Just completed my first century.
Discussion
So, yesterday along with a friend and a fellow PH'er OPTIMAX SNIFFER, I completed my first 100 miler !
To say that I'm absolutely proud as punch is an understatement !
I've only really been in training for it this year and did the course in 9hrs 18min. Probably waaaaaaay off some of the times that some of you in here are capable of but most importantly I completed it.
To anybody else out there who's thinking about doing your first century - just do it. It's a fantastic feeling.
To say that I'm absolutely proud as punch is an understatement !
I've only really been in training for it this year and did the course in 9hrs 18min. Probably waaaaaaay off some of the times that some of you in here are capable of but most importantly I completed it.
To anybody else out there who's thinking about doing your first century - just do it. It's a fantastic feeling.
Edited by M3John on Saturday 24th May 10:25
Cheers guys ! You've no idea how happy I am with my achievement.
I'd say that ideally you'd want to do an organised ride with food & drink stations posted along the route as these are vital (well to me anyway) for a distance as long as this. If you haven't a route planned be sure to get a couple of water bottles on the bike plus a 'camel back' too. Also try and navigate somewhere where you can get replenishments of food and water. Pubs for some tap water for example.
As you can see from my post it's an all day affair so start early and plan the route ahead. I started riding at 8am and finished just after 5 and I was simply following a signed route. If you're going to do it randomly then it may take a little longer.
R1gtr said:
Well done, any tips? Only been riding since March and I am thinking of doing it this weekend weather dependant, no route planned as such, just going to keep cycling and see how I get on.
Any tips? Yes, plan ahead ! I'd say that ideally you'd want to do an organised ride with food & drink stations posted along the route as these are vital (well to me anyway) for a distance as long as this. If you haven't a route planned be sure to get a couple of water bottles on the bike plus a 'camel back' too. Also try and navigate somewhere where you can get replenishments of food and water. Pubs for some tap water for example.
As you can see from my post it's an all day affair so start early and plan the route ahead. I started riding at 8am and finished just after 5 and I was simply following a signed route. If you're going to do it randomly then it may take a little longer.
Edited by M3John on Monday 12th May 21:06
Well done op :-)
Its a significant milestone! I did my first one in January - the first is always the hardest!
The most important advice, is eat. Drink. ReFuel. Constantly. From the moment you set off,
I bonked spectacularly on a 300k ride by not constantly eating. I was used to fuelling for 200k and at 215k low.... I was suffering like never before. Practically incoherent too.
Like being drunk and ludicrously hungover at the same time.... Not an experience I want to repeat!
My next one is in June and I'll get it right :-)
Its a significant milestone! I did my first one in January - the first is always the hardest!
The most important advice, is eat. Drink. ReFuel. Constantly. From the moment you set off,
I bonked spectacularly on a 300k ride by not constantly eating. I was used to fuelling for 200k and at 215k low.... I was suffering like never before. Practically incoherent too.
Like being drunk and ludicrously hungover at the same time.... Not an experience I want to repeat!
My next one is in June and I'll get it right :-)
TheLemming said:
Well done op :-)
Cheers ! 
TheLemming said:
The most important advice, is eat. Drink. ReFuel. Constantly. From the moment you set off,
This ^ I can't emphasize it enough ! R1gtr said:
Cheers for the advice, taking on food and fluid is something I am shockingly bad for not doing.
I have done a few 80k rides with just one bottle to keep me going and I usually find I have plenty left at the end, I need to force myself to drink I think.
Well done again, 150 next?
Nope, I think I'll leave it at 104 if that's ok with you? I have done a few 80k rides with just one bottle to keep me going and I usually find I have plenty left at the end, I need to force myself to drink I think.
Well done again, 150 next?
Seriously though, more fluid will be needed for sure. I've done a few 50 & 60 miler's without any trouble what so ever and one 70 mile ride too but this was a much bigger step I found.
Fotic said:
How much did you eat/drink on the ride OP? I'm a bit of a gannet at the best of times so would be interested to hear what you get through on one.
