If you want to set a good time and press on, then it's a different game to just chilling out. If the latter, take your time, eat, relax, pick a cool route, don't worry about it. You only have to average 10mph for ten hours, it's easy.
However fast you go, your biggest issues are food, riding position and contact points. I've got a fairly racy position on my road bike now cos it feels really good generally, but after 4 hours or so my neck and shoulders hurt.
I did my first one over twenty years ago, on a MTB with the fork locked out and the tyres pumped hard. It's a lot easier on a road bike! Furthest this year was 260 miles.
Like Nobody my first was an in the deep-end job, Fred Whitton 4 Seasons. 13 hours out about 10 hours riding time. This was a warm-up for Dunwich Dynamo! I think I may have approached this in the wrong way! I was around 50 too.
Today, actually. Oldham to Lytham and back. Ended up being just over 200km, 1578m of climbing and taking 7:57. I’m happy with that as a few years back I was 152kg. 101kg this morning. The furthest I’ve done before is 137km in the CW125 sportive so it’s a big step up.
Loads of hydration tabs. 4 chic chip brioche rolls, chippy, 2 pork pies, three full fat cokes and a bag of skittles.
My first was one our Council organises each September - the Hell o' The North. Starts and finishes in Darlington, passes through Hawes, Kirkby Stephen and Egglestone so not flat. First time was on an MTB with commuter tyres, second time was single speed.
Also did the Kielder 100 off-road twice, both single speed.
My longest ride was 118 miles from Darlington to Rothbury.
My 1st was La Marmotte. Was also my 1st ride in big mountains. So 7hrs 2mins if we’re counting.
10 years from when I first started MTBing. 107 miles, at night, into a monsoon on the Exmouth Exodus. 6 hours 12mins on my trusty Niner RLT9 1*11 Alfine Commuter with 37 tyres, guards and a rack. Made it with 7% GPS battery remaining and my lights on emergency flash.
I’ve done a few since then, my biggest this year is 126miles on a hire bike in San Diego in January. T’was ace! Hot, but ace. My GPS actually did run out on this one, about 20 miles short of the finish - had to navigate using the sun and the ocean :-).
If you're not racing take your most comfortable bike.
I've done 200km audaxes in the Highlands on things like an upright singlespeed rodbrake roadster, my 3 speed high bar shopping bike, as well as on my dropbar bikes.
It's far nicer on the upright bikes with their sprung Brooks saddles and only about 30mins to an hour longer, and that may be down to enjoying the scenery more.
I've still not done one yet.
Longest ride was 100K. It took over 8 hours.
But it was in the Peak District and included things like Jacobs Ladder and Cave Dale - Not exactly the easiest place to get mileage!
I'm not really into long distances rides - Don't you find a ride becomes less fun and more of a chore when it goes past a certain point ?
Yup. 75-85miles is usually that point for me, after that it becomes more of a mission than a hobby. But, to me, that’s what a century is, a mission, a target. It’s still fun in its own way.
Speed is the killer of range. 100k can be done at 18mph fairly easily, 100miles...not so much. Not for me anyway. I tend to ride solo on these things, so there’s no aero assist, but also no extra mechanicals.
after that it becomes more of a mission than a hobby
Better to turn it into an adventure. My longest ride was 240 miles, done at a sedate overall 10mph, but I've done other centuries and above.
Starting at night, watching the moon and stars, then the sunrise, then the sunset. Smelling the world as it reacts to daylight. Watching things awake. Owls and frogs at night. Smelling and hearing the see, but not seeing it as I passed by in the darkness,. Popping through small unlit villages, but stopping for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner where I come across opportunities for refuelling.
It's grand.
I've done many. Fats when doing some Sportives on the road and slow as well when not chasing a time. I have only done one off road and that was part of High Street in the Lakes. Was Brilliant and an absolute killer.
One of my Fave ones though was cycle touring in the Netherlands / Belgium. Took all day, no care in the world visiting some of the Commonwealth cemeteries. Brilliant day.
Well done on completing it.
I've only done off road ones.
My "strategy" , do the first 60 and the last 40 is a piece of pish. 😉
10.5 - 12.5 hours depending on conditions, mechanicals and fatness.
I’ve done many centuries, always on road, sometimes on road bike, always somewhere between lightly and medium loaded.
My parents lived about 100 miles away from my grandparents, so it was an easy target for me.
Then, when i left home, i lived about 100 miles away from my grandparents (in a different direction)
Always took food with me, but only ever took 2 bottles of water, I’ve knocked on random strangers doors many times, to ask for water, people were always happy to help me.
One time I remember the gear cable snapped somewhere near alston, so i screwed the limit screw in so that the mech sat in the middle sprocket and just used the front mech for the next 50 odd miles.
That was a little easier than it sounds though, as they were mostly downhill from there, and i had a howling tailwind for almost the entire journey.
Happy days.
I presumed we were talking off-road, what with this being a mtb site 'n all.😉
South downs way 11 hours. Jennride 26 hours. And some 200km itt stuff too, sub 24 hrs.
I've done two, when I used to ride loads I didn't usually go much past 60 miles, but got carried away a couple of times.
First I rode from Manchester to Wales and back, was supposed to go with a group but everyone bailed as it was pouring down. Proper Manchester pouring. I had nothing else to do so figured I'd set off and see what happened. In the end I got sunburnt somewhere near Wrexham and when I got back to Manchester it was still pouring down. No one believed me when I said how nice the weather was!
Second one I was in Les Gets with my wife, and fancied a flat day, so we rode around Lake Geneva. She'd properly talented on a bike, she was fit from running, but was only doing 30 mins on a turbo 5 times a week on the bike, so not really enough. I figured she'd get round as she'd managed to get to the top of the Colombiere a few days earlier, but the second half would be tough. After 70 miles she hadn't broken, so I spent the rest of the ride trying to break her to see how tough she was, struggled to drop her. 111 miles in 6.5 hours. Awesome day out!