Power and training for Centuries

A few questions. What is the century and how much climbing? Are you riding alone or with others? How much time do you have available to train? Have you done any group riding and drafting?

RapDaddyo said:

A few questions. What is the century and how much climbing? Are you riding alone or with others? How much time do you have available to train? Have you done any group riding and drafting?

The century (not a metric century but a full 100 miles) I am targeting is very flat -- called the Udder Century in Illinois. I am riding alone and have never ridden with a group (this is only my 5th ride on the road) so I have never drafted. I can train about 7 -10 hours per week as I am still working about 55 hours per week.

Jman said:

The century (not a metric century but a full 100 miles) I am targeting is very flat -- called the Udder Century in Illinois. I am riding alone and have never ridden with a group (this is only my 5th ride on the road) so I have never drafted. I can train about 7 -10 hours per week as I am still working about 55 hours per week.

First off, relax, you can handle the ride. Second, you were wise (or lucky) to have picked a flat route for your first century. A route with several thousand feet of climbing would be several times harder. Third, it would be wise to join a cycling club that is planning to send several riders to the event. Drafting on the flat requires ~30-35% less power than riding alone. In a large group, it will be hard to average much more than ~150w unless the group is really flying. I did a relatively hilly century last July with a small group and averaged ~160w even including the climbs. It's also more fun to ride with a group. If you go without a group, you can always hook onto the back of a large group. They usually don't mind tagalongs. If you decide to ride with a group, you'll want to get a little experience riding with groups beforehand. As to training, I'd advocate building endurance with long rides (whatever your schedule permits) at whatever power you can manage rather than trying to increase power with shorter, more intense rides. Others may disagree, but I'm sure you'll sort it out.

RapDaddyo said:

First off, relax, you can handle the ride. Second, you were wise (or lucky) to have picked a flat route for your first century. A route with several thousand feet of climbing would be several times harder. Third, it would be wise to join a cycling club that is planning to send several riders to the event. Drafting on the flat requires ~30-35% less power than riding alone. In a large group, it will be hard to average much more than ~150w unless the group is really flying. I did a relatively hilly century last July with a small group and averaged ~160w even including the climbs. It's also more fun to ride with a group. If you go without a group, you can always hook onto the back of a large group. They usually don't mind tagalongs. If you decide to ride with a group, you'll want to get a little experience riding with groups beforehand. As to training, I'd advocate building endurance with long rides (whatever your schedule permits) at whatever power you can manage rather than trying to increase power with shorter, more intense rides. Others may disagree, but I'm sure you'll sort it out.

Thanks RDO. I figured that at my weight it would be hard to lift my rear over large hills so I avoided a hilly first century. There is a cycling club nearby, but I was waiting until I got a little faster; I didn't want to have them waiting on me. But it may be time to bite the bullet so I can get some experience drafting. Sounds like the century may be easier in a group.

Jman said:

I figured that at my weight it would be hard to lift my rear over large hills so I avoided a hilly first century.

Hills are hard at any weight and at ~250 lbs they are really hard. You're really to be commended for losing so much weight. Once you find out how much easier it is to go uphill with less weight, you'll think twice about putting any of it back on. It wouldn't be a bad idea to go find the longest climb you can find (MI or WI?) and ride it while you're still at 250. Take a photo (of the climb) and tape it to your refrigerator door to remind you how hard it is to climb at 250 lbs.😄

Jman said:

There is a cycling club nearby, but I was waiting until I got a little faster; I didn't want to have them waiting on me. But it may be time to bite the bullet so I can get some experience drafting. Sounds like the century may be easier in a group.

Check on their ride guidelines. Many clubs have multiple rides, including one at ~15mph. Or, they may have a ride for newbies from time to time. Most clubs are very friendly and welcoming to newbies.

Jman said:

[font=Times New Roman]Hello [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]As mentioned in my previous e-mails I am on a mission to lose weight and gain fitness.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]TIA[/font]

I know I am not addressing your questions but I've got to commend you for just having this goal! Like RDO said, the century will come and you'll get through, no problem.

Like many on this board, I've been riding and racing for over 20 years and still remember my first club ride, my first tt, road race, crit, breaking the hour for the 40K, etc. etc. You get the picture - it's a great sport, just enjoy the journey.

JIM WV said:

I know I am not addressing your questions but I've got to commend you for just having this goal! Like RDO said, the century will come and you'll get through, no problem.

Like many on this board, I've been riding and racing for over 20 years and still remember my first club ride, my first tt, road race, crit, breaking the hour for the 40K, etc. etc. You get the picture - it's a great sport, just enjoy the journey.

Given that you're using cycling as a means to lose weight and you have limited time, I would be less concerned about power and more concerned about endurance. In other words, go slow and easy for long distances rather than pushing hard.

--Steve

ZimboNC said:

Given that you're using cycling as a means to lose weight and you have limited time, I would be less concerned about power and more concerned about endurance. In other words, go slow and easy for long distances rather than pushing hard.

--Steve

Dido, figure out your lv1 or 2 power levels and try to stay within them, also use HR aswell if you can. The key to long endurance rides is steady pace. I don't take breaks on my long rides, 3 or 4 hours in the saddle non-stop, just wait for a long stretch of road then eat and drink while you're on the bike, and soft pedal on down grades if you're really feeling dead by the end, but idealy you should be spinning the pedals at a consistent power for the full time. And don't worry about starting off to easy. For me keeping my HR down around 130-140 is annoying at the start of a long ride, but 3 hours later, and exhaustion starts to set in and you really start to feel your legs.