The short answer is nowhere near enough ! If you think you're a gannet then I'd say double that, probably even more !When I finally got to the feeding stations I found that I was knocking back a full water bottle straight away within a few seconds then a few more mouthfuls before topping the pair of them up and heading off. As for food, those energy bars / gel thinggys are very good indeed. Stock up on those for sure. Might have been just me but, after a while (second feeding station onwards) I found the bars hard to swallow. I could chew them just fine (and tasted lovely) but swallow them nowt. The gel's on the other hand, and as grose as they were, I found to consume fairly easily.
Jester27 said:
Well done! Completed my first at the end of last year. I know how proud you must be feeing!
Indeed I am !
Gruffy said:
Dunwich Dynamo next? Go on, go on, go on.
Can I get back to you on that one mate? ....trundles off to Google and punches in the Dunwich Dynamo....
Well done!
Booked onto my first one in July the Worcester Classic, which goes down to the Cotswolds and back. Route looks as friendly as a 100 can be with the big hill somewhere in the middle rather than towards the end.
Did a couple of 80 milers last summer/Autumn and really enjoyed those, although one was the weekend of the Sept storms and was a tough a ride as I've ever done (and on my old 5-speed Peugeot that weighs the same as a five barred gate) so can't wait to make the next step up - and a shiny new bike to do it on too!
Booked onto my first one in July the Worcester Classic, which goes down to the Cotswolds and back. Route looks as friendly as a 100 can be with the big hill somewhere in the middle rather than towards the end.
Did a couple of 80 milers last summer/Autumn and really enjoyed those, although one was the weekend of the Sept storms and was a tough a ride as I've ever done (and on my old 5-speed Peugeot that weighs the same as a five barred gate) so can't wait to make the next step up - and a shiny new bike to do it on too!
I got a place quite recently on the RideLondon 100. I’m starting from a pretty low standard of fitness and currently on a MTB. I’m riding 3 times a week with Basketball (although off season) building up to near 90 miles 2 weeks before then slowing down a bit leading up to race day.
So any tips on training would be greatly appreciated!
So any tips on training would be greatly appreciated!
They often say if you start to feel hungry/thirsty you've left it too late. For a 50 miler I would take one 750 ml water bottle, 2 gels and maybe a flapjack or biccies of some kind, but we're all different and some may find that too much or too little. I drink a mouthfull from the water bottle every 10-15 mins, have one gel around half way (thinking if there is a steep hill in the next 5-10 miles I'll get a lift) and have the last gel 30-40 mins from the end. I also stop for 10 mins or so to eat the flapjack; my toes usually go numb after a couple of hours and a quick 10 min break is good.
Half a pint of milk as soon as I get in.
Down in Sussex and Surrey you're rarely far from a shop or garage so can get extra if you need to, and I don't like having too much stuff bulging out of my pockets.
On longer rides I crave variety so wouldn't just double the above. I'd probably stop for some pub grub and a couple of pints, but that usually takes over an hour and getting started again is really hard. Whilst it isn't great nutrionally it isn't bad and is a lot more enjoyable than some of the sciency energy stuff.
Half a pint of milk as soon as I get in.
Down in Sussex and Surrey you're rarely far from a shop or garage so can get extra if you need to, and I don't like having too much stuff bulging out of my pockets.
On longer rides I crave variety so wouldn't just double the above. I'd probably stop for some pub grub and a couple of pints, but that usually takes over an hour and getting started again is really hard. Whilst it isn't great nutrionally it isn't bad and is a lot more enjoyable than some of the sciency energy stuff.
M3John - looks like that route went up some major climbs, is that right?
Type R Tom - depending on your age and how you recover from exertion I'd start to up the training. It's 8 weeks from Sunday! I would do the distance once before the day itself, to give yourself an idea of what you're coming up against. That way you'll know how much food and drink to take with you (or plan where to get more) and how it feels to keep pushing yourself that far. Are you doing the event on the MTB? If so get rid of the knobblies and get some thinner road tyres; they are usually almost slick and will make a lot of difference to how the mtb feels and how much effort you need to keep it going.
