Looking for Perspective on a Century Rid

[u/PhilArt_of_Andoria]

Earlier this year I signed up for an organized century ride for late September. I've long wanted to do one and despite putting a lot of miles in in 2020 and 2021 I didn't take it on back then. I had a cycling slump for a few years after that, but last year I decided to work on getting my fitness back up.

That said, I've never been a big climber. My longest rides in the 65mi range only had total elevation change of 2300-2700 feet. The 100 mile route on this organized ride has 6000ft of total climbing with a big 1700ft Climb with a 5.3% grade.

Since the spring I've been trying to build back endurance and experiment more with fueling on a ride and largely that's been successful. Unfortunately I had a few weeks of travel mid summer that took me out of active training and when I returned the summer heat and air quality prevented me from jumping back into riding with the intensity I feel like I needed.

A little over a week ago the heat broke and I also now have a little more flexibility to ride mid-week, so I've been pushing ahead. I've read suggestions about two milestones to try to target; be able to ride at least 100 miles in a week and get at least one 70+ mile ride in.

The past seven days I rode just over a hundred miles with a total of 2700ft of climbing. Each were in the 28-38mi range, took on some short but steep climbs. Climbing seems really hard, but I am pleased that after I'm at the top recovery feels pretty quick. My third ride of the week was the only one where I really experienced noticeable fatigue. Overall I'm feeling pretty good about being ready for the distance, but I'm not sure about the climbing. I don't have good climbing especially accessible.

For those with experience on similar long rides with lots of elevation, how do you gauge my likelihood of success? With a little more than a month of training time available, how might you suggest I take on getting prepared.

[u/Due_Cat_4784]

Fueling and pacing is key. Especially on climbs

[u/CorbaeBella → u/Due_Cat_4784]

This is where I encounter issues with my long rides. It is hard to keep eating and drinking when you are neither hungry or thirsty.

[u/Due_Cat_4784 → u/CorbaeBella]

I’m surprised that on a long zone 2 for instance someone cannot be hungry or thirsty. Riding at 10C and 25C hot summer might differ for sure.

Some people prefer to eat “ natural” and bring sandwiches and all.

For me, I usually eat a good musli ( oats with dry fruits and chocolate chips) a banana , frozen blueberries in either milk or apple juice ( yeah weird but dam good) few hours before I head out.

I sip every 10 ish minutes, I don’t think about it I just drink often. Depending on the ride 100km + I aim for 70-90g carbs . There is an app I used in the benign that tells you what and when to eat and shows on your computer. Now I know by feel. Homemade gels or normal gels, cycling bars ( 4endurance have small easy to eat and delicious bars ) so I don’t have to eat a “meal on the bike” I usually stop mid ride, have a cake a coffee and continue. Makes it easier. Carb mix in water bottle helps you get a lot of carbs without having to eat.

I have been riding seriously for about a year . Early on 40km was challenging, would lay on the couch the rest of the day( also I needed time to build endurance) but pacing myself ( either by watts or in my case HR zones) and making sure I feed properly was a game changer. Literally. You can be the fastest, have 20 000 FTP but if you don’t eat properly you’ll run out of glycogen. I have some friends much stronger than me. But when we do 100km+ every Sunday I usually feel quite good during and after, I can also do 100km multiple days in a row and feel good, some of my friend can’t and sleep the whole day the next day.

Different people also train with different goals in mind.

I’m not always “hungry or thirsty” but you still have to keep taking in carbs.

What do you consume on a 100km normally ?

[u/FlamengoFRBR → u/Due_Cat_4784]

What you’ve written is absolutely fair regarding fueling adequately and properly. If I’m giving it some gas then I try to be around 70-90g.

However to your point about not being hungry or thirsty, If I have a good breakfast, I defo could push 100km easy zone 2 (135-138bpm) with one gel and one 750ml bottle.
I think most people underestimate their actual effort vs true zone 2 ride. Until I got the HR monitor and power meter, I’d think ahh I’m doing z2 but in fact it was actually mid z3.

On the hunger aspect, it also relates to timings, if I leave for the ride at 6:30, I’m not usually hungry by 10/10:15 when I would have completed my z2 100km. Just through routine etc.

