# Riding before a century



## notwist (Feb 26, 2009)

I'll be doing my first century this Sunday - three days from now. Will doing a ride before Sunday be beneficial or will it not make any difference in how I feel on Sunday? My last ride was a fast 26 mi on Tuesday. Will I be alright if I just rest up and stay off the bike until my century ride?


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

You'll be alright if you just rest, but it wouldn't hurt to do a couple of easy-paced rides, to keep things loose and double-check bike fit and adjustments, etc.


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

You difinitely can't improve your fitness in 2 days, so yes.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

For a first century, it's probably best to take it easy right before. If you've been training for this, you can call it "tapering." 

Generally, it depends on your fitness level. If you are riding at a pretty high level, it shouldn't be a big deal to ride before the big day. I almost always rode the night before a long ride, usually a local 12-mile mountain bike loop of moderate difficulty. It was part of my routine, but I was riding 200 miles or more a week at that time. If you are doing more like 50 or 60 a week, then I would stay off the bike until Sunday, or do small rides that don't tax you too much.


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## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

notwist said:


> I'll be doing my first century this Sunday - three days from now. Will doing a ride before Sunday be beneficial or will it not make any difference in how I feel on Sunday? My last ride was a fast 26 mi on Tuesday. Will I be alright if I just rest up and stay off the bike until my century ride?



Don't forget the motor fuel!

You'll want to jam in all the carbohydrates that you can in the next few days. Don't go crazy -- this is usually an extra piece of toast in the morning with some jam or peanut butter on it. And, an extra roll with dinner in the evening. Load up on a big dinner the night before, but not steak or meat. Pasta is good, but don't overdo it. Meatless (like marina sauce) is a good choice. But, don't do anything that is going to have you in the port-o-let with stomach distress over your ride. For breakfast, keep it light and with slow burning fuel / complex carbohydrates (oatmeal, whole grain breads, and maybe a donut just before you take off on the ride or GU) and nibble along the way at the rest stops. About 200 to 300 calories an hour. Don't forget to hydrate during your ride - maybe two bottles and hour with one of them being sports drink.

You're basically trying to manage a losing proposition as far as your body is concerned. You won't be able to cram in and process enough calories to sustain the output during the ride. Best you can do is slow down the rate of energy store depletion. 

Make certain you eat something substantial within 90 minutes of getting off the bike at the end of the ride. Yes, now you can have the steak, the potato, the martini (the olives are islands of solitude in a sea of despair). The meat will provide the elements to help to repair the damage you did to your muscles over 100 miles. The potato (full effect only with all the stuff) will help to fill in the missing elements/sugars your body will need to speed the recovery. The martini will make you feel good about doing your ride. 

Also, this is the time to listen to your body. It doesn't speak very loudly so you need to listen carefully. These century rides will uncover various alignment issues like saddle position problems, handlebar grip issues, cleat mis-alignments, and generally make you hurt in places that you didn't think existed or thought you had dialed out. Big issue for me is 1) the butt-osis from being in the saddle for that amount of time - not a big deal but how do you like sitting and sitting and sitting for hours on end and 2) I always get this cramp in my upper shoulder between my outside shoulder and neck at about mile 85 or so. 

You're going to have a blast doing this. I'd stay off the bike on Saturday and take that time to make certain everything on your bike is tip-top from a mechanical standpoint. At a minimum make certain that it shifts well, the drive line is clean and lubed up, your brake calipers are centered on the rims, and the brakes are adjusted to perform well. Take a really close look at your tires for any obvious issues (cuts, nicks). In general, remove any nagging problem up front so you don't have to deal with it on Sunday.

And, next year, come out and ride this century (the first one I ever did - only the first 60 miles are uphill):

www.bvbf.org


Have a great ride!

ColoradoVeloDude
Colorado Springs, Colorado


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## Ibashii (Oct 23, 2002)

Yeah...the best thing you can do for yourself now is eat right; if you feel like a short easy ride fine, but it's not gonna make a difference. Eating Twinkies and getting hammered, OTOH, might not be what you're looking for.


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