# How to gauge your fitness to make sure you're ready for a century ride?



## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

I've been back into cycling after almost 20 years of no cycling, and recently got back into it. It's been about 5 weeks since I got my new road bike, and I've been riding 4-6 times a week. For the past 2 1/2 weeks, I've been doing 18.5 mile rides at 15.5-16.0 mph average. I feel pretty good after my rides, and recover pretty fast.

In light of that, what are some of the indicators that would give me confidence that I'm ready for organized rally rides? I think I can definitely do 50 mile rides (w/ rest stops), and possibly a century ride later this year.


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## mmlee (Apr 15, 2012)

From the forum I've learned to just gradually increase the distance/level of work out. 

In four months I've built up to 100K.... I'm working on a 10 mile increase every two weeks. I do 20+ mile rides 4-5 times a week varying the level of intensity and amount of climbs. I do all my long rides without rest stops and have lots of climbs. 

I did a 100K no stop ride with 2,900' of hills last weekend in 4 1/2 hours, that was with just coasting down the hills to rest and enjoy the scenery. I'm hoping to get in my 100 miler in about two months.

You just don't want to over due it and hurt/injure yourself. So at my rate I will be ready to do my 100 miler in 6 months of cycling. I'm 49 and never cycled before and was 40+ lbs overweight when I started 4 months ago.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

Are you talking about a metric century (62mi) or a standard century (100mi)?

What's the longest ride you've done so far? If you've only ever done 18mi, it's quite a jump to 50mi. 
A 15-16mph pace is pretty good for 18mi. And I'm sure you're fit enough to do 50mi. But you have to understand how to pace yourself (which can be hard if you've never done it). If you go out riding your regular pace, there's a good chance you'll bonk hard trying to get to 50mi.

I'd suggest increasing your rides (at least one per week) in 10mi incriments up to 40mi. Once you're comfortable with that, the jump to 50-60mi would be easily do-able.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Everyone is different.. Also really depends how generally fit you are and how intelligently you ride. Even cyclists with great fitness can fail to complete a long ride if they ride too hard or fail to fuel properly.

IMO riding 100 miles isn't the hard part.. Staying hydrated, continually eating, properly pacing yourself, and staying comfortable are harder. 

A flat 100 miles is pretty easy in comparison to a hilly or mountainous 100. If you have fear of finishing plan a route with multiple bail out points. 

As for knowing when you're ready? Hard to say. If you are rarely sore even after your longest rides then give it a shot. Ride with a friend too.. esp since you could be on the bike for over 7-8 or more hours depending how fast you ride and how often you stop.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Start ramping up the distances. Double that 18.5, and see how you recover after 37 miles. It's very possible you'd be up to a century by sometime this fall, but you need to build some longer rides, to get a handle on the pacing, hydrating and refueling aspects, which get quite different as distances increase.

How old are you? Weight status? Were you doing any exercise during the 20 years away from cycling? All those are factors.

And welcome back to the best "old-guy" sport.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

Thanks for all the good advice so far!

Next week, I'm going to double up my bike route to 37 miles as a goal. I'll increase it daily and gradually. I'm 48 and 165 lbs. I used to be very fit, and feel good that cycling is taking me back to it and taking off pounds! I was 170 just 5 weeks ago; feels like most of the 5 lbs have been coming off around the waist.

I'm going to implement pacing, hydrating, fueling up as I go, etc. next week.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

You can probably complete a 50-miler, but it might not be pleasant.

My best parallel for having to build fitness was coming back from a knee injury several years ago. I started with 10 mile rides, which felt pretty pathetic to me, and built up conservatively. I found the 10%/week guideline to work pretty well. It's quite simple.

You can increase your total weekly volume by 10%/week pretty safely.
You can increase the length of your longest ride by 10%/week pretty safely.

A couple other guidelines I like and that apply here -
Your long ride shouldn't be 50% of your weekly volume. That's a pretty unbalanced training week.
If you can ride 75% of your event's volume, you can ride your event (and finish strong.)

So if you're at an 18.5 mile ride right now, your long ride will go like this
18.5, 20.4, 22.6, 20.4, 22.6, 25.0, 27.6, 30.5, 33.7, 37.3, 41.2, 45.5, 50.3, 55.6, 61.4, 67.9, 75.0

and then do the Century. Since you're already riding a bunch of times a week, if you have a life you may not find it practical to increase those ride lengths. Whatever fits in your schedule.