Other than one big ride, I would vary your training and routes as much as you can. One short (say 60 mins) ride as hard as you can push yourself, or don't go that hard for the 60 but do some intervals. One ride where you climb hills over and over (and off-road is usually harder than on road) one 2 hrs or so recovery where you keep your efforts down to 60-65% of your max.
The course itself has 4 hills; Newlands isn't too bad, and Boxhill isn't either. Leith Hill is pretty tough, it is also narrow and with the worst surface so you may find it is hard to keep pedalling because of the sheer numbers of people trying to squeeze through. There is also a hill in Wimbledon which no-one tells you about and as it is near the end you will be shagged out. Caught me by surprise last year!
If it is anything like last year the crowds cheering you on will give you a hell of a lift, and the friendliness of nearly all the riders is great too.
Type R Tom - depending on your age and how you recover from exertion I'd start to up the training. It's 8 weeks from Sunday! I would do the distance once before the day itself, to give yourself an idea of what you're coming up against. That way you'll know how much food and drink to take with you (or plan where to get more) and how it feels to keep pushing yourself that far. Are you doing the event on the MTB? If so get rid of the knobblies and get some thinner road tyres; they are usually almost slick and will make a lot of difference to how the mtb feels and how much effort you need to keep it going.
Other than one big ride, I would vary your training and routes as much as you can. One short (say 60 mins) ride as hard as you can push yourself, or don't go that hard for the 60 but do some intervals. One ride where you climb hills over and over (and off-road is usually harder than on road) one 2 hrs or so recovery where you keep your efforts down to 60-65% of your max.
The course itself has 4 hills; Newlands isn't too bad, and Boxhill isn't either. Leith Hill is pretty tough, it is also narrow and with the worst surface so you may find it is hard to keep pedalling because of the sheer numbers of people trying to squeeze through. There is also a hill in Wimbledon which no-one tells you about and as it is near the end you will be shagged out. Caught me by surprise last year!
If it is anything like last year the crowds cheering you on will give you a hell of a lift, and the friendliness of nearly all the riders is great too.
!!Daveyraveygravey said:
M3John - looks like that route went up some major climbs, is that right?
Type R Tom - depending on your age and how you recover from exertion I'd start to up the training. It's 8 weeks from Sunday! I would do the distance once before the day itself, to give yourself an idea of what you're coming up against. That way you'll know how much food and drink to take with you (or plan where to get more) and how it feels to keep pushing yourself that far. Are you doing the event on the MTB? If so get rid of the knobblies and get some thinner road tyres; they are usually almost slick and will make a lot of difference to how the mtb feels and how much effort you need to keep it going.
Other than one big ride, I would vary your training and routes as much as you can. One short (say 60 mins) ride as hard as you can push yourself, or don't go that hard for the 60 but do some intervals. One ride where you climb hills over and over (and off-road is usually harder than on road) one 2 hrs or so recovery where you keep your efforts down to 60-65% of your max.
The course itself has 4 hills; Newlands isn't too bad, and Boxhill isn't either. Leith Hill is pretty tough, it is also narrow and with the worst surface so you may find it is hard to keep pedalling because of the sheer numbers of people trying to squeeze through. There is also a hill in Wimbledon which no-one tells you about and as it is near the end you will be shagged out. Caught me by surprise last year!
If it is anything like last year the crowds cheering you on will give you a hell of a lift, and the friendliness of nearly all the riders is great too.
You panicked me then, it's not 8 weeks away, date is 10th Aug. 88 days, 16 hours according to the web site! Type R Tom - depending on your age and how you recover from exertion I'd start to up the training. It's 8 weeks from Sunday! I would do the distance once before the day itself, to give yourself an idea of what you're coming up against. That way you'll know how much food and drink to take with you (or plan where to get more) and how it feels to keep pushing yourself that far. Are you doing the event on the MTB? If so get rid of the knobblies and get some thinner road tyres; they are usually almost slick and will make a lot of difference to how the mtb feels and how much effort you need to keep it going.
