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How many have completed a Imperial Century?

4K views 36 replies 28 participants last post by  banosser 
#1 · (Edited)
I recently completed my first century. Physically it was the most difficult thing I have ever done. I will say this much, if you can do 50 miles; you physically can do 100, the only factor is how badly you want to. I don't know that I will complete another anytime soon, after ~80 miles the fun was gone and it was just a matter of getting home; I was exhausted.

This was intended to be a poll, not sure how to do that though.

My question and the thought that helped me on the last 20 miles was this: How many cyclists, let alone Americans, will ever ride 100 miles in 1 day. Anyone can quit....only the determined push through, staying focused on the end goal.

The other thing that helped me push though is in my signature. MY WIFE...You see my wife has MS. MS has deteriorated the nervous system in her body, she gets tired really easy, she has little feeling in her feet, some days it hurts just to move. Yet she is a grad student in psychology, a full time wife and mom, and my best friend. When I was out there struggling the last little bit, I was thinking this is how my wife feels when she is fresh and she does it every day. Like her I kept putting one foot in front of the other and made it to my goal...home.

I am riding in the Oregon Bike MS in August and this was part of my preparation for that ride.

Want to help find a cure for MS?? Ride in one if the Bike MS events or Donate to mine.
 
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#2 ·
I started road biking in Mid April this year and just finished the Big Ring Century this past Saturday. I had almost bailed midway through because I had developed muscle cramps in my calves and thighs since almost the 20 miles mark. I willed myself to finish even if I had to ride on the easiest gears much of the way to avoid putting too much stress on either legs. It can be done if you put your mind to it.
 
#4 ·
Good going. My first century was actually last year's MS ride.

We rode from Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NJ and back. Most people were staying overnight in OC, but four of us had things to do on Sunday so we rode back to Cherry Hill on the Saturday, after taking a 30-min break for pizza.

I did 141 miles that day, and felt like I could have done more. We had a 20.8mph average at the 100 mile mark, and ended up with a 20.1 at the end. One guy was fading fast, so we slowed down a lot.

I kept myself fueled and hydrated with electrolyte drinks the whole way, and I felt fine when we were done. I went out and did 30 miles the next day just for fun, and ended up back in the last part of the MS ride.

I'm looking forward to doing it again this year. I may go out with some friends and do a double century, or maybe 250 miles one day this summer. I have a couple of people interested so far :)
 
#8 ·
Great job! I was curious about riding down to Ocean City from Philly. I looked over the route that the MS150 folks took, how are the roads and shoulders going down to OC? Is it pretty safe? Any sketchy spots? It looked pretty flat too!

I was going to leave a few hours before the wife and kids and meet them down there. I mapped out a route that would be about 109 miles. Sound like a good idea? :)
 
#5 ·
Congrats on your accomplishment.

I've done a few centuries, and I agree - right around mile 80 is where, for me, it starts to get tough.

Actually, my first century was the easiest. I did it solo, because I didn't want the pressure of finishing within a certain time. A benefit that I did not realize I had until I had done other, group, centuries was that I did not feel pressured (inspired??) to ride at anyone else's pace, I just kept to my own. And, being my first century, I was very cautious about my pace and rode a bit slower than I really had to. The last 5 mi. or so, I was really flying because I had so much left in the tank and I was back on familiar roads.

I was in pretty good shape, though, since I'd been riding 2 - 3000 mi/year for a few years, and I'd regularly ride a (very) hilly 65 mi loop on week ends. For some reason I was intimidated by the 100 mi thing. I should have done it earlier.





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#7 ·
The more centuries that you do the easier they get. Also, some days a century seems easy, other days they are incredibly hard: wind, temperature, elevation change, fitness level, and nutrition all play factors in how hard a century ride is in any given day.

I signed up for my first 100 mile ride in 2002 and was not sure that I'd be able to complete it. I'd done a few 70 mile rides, but nothing further. However, after doing 100 miles the next time I did it, I knew that it was possible. Last year I did 6 or 7 100+ mile rides (although only one was an "official" event) including three 100+ mile rides in three consecutive days. In the past couple of years I've also done a 150 and 200 mile ride. Looking back, that first century was a huge goal for me, but once you've trained to complete one, you'll find that your body adapts and they get easier - although on a windy day a 100 mile ride (or less) can still seem incredibly difficult.
 
#9 ·
First and only registered supported imperial century ride...Started at the crack of dawn with a pack of 20 people, out-and-back route basically and a light breeze. At about mile 25, the wind really started picking up by mile 35 it the pack was scattered and a head wind of 25-30MPH had picked up in the plains with no windblock at all. Longest miles ever. The return trip though, didn't even need to pedal or use the drops, sit up and sail....was one of maybe 5 people to finish with time.
 
