# How do you know that you are ready for century ride



## waterobert

I am training for Solvang century ride which is going to be my first century ride. Last Saturday I did 52 miles and had nothing left in me. Race is still 8 weeks away ,however I am already having doubts if I will be ready. I am thinking that when I reach 75-80 miles rides I have a good chance of finishing century. I don't have much time to practice. I ride long ride on Saturdays and shorter one on Wednesdays. I try to increase long rides by 10% each week and on Wednesday I do 20-25 miles on a max speed. Will I be ready if I continue that or should I ride more?


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## Kerry Irons

*Getting there*



waterobert said:


> I am training for Solvang century ride which is going to be my first century ride. Last Saturday I did 52 miles and had nothing left in me. Race is still 8 weeks away ,however I am already having doubts if I will be ready. I am thinking that when I reach 75-80 miles rides I have a good chance of finishing century. I don't have much time to practice. I ride long ride on Saturdays and shorter one on Wednesdays. I try to increase long rides by 10% each week and on Wednesday I do 20-25 miles on a max speed. Will I be ready if I continue that or should I ride more?


When you finished the 50 miles with nothing in the tank, what was your eating/hydration like during the ride? If you were eating well (every 40 minutes, 250-300 calories per hour) and well hydrated, then you have a ways to go before you can finish the century. But you should be able to get there in 8 more weeks (BTW, a century ride is NOT a race). 

It sounds to me like you are doing adequate miles to prepare for a century. The key to having a good experience on a long ride is eating and drinking enough, and if the weather is hot/humid, getting enough electrolytes.


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## skip

*another thing to consider*

I try and do about 2/3 of the climbing in training thats in the ride. If there is 3000 feet of climbing. You should train doing 2000 feet of climbing. If you can do 60 miles and still feel good or get a couple of 75 mile rides in. You'll probably do O.K.


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## muscleendurance

when you have enough confidence in yourself to do it, and mental strength/time to complete it after you've had enough.
But you want to at least be able to ride about 50 miles in one ride regardless Id say.


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## Turt99

When I did my first ever century last year, I did a training ride on the course doing 60 miles of the 100 mile course this let me know what to expect for the first half of the ride so I could judge how fast I should start the ride.


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## broschb

*You should be fine.*

I do several centuries a year, and on average do about 35-40 mile rides 4-5 days a week, w/ a few 50 milers thrown in, and I have made all of my centuries but the first I attempted. I think as many have stated, take your time, eat and hydrate well. Also, in most centuries you can get in some pace lines, and this makes the going much easier, and you can move at a greater speed w/ less effort.


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## Todd_H

waterobert said:


> Last Saturday I did 52 miles and had nothing left in me. Race is still 8 weeks away


I just started road cycling 2 years ago and I had the same questions and doubts before my first century, about a year and a half ago. You are well on your way, just keep up what you are doing. Getting in century form is a lot about calories, hydration, butt time in the saddle. If your doing 52 now, just up it a bit each week until you are in the 60s regularly about 4 weeks out. Don't ride your bike the day before! Remember, there will be food stations along the way, so no worries about hydration and calories, just don't skip them. You said you had nothing left, are you eating enough, I mean really eating and drinking while you ride? Cycling isn't just about muscle power, it's also about brain power - which is why you are here asking questions.


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## deadlegs2

Being able to finish a metric strongly is a good start.. Do the metric


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## hrumpole

Evertything after 80 miles is really, really hard. 
Bring real food. YMMV, but gels and gatorade were fine for the first 60 miles. After that, I wanted bananas, snickers bars, turkey sandwiches--you name it. And if it's going to be hot, I'd highly recommend electrolyte tablets.


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## ericm979

Do some climbing at least once a week Some meaning at least 2000'. If you can ride twice or three times during the week instead of once, that'd help a lot. As would riding both days on the weekend. If you can do a 65-75 mile ride and not feel too bad then a century shouldn't be a problem.

A century ride isn't a race, unless they're posting finishing positions. Not many do that and I know Solvang doesn't. For a century the goals are to finish and to have fun. So do your own ride. Don't get all excited at the beginning and go too hard. I see people do that often, and I don't see them again at the end of the ride. Solvang penalizes that sort of thing further since most of the climbing is in the second half. Wear yourself out chasing faster riders over the little rollers in the first half and you probably won't be finishing the ride.

