Centuries

I've never ridden a century, but was wondering what do people usually eat /drink, if people usually ride with or without aerobars. Also, how often do they stop for rest?
Are there any recommendations to visit/avoid in Southern California?

My wife and I are actually joinig a fund raiser called Team in Training (www.teamintraining.com) which will do the Solvang Century next year. As far as I know there are rest points every 20 or so miles (for food, drink etc) Energy bars/gels along with Water/Gatorade obviously helps. outside that, just putting as much miles as you can should help get you prepped.

If you want to add a good cause to your ride I'd reacommend TNT as they have been a great network of people to learn from and generally hang with.

On the first and only century I've done (I have plenty of time to do more, and plan to), I did not use aerobars, drank water (and gatorade at rest stops), and stopped no more than once every 12 miles. Oh yeah, and I ate snickers and granola bars for the most part (might have had some melon at one of the earlier stops).

We just had our club's annual Century ride here a couple of weeks ago. We have 5 rest stops total in 106 miles. Trick at the rest stops is to only stop for 5-10 minutes; fill your bottles, get a snack, maybe take some food with you, and keep riding. After 10 minutes or so, you can cool off, and the legs seem to stiffen up.

Hydration and electrolyte balance is first priority. Standard advice is to drink plenty of water and sports drink. I need about a liter an hour in the heat, maybe half that on a cool day.

Our rest stops have PBJ, grapes, bananas, salty nuts, and usually some cookies or other baked goods. About 60-75 grams of carb/ hour is plenty; you can only process so much fuel while you're riding; more just slows you down.

A lot of riders here do the "metric Century", or 62 miles. Suggest you start with that distance, and work up when that's comfortable for you. You'll get there!

a long but good read


ftp://draco.acs.uci.edu/pub/rec.bicycles/first.century

I think the answer depends largely on your level of conditioning and the conditions you're riding in. I've averaged above 10k miles/year for the last several years, generally ride one or two long rides (75-100 miles) per week and am in pretty good shape so my answer will certainly be different than someone who is new to riding or is limited to shorter rides.

With that as background, here are my answers. I only stop once, somewhere between 50-70 miles and only for a few (usually less than 5) minutes. For nutrition, I eat breakfast (muffins or pancakes) about 2 hours before the start and have an energy gel (usually GU) at 40-60-80 miles. I drink only water but if it's hot will take some enduralytes usually at 40 and 80 miles. I usually finish in 4-5 hours. As to aerobars, it depends on the course. On hilly routes, I generally won't use them, on flatter courses I will. All other things being equal, I prefer riding with aerobars not only for the aero advantage but also because it gives you the opportunity to vary your riding position which helps over long distances.

My advice for your first century would be to try and do as many longer (50 miles and up) as you can beforehand with at least one 75 mile ride. Use these rides to experiment with rests, food and drink: what, how much, how often. Things that work for others may not work for you. For example, a friend of mine usually has at least one banana during a century which would be enough to send me to the port-o-potties for an extended visit. Hydration is critical and it's important to start drinking before you feel thirsty. Try and keep rest periods short as they'll cause you to stiffen up, take it easy at the start and after rest stops to give yourself a chance to warm back up. Control your enthusiasm at the beginning and don't go out too hard as you'll likely pay for it later. If you do decide on aerobars, make sure you use them enough beforehand to get used to riding with them.

Hope this helps,

Greg

I'm getting ready to ride my first century on Saturday (the Sea Gull Century on the Maryland Eastern shore). I'm in no position to offer much advice, but I can tell you that the ride organizers for the Sea Gull do not want aerobars at all and long lines of folks drafting is discouraged - mainly for safety reasons I think. I'll be letting the fast paced folks get a head start and ride off the line 10-15 minutes after the opening :-). Check with the particular ride organizer or your local bike group and they should be able to give you some guidance. I would also recommend finding a buddy or two to ride with.

If you're in or visiting So. CA for a century there are plenty of great ones to choose from, although the season is winding down. A great first time century is the Amtrak Century from Irvine to San Diego, it's put on by Orange County Wheelmen and has a private train ride back to the start point. Solvang is a great century but is a little tougher, there are so many to choose from. Almost any of the ones put on in the Solvang area are great rides. A lot of ride promoters discourage or ban aero bars because they can be a hazard in groups and pace lines. Most centuries that I have ridden have well stocked rest stops every 15-25 miles. Try and bring the same food and drinks that you normally train with so that you don't throw your body for a surprise. Try and only take brief rest stops. Personally, I bring Carb Boom gels and Power Bar Endurance drink and bring a couple of baggies with drink mix in them to refill at the rest stops. Most important, ride your own pace, don't blow it by starting stronger than you can maintain. Ride with or find someone that rides your pace, it's much easier with a partner. Most importantly, have fun, meet some new friends and ride like the wind

I have done several centuries and I have found that I start the day with a huge bowl of instant oatmeal to carbo load prior to the ride 1-2 hours before.

On the ride I eat mostly fig newtons (bite size and if you read the package almost as many calories as a power bar at a fraction of the price) I also am a fan of power gels for the latter stages of the ride. Most rides will offer bannana's at the rest stops these are a great idea as the trace minerals in them help prevent cramping.

I am a pretty core roadie but I really like my Camelback Razor for Hydration as I tend to drink more often as it so convienient but also I can fill it with Ice cubes and water prior to departure so it stays colder longer. (cold water is more refreshing and I believe it is absorbed by the body faster than warm - I do stand to be corrected here though). I fill my 2 water bottles with Gatorade and take a few bags of pre-measured amounts of crystals to mix with water on the way to ensure proper strength and flavor. Also no thinking just dump, add water aggitate and go.

Finally I never stop more than 3 times, 2 times is ideal for me and for no more than 10 minutes for the reasons noted above.

Finally find someone to ride with. You can chat, enjoy the day and share the experience with, which is what I always remember the most from these rides.

As the previous replies indicated, everyone is different. I rode my first ever century this year. I had no idea what to expect. I am a commuter (100 miles/week avg) and a casual rider on the weekends with my family. I am also 50 years old. I did not train or due anything else special to prepare. I had no problems finishing and no lasting soreness after the ride. My strategy was to ride at my pace and resist the temptation to keep up with others. I ride in the 13-16 miles per hour range. I drank pelnty of fluids, both water and gatorade (about 1 water bottle every hour). I stopped at every rest stop (every 20 miles) for 5-10 minutes. Just enough time to refuel and use the rest room. At the 62 mile mark I did stop a little longer for lunch, maybe 15-20 minutes. This may have been a mistake. I was tired when I started again. I eat the usual, grainola bars, candy bars, fruit, cookies and PBJ, at all the stops. Not a lot but enough to keep fueled.
I started at 7:00am and reached the 62 mile mark at 12:00. I finished the ride about 3:30. Total time for riding 7-8 hours. I was very satisfied. Next time I would increase my longest ride per week so I peak at 75 miles the week before the ride. Most important: HAVE FUN. Thats what it's all about.