## OutAndBack (Aug 18, 2011)

nightfend said:


> And if you do the Seagull Century with the race-team group (which is a conglomeration of teams from around the Mid-Atlantic area), you'll be well under 5 hours. It's the fastest way to do the Seagull, and the average speed is usually around 24mph at the end.


We have one like that in TN. Clarksville Sunrise Century. 163 feet of climbing in 100 miles. Awesome.


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## tuck (Oct 4, 2011)

OutAndBack said:


> We have one like that in TN. Clarksville Sunrise Century. 163 feet of climbing in 100 miles. Awesome.


Hey Out... When is this? I'm in Chattanooga.


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

PoorCyclist said:


> I found this is what happens when you average around 17mph on a century with other riders, not exactly hammering but churning along at a decent pace, the groups I come up to are too slow and I would pass them at any slightest slope and I would never find the groups going 22 mph..
> 
> Pretty much I'm on my own. I usually ride centuries by myself unless it is an event I paid for.. don't worry about drafting so much.


Naturally, that's the math of it.

The fastest groups will be the furthest out. If you are going for time, you have to be in the front group off the line and hang on as best as you can, then naturally settle back to the group that's going your speed. If you start in the back and try to weave up through the wankers, hybrids, and recumbents, you'll never catch a fast enough wheel to provide any real help. 

The trick is to do that without being a wanker yourself.

OP: 5:50 for an essentially solo ride that included a wait-for SAG mechanical is fully respectable. Unless you've got one of the real flat centuries and a defined team, I'd call anything starting with a 5 a good number.


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## tuck (Oct 4, 2011)

danl1 said:


> Naturally, that's the math of it.
> 
> The fastest groups will be the furthest out. If you are going for time, you have to be in the front group off the line and hang on as best as you can, then naturally settle back to the group that's going your speed. If you start in the back and try to weave up through the wankers, hybrids, and recumbents, you'll never catch a fast enough wheel to provide any real help.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dan, for both the info and comment.

The bit about the front group off the line and the wankers...basically, those who are probably doing the quarter or metric I would assume...makes perfect sense. No one has pointed that out before, nor have I thought of it myself. 

3 State-3 Mountain is the next century coming up. Week after next, here in Chattanooga (Yeah! No long drive for meh this time. hehe). I will keep this tip in the front of my mind from now on. :thumbsup:


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## UltralightHiker (Jun 9, 2011)

tuck said:


> When is this? I'm in Chattanooga.


I am close too tuck...It is September 1st. Check this site over the next few weeks for details. Sunrise Century Home Page


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## donow (May 5, 2012)

In a peloton or an echelon cyclists who are part of the group can save up to 40 percent in energy expeditures over a cyclist who is not drafting with the group. 5:50 mostly alone is a great time. Group riders know the huge advantage the enjoy if they can manage not to be dropped - that is the essence of road racing vs. time trials. Triathletes know this as they are not allowed to draft in races - its much harder than in a group.

Anyway, my opinion is that if you can ride a bike 100 miles in a single outing anytime is a good time. Those people you see crossing the finish line in 7 hours plus have usually done something unimaginable to the majority of the population. Unless you are a pro riding 3-4 hours a day every day of the year there is always someone faster...


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## factory feel (Nov 27, 2009)

spring is a good time.


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## pedalbiker (Nov 23, 2014)

Anything under 5 hours is great. 

Under four hours is quite the feat.


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## pedalbiker (Nov 23, 2014)

OutAndBack said:


> We have one like that in TN. Clarksville Sunrise Century. 163 feet of climbing in 100 miles. Awesome.


This is a good one to go sub 4. Flat, no stops, dedicated pace line, even feeds from the car. That last hour is no joke, though.


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

This Clarksville 2011 fast century ride report is pretty entertaining. He *finished in 3:51:08* , a few seconds off the front group.

From the report:
We had 2-3 motorcycle escorts closing intersections for us which was also key..so we never had to slow down.

