Cycling: stick with the 50k or go for the 100k? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Eckhardt]

There didn't seem to be enough cycling related threads in After Hours so I thought I would add another

There's a local charity ride coming up on June 13 that I would like to enter. They have either a 50k or a 100k route and I'm trying to decide on which one to ride. I bought my road bike (a Giant OCR-1) at the beginning of April and so far have ridden about 300 miles (I'd have ridden more, but weather and yard work sometimes get in the way...) A typical ride for me is 20-30 miles so I know I'll have no problems with the 50k. My longest ride so far is 43 miles. I was pretty much dead afterwards but it was mostly my fault for riding mid-day on a hot day, not bringing along any food, and running out of water. I also probably should have had more to eat that morning before I went on the ride.

So, do you think I should stick with the 50k or go for the 100k? Any training tips or general recommendations for longer rides? I'm hoping to get myself ready to ride in an MS 150 event this September before heading out to California for the HTF meet.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Hey Kevin, I also just got an OCR1 XL a few weeks ago...love it so far!

>>>I was pretty much dead afterwards but it was mostly my fault for riding mid-day on a hot day, not bringing along any food, and running out of water. I also probably should have had more to eat that morning before I went on the ride.

 

[Jay H]

When you did the 43 mile ride, did you do it by yourself? Many organized rides there are bound to be plenty of rest areas and other cyclists which typically mean you will be going slower, chatting it up with others, resting at the rest areas, etc. etc. If you did 43 miles by yourself, you may have been going faster with less stops. I know when I do solo centuries and other long rides, I tend to go faster than when there is food and rest areas and stuff.

You also have plenty of time to train for the MS150 in september so don't feel like you have to do either.

Also, what I would do is get the cue sheets for both the 50k and the 100k and then figure out where they leave each other, than you can decide when they split whether you feel like going the extra 50k or not. You'll probably add another 2-2.5 hours or so to your ride so leave as if you were going to do the 100k and then decide when they split.

You might surprise yourself at how much better you feel when you leave earlier in the day (read: cooler) and the feeling that you have more time to complete it.

Jay

 

[Citizen87645]

Thought you might find this helpful and it's also a glimpse at a ride I would someday like to do. Maybe I will set this as a goal for my vacation next summer, seeing that the California meet is my trip this year.

http://www.cycleoregon.com/prepare.htm

 

[DwightK]

My first metric century was on my mountain bike (Santa Cruz Superlight) riding the railroad grade to West Yellowstone. No pavement, all dirt, uphill going, downhill returning. Not a good choice for a 67 mile jaunt. Still averaged close to 13mph. Fun but my palms and fingers were numb for a month afterwards. Since then I've done the same mileage or more on my road bike and recumbent. Both much easier. Just make sure you bring enough calories to eat and eat reasonably often.

It is SOOO much easier with wheels to suck off of than solo. Well, you pull some too but still the energy expended in a draft is a small percentage of what you would expend solo.

 

[Eric Kahn]

I just bought a Vision model 32 recumbent that the local bike shop had in the basement for a few years, I might be able to make the first 2 miles right now but not much further at this time

I also think Vision is out of business:frowning:

 

[DwightK]

I have a Vision R40 which is great for long distances. Just got a Volae Club high racer a couple weeks ago for fast cruising. I also have a bunch of normal bikes as well but the bents are a bit better on my knee while I recover from ACL reconstruction from this winter. Stupid old man playing in the halfpipes and terrain parks:b

Yes Vision is out of business. Not through any real fault of bike making decisions but more the companies other ventures. All still good bikes though. Well designed.

If you aren't used to SWB bents you just have to always remember to relax your upper body and arms when riding. The more relaxed you are the smoother and easier the bent will behave.

Hope you enjoy your bent experience.

 

[Aurel Savin]

Kevin, I did a 108 mile ride once for MS here in NY with pretty much no training for those type of rides + I was on a mountain bike.
Looking back at it not sure how I did it, but music and headphones as well as the fact that we were riding in a bunch helped. If I was alone I would have been dead beat.

The longest previous ride to that was a 60 mile one for the same cause the year before.

Took 4 breaks on the ride and had energy bars with me and lots of Gatorade at every stop. The weather was a nice September mild day.

Good luck ... if you have not done 50 miles yet .. do not try the 100 off the bat. Think about it ... it is double of the 50 ... it is like doing the route twice. It might not look like much written down.

 

[Jay H]

Kilometers Aurel, not miles...

I've past a few folks doing centuries on mountain bikes. a couple of them must have left super early cause we didn't pass him til like mile 60 or so.

Jay

 

[Eric Kahn]

I think it is a medium wheelbase recumbent, front wheel is just ahead of the pedals and the handle bars are high, I need to take a picture of it

 

[CameronJ]

Kevin,

You can get a lot of training in in a month. You basically have three good training weeks ahead of you. Make sure you get in at least two medium-length, higher-intensity rides during the week. Medium length is about 60% of your long rides. Push yourself on these rides.

Increase your long ride by about 5 miles a week, stopping at about 50-55 miles.

Then plan on taking it easy on the ride. Stop at all the aid stations, drink a crap load of water, eat a lot of energy bars (or whatever food you like). Think about a performance drink.

