# 1 month into road biking and thinking about doing my first century this weekend!



## BobGnarly (May 1, 2012)

Hey guys! So I started mtn biking about 6 years ago when I was 17. About a month ago I got my first road bike, specialized allez elite compact and I'm already addicted. If I would of known road biking was so much fun I would of been doing it for years. Lets just say my mtn bike hasn't been ridden much this year . But anyway, I was thinking about doing my first century this weekend, my previous longest ride has been 65 miles. Do you think I would be able to handle the extra 35 so soon?


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## eagleson520 (Feb 10, 2006)

If it's not on a some crazy difficult course, I'd say you can handle it just fine. Just make sure you don't go out to fast, and to take in food and liquids regularly. I bet you'll be surprised at how good you feel at the end. I'd not ridden more than about 60 miles before my first century, and made it through no problem.


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## BobGnarly (May 1, 2012)

Yea im good on the food and liquids but my area, the mountains of p.a, his very hilly which makes it a little bit harder. But climbing is worh the descent


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## eagleson520 (Feb 10, 2006)

Oh yeah, I've ridden in PA and it is tough terrain, especially compared to the flat lands of the mid west where I live. I'd still say that if you felt good at the end of the 65 (I'm assuming that you did that recently?) another 35 won't be too serious.


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## swisshutless (Nov 30, 2011)

You'll be fine. If it's an organized century, take advantage of rest stops when they're available, and draft off some people!


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

no problem. Just take a break when you feel tired, and don't forget to enjoy the scenery.


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## pmpski_1 (Oct 7, 2009)

Yeah, I think you'll be fine. I just did my first 100 mile ride (4k feet climbing). I've been working up to it over the last 9 weeks, but it sounds like you're probably in much better shape than I am. I felt like *ss for the rest of the day and the next day, but I'd do it again next weekend if I wasn't going on vacation.


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## xls (Nov 11, 2004)

What about the amount of climbing? I'm in the same boat, avid mountain biker and just got my first road bike about a month ago. I think I could have done 100m right away but only with very little climbing. I just finished my first century yesterday. Don't focus too much on the miles, also look at the footies.


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## torch511 (Mar 4, 2012)

Kudos to Bob for being ready to try a century so quickly. Between your age and years of MTB riding I don't see why you couldn't. Most people balk at the thought of riding 100 miles but really, it's not all that hard. On a good road bike (which you have) and with a little fitness it can be done. More mind over matter. I wish you luck and look forward to hearing how it went.

And Kudos to pmpski and xls for popping their century cherries!


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## BobGnarly (May 1, 2012)

Thanks for all the replies guys and thanks for the confidence boost :thumbsup:

Also another ? Before I started road biking my weight was a little under what it should be for my height and ever since starting road biking my weight keeps dropping like crazy, which I cant afford to happen lol. I didnt realize the amount of calories you burn while biking.


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## pmpski_1 (Oct 7, 2009)

BobGnarly said:


> Thanks for all the replies guys and thanks for the confidence boost :thumbsup:
> 
> Also another ? Before I started road biking my weight was a little under what it should be for my height and ever since starting road biking my weight keeps dropping like crazy, which I cant afford to happen lol. I didnt realize the amount of calories you burn while biking.


Hah. I have the opposite problem. No matter how much I ride the weight is not dropping. Could be my sweet tooth.

Eat more. But don't eat junk food, you need premium fuel.


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## torch511 (Mar 4, 2012)

pmpski_1 said:


> Hah. I have the opposite problem. No matter how much I ride the weight is not dropping. Could be my sweet tooth.


Probably is. I rode for years and never lost. It was not until I changed my diet that the weight really came of (and came off fast). I found I did not have to ride like crazy to do it either. Good Balanced meals, reasonable portions and moderate exercise and it just melted off.

Of course, now that it's getting deep into the riding season and I am lighter and faster, I want to ride like crazy anyway.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

What they all said, especially the food and drink thing. The biggest difference between 65 miles and 100 is you'll probably need way more refueling on the way to avoid bonking. 

Go for it.


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## drodrigueznyc (Mar 30, 2012)

congrats pal and welcome....

i did my first century just two weeks ago... prior to that i only had two months of riding and training... i also had an MTB but was nowhere close to taking it seriously...

got my first road bike a few months ago and i was immediately hooked and looking for places to ride...

found a nice 35mile stretch and struggled to do 10miles at first... then kept pushing myself each weekend till i was able to do the full 35 and then finally the round trip of 70miles.. 

this became my goto training ride each weekend...

feeling cocky, I then signed up for the Montauk Century.. it had some hills but i'm sure nothing compared to what you may be facing in PA..

all in all I did it without a problem but it did require me to be ontop of my fuel and hydration needs..

before you do anything make sure to research carbs, liquids, electrolytes, etc to understand what and how much you need and experiment from there...

gatorade and cliff bars was all i needed during the ride but it may or may not work for you... 