I wouldn't be too surprised if you can skip to a little longer distance - 10%/week is pretty conservative. But if your rides are challenging, it's better to be conservative. If you've been phoning it in, go out and see what you can do when you ride like you mean it.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

AndrwSwitch said:


> You can probably complete a 50-miler, but it might not be pleasant.
> 
> My best parallel for having to build fitness was coming back from a knee injury several years ago. I started with 10 mile rides, which felt pretty pathetic to me, and built up conservatively. I found the 10%/week guideline to work pretty well. It's quite simple.
> 
> ...


That's seems very reasonable! I'm going to implement this. Thanks for the comprehensive advice!


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## ecub (Sep 2, 2011)

I'm 47, 177 lbs, not athletic and have a gut. Fortunately, I don't have any medical conditions (BP normal & no asthma). I did my 1st century last year on my birthday. Before then, I've only been doing a max distance of about 50 miles. When I did my century, I didn't push myself throughout the whole ride, though I did ride hard at some parts. It took me about 12 hours to do the century. That's because I stopped enjoyed the scenery allot, plus I was a Facebook junky. I also took about an hour break for lunch.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

ecub said:


> I'm 47, 177 lbs, not athletic and have a gut. Fortunately, I don't have any medical conditions (BP normal & no asthma). I did my 1st century last year on my birthday. Before then, I've only been doing a max distance of about 50 miles. When I did my century, I didn't push myself throughout the whole ride, though I did ride hard at some parts. It took me about 12 hours to do the century. That's because I stopped enjoyed the scenery allot, plus I was a Facebook junky. I also took about an hour break for lunch.


That's impressive, and taking time to smell the roses too!  I'd probably need that mentality (pacing) as well; I tend to push myself a bit too much - probably drain my tank at 50 miles on a 100 mile ride.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n (Mar 3, 2012)

I did a 55mile ride over the weekend and in the first 15miles, was trying to keep up with a faster group and with the heat, 'bonked' out and could only come back at a snail's pace. Had 3000ft+ of climbs in it too ... average speed was just shy of 14mph.

Should be able to hit the metric century soon and then aiming for the imperial century thereafter.
Problem is I can only get in 1 ride per week.


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## apn (Mar 1, 2012)

Others have given you good advice, but there are a lot of variables beside your age, fitness level and health.

100 miles on flat roads is very different than 100 miles of combined flats and rolling hills. Temperature will also be a factor; riding 100 miles at 75F will be much more comfortable than at 100F

It's best to build distance gradually, but since you have prior history and fitness, I'd be inclined to ramp a little more aggressively than others have suggested; but adjust the plan depending on how you feel after each stage.

I'm a similar age as OP, but a little heavier. As a former (very active) mtn biker, after a winter of spinning classes I picked up my first road bike at Easter in preparation for a double-century weekend ride (360Km total) on the weekend of June 9/10 this year. Building gradually, I completed my first metric century about 4wks after getting the bike, then was doing 200+ Km a week leading up to the event. The worst thing about that event was waking Sunday morning (after doing 180Km on Sat) and thinking that I had to do it again; hills and all. I wouldn't call it a breeze, but I completed the return trip at just shy of 28kph = 18mph


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

apn said:


> The worst thing about that event was waking Sunday morning (after doing 180Km on Sat) and thinking that I had to do it again; hills and all. I wouldn't call it a breeze, but I completed the return trip at just shy of 28kph = 18mph


That's very impressive. The winter workouts must've really paid off!


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## Erion929 (Jun 10, 2010)

I'll say this much.....I've done 70 miles four times now, and getting to 100 is NOT yet in the cards. I ride 4400 ft. of climbing in those 70 miles and it's all I can do to get back home without dying....it takes 5 hrs. for me. Things start happening to me at 60+ miles that were not there at 50 miles....sore neck, shoulders, calf/quad cramps. I ride 3x/week, with maybe a 15 miler, a 25 miler, and a longer one of 50+ miles. Some people say "if you can do 70, you can do 100" but it depends on the terrain.....30 more miles of hilly terrain is not just a simple proposition sometimes.

