Half daft question. Never done it. Never felt like doing until the other morning laying in the bath. Now i want to do it but not sure why....
The plan has been hatched, already thinking of a flatish (less than 6000ft climbing), also something to make it vaguely more interesting rather than banging out 6-7 hours on the pedals. I'll do it sometime in the next few weeks but still not sure why ive suddenly thought its a good idea. Thoughts...
Because it's there
Cos then you can ride 100 more and you'll be the man to ride 200miles to fall down at your door.
I've done it dozens of times and a lot more but now unless its something special like ride london I wont go past 60, after that it starts getting boring.
It would be very dull if we only ever did stuff that had a point
On road or off?
1st time I did over a 100 (road miles) was on a bike touring holiday. I was proper chuffed with myself.
What if you do it, enjoy it and catch the bug?
Also remember, whether you think you can,or think you cant-You're right !
It will be on road but mainly B roads and quiet lanes.. was thinking of visiting all the main castles in south pembrokeshire (not actually stopping to do guided tours) just to keep it slightly more interesting..
Probably something from childhood, a 100 miles was as far as you could possibly imagine at one time. Cycling a Century seems to have stuck as a benchmark, like running a marathon or swimming a mile.
If you are still thinking about it next year I can thoroughly recommend the Ride to the Sun. Other ideas are a coast to coast ton and 100 miles from home and pedal back.
It will be on road but mainly B roads and quiet lanes.. was thinking of visiting all the main castles in south pembrokeshire (not actually stopping to do guided tours) just to keep it slightly more interesting..
Sounds like a great idea. Quiet country lanes are so much nicer to cycle on and unless you know your local area extensively, 100 miles should show you a few sights you didn't know.
It's a bit like runners and half marathons and marathons. It's a big number, something with a significance.
none
Because its [u]way[/u] more hardcore than 100km
[quote=cloudnine ]It will be on road but mainly B roads and quiet lanes.. was thinking of visiting all the main castles in south pembrokeshire (not actually stopping to do guided tours) just to keep it slightly more interesting..
Sounds an excellent plan - see there is a point to it!
They're very easy and can become quite routine. Especially if you're into audaxing. I can knock a 200km ride out in less than 7 hours quite easily so starting at 7 in the morning still means there's time and light, during the summer, to mow the lawn afterwards.
I finally reached my aim of a 100k off-road ride in the Peaks. It took over 10 hours (not just because I'm crap, but had to stop loads of times for food and drink). I don't know what the point of it is but it certainly feels good when the number of K's on the Garmin reaches a number I've never had before. The other point of it is the large amount of good stuff covered in one day (trails and scenery). I'd think it's pointless just doing 100k (or 100 miles) of boring monotonous stuff though.
flatish(less than 6000ft climbing)
6000ft reckon thats 1828m of climbing - you only need 1700m of climbing to make it a Mont Ventoux day and earn an extra beer point on top of the 100miles
i rode a 100 miler last august. exactly 1 year after have successful heart surgery. a proper celebratory ride i thought........ 😀
I think 100 road miles is do-able for anybody of average fitness. It's getting back on and doing 100 miles the next day, and the day after that, when bike fitness starts coming into play.
looking to re-kindle the century bug for exactly the same reasons as
ton ... not that i needed a reason before, other than the bike looked
clean and i fancied a coffee with cake ... 😉
To get to somewhere 100 miles away?
Did poole to Bude yesterday (140 miles) got to say the last 20 were tedious even though they were the best conditions
Used to regularly ride 100+ miles when cycling or hitching was my only means of transport
Whats the point in Cycling [s]100 miles[/s]?
Dangerous game. First you get hooked on 100km, than 100miles. 200km isnt much further. Before you kow it youve tried a double,200miler. 300miles is 500km and has even better numberwang. Finally someone suggests 700km. You do it and realise that this is a stupid game and call it quits. Till someone mentions 1000km. What is the point in riding a 1000km.
Simply riding just to tick off the Century Ride would be kinda boring; very much like setting yourself a set distance to do in a year/week. But doing 100 miles that took you further out than you usually ride, and with nice scenery, is well worth it.
I agree as somebody has previously written: doing 100 miles on a road bike is not that tough a task, doing 100 miles in a fast time can be though.
When i was in the CTC it was fairly common to knock out 100 miles on a sunday ride most weekends from not long after easter, all the way into september. 80 ish would be a minimum.
I left the CTC in about 1983, so things may have moved on somewhat.
Because a long bike ride is usually a nice thing to do.
Because it's a lovely way to spend a day?
As a suggestion, and if it's convenient, you could also try riding somewhere 100 miles away and getting a train back. It's much better for casually dropping into the conversation at work on Monday and watching their horrified faces when they realise someone could actually go that far on a bike 😆
A hundred miles on road in a flattish area taking your time isn't hard. Do it quickly or in a hilly area and it becomes somewhat harder.
A hundred miles of off-road riding is somewhat harder again even if you just doing traditional bridleways/tracks rather than trail centre type trails.
Tend to do a few road rides of a hundred miles every year, round here there's no option but for them to be hilly. Done a couple of hundred mile (well 200Km & 300Km) off-road rides - you have to dig a bit deep for those.
To me it is a benchmark of your fitness/mental attitude, a bit like running a half/full marathon for runners.
100 miles is a long way to ride a bike - it is 6+ hours for people of average fitness, and quite a challenge.