I'd say go for it... you should be fine....


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## BobGnarly (May 1, 2012)

Thanks for the tips guys. I did a lot of researching on diet and fueling myself, thanks to this forum.:thumbsup: i used my iphone app to track my short ride today and it said i climbed 2562 ft and descended 2559 ft so half of my ride i was climbing.. This area sure makes you work hard haha. That was a 25 mile ride.


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## xls (Nov 11, 2004)

torch511 said:


> And Kudos to pmpski and xls for popping their century cherries!


LOL, Thanks! :thumbsup: I'm already planning my whole summer around centuries.  

To the OP, how many footies in the century you're doing this weekend?


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Logic*



BobGnarly said:


> Thanks for the tips guys. I did a lot of researching on diet and fueling myself, thanks to this forum.:thumbsup: i used my iphone app to track my short ride today and it said i climbed 2562 ft and descended 2559 ft *so half of my ride i was climbing.. *This area sure makes you work hard haha. That was a 25 mile ride.


Umm, no, that doesn't follow. All you know from that is you went down as much as you went up (vertically), which is always gonna be the case if you end up where you started. 

Some of the ride was probably flat, so less than half was climbing. And you can't even say the distance climbing was the same as the distance descending. If the ups were steeper than the downs, then the distance was less. Or vice versa, of course.

But if the measurements are accurate, that is indeed pretty hilly terrain. If you rode that loop 4 times, you'd have a century with more than 10,000 feet of climbing, which is quite a lot.


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## BobGnarly (May 1, 2012)

xls said:


> LOL, Thanks! :thumbsup: I'm already planning my whole summer around centuries.
> 
> To the OP, how many footies in the century you're doing this weekend?


About 10 If I remember correctly... Tomorrow starts the journey:thumbsup:









JCavilia said:


> Umm, no, that doesn't follow. All you know from that is you went down as much as you went up (vertically), which is always gonna be the case if you end up where you started.
> 
> Some of the ride was probably flat, so less than half was climbing. And you can't even say the distance climbing was the same as the distance descending. If the ups were steeper than the downs, then the distance was less. Or vice versa, of course.
> 
> But if the measurements are accurate, that is indeed pretty hilly terrain. If you rode that loop 4 times, you'd have a century with more than 10,000 feet of climbing, which is quite a lot.



Yea after I wrote that I realized it didnt make sense(was partaking in an after work ritual....)
haha. But yes my area is very hilly, I have to climb a good mile as the first part of my ride :mad2:


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## xls (Nov 11, 2004)

So.... how did it go?


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## BobGnarly (May 1, 2012)

Forgot to post, my bad! Didn't get the century in since the weather didn't cooperate. Got about 30 miles in and thunderstorms started rolling thru so i had to head back home. I was going strong too:/. Hopefully this weekend tho:thumbsup:


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## Shinjukan (Aug 22, 2011)

A lot of mountaineers, after climbing some 10K to 14K mountains in a short span of time, already think they can already climb the likes of K-2 and the Big Everest. This often proves to be their own undoing. Feeling good in those lower climbs doesn't equate to the same feeling on heights twice or thrice that.

With that analogy in cycling, it's pretty much clear that riding a full century without adequate training and preparation could spell trouble for the rider. I'm not saying you or anyone who's on the same boat as you can't do it. It's the question of how good you'll feel during and after the ride. Everyone is aware of the diet and physical conditioning one has to have going to the ride itself, but there are other items that really have to be put some attention to like bike fitting, ability to make on-the-road repairs, etc.

If you feel good on your bike with rides shorter than 40 miles, any adjustments that are off will be magnified in a century ride. A lot of riders have a thinking that a full century is just a 50-mile ride multiplied by 2, or doing a 20-mile ride 5 times. What they perhaps don't realize is that the first 50 might be okay and they still feel good, but the remaining 50 will test them a lot. Add to the mix if the route is hilly (like what you said, PA) and those hills that you were just frowning upon in the first 50 would surely punish you on the next 50 with your energy dwindling, mental toughness starting to wane, etc.

With 1 month into road biking, aiming for the century hills of Pennsylvania, statistically speaking you won't feel good after doing that. Of course you can finish it, but to me, it's not worth finishing a century just to prove to myself I can do it but feel crap afterwards, maybe days later.