40 miles in, my very VERY new best friend (a racer who contacted me privately to give me tips before the ride) saw I was still hanging in and told me to pull back and save some energy because "this is where they split the group". Sure enough, on cue we hit a long roller and *poof* half the group was gone never to return. The wheel-suckers in the back deserved it..they thought they could ride without working for 99 miles and be in the front at the end, but like someone on here mentioned..cycling has a beautiful way of filtering out people.​
and

Mile 90 I'm starting to get really excited and nervous. Excited because I'm still barely hanging onto the front group..and nervous because I started obsessively stressing out about getting a flat. We kept slamming into train tracks at full power and hitting gravel and I was petrified I was going to get a flat 5 miles from the finish and not do it.

Mile 95 I'm thinking its going to be close. Mile 99 and I can't believe I'm still in the front group.

Mile 99.9 and the front group sprints around the last corner into the parking lot..I let them go because (a) i had no gas left in the tank and (b) they did all the pulling the last 40 miles so i didn't really feel i deserved to go in the sprint.

So I passed the clock about 20 seconds behind them at 3:51:08 and the other 8-10 riders came in probably a few minutes laer.

So I have no idea how many finished under 4, but I'm guessing maybe 25 or so.​


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## Herbie (Nov 12, 2010)

donow said:


> In a peloton or an echelon cyclists who are part of the group can save up to 40 percent in energy expeditures over a cyclist who is not drafting with the group. 5:50 mostly alone is a great time. Group riders know the huge advantage the enjoy if they can manage not to be dropped - that is the essence of road racing vs. time trials. Triathletes know this as they are not allowed to draft in races - its much harder than in a group.
> 
> Anyway, my opinion is that if you can ride a bike 100 miles in a single outing anytime is a good time. Those people you see crossing the finish line in 7 hours plus have usually done something unimaginable to the majority of the population. Unless you are a pro riding 3-4 hours a day every day of the year there is always someone faster...


This last paragraph sums up my feelings. I think it gets overlooked that many of the contributors on this board tend to be much faster than the average cyclists. 

My personal belief is that you should have fun. If setting a p.r. Makes the experience fun, go for it. However there are many people reading that might be intimidated by the very fast times quoted. 

I rode the Clarksville century mentioned above. I finished in about 6.5 hours, had a good time riding through the Amish area in Kentucky. I can also state that there were as many people behind me as in front . Congratulations to OP. I think your time is very good for a first century or your 100th.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

pedalbiker said:


> Anything under 5 hours is great.
> 
> Under four hours is quite the feat.


Five years later is a good time.


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## taodemon (Mar 17, 2014)

As has been mentioned there are many things that can factor in like terrain, solo vs group (how strong riders in the group are too), how many stops if any if you include those. 

What I average on a century with 10000ft of climbing is very different from what I average on the flatter one with only 3000ft. If mostly solo I also try to ride a bit more conservatively so I have enough to make it to the end vs taking pulls at higher speeds with a group because you are going to be sitting behind 20 guys for a while after the pull.


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## mtrac (Sep 23, 2013)

JCavilia said:


> Five years later is a good time.


Indeed. That was a seamless dredge.


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## taodemon (Mar 17, 2014)

Lol, hadn't even noticed it was a necro.


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## BlazingPedals (Apr 4, 2013)

danl1 said:


> If you start in the back and try to weave up through the wankers, hybrids, and recumbents, you'll never catch a fast enough wheel to provide any real help.


Why, oh why do so many bent riders do this to their mounts and then wonder why they're slow? I have no answer.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

BlazingPedals said:


> Why, oh why do so many bent riders do this to their mounts and then wonder why they're slow? I have no answer.


I got dropped once near the end of a century by a Bent. It was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. I nearly quit cycling and took up bowling instead


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## BlazingPedals (Apr 4, 2013)

DaveG said:


> I got dropped once near the end of a century by a Bent. It was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. I nearly quit cycling and took up bowling instead


Was it a sub-5 century? The bent was probably only doing a half-century.


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