Since it's supported you don't need to bring all your own food, but it's a good idea to bring some in case you miscalculate the time to the next rest stop, or they don't have food that you can eat. If you have a sensitive stomach then consider bringing a bottle's worth of your favorite drink mix. Sometimes the organizers' sports drink is nasty. (last time I did Solvang they had chocolate "spiz". I don't like chocolate and the name didn't sound appealing, but I had a bag of the stuff I liked, so I used that).

Do stop at the stops and get food and water, but don't hang out. I like to grab something that I can stuff in a jersey pocket and eat on the road, but you need to be comfortable riding one or no handed to do that.


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## ddhartzell

I started riding last March and did my first century in July. My 2 cents is that as long as u keep upping your totals you will be fine. Biggest thing is like stated earlier, it is not a race.  Find a group at a comfortable pace and make some new friends. Bring some gels and plenty of water, also freeze a cliff bar the night before and stash in jersey. will be perfect when u r ready for real food. Hit the food stations. I went out too fast, caught up in all the excitement and rode too fast for first 30 and suffered the rest. For me the last 30 were really rough cause I was alone (not in a paceline) and spent. But I made it, and this year I can worry about a better time

I was riding 30-35 miles twice a week and our weekend rides would creep up in the weeks leading up to century (30-40-50-70-80)


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## FBinNY

The answer lies partly in how fast you did that 50 miles that thrashed you. If you keep training, and work both the distance and average speed up, plus challenge yourself with some serious climbs, you should be able to work up to it.

Remember that the secret to completing long rides is good pacing, If you can do 75-80 miles at a pace that projected out will make the cut with a decent amount of time to spare, then you can throttle back a bit and stretch your reserves the extra 25 miles.

BTW- unless this is a group ride where riders stay together, and you might spoil it for others, there's no dishonor in not finishing. the only dishonor would lie in not starting. *Go for it. What do you have to lose?*


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## cpark

On depends on the terrain.
8 weeks is plenty of time to get ready, IMO.
I'd try for a brisk paced ride for 40 to 50 miles on Tuesday and Thursday.
Saturday ride should be ridden at brisk pace as well for at least 50 to 60 miles. Do short harder ride on Sunday. Increase milegae by 5% every week but don't need to exceed 60 miles for Tues/Thurs and 80 miles for Saturday.
Take off or spin easily for 30 minutes on Mon, Wed and Friday.

You can do it!

Good luck.


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## Hank Stamper

It's tough to say without knowing where you came from to get to where you are now.


If you just started biking, your improvement curve will go up really fast over the next 8 weeks and it shouldn;t be a problem. If you've already put in a lot of work to get to this point there's less room for improvement so your chances aren't as good.
It also depends what type of pace you need/want to keep up. Pretty much anyone in reasonable shape and on a well fit bike could do a century at their own pace. But if they need to keep up a certain pace that's a whole other story.


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## DanTourino

*Tits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

Time in the Saddle is the answer! What I have found to be the most effective is interval training, and Resting the week before the century. My hardest training was for a local century, The "Ride Around the Bear." Done it two years in a row now, it is 100 miles and 10,500 ft. of climbing according to my Garmin after last years ride. I got ready for it by doing really fast 40-50 mile rides, then spinning the next day for an hour or so, then doing all the hills I could find in a 20 mile ride the next day, then spinning. You'll find that each becomes easier and easier as you train and you'll be extending both your intervals and your distances.

By the time the century came around last year, I was ready and had a plan of attack. I'm by no means a climber (6'1" 220lb crit racer) so it was tough, but as many on the forum have said, "Centuries are 10% physical, 90% Mental." If your head is right, you can do it! Two most important things to remember:

1) Do NOT overtrain
2) Take it easy the week before the ride! I like to spin for 2 hours 7 days before, 1:45 6 days before, 1:30 5 days before, etc. Oh, and dont forget to PACK IN the Carbs (Carb-Loading) the week before the ride too.


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## cdhbrad

Unless you get hooked into trying to stay with the "Lead Group" during the ride which I don't suggest if this is your first ride of this length, just look at a century as a series of shorter rides in between the Sag stops where you can refill with fluids and take on some food. Granted, they may get a little harder towards the end of the day, but still its just riding from one sag to the next until you are done. Take your time, ride within your abilities, and, if you find people riding at the same pace you are trying to maintain without blowing up, tag along with them. Most people doing centuries are there for the fun of it, while others are there to see how fast they can go or set some personal best for the course. This is your first century, so have fun.


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