I'm also looking at my very first century this year, but living in Pennsylvania, I have a deep respect for the hills of varying steepness here so I will eye instead the century rides in Delaware and Maryland where it's flat.


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## xls (Nov 11, 2004)

I fully agree with Shinjukan. However the OP has been mountain biking long before he got a road bike. It's pretty much the same with me, I had about a month on the road bike before I did my first century and it also had 10k of climbing. It was not easy but I did not feel horrible afterward. My longest road bike ride up until that point was 65 miles with 7200ft of climbing. I felt good after that one (except for an upset stomach from a banana, but that's unrelated to riding). 
I've been mountain biking for quite a while, done some racing and was on the verge of "getting fast" about 1.5 years ago. For my first century I chose an organized event so there was plenty of support should something go wrong (water, food, sag). Eg. I don't know all the local water stops yet so I really would not do this self-supported and without a camelbak. I'm thinking about doing another century tomorrow which is a group-ride part of a local cycling club, so no sag support etc. but I'll be riding with people who have done this many times before and who know where to get water, food, etc. 
So yeah, don't go overboard with stretching your limit. If you feel there's any risk that you may not make it, go for an organized event that will provide support in case something goes wrong. Don't DYI your first century. Have fun! I had a total blast.


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## Shinjukan (Aug 22, 2011)

Or in re-phrasing xls' statement: "Avoid winging it your first Century". 

YMMV of course. And by the way, if the OP is locked in on his/her first Century, at least surround yourself with fellow riders who have more or less the same ability as you or perhaps willing to support you all or part of the ride. Having someone to ride with gives a tremendous boost to one's self. Ups your confidence, comfort level and safety through numbers.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

> Of course you can finish it, but to me, it's not worth finishing a century just to prove to myself I can do it but feel crap afterwards, maybe days later.


Ah, baloney. Have a little sense of adventure. Go for it. You're not going to feel bad for days. If it's a stretch, you'll be tired. A good tired. For a day or two. If you can complete it, it's not going to kill you


> I'm also looking at my very first century this year, but living in Pennsylvania, I have a deep respect for the hills of varying steepness here so I will eye instead the century rides in Delaware and Maryland where it's flat


. 

Why not do it in the terrain you train in? I think you're selling yourself short. 

A century is a challenge when you're new at this, of course. But it's not as hard as you're making out. The analogy to climbing a 14k peak and then tackling K2 or Everest is way off base.


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## Kodi Crescent (Aug 3, 2011)

Shinjukan said:


> A lot of mountaineers, after climbing some 10K to 14K mountains in a short span of time, already think they can already climb the likes of K-2 and the Big Everest. This often proves to be their own undoing. Feeling good in those lower climbs doesn't equate to the same feeling on heights twice or thrice that.
> 
> With that analogy in cycling, it's pretty much clear that riding a full century without adequate training and preparation could spell trouble for the rider. I'm not saying you or anyone who's on the same boat as you can't do it. It's the question of how good you'll feel during and after the ride. Everyone is aware of the diet and physical conditioning one has to have going to the ride itself, but there are other items that really have to be put some attention to like bike fitting, ability to make on-the-road repairs, etc.
> 
> ...


I agree with this. One day I said to myself "I can do 50 no problem, why not try for 85!" I did the 85. I had to stop for some time to down a few gatorades and candy bars. At the end my feet hurt like hell and I had saddle sores.

So I went out the next week to try 80. But this time, I was going to fuel up in time and continue to fuel up during the ride. My feet were fine, but the saddle sore issue raised its ugly head. The last 20 miles were tortuous. I had bonked as well.

I had read somewhere that you shouldn't increase your mileage by more than 10% per week. That was probably good advice. I should have heeded that before I tried it.

I'll heed it now while working towards my first century.


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## Shinjukan (Aug 22, 2011)

JCavilia said:


> Ah, baloney. Have a little sense of adventure. Go for it. You're not going to feel bad for days. If it's a stretch, you'll be tired. A good tired. For a day or two. If you can complete it, it's not going to kill you
> .
> 
> Why not do it in the terrain you train in? I think you're selling yourself short.
> ...


I respect your take on this matter, JCavilia. But I hope you understand that people like me don't think, train, nor approach things the way you do. If your belief in going on a century ride with just one month of riding is an adventure, sorry, but I put things into perspective. Honesty with myself first in what I can and cannot do is my priority. You're not the one who's going to feel crap afterwards but me. Your assumption of completing the ride will not kill you is completely baseless. You don't know the physical, mental and health limits of anybody but yourself.