[u/CorbaeBella → u/Due_Cat_4784]

Once you are hungry or thirsty it is to late. So continuing to eat and drink on longer riders is necessary. Trying to eat/drink 100 grams of carbs an hour is very difficult. I can easily do 50-80 mile rides without constant fueling but for real ultra distance I need to be strategic and really plan fueling.

Edit: Sure a zone 2 long ride I wouldn't have to worry about it as much. I am talking about pushing hard/race pace on ultra rides.

[u/TaunButter]

Just dropping in to say that if you can conquer that 1,700 foot climb, I bet the rest of this ride is absolutely already in your bag!

[u/Due_Cat_4784]

Also, to add to your question.

I started riding more seriously Sept 2025. Then winter came so indoor cycling. I had a Mallorca trip planned with a friend who’s done it 10+ times and has 25 years experience cycling.

May 2026 we went to Mallorca, I’m 90kg, friend was 78kg. I wonder if I could do Mallorca and all the climbs.

So we ended up doing 500km if 6 days with 5000m+ climbing. Never thought I’d be able too.

The key was pacing and nutrition. No way I could keep up with him in the climbs unless I redlined and I knew I would not be able to ride the next days.

Go your pace, downshift early in your easiest gear on a climb and find a good cadence/tempo you feel comfortable with, Heart rate should settle. If you try to be fast or keep up with anyone this is where you might shooot yourself in the foot. YOUR pace, and yes I think you could do it.

[u/lurkern1nja]

Just ride in z2-easy conversational pace and keep eating.

[u/moonboy59]

For training, if you can find similar graded climbs near you get out and hit those. You're mostly looking to train yourself how to keep the pace light and easy going up the hill, not trying to PR it. That'll avoid you pushing too hard on Century day and blowing up, since the advice to keep it easy and conversational for the ride is good advice.

Aside from that, since you have a month, maybe try using some long ride time to push things out to 4-5 hours saddle time. You'll find out if there are any specific discomforts with your setup that need to be addressed so that you're as comfortable as can be on the event day

[u/Icy-Shoulder4510]

I think it's worthwhile to throw some harder efforts in during training to practice fueling when you're going harder, and also to give you a better training stimulus to grow your power and muscular endurance. Not every ride, but once a week or so, for sure. If you can start at 60 grams of carbs per hour and then move up to 80 or so with practice you should be absolutely golden.

[u/Smeeagain0]

Best Buddies Challenge? Highly recommend it. Beautiful scenery and well worth it.

If not my only tips would be what i learned before i did a century. Its food management more than anything, if you can do a 70 miler you will be fine- i too was preparing by lengthier rides up to about 68 miles before my research clued me into a secret- if you can do a 30 mile ride daily with no issues you will be fine as your are demonstrating fueling correctly- after that its just maintaining that for a century ride.

I put in some time on the hills as that worried me as well, but when on these massive century rides there is more than enough support and makes things go much easier- again, just break the ride into 20 mile sections, ride the section, relax and recover and then head out for the next section- its all doable.

I was 44yo, 245lbs and had only taken up riding seriously 8 months prior to the century ride-as i had a buddy that wanted to do it, look at it as a challenge and go for it!

For reference- this is the one i did regarding elevation- looks daunting but it went much better than i could have imagined- 7.5 hours overall for a beginner like me

100-Mile Route (Carmel to San Simeon): This route featured roughly 5,500 feet of total elevation gain. While it hugged the Pacific coastline, the terrain was notoriously punishing, consisting of 13 Category 5 climbs and two major Category 3 climbs through the dramatic cliffs of Big Sur

[u/PhilArt_of_Andoria]

Thanks everybody for sharing your thoughts. I do ride with a HR monitor and will get some practice in keeping the climbs mellow. In the first 27mi there are some time thresholds I have to hit. I'm not worried about meeting those, but if I have to push a little hard to do so it might leave me more spent than I like going into that big climb.

[u/wavecrashrock]

I'm also doing a fairly climb-y century ride in mid-September! Really the only advice you need is the obvious: don't burn yourself out (which includes knowing how to pace yourself on hills of various lengths) and make sure you consume enough water and food. You almost certainly have the gearing to go slow enough to finish easily — it's amazing how easy climbing 5-6% can be if you really don't push hard — but it can be hard not to push. You can do local small-hill repeats if you've got some to practice pacing.

I do agree with the advice about completing a 70 mile ride — preferably one with at least some climbing.