#11 ·
I've ridden all 25 of my local MS150 events in the Texas panhandle, 7 Waves to Wine MS150 events in Santa Rosa, CA, and 3 BP MS150 events Houston to Austin.
That's 35 in total.
I'll say that the MS organization has been top notch in every one of these which is why they've survived and grown over the years. About the only change I see is they have become overly concerned about risk/litigation which has actually influenced our local ride.
Our ride is this coming weekend and will include a very tough 105 route for Saturday.
Can't wait! :)
 
#12 ·
I did my first 2 weeks ago. 2013 Elephant Rock ride. 100 miles, 6,500 feet of elevation gain, a constant 15 mph headwind with stronger gusts, and all at a relatively high altitude (6,250 feet and higher). This was my first century ride, hell, it was my first ride over 63 miles. It was a COLD 41 degrees when we started with a strong steady 15 mph headwind for the first 45 miles and through most of the climbing with gusts over 25 mph. The wind remained strong all morning and eventually died off once we finally got to turn and head back North. It hurt us in the morning and didn't help us in the afternoon. Aid stations were not set up for a quick in and out, you turned off the course and road down the street till you got to the aid area and then water bottles were refilled with pitchers. The one mechanical issue was from my TorHans Aero 30 bottle, every bump in the road it will leak a little fluid out the straw hole, it ran down the bike and gummed up the rear derailleur and shift cable. I lost rear shifting a few miles before an aid station where the mechanic gave it a quick clean/lube/adjustment to get me my gears back. Aid stations setup, waiting for my wife at each aid station, and the mechanical were the cause for the 29 minute minutes of not moving time. I crossed the finish and my GPS read 99.xx miles, I road a couple circles in the parking lot to get it to read 100 miles before I stopped it, overall it was 6:30 total time, not bad considering the wind and amount of climbing. The ride was a bit easier than I was expecting.
 
#17 ·
Don't be apprehensive. STP is an easy 200+ miles because it is so flat. Try to get in a couple of longer rides. 100 and 120 would be good.

I did the one-day when I was 41 and 61. I have 15 more years to get ready for 81. I have a Spectrum in Seattle so I might start doing STP a little more often.

Jeff
 
#16 ·
I recently completed my first century. Physically it was the most difficult thing I have ever done. I will say this much, if you can do 50 miles; you physically can do 100, the only factor is how badly you want to. I don't know that I will complete another anytime soon, after ~80 miles the fun was gone and it was just a matter of getting home; I was exhausted.
Assuming you did a decent job of preparation, it is most likely that you rode too fast, ran out of fuel, ran out of water, or didn't take in enough salt. If you can comfortably do 50 then 100 is a matter of pacing, eating, hydration, and electrolytes. Of course if you struggled to complete 50 then 100 was certainly going to be a much bigger struggle.
 
#21 ·
I've done 3, all during a Strava 60 hour endurance challenge and 2 were on back to back days. All 3 were solo and within a 10 day window. I couldn't have done them in a group because of the pace, but solo it was really pretty easy and I felt pretty good after 2 of them, the 3rd my legs were pretty toasted by the time it was done.

To the OP, sorry to hear you and your family are dealing with MS. That's a tough disease and the treatments are just as tough. I will ride an MS ride when I get the chance, it's a great cause.
 
#24 ·
I've long ago lost count of how many centuries I've done. I do remember the first, about 25 years ago. It was my easiest, because it was one of those days in my youth when I felt like I could ride forever. I still have those days, but they are few and far between. The only one I've done this year was on a cross bike with lots of gravel, it was hard.

I don't do many centuries as they don't fit in with my training. I mainly do 100 mile mountain bike races, and it's rare to actually go that far training for one.
 
#25 ·
The key to longer rides is fueling and hydration. You say all the fun was gone after 80 miles and you were exhausted. It could be that you were simply dehydrated and low on sugar to burn. For 100+ mile rides, it's important to be drinking 1 bottle per hour (more if it's hot) and getting a good blend of carbs/protein/electrolytes.

For my own centuries and beyond, I prep my first 2 bottles of the day with both Hammer Sustained Energy powder and Skratch Labs electrolyte powder. Sometimes I will bring another baggy of the Skratch for bottles 3 and 4, especially if it's going to be a hot day. I also bring 1 Gu gel for every 15 miles of road. And start the day with a blend of simple and complex carbs yourself. A banana, a few strawberries and old fashioned oatmeal!

Keep drinking. A century can take over 6 hours - that's 6-8 bottles of water. You can't do a century without refilling your water or eating along the way. And you are going to burn 3000-4000 Calories on a 100 mile ride. You should be consuming at LEAST 1500 during the ride, if not closer to 2000.
 
#26 ·
The "fun" was gone for me, not due to nutrition or hydration but due to simple conditioning. My longest previous ride was 74 miles then 1 metric, a few 30s and a bunch of 20-25 mile rides. With family and work I rarely have time for anything over 1-2 hours. My body just wasn't prepared for the distance.