RapDaddyo said:

Hills are hard at any weight and at ~250 lbs they are really hard. You're really to be commended for losing so much weight. Once you find out how much easier it is to go uphill with less weight, you'll think twice about putting any of it back on. It wouldn't be a bad idea to go find the longest climb you can find (MI or WI?) and ride it while you're still at 250. Take a photo (of the climb) and tape it to your refrigerator door to remind you how hard it is to climb at 250 lbs.😄

Check on their ride guidelines. Many clubs have multiple rides, including one at ~15mph. Or, they may have a ride for newbies from time to time. Most clubs are very friendly and welcoming to newbies.

I like the idea for my fridge door!

I found a club near my house; the next step is to join[img]cyclingforums.comicon5.gifOpen ↗[/img]

Thank you all for the encouragement[img]cyclingforums.comicon7.gifOpen ↗[/img]

Jman said:

I like the idea for my fridge door!

I found a club near my house; the next step is to join[img]cyclingforums.comicon5.gifOpen ↗[/img]

Thank you all for the encouragement[img]cyclingforums.comicon7.gifOpen ↗[/img]

You'll do fine. Bump the thread as you progress toward the ride date with any more questions and I'm sure you'll get answers (and encouragement).

BTW, an often overlooked equipment item is tires. Many don't realize that at ~15mph rolling resistance is about equal to air resistance. Most people have no clue whether the tires they are riding have low or high rolling resistance. I don't know what tires you have but here's a study of rolling resistance of some popular tires rouesartisanales.comarticle 1503651.htmlOpen ↗. Note the difference in power required by the tires at the top and bottom of the list. A friend just changed his tires from Continental 4000s to Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp 23c. While these aren't included in the study, I read somewhere that they would rank very high on the list if they had been included. My friend was stunned at the difference they made.

RapDaddyo said:

You'll do fine. Bump the thread as you progress toward the ride date with any more questions and I'm sure you'll get answers (and encouragement).

BTW, an often overlooked equipment item is tires. Many don't realize that at ~15mph rolling resistance is about equal to air resistance. Most people have no clue whether the tires they are riding have low or high rolling resistance. I don't know what tires you have but here's a study of rolling resistance of some popular tires rouesartisanales.comarticle 1503651.htmlOpen ↗. Note the difference in power required by the tires at the top and bottom of the list. A friend just changed his tires from Continental 4000s to Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp 23c. While these aren't included in the study, I read somewhere that they would rank very high on the list if they had been included. My friend was stunned at the difference they made.

It turns out that I have the Continental GP Attack/Force combo which is rated at the bottom of the list -- good for training but I may purchase a pair at the top of the list before the race. If the wattage amount translates into a saving of 20 watts, that to me would very big.

Jman said:

It turns out that I have the Continental GP Attack/Force combo which is rated at the bottom of the list -- good for training but I may purchase a pair at the top of the list before the race. If the wattage amount translates into a saving of 20 watts, that to me would very big.

20w is huge to anybody. I got a good laugh when I showed my friend how he could spend $100 to turn his $8K investment into the fast machine he thought he was buying.

Jman said:

I found a club near my house; the next step is to join[img]cyclingforums.comicon5.gifOpen ↗[/img]

It's probably not necessary to actually join the club just yet. Most will welcome new riders to participate in their rides without actually being members of the club, since promoting cycling in the community is typically listed among their club goals. Get a feel for a few of the rides and the other riders first to see if it's something you're interested in continuing. If everything works out then at some point, you may feel like you're gaining enough benefit from the club activities that joining and paying club dues would be the right thing to do -- at least that's how it was for me.

[font=Times New Roman]Well I rode my first 50 mile ride on Saturday 4/15/2006, averaged 14.5 mph and, while I was hurting at the end of the ride I was fine on Sunday. But, I had a stroke on Wednesday 4/19/2006. I spent a couple of days at Rush University Medical Center and the doctors don’t know why I had the stroke , they did a CT Scan, MRI, EEG, a 48 hour heart monitor, Cardiac Echo Test and Carotid Ultrasonography (the cardio stuff all looks good with no blockage). The only damage is to my speech, which they expect me to recover from. They are guessing that I may have been pushing too hard and too fast, especially due to my excess weight. I didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard! However, Andy did give me a few words of caution – he must be psychic.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]I still plan to do the century – just not in June. I don’t want to be stupid, so I will lighten way up for now and hopefully begin to slowly increase the miles when the doctors give me the go ahead. [/font]

[font=Times New Roman] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Just wondering if you guys know if there is some kind of medical specialist that I can go to that can guide me through my recovery?[/font]

Jman said:

[font=Times New Roman]Well I rode my first 50 mile ride on Saturday 4/15/2006, averaged 14.5 mph and, while I was hurting at the end of the ride I was fine on Sunday. But, I had a stroke on Wednesday 4/19/2006. ... They are guessing that I may have been pushing too hard and too fast, especially due to my excess weight.

Just wondering if you guys know if there is some kind of medical specialist that I can go to that can guide me through my recovery?[/font]

What part of the country do you live in?

WarrenG said:

What part of the country do you live in?

I live just outside of Chicago IL.

Jman said:

I live just outside of Chicago IL.

I don't know any specialists in that area, but please know that you have the best of thoughts and encouragement coming your way.

jetnjeff said:

I don't know any specialists in that area, but please know that you have the best of thoughts and encouragement coming your way.

Thanks it seems I will need them. Does anyone know what type of medical professional would combine fitness training and preventive medicine to assist me through recovery? I don’t want to loose the gains in fitness I have worked so hard to develop, but I also don’t want to do further damage.

Jman said:

Thanks it seems I will need them. Does anyone know what type of medical professional would combine fitness training and preventive medicine to assist me through recovery? I don’t want to loose the gains in fitness I have worked so hard to develop, but I also don’t want to do further damage.

I can't give you the name of a specific person, but I used to live in the Chicago area and you have two great institutions there -- Rush and Northwestern. You should have lots of top names to choose from.