Just signed up for my first century ride. Am I crazy?

[Porknz]

Okay, I've been riding 40 miles for my regular ride through rolling hills three or four days a week for the last six weeks or so. I've done a fifty on a day I had planned to do thirty and just felt good. What is your first century like? My goal is just to finish and it's a local ride. No times etc. Advice?

 

[JayKosta]

You should be fine as long as you have enough food / water, and keep an EASY pace.
Find a group of riders (or even a single individual) who is riding at an 'I could do this all day' pace, and do the ride as a social event, not as a training ride.
A big mistake is to join a group of fast riders who you can just stay with at the beginning - you'll get dropped and be exhausted and unhappy.

 

[Pokitren]

You should be fine as long as you have enough food / water, and keep an EASY pace.
Find a group of riders (or even a single individual) who is riding at an 'I could do this all day' pace, and do the ride as a social event, not as a training ride.
A big mistake is to join a group of fast riders who you can just stay with at the beginning - you'll get dropped and be exhausted and unhappy.

I, too, have noticed that it's better to go at your own pace than to compete. We rode with very fast ones once. Everyone was exhausted, not just me!

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I did my first 100 miler last weekend (not yesterday, week ago), having only done my first 100 km in May.

5hr 42 moving, 5 :57 with stops. Not bad for an old (59) man who until this year almost never did more than 55km, on a cheap 2nd hand bike.

 

[RiderJake]

I did my first 100 miler last weekend (not yesterday, week ago), having only done my first 100 km in May.

5hr 42 moving, 5 :57 with stops. Not bad for an old (59) man who until this year almost never did more than 55km, on a cheap 2nd hand bike.

Sure, it's not bad! I can't imagine riding 100 miles on a bike at all But on a motorcycle, I like it very much.

 

[Unchained]

I always waited for.. Was first across the line.. or 27mph was easier than I thought.. Or Tom Boonen asked if I want to train Wednesday.. Or ..after my finish my kids asked to be adopted.. Or ...I went so slow that my wife got remarried while I was gone.. Or..never got the training about the big chain ring..or..denim shorts are really really abrasive.. Or..could not maintain the wheelie for that distance.. Or should I have brought a second water bottle? Or..

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I always waited for.. Was first across the line.. or 27mph was easier than I thought.. Or Tom Boonen asked if I want to train Wednesday.. Or ..after my finish my kids asked to be adopted.. Or ...I went so slow that my wife got remarried while I was gone.. Or..never got the training about the big chain ring..or..denim shorts are really really abrasive.. Or..could not maintain the wheelie for that distance.. Or should I have brought a second water bottle? Or..

??? huh?