To top it all off the Tuesday after my century I played softball (I suck at it) hit the ball and took off for first....5-6 steps my quads locked up. The first baseman was so in shock to see me hobbling that he missed the easy play and I got on base. I think I tore something in my quads that night, over a week ago and I am still sore. I have been spinning around town with my wife, really slow short rides, and that is starting to work the pain out. I feel like I am back at zero again.... Oh well it's not like I get paid to ride and riding 10 miles is still riding.
 
#29 ·
Matt,

First off, congrats on your accomplishment! That was a great job! I am sorry to hear that your wife has MS.

From what you’ve said, I can understand where you were during the ride. That was not about improper nutrition/hydration but completely conditioning. You did a good amount of prep training, but didn’t increase your distance enough to be within “striking” distance of your end goal. One of the guys I ride with regularly is a cycling coach and he has been pushing me to get my distances up on my longer rides to be within 10 – 15 miles of my daily goal for the ADA 150 I’m doing in July. I’m still a bit short of it, so am trying to push it out more.

What’s worse than the distance conditioning, it sounds like your mindset dropped, which is harder to overcome than physical conditioning. When I was doing the SeaCoast Century last year (planned metric), I missed getting my foot on my pedal on an uphill start and went down on my knee. Needless to say, this started messing with my head because the pain was knocking me out of the “zone”, physically I could have done 100 miles I think, but barely finished with 75 (we took a slightly out of the way detour early on).

Be proud of your accomplishment and know that you can reach the distance and will do so easier and easier as you modify your training goals. Oh, and every turn of the pedal counts!

EEC
 
#27 ·
I am kind of interested to compare a marathon to a century... I ran 3 marathons (with more hopefully in the future) It was amazing how different the experience can be. The first marathon my fastest 10K was the last 10K, and I felt great afterwards. The 2nd one I tried to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and ending up hitting the wall horribly. The last one I got cramps in my gut from gu and it wasn't very fun either.
 
#30 ·
Having done both, I think the century is MUCH easier. After my first century (which was on a full suspension MTB), I was still pretty functional. I rode another 70 the next day. My training consisted of 3-4 30 mile rides starting as a non-cyclist. My first marathon destroyed me. I slept for almost 16 hours straight afterwards and could barely walk the next day. I had trained hard for 4 months after running 15 miles a week for the prior two years.
 
#28 ·
My first imperial century was in 1985. Man, that was a toughie! It seemed like I spent all morning and half the afternoon in first gear. But, I got in better shape over the years, and now those same hills are a lot easier. Now that you've gotten a taste, you'll probably be back again; and next time it'll be easier for you, too.
 
#32 ·
So I came to the site to ask a question and I see this... I did my first MS ride in 2000, I was a little younger at 43 but it was still tough. I did the "Ride to the Shore" just to have a supported ride. Just like the initial post, this is an MS ride, I paid my entry and paid the required fundraising, all together it was like $250. I was riding with a partner and we got a late start which lead to us missing a turn, which resulted in about another 10 miles of riding in the hot Florida Sun. Just to be clear, it was "fun" and the money went to a good cause, but after the last stop I ran out of water and I was crashing, I was "praying" for a SAG vehicle, as luck would have it one arrived just in time. I made it to the end for the day and the next day was uneventful.

Roll forward to this year, I was riding in the "Citrus Tour", which was again an MS 150 Ride, it too was well supported and things went ok, till I missed a turn that cost me another 10 miles. So my question, I dont think I have ever done a long ride that I did not miss a turn, or get diverted the wrong way. I would say it was me, but on a training ride for this year's "Ride to the Shore" I got directed the wrong way by a policeman, the folks following me figured it out, but by the time I did I was a mile and a half down the road and they had turned around.
 
#33 ·
Is it impossible for you to carry a map of your route, or download int to your phone navigation etc? I know I carried something for my first couple of centuries but the reality is you can make mistakes because you might not be thinking clearly or using your herd mentality of thinking other riders will know the way. In multi route rides especially, nothing more unnerving than hordes of riders going in a totally different direction. In centuries you might be 75 miles in but the short course riders are still nice and fresh and perky LOL.
 
#34 ·
In the first case I did not have the map. In every other case I did. A map assumes you have local knowledge of the area. I used my Iphone, obviously it showed me where I was, but it was impossible to relate to the map. I have a gps watch, but I think I am getting an Edge, alot of rides download to the Garmin app, but its not compatible with the phone. Getting to the point where the gadgets weigh more than the weight I lose riding the bike :)) In reality, the solution is there, I was really just trying to calibrate how much of an idiot I am when I put on the lycra and the jersey
 
#36 ·
I don't know how many centuries I've done but if I had to guess I'd say around 100 or so. I've done 2 so far this year & have 2-3 others planned.

One question...what's an imperial century? From what I've read in this thread it seems like you mean 100 miles.
 
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