Marla Emde's Tips for riding a century

BICYCLING A METRIC CENTURY CAN BE FUN--
THE BEGINNERS PLAN FOR RIDING A SUCCESSFUL METRIC CENTURY
(62.5 miles) 

Dust off the ‘ol road or touring bike, pump up those tires and get ready to ride.  If you’ve been planning to do more riding this year with friends or family and had a special recreational ride in mind now is the time to start riding. The weather looks like its quickly improving and I’m seeing many cyclists out on the roads again. 

There are several, beautiful and scenic metric centuries (or similar distances) in the area in June, July, August and September.  You can adjust this schedule as needed to fit the date of your event and even extend the plan by another 4-6 weeks to get in even more good training before your metric century (or for the rest of the summer).  Make sure to give yourself the rest weeks so your body can rest, recover and adapt to higher volumes of work. 

Current fitness levels of individuals will vary but for the sake of this article I will assume that most of you have been riding an indoor spinning bike 1-2 days a week or have been active over the winter with gym workouts, skiing or other aerobic activities 2-4 times per week.  Incorporating some core strength workouts in to your weekly workouts (such as abdominals, lower back and push-up’s) 2-3x per week can help prolong the fatigue in your core area on longer rides.  Before we get on the road, let’s go over a quick checklist of some items you’ll need (this list is certainly not 100% complete but will get you up and rolling).  

Items you’ll need for your weekly training as well as on the day of your event:

• A bicycle in good working order… I know this leaves much to the imagination but I’ve seen many types of bicycles able to make it through the century.  Just make sure it is well maintained and in good working order.  Drop it off at your favorite bike shop for a quick tune up if it hasn’t been ridden for a while.
• Tool bag:  spare tube or two, patch kit, pump, tire irons, and a couple of emergency dollars (including a few quarters if you don’t carry a cell phone).
• Nutritional supplementation or drinks:  preferred bike food such as gels, bars or liquid nutrition are absorbed very quickly by the body. Even if you think that you probably won’t need it, others may and it’s nice to have it with you just in case.
• Helmet with strap and pads snug and well fitted.
• Clothing:  Padded Bike Shorts, under jersey light polypro layer, Jersey, arm warmers, outer layer, padded gloves (and possibly long fingered), leggings or leg warmers when necessary, booties if necessary.
• A good fitting saddle, cycling shoes and pedals system of your choice.
• Water bottles and cages on your bike to hold the bottles.  Stay away from screw top bottles as we tend not to drink as much when we have to stop to drink.
• Familiarize yourself with the “rules of the road” and ride safely and predictably. 
• A couple of friends--riding with friends is a great way to enjoy your exercise and is a very, social activity.  Get the rest of the family involved too! 

The speeds listed below are only estimations for beginning to intermediate recreational cyclists.  So… let’s roll!   

This 18 week program is based on an average of riding 3x-4x/week at 12-14 mph average for the entire ride (ultimately, approx. 4-5 hours riding time for a metric century, 62.5 miles)

Pace:  this is a pace that you feel like you could do all day, easily talking with a friend.  For those of you who use HR monitors, this would be your endurance HR pace.  Try to maintain rpm’s or a cadence  of 80-100 for good pedaling efficiency and practice eating so you get used to filling your own tank and you’ll know what products you like to use on longer rides.  You’ll need more than just water and many people have a difficult time with solids during an event. See what works for you.  

                Week 1 – 2x weekday rides of 1-1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 1.5 hours (3.5-4.5 hours)

                Week 2 – 2x weekday rides of 1-1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 1.5 hours (3.5-4.5 hours)

                Week 3 – 2x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 1.75 hours (4.75 hours)

Week 4 - 2x weekday rides of 1.0 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 1.0 hours (rest week, 3 hours)

Week 5 – 2x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.0 hours (5.0 hours)

                Week 6 – 3x weekday rides of 1.25 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.25 hours (6.0 hours)

                Week 7 – 3x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.5 hours (7.0 hours)

Week 8 - 2x weekday rides of 1.25 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 1.5 hours (rest week, 4 hours)

Week 9 – 3x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.75 hours (7.25 hours)

                Week 10 – 3x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 3.0 hours (7.5 hours)

                Week 11 – 3x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 3.25 hours (7.75 hours)

Week 12 - 2x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.0 hours (rest week, 5 hours)

Week 13 – 3x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 3.5 hours (8.0 hours)

                Week 14 – 2x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.0 hours (easier week, 5 hours)

                Week 15 – 3x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 4.0 hours (8.5 hours)

                Week 16 – 2x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.0 hours (easier week, 5 hours)

Week 17 - 2x weekday rides of 2.0 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 4.0 hours (8.0 hours)

Week 18 – 2x weekday rides of 1.5 hour rides, 1 weekend ride of 2.0 hours (rest week, 5 hours)

METRIC CENTURY WEEK – 2-3x weekday rides of 1.0 hour easy rides, weekend ride of 4-5.0 

Have fun! 

At this point you should have no problem finishing a 62 miler/metric century successfully if you’ve been diligent with your training and have ridden the miles.  The last few weeks can be tough with over 8 hours of riding time but it’s nice to come close to riding a similar distance or time that you’ll take to ride the metric century.  Times will vary depending on your average speed and how much stopping you do.  The hours listed are for elapsed ride time and do not include stops.  

Make sure to take the week before your century fairly easy, similar to one of the rest weeks above.  You’ll still be riding but your volume will drop so you are rested for your event. 

Drink, drink and drink… every mile post marker, take a sip.  Staying in your comfort level (endurance zone) will help get you there with optimal energy expenditures.  The harder we push ourselves, the more energy and precious fuel we will use.  Relax, enjoy the ride and have fun.  Eat along the way and stop for some light stretching if you need to.  You’ll do just great. 

In good health and be safe on the roads,

Marla Emde