Other than one big ride, I would vary your training and routes as much as you can. One short (say 60 mins) ride as hard as you can push yourself, or don't go that hard for the 60 but do some intervals. One ride where you climb hills over and over (and off-road is usually harder than on road) one 2 hrs or so recovery where you keep your efforts down to 60-65% of your max.
The course itself has 4 hills; Newlands isn't too bad, and Boxhill isn't either. Leith Hill is pretty tough, it is also narrow and with the worst surface so you may find it is hard to keep pedalling because of the sheer numbers of people trying to squeeze through. There is also a hill in Wimbledon which no-one tells you about and as it is near the end you will be shagged out. Caught me by surprise last year!
If it is anything like last year the crowds cheering you on will give you a hell of a lift, and the friendliness of nearly all the riders is great too.
I’m basically upping my Sunday long rides between 5-10 miles per week building up to 90-100 close to the time and then doing up to 15 to 20 miles twice a week in between.
I’ve been keeping an eye on eBay for a new road bike, struggling to find a large one locally at a decent price (I’m 6ft2) so considering a new one on the cycle to work scheme. At the moment my 1997 GT Zaskar is on MTB tyres and I’ve considered swapping them but I thought the £60 ish needed would be better spent on a road bike.
Hills are my biggest problem, on the flat I can ride comfortably at a fair pace all day long but as soon as I get to a hill I struggle and inevitably end up walking up
Another problems will be the social life getting in the way of training, got a couple of stag do’s and Glastonbury between now and then but I wanted the challange so I am looking forward to it.
Remember this 60g per hour figure for carb intake is based on what the stomach can process, not necessarily what you may need. Brands like High 5 and SiS are guilty of pushing this 60g figure but I dont think they explain it well enough.
Also remember that in this modern age of sports nutrition, its very easy to over fuel. An energy bar, a gel and a sports drink will be well over 100g of carbs and from previous posts, thats some peoples hourly intake. There is no point fuelling your body with 60g of carbs per hour if you are riding at 20kmh on a route with few demanding hills regardless of your physique.
When you start to feel stomach pains whilst riding, you think it is bonking but more commonly it is your stomach screaming enough as a result of over-fuelling. Typically people will throw more carbs at the problem unaware that is the cause and end up feeling worse.
Finally, train your body to use its fat reserves rather than build up a reliance on carbs. Most people will have sufficent fat reserves to provide energy for at least an hour of fairly high intensity exercise with nothing but water.
Also remember that in this modern age of sports nutrition, its very easy to over fuel. An energy bar, a gel and a sports drink will be well over 100g of carbs and from previous posts, thats some peoples hourly intake. There is no point fuelling your body with 60g of carbs per hour if you are riding at 20kmh on a route with few demanding hills regardless of your physique.
When you start to feel stomach pains whilst riding, you think it is bonking but more commonly it is your stomach screaming enough as a result of over-fuelling. Typically people will throw more carbs at the problem unaware that is the cause and end up feeling worse.
Finally, train your body to use its fat reserves rather than build up a reliance on carbs. Most people will have sufficent fat reserves to provide energy for at least an hour of fairly high intensity exercise with nothing but water.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 13th May 15:00
Eating is quite a personal thing, the good thing about Surrey is you're never far from a shop usually. I have done some quite long rides on not a lot, 80 or so miles on two snickers a few weeks back, not my best nutritional advice!
Can't see the route down to the actual climb, but guessing it wasn't totally flat, though major climbs might not be the best terms, we do have some members from ooop north on here, they scoff at Surrey and its 5 minute climbs
Can't see the route down to the actual climb, but guessing it wasn't totally flat, though major climbs might not be the best terms, we do have some members from ooop north on here, they scoff at Surrey and its 5 minute climbs
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