I need to drink more, probably eat more, consider supplemental electrolytes, and keep ramping up the mileage....I rarely get any flat stages of ground so it's going to take awhile, I think :blush2:

**


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## noysboy (May 1, 2012)

This is an incredibly helpful thread. Thanks for everyone's input!

Im still at a 35 mile long ride. I can do back to back days of 30 and feel pretty good. Would like to get to a metric century in the next couple of months.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

Your performance goal for the century also matters. (And if you're going for a 100-mile ride on your own, or doing an organized century.)

The advice so far is spot-on for if you want to ride your century within a stone's throw of your regular pace.

If you don't mind slowing down a bit and spending a little more time at rest stops, then the other rule of thumb is that you can ride in a day what you usually ride in a week without any additional "training" or working up to it.

That's exactly the way I did my first century. At age 50, and having been cycling 18 months, I decided to ride to a nearby state park to do some leaf-peeping. At the end of the day I logged 102.73 miles in just under 7½ hours. The 13.8 average speed was well off my usual 15-16 at the time, but I'd done zero prep, no "training", just my usual 100-120 miles a week, mainly commuting.

These days I also don't do anything special for a 100-mile ride on my own. I do train for organized centuries so that I can keep my speed up and finish before they shut down for the night. I really dislike training, so I don't do many organized centuries, but I'm always up for a 100-mile spin.


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## heybrady (Jul 3, 2011)

noysboy said:


> This is an incredibly helpful thread. Thanks for everyone's input!
> 
> Im still at a 35 mile long ride. I can do back to back days of 30 and feel pretty good. Would like to get to a metric century in the next couple of months.


You will be fine. As long as the 35 isn't dead flat while the metric is all hills. 

I ride 2-3 times per week for 25-30 miles per ride (on mostly flat ground) due to kids and work constraints. I did a metric with 2500ft of climbing this past June without a whole lot of real training, other than a couple normal rides per week. I felt good after the metric, with the heat (90*) being the worst part. 

I am doing ms150 next weekend in pretty much a flat course and am not worried at all.


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## ScooterDobs (Nov 26, 2010)

My experience this year is that there IS a difference going longer distances and it relates to continuous time in the saddle and long duration of exertion. You have to learn from these extended rides what works for you so that you are prepared for the event itself. Small pains on shorter rides become significant on longer rides. What clothing works for you in the morning and transitioning to warmer temperatures so you know what to carry with you. Food that sits well with you over longer rides. Hydration that works and doesn't upset your stomach. Chaffing. All of these things start to come into play as the hours on the bike add up. The only way I know of to prepare for this is to experience it on your training rides so you can experiment with what works for you.


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## ScottsSupersix (Mar 25, 2012)

My advice would be to consider a metric century for this year, and ride 50 miles at least once a week to prepare for it. Personally I have never ridden 100 miles at one time, but I ride 60 miles every Saturday with my ride group(two stops). For me, around 3 hours on the bike is enough, at least for now. I can't imagine sitting on that seat for six hours. But then again, I am a new rider, maybe I will toughen up a bit over time.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

Erion929 said:


> I'll say this much.....I've done 70 miles four times now, and getting to 100 is NOT yet in the cards. I ride 4400 ft. of climbing in those 70 miles and it's all I can do to get back home without dying....it takes 5 hrs. for me. Things start happening to me at 60+ miles that were not there at 50 miles....sore neck, shoulders, calf/quad cramps. I ride 3x/week, with maybe a 15 miler, a 25 miler, and a longer one of 50+ miles. Some people say "if you can do 70, you can do 100" but it depends on the terrain.....30 more miles of hilly terrain is not just a simple proposition sometimes.
> 
> I need to drink more, probably eat more, consider supplemental electrolytes, and keep ramping up the mileage....I rarely get any flat stages of ground so it's going to take awhile, I think :blush2:
> 
> **


This is really good advice! I have a pretty sensitive stomach and, subconsciously, I under-eat to avoid stomach issues - obviously, this would affect me negatively on longer rides.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

On a side note, I'm participating in my first triathlon team relay doing the cycling portion in 4 weeks - a 10 mile race. I guess it would be more like a time trial run.


