Cycle a Century with the Proper Training, Diet and Attitude
© Richard Cleary

Bicycling 100 miles in just 24 hours is do-able. You just need to know how. This article provides an overview for dedicated cyclists looking to push themselves further.

There are varying views about riding a bicycle 100 miles in one day. One view is “impossible.” Another opinion is “insanity.” But you can do it. Here is how.

Ride a lot, ride right.

If you want to ride 100 miles you have to ride your bike. And not just the day of the century ride. Some riders say, “Oh, I can do it even though I haven’t ridden. I’ll just go slow.” This is not a good idea because you will not enjoy the ride, you’ll likely be doing it alone and finishing hours behind everyone else and you can cause your body real harm. The better practice is to actually train for the ride.

Your training can vary depending upon how many days you have before the day of the century ride and how well you want to perform. The training schedule set forth below is meant as a baseline from which you can either ratchet up or ratchet down (but not too much) to prepare for your century. The rule of thumb is that you can ride three times the distance that you are comfortable riding (for example 33 miles x 3 = 99 miles). You can be more aggressive by doing intervals if you are seeking a quicker century.

Monday Off or easy 10
Tuesday Pace 20
Wednesday Easy 15
Thursday Moderate 20
Friday Easy 10
Saturday Moderate 30 (longer ride for the week)
Sunday Easy 15

As your conditioning improves begin to ride 6 days a week and increase mileage. Get some friends and ride for an hour before lunch. Increase total mileage until week before the ride. The week before return to this level with your longer ride being the Day of the Century

Eat (and drink) a lot, eat (and drink) right.

In order to have the energy to complete a century ride, and in order to not dehydrate, you need to eat and drink a lot of the right stuff. A rider in a recent century had a tuna fish sandwich and chocolate milk before he hopped onto his bike. Needless to say no one wanted to ride behind him. Energy bars, bananas and raisons are good foods to keep you going and should be eaten every half hour for a century ride. Drinks should be energy drinks as well, however, they can be watered down or you can carry two water bottles, one with water and one with an energy drink. The electrolytes that you will lose during a long ride need to be replaced. On hot days you should drink every 15 minutes.

Have an attitude, the right one.

Preparation, training and eating right are the mechanics to completing the century ride. But mental preparation is important too. Hills can be daunting, but know that you have trained and you will get up them. The distance can be long and hard but keep the right attitude “you can do it!”