I did RideLondon last year, and found it very tough (42, overweight, not trained enough) Garmin clocked me at 6.40 (moving time)
I'm doing RideLondon again this summer, i'll be a couple of kilos lighter than last year, and I've certainly trained a bit more.. I'd love to get under 6 hours (Moving time) but in reality i'll just be happy to beat last years stats.
I've done 100 miles on the road a few times, though never on a road bike. Done 100 mile off-road a couple of times too.
Dangerous game. First you get hooked on 100km, than 100miles. 200km isnt much further. Before you kow it youve tried a double,200miler. 300miles is 500km and has even better numberwang. Finally someone suggests 700km. You do it and realise that this is a stupid game and call it quits. Till someone mentions 1000km. What is the point in riding a 1000km.
I gradually increased the distance I rode until I had knocked out a fair few 100 milers, I did find however when I did the Dragon ride anything above 120 miles is pretty tedious. It is the eating that killed me by the end of it stomach was sick at the thought of anything sweet.
It is the eating that killed me by the end of it stomach was sick at the thought of anything sweet.
One reason to do audaxes instead - proper food at the café controls.
because you can
Why the hell not, it's not actually that far when you think about it
I have done 5,100 mile + rides this year riding Audax and time trials .The longest being 187 miles and 219 miles in a day .I want to push myself further and am doing the 24 hr timetrial nationals in July
Not a lot when you realise Mike Hall is doing 200/day for 2 weeks off road fully laden. Kinda pisses on everyone's chips that.
I really enjoy it, the contyryside, im trying to train for an endurance event so it helps me learn about pace and food/kit to take etc. Plus it feels like I've achived something.
It's something im working toward, ive done 75 miles a couple of times on towpath and bridalway, its hard going for me at least, did it in a shade under 8 hours ride time, 12 hours including lunch, breaks and two pint stops.
Ive also had comments at work whilst eating something unhealthy.. "how are you not fat eating that?"
I clocked up 150 miles on the bike over the weekend.
"Oh".
Not a lot when you realise Mike Hall is doing 200/day for 2 weeks off road fully laden. Kinda pisses on everyone's chips that.
Even worse, there's a [i]17-year-old[/i] doing the Tour Divide, averaging 150 mile a day...
Or Steve Abraham doing 200 miles a day for months on end
Also remember, whether you think you can,or think you cant-You're right !
This +1
No need to get sucked into training plans, or nutritional strategies, just do it.
My last one was after I broke my arm for the 2nd time, I'd barely ridden a bike in 2 years, but the house was clean, the garden was tidy, the in-laws were round and I wanted a day off. So off I popped to the Co-Op for a bag of jelly babies and roasted nuts and off I went.
Slatburn->Whitby (espresso)
-> Scarborough (ice cream)
-> Pickering (hit the wall at this point)
-> Whitby (well and truly in the pain cave)
-> Guisborough (hallucinated on the hill out of Sandsend, thought someone was shouting at me and crying, tuns out it was me)
-> Saltburn (fish and chips).
100miles (actually an irritating 99.8 on Strava)
Just enjoying the view and plodding along. Took 7 hours including stops. The route was hell, rolling first half, the road to Pickering isn't as flat as it looks, and the roads back across the moors were all long slogs up and steep downs in that direction so there was no resting, just what felt like a 50 mile climb. Still ranks as one of my favorite rides.
If I did it again I'd reverse the route to take advantage of the longer descents and steeper climbs heading South in the first half, and I'd maybe do it after a my legs already ache 20miles into it wasn't fun! It also needed more stops, should have set off earlier, had a pub lunch in Pickering, then stoped in Whitby again for afternoon tea, doing the second 50 without stops on an empty stomach and dehydrated was a mistake.
No need to get sucked into ...nutritional strategies, just do it.
doing the second 50 without stops on an empty stomach and dehydrated was a mistake.
😆 😆 8)
I'm the kind that doesn't feel like eating or drinking unless im hungry or thirsty, I've fallen into that trap and it ain't no fun! I have to have an eating/drinking plan or I'll just grind to a halt at about 50 miles and have to stop for ages whilst forcing something down.
^^^ Yep, been there a few times.
I totally lost the plot on RideLondon last year - got stuck at the bottom of Leith Hill for 90mins and forgot what I was supposed to be eating + drinking in the second half of the event.
I barely made it over the line and have serious cramp due to dehydration.
Now I try to drink a bottle every hour or so and eat something every 10 miles, even if it is just a mini Maltloaf.
On Sunday I went for an ' adventure ' on the new gravel bike. It was only supposed to be a shake down ride to test the gearing and fit, but I ended up doing 70 miles. I had a pot of yogurt for breakfast and took one water bottle for the journey as it was humid 🙂 won't being doing that again as its a grim feeling when your running on empty with 20 miles to go.
As for, why do 100 miles. I dunno, I've done a few and still consider them a challenge but fun. I think it also teaches you about yourself and give you plenty of time to think.
Got a 112 mile ride coming up next month. The ride should be fine, it's running the marathon straight after I'm getting scared about.
Did an accidental century last saturday - 6 hours of riding and 3 hours in two pubs watching footie matches. But it was very easy riding on flat roads - most of the climbing was done in the first 5 miles on my way out of Sheffield. Once you get a bit further east you can be riding on quiet roads, chatting to your mate, and you simply don't notice the miles clocking up. Easiest 100 miles I've ever ridden!
(N.B. Long pub stops are not recommended - much easier to get going again after a short stop)
Now i want to do it but not sure why....
Be careful. It's like a gateway drug to becoming an audaxer.