Riding Your First Century!

 

 

It will take some special preparation before you ride your first century. It is important not to underestimate this task. One hundred miles is certainly a long way to travel on a bike. It will likely take over six hours in actual ride time, which sounds pretty daunting for a first time cyclist. This challenge can be met with a program that gradually builds up your mileage and includes hill training and speed work.

There are many programs that have been used to train for a century. Most of these advise that the rider starts training at least 8-10 weeks prior to the big ride. They assume that the rider is averaging at least 40-50 miles per week before starting the program. It is advised not to increase mileage by more than 10-12 percent each week or the rider could risk injury.

 

Each week of training will include, one long endurance ride, a fast paced ride and one or two rides done at your intended century pace or a slower Òrecovery rideÓ pace. The endurance ride could include the OCW Saturday Training Ride. The distance of this ride will increase from 40-50 miles in March, to 50-60 miles in April, to 60-70 miles in May and finally 75-85 miles in June. Check the OCW website for the Saturday training ride start time and place. 

 

The fast or Òspeed rideÓ is important to do every week, since studies show that short-but-brisk training sessions provide as much benefit as going slower over longer distances. This will also help those individuals who donÕt have a lot of time to devote to training. Check out the Friday Sprint ride or the Saturday Food Park (Square) ride on the OCW website.  Hill training work can be incorporated in either the endurance ride or the speed ride. The other rides will provide the base miles needed to prepare the rider so that they can complete a century with strength to spare. It is equally important not to get carried away and try to ride every day. The body needs at least one day off every week to rest and probably at least two if the rider is 45 years or older. If you want to stay active on your rest days, you can walk or do some light upper body weight training.

 

It is also very important to ÒtaperÓ your training during the week prior to the event. This is done by decreasing the distance but keeping the intensity the same. Tapering should start at least three days prior to the century. A full week is better if your training has left you on the brink of fatigue. ItÕs best not to stop riding completely, because your body will tend to lose strength and cardio after a few days off. You can use some of the shorter OCW rides during event week if your work/life schedule is limited.

 

This short article only briefly touches on the information you should know to prepare for your first century. I would like to recommend two books that do a great job in explaining long distance riding in more detail. They are: ÒThe Complete Book of Long-Distance CyclingÓ by Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka and ÒBasic Training for RoadiesÓ by Fred Matheny.  These books are great additions for riding your first century such as Amtrak.

 

Michelle Kashima

kashima@cox.net

714-368-1315