I've got a century to do on June 6th. Unfortunately, I've been working way too hard the last two months and have only really started riding this last week. It's really going to hurt. I did 63 miles last weekend, and wasn't feeling to hot. I'll be doing the century on my road bike, while my buddy will be doing it on his mountain bike. He'll beat me.

Above all else, make sure that your body can handle whatever food you'll be eating on the long ride. Absolutely positively do not eat something new.

 

[Kevin Eckhardt]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

The 43 mile ride was on my own and I didn't really take any rest breaks. This is typical of almost all of my rides as I usually do ride alone, though not stopping on a 25 mile ride has a lot less impact than not stopping on a 40 mile plus ride as I discovered

I've been mapping out some different rides leaving from home and have discovered quite a few somewhat more rural roads to ride on not too far from my house. I've even come across some other cyclists enjoying the same roads.

I'm going to try for 40 miles again this evening, but this time I'm going to carry along a power-bar or two and I planned the route so that there is a gas station at the half-way point so I can stop and get some Gatorade.

If this goes well I'll try and slowly bump up the mileage on my weekend ride like CameronJ suggested.

 

[Kevin Eckhardt]

Cameron_Y:

The Cycle Oregon thing looks pretty neat, thanks for the link. They do a similar week long "Mountains to the Coast" ride here in NC. Believe it or not I first found out about the ride thanks to HT. It wasn't long after I had gotten my HDTV cable box so I was watching pretty much anything I could in hi-def. One of the local channels, WRAL, is pretty good about HDTV (if I remember correctly they were the first station in the country to broadcast a digital signal back in 1996) and they've made a lot of locally produced material. One of the pieces I watched talked about the ride and had a lot of good hi-def footage of people cycling.

 

[Citizen87645]

Well, I started riding yesterday to prepare for a weekend tour in late July. Unfortunately I got my butt kicked by my allergies, which are at their worst from now until the end of June. I think I'm going to have to train indoors on my stationary bike. Any suggestions?

 

[Jay H]

Training indoors or training with allergies?

Sometimes you can find the cloudier, wetter days to be better with allergies.. I have moderate allergy problems and I get it the worst because I am outside biking to work each morning so I know my nose runs like a faucet during these months. I usually just grin and bear it for the most part. Some days are better than others of course, the rainier days are obviously better.

Training indoors could be even better in a way, it'll isolate all the unknowns like road conditions, wind, etc... It's definitely not as fun. I could not ride indoors, I don't own a trainer or rollers, but it has its pros too.

Build up your mileage, ride at a faster pace that you think you will ride and just enjoy it. Don't forget to eat at most 30 minutes after the training just to refresh the muscles and if you're using your bike, use a towel on the stem/top tube lest you get sweat all over it...

Jay

 

[Citizen87645]

My thought is I will work on building my stamina doing the indoor stuff, then when allergy season ends go outside and focus on riding hills. It will definitely not be as fun, but maybe I can catch up on some movies

My allergies have been much better since getting immunotherapy shots, but grass pollen is the worst offender and it's the beginning of its season out here, "Grass Seed Capital of the World."

My stationary bike is an old one and there are no guages that work so I can't track mileage. I guess I'll just go for time, figuring an average speed of 10 mph and going for a couple hours.

 

[John*C]

50 miles was my limit on Bicycles I entered many of 50/100 mile 'poker' runs during my cycling lifetime. I biked 27 miles a day 7/365 in the clear skies or rain on Bicycles, only snow kept me indoors on my stationary bike. I rode my MC in all seasons and was affiliated with a number of clubs, then came the van clan era of the 70's. Taking our dodge van we had a rack for 2 bicycles with the spare tire under the back bed.


Remember those vans with the plate that said "Don't come a knocking when you see the van a rocking"? I had mine, my wife Mae went ballistic when I put one of the first to be seen in our neck of the woods, but she got used to it and the van kept a rocking.

 

[Kevin Eckhardt]

Well I did it, I completed my first metric century on Sunday.

Total distance: 62.6 miles
Time on bike: 3:54:16
Overall time: about 4.5 hours
Avg speed: 16 mph
Max speed: 34 mph

It was an overcast day with some light rain early on, but it cleared up and dried out before the halfway point. The cooler temperatures were definitely nice. There were two pit stops and I stopped at both to refuel. I took a nice long nap when I got home and then had a steak for dinner that evening.

I expected to be a little sore today, but I'm not really feeling much soreness. I definitely feel like I should be able to handle to the two 75 mile days for the MS150 come September.

 

[Citizen87645]

Congratulations!

I had a chance to check out the general area of where I'll be riding in July. It doesn't seem too bad for elevation, but I'm going to train as much as possible for it.

 

[Matt Stryker]

Congrats! Hey, a new Nashbar catalog just came out, you should pick out a prize for the accomplishment .

(of course, being in Durham you may be more of a Performance catalog guy.)

I feel like a loser, I did 22 mi on Saturday, averaging right around 14. But it was 95 degrees with close to max humidity, so I didn't feel too bad. I was definitely sticking to the shady patches of road on the way back.