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Mergetrio said:


> I've been back into cycling after almost 20 years of no cycling, and recently got back into it. It's been about 5 weeks since I got my new road bike, and I've been riding 4-6 times a week. For the past 2 1/2 weeks, I've been doing 18.5 mile rides at 15.5-16.0 mph average. I feel pretty good after my rides, and recover pretty fast.
> 
> In light of that, what are some of the indicators that would give me confidence that I'm ready for organized rally rides? I think I can definitely do 50 mile rides (w/ rest stops), and possibly a century ride later this year.


Just go and do the 40 or 50... charity ride.... you'll have fun and you can assess yourself on what needs improvement.... 

Try to get some friends to ride with you or join a group ride... there's also the "Team In Training" that you can join, and do training rides with and when the centuries come... you can do it with them, along with their support network.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Mergetrio said:


> On a side note, I'm participating in my first triathlon team relay doing the cycling portion in 4 weeks - a 10 mile race. I guess it would be more like a time trial run.


Time trials are races too.

I did a short TT as a leg in a long multi-sport race a while ago. It was a lot of fun. I passed more people that day than I had in an entire season of MTB racing. 

If you devote one or two workouts each week for the next three weeks to being faster, you'll be faster. Google around some and you should be able to find some intervals protocols that are aimed at time trialing.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

AndrwSwitch said:


> Time trials are races too.
> 
> I did a short TT as a leg in a long multi-sport race a while ago. It was a lot of fun. I passed more people that day than I had in an entire season of MTB racing.
> 
> If you devote one or two workouts each week for the next three weeks to being faster, you'll be faster. Google around some and you should be able to find some intervals protocols that are aimed at time trialing.


My friend (physical therapist/ triathlete) is taking the lead in training 5 relay teams this coming month. He's giving us tips as well as leading training runs that focus on different aspects of cycling and cross-training.. I'm participating as much as I can.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

If you want to be faster on your bike, try to ride your bike faster. Running won't hurt, but if you have to choose one or the other to fit within your time constraints or training tolerance, make it cycling. If your friend's not given you an intervals workout (and you're looking to be faster, they kind of suck so if you and your team just want to finish, don't bother) click around and find a protocol.


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## gabedad (Jul 12, 2012)

I just signed up for NH seacoast century. I am going for the metric one. I started riding again after 20+ yeas and I had gastric bypass surgery last september

Now 150 pounds lighter and average between 20-30 mile rides a 2-3 times per week. My average speed is 15-18 and my furthest has been 52 miles in 3.5 hours.

I think I am ready for a metric century. They have back to back rides on the weekend of the event so I may try back to back metric centuries.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

gabedad said:


> I just signed up for NH seacoast century. I am going for the metric one. I started riding again after 20+ yeas and I had gastric bypass surgery last september
> 
> Now 150 pounds lighter and average between 20-30 mile rides a 2-3 times per week. My average speed is 15-18 and my furthest has been 52 miles in 3.5 hours.
> 
> I think I am ready for a metric century. They have back to back rides on the weekend of the event so I may try back to back metric centuries.


Wow, that's fantastic!


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## Digger51 (May 12, 2006)

I knew I was ready for a century the day I rode a 50 miler and was not gassed. That was November. I scheduled rides of 65, 75 and 85 in the next 8 weeks with 40 to 50 mile rides in between and by February I rode my first century with a goal of just finishing. it was difficult, but I finished.


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## professionalsql (Apr 5, 2012)

ZoSoSwiM said:


> IMO riding 100 miles isn't the hard part.. Staying hydrated, continually eating, properly pacing yourself, and staying comfortable are harder.


^^^^THIS

When I did the AMBBR in Tahoe in June with Team in Training (A charity that helps get people get ready for such events), I passed a few - male and female alike - that I would bet significant $$$ were 300# plus and were riding 30-40# mountain bikes. I know at least two of them finished, although I believe one of them was SAG'd forward just a bit due to time rules on the course. They didn't ride fast - they rode the pace they could ride and finish, and I respect the hell out of them for it.

All the training advice here appears to be sound, and I wouldn't recommend jumping from 18.5 straight up to a century, but if you can do 18.5 comfortably, then you certainly can get yourself to century level, and probably faster than you might think.


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