Since my personal physician and myself are the only ones who know my overall condition, I am not selling myself short. I know what I can and cannot do so thank you for your suggestion of doing my century here in the hills of PA. I'm not a man of steel like you, and I accept that I get older every year. :ihih:

Apologies for not getting the K2 and 14K analogy. But it's not for you anyway.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Shinjukan said:


> I respect your take on this matter, JCavilia. But I hope you understand that people like me don't think, train, nor approach things the way you do.


Hey, no offense intended. I respect your approach, too. Sorry if the flippant tone implied otherwise. You do whatever works for you. I'm hardly a man of steel, and just like everybody else who isn't dead, I get older every day, too.

It just sounded to me like you were maybe letting those steep PA ridges psych you out a little, and maybe you really could do more than you think. But I'm not you, obviously.

Enjoy the riding, however you choose to do it.

I still think the mountaineering analogy was not so apt, if for no other reason than the qualitative difference that higher altitudes make.



> If your belief in going on a century ride with just one month of riding is an adventure, sorry, but I put things into perspective


I try to keep perspective, too. If the OP had only been cycling for a month, I probably wouldn't advise tackling the century. But he's been mountain biking for 6 years, he's young, he said he'd already done a 65-miler on the road bike (and did not indicate he'd had any particular trouble with it), and he seems eager and enthusiastic. In light of all those factors, I think it's pretty likely he could finish a century without serious trouble -- and he'd feel good about it, even if he felt pretty tired.

I've over-extended myself a few times on long rides, especially when conditions (e.g., wind, rain) made it much harder than expected. I felt tired and beat up at the end, and a bit tired for a day or two afterward. I also felt a sense of accomplishment at pushing the envelope a little. I have never "felt like crap" for five days because of a bike ride.


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## torch511 (Mar 4, 2012)

Shinjukan said:


> Since my personal physician and myself are the only ones who know my overall condition, I am not selling myself short. I know what I can and cannot do...


If the Army taught me anything, it's that what I think my physical limitations are, and what my physical limitiations ACTUALLY are, are two vastly different things. I have gone far and beyond what I ever thought I was capable of.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Kodi Crescent said:


> I agree with this. One day I said to myself "I can do 50 no problem, why not try for 85!" I did the 85. I had to stop for some time to down a few gatorades and candy bars. At the end my feet hurt like hell and I had saddle sores.
> 
> So I went out the next week to try 80. But this time, I was going to fuel up in time and continue to fuel up during the ride. My feet were fine, but the saddle sore issue raised its ugly head. The last 20 miles were tortuous. I had bonked as well.
> 
> ...


I don't think your problem was a matter of increasing mileage too fast, but was a specific issue: saddle sores. If you really got saddle sores on the 85-mile ride, they take more than a week to fully heal, so doing another long ride that soon is almost guaranteed to cause a problem. In addition, getting saddle sores in the first place may indicate a saddle fitting problem that ought to be dealt with.

Anyway, good luck. I don't really think that 10% rule means much. That would mean you have to do 91 before you do a century, and 83 before that, and 75 before that. Lots of riders have done their first century after a previous longest of 60 or 70.


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## Shinjukan (Aug 22, 2011)

JCavilia said:


> Hey, no offense intended. I respect your approach, too. Sorry if the flippant tone implied otherwise. You do whatever works for you. I'm hardly a man of steel, and just like everybody else who isn't dead, I get older every day, too.
> 
> It just sounded to me like you were maybe letting those steep PA ridges psych you out a little, and maybe you really could do more than you think. But I'm not you, obviously.
> 
> ...


I do see your point too, JCavilia. All's cool now. Your reply above was way more descriptive and informative as opposed to the one before it wherein you just blasted almost everything I said. :confused5:

Anyhow, I already did the 68-mile option of the SCU Quad County Metric last May, complete with some of the best rollers and punishing climbs Montgomery and Bucks counties here in PA have to offer. I survived them all but the very last one [:nonod:] so I already know what to expect more or less if I'll do a Hilly Full Century. So with that, I'm not selling myself short. It's just my preference is flats. Whatever makes us float so to speak.


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## ibeamcarver (Jul 1, 2011)

The OP is about 23 years old and in good shape. He'll ride the century without too much problem and probably be ready to ride another by the next weekend. Later in life we need to to train more to prepare for this kind of thing. A 40 or 50 year old who had been riding for a month before deciding to do a century would surely regret it. Ohh, to be young again! :thumbsup:


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