How to Prepare For a Century Ride
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Loading... - Thalia Doukas
- 28 Jul 2022
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A century ride — a bicycle ride of 100 miles — is to a cyclist as a marathon has to a runner: a long enough distance to be a tremendous challenge, while still an attainable goal for a dedicated athlete.
Still, preparation is key. So how do you train for a century ride to optimize your performance? Below, you’ll learn how to prepare in the weeks ahead of your 100-miler, how to prepare on the day of, and how to eat to fuel your ride.
The timeline to prepare for a century ride
Preparation is key with a major endurance event such as this.
The greatest gift you can give yourself is time. Even with a good base fitness level, a 16-week training plan is pretty reasonable.
If you lack endurance, kicking that time up to 6 months might be a good idea. Plan on building endurance generally with a variety of activities for a couple months before launching into a dedicated cycling program.
Considerations for a century ride preparation
To design a training program for your century ride, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions:
Do you have the right kind of bicycle?
Depending on your event, you might fare better with a road bike (narrow tires), a hybrid bike (a combination between road and mountain bike), a mountain bike (heavier than a road bike, but equipped with a suspension system to accommodate more rugged terrain), or a gravel bike (with wider tires and a lower center of gravity, designed for more unstable conditions). Read More...
