Good speed for century?

I'd say somewhere between 10-25 MPH or so. It depends on your conditioning, your equipment, the route, the conditions of the ride, etc.

DougF said:

....Anyway, here's my question: What's a good average spped for such a ride? ..

Holding a 16 mph average speed is a pretty good century pace for most weekend warriors. That often means riding quite a bit faster in some sections and losing a bit of time on climbs and during rests but a six and a half hour century is quite respectable. Realistically a lot of folks take longer on their first few or on particularly hilly centuries but training to be comfortable at 16 to 18 mph average speed on longer rides is a good target.

Good luck,
Dave

DougF said:

I'm relatively new to road cycling, but I just started training for my first century (scheduled for a sponsored ride in June - the Trek 100 if anyone's interested).

Anyway, here's my question: What's a good average spped for such a ride? Considering I'm 57, not in bad shape, but a relative newbie to cycling; I'm also NOT a pro (duh!) or otherwise currently capable of sustaining 40+ kph for this ride - what's a good guideline for training?

thanks for any info/insight

Very popular ride in your area. I have been there and done it. If they are still doing "mass starts" you may have quite a long time of "passing-on-your-left" to start out.
It will also depend on what rate you have been training at and if you are solo or pace-lining. My last Trek 100 I did the 100 mile (dual loop and 95 degree heat) in 6 hours. I lost all my pace-line "team" as they decided that the food/beverages/entertainment sounded more interesting than sweating it out at 95 degrees. I am 60 years old and have a total hip replacement.
Training depends on how much time and how devoted you are + if you want to finish and walk around the next day like it was just another nice recreational ride.
Use a heart rate monitor during training and to guage your resting heart rate/recovery. Train with sprints and hills, but make sure you get good rest/recovery. Remember it is a ride and not a race.

Well, I've been using a training guide similar to what's at the Trek 100 site for prepping for a century-Riding easy on Mondays (shorter distances); risding above pace on Wednesdays; Thursday off; long ride on Saturdays; Sundays a recovery ride. It's an 8-week program that looks identical to a variety of other guides I've checked out. As to the ride itself - I'm not interested in racing (at least, not yet) - but I do want to finish. As far as I know, there will be a mass start - but I figure I'll just go slow and let the really energetic riders get out on the road first!

I do use a HRM, and have been trying to adjust the intensity of my rides so that I spend most time in Zones 3-4 (with some in Z5). Not many hills for training around here - but I plan on trying to get up to some decent hill in the coming weeks.

DougF said:

Well, I've been using a training guide similar to what's at the Trek 100 site for prepping for a century-Riding easy on Mondays (shorter distances); risding above pace on Wednesdays; Thursday off; long ride on Saturdays; Sundays a recovery ride. It's an 8-week program that looks identical to a variety of other guides I've checked out. As to the ride itself - I'm not interested in racing (at least, not yet) - but I do want to finish. As far as I know, there will be a mass start - but I figure I'll just go slow and let the really energetic riders get out on the road first!

I do use a HRM, and have been trying to adjust the intensity of my rides so that I spend most time in Zones 3-4 (with some in Z5). Not many hills for training around here - but I plan on trying to get up to some decent hill in the coming weeks.

My point about and against mass starts is there usually is such a large group that sorting out who will go off the front takes a long time. You won't need to worry about those who are faster than you as they will be ahead of you and gone. The slower riders in front of you are "my issue". Trek 100 seems to gather large crowds and the mass start puts those riders all together at the start. Sorting out the different rider speeds takes patience and lots of miles/time. I just remember what it was like and because you want to start the Century rather early in the day to take advantage of the relative morning "cooler air" the starting packs seem very large in deed. I also remember the second loop being similar in dealing with slower riders who were difficult to get around due to road space and many different riding rates.

Keep up with the good work on HRM Zone training.
Keep heathy, trained/not overtrained, good diet, good rest, and enjoy the journey.
Despite the fact that Trek 100 is a worthwhile event, I tend to look for smaller rides that don't have mass starts to match my ideals.

DougF said:

I'm relatively new to road cycling, but I just started training for my first century (scheduled for a sponsored ride in June - the Trek 100 if anyone's interested).

Anyway, here's my question: What's a good average spped for such a ride? Considering I'm 57, not in bad shape, but a relative newbie to cycling; I'm also NOT a pro (duh!) or otherwise currently capable of sustaining 40+ kph for this ride - what's a good guideline for training?

thanks for any info/insight

For your first century, I'd suggest you concentrate on finishing rather than worry about your time or average speed. A common mistake with big mass-start events is to take off too fast. Do that and you may have to struggle with the final 20-30 miles.

Key is to ride at a steady pace which is comfortable for you, and not to worry about people passing you. Stay "aerobic" as much as possible, particularly on hills. And don't forget to drink and refuel at a steady rate, even early in the ride. Some of the faster riders may skip the first couple of rest stops, but you shouldn't.

Main thing is to have fun. If you don't suffer too much on your first century, you'll want to come back and do it again. You'll get faster as you continue in the sport, but your average speed really isn't the most important measure of your enjoyment.

I couldn't agree more. I had planned on doing jmy first century solo, which would have made it more "plain" fun, but I thought maybe doing this in an organized ride would be better - due to the support/facilities, etc.

But I take your point and embrace it - I love riding - just to be riding, so I really don't want to treat this much different than my typical afternoon ride - except about 5 times as long! I guess my interest in riding speeds is just to assure myself that I can finish it! I mean, I reaslly intend to have fun with this - but I also really intend to finish the thing as well - in many ways it's more than just a personal goal, it's alost a necessity. See, in 2005, after multiple surgeries for head/neck cancer that left me a total laryngectomee, my doctors said I had one year to live (at most). I bought my first road bike two weeks later and started riding almost daily. Last year, I made a goal: If I survived to the summer of '07, I'd buy a new bike, and train/live well enough to do a minimum of 3 centuries before the season ended. Here I am, with a nice new bike now, and with no sign of cancer. I will have fun on this ride, 'cause it's ALL a celebration!

Congratulations on your successful fight against cancer. With your outstanding attitude and healthy goals you should have a fabulous cycling summer.

I've done the Trek 100 a number of times and it's a great early season century. The route is beautiful and not overly challenging. I've recommended it to a few friends for their first full century. They have lots of food for you before the ride, at the rest stops, and a nice meal afterwards. It's really well organized.

If you average around 16mph you will still have plenty of time to hang around and enjoy the party afterwards. They even have massage therapists if feel the need.