Training for monthly centuries

Harry said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

We are in our early 50s (yes, I've read the thread about one's age -
which is a factor!) and have been riding our tandem since the fall of
2003. We have logged about 2500 miles during this year, with our
longest ride being about 70 miles. Our schedule is such that we
usually have only 3 days per week available for riding, with 2 of
those days being a Saturday and Sunday. I have the following
questions:

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly with only 3
days per week of training?

2) If the answer to question #1 is yes, are there any published
schedules for this type of training? I have found many 6 day and a few
5 day schedules, but non with 4 or 3 day rides per week.

3) If there aren't any schedules for 3 day training, does anyone have
suggested guidelines?

TIA,
HarryB

I use the rule of 'three', which is to say you can usually ride (or jog)
three times your daily mileage. Thus to ride a century, you should be
riding at least ~33 miles per day for the previous month. Note this is just
a rule I intend to use.

Likewise, to 'race' a distance your daily mileage should be three times the
race distance. IOW to race 10 miles, ride daily at tempo, at least 30 miles
in the previous month. (I'm talking amateur club races, here).

In your case, how did you feel after the 70 miler? Was it easy, hard, or
just barely limping in to finish. If the latter, I'd say you're not ready.

2500 miles in a year while commendable, is only about 200 miles per month,
or 50 miles a week. Though you may be able to finish a flat century, you
may be hurting. My feeling is why set yourself up for failure, and in fact,
possible injury by trying to up it that much. Why not ride out 30 miles,
then turn around. After a few of those you might be able to get the whole
century.

Why not get a normal road bike and up your mileage individually. Even
though you can't get out more than 3 days a week together, you might be
able to squeeze in an hour here and there the other four days,
occasionally. If the driver can get in about 100 miles per week for four to
six weeks prior to the ride, it might be doable.

FWIW

-B

This is possible but it takes some planning. One of the better books that
I have read is Fred Matheny's book which you can order at :
http://roadbikerider.com/bookstore.htm#Fred%20Mathenys%20Complete%20Book%20of%20Road%20Bike%20Training

He has several schedules that you can adapt for your usage. You'll be
riding many more miles than 2500 to do this as you'll discover that you'll
probably double your annual mileage to do this series. I'd focus as much on
eating and hydration as I would training. My recommendation is to drink
Accelerade during the ride along with an energy bar per hour and Endurox
after the ride. Camelbaks are also very helpful when riding long distance
particularly when it is hot. As long as you have the endurance fueling is
absolutely critical.

Good luck

"Harry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

We are in our early 50s (yes, I've read the thread about one's age -
which is a factor!) and have been riding our tandem since the fall of
2003. We have logged about 2500 miles during this year, with our
longest ride being about 70 miles. Our schedule is such that we
usually have only 3 days per week available for riding, with 2 of
those days being a Saturday and Sunday. I have the following
questions:

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly with only 3
days per week of training?

2) If the answer to question #1 is yes, are there any published
schedules for this type of training? I have found many 6 day and a few
5 day schedules, but non with 4 or 3 day rides per week.

3) If there aren't any schedules for 3 day training, does anyone have
suggested guidelines?

TIA,
HarryB

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 12:20:15 -0600, Harry <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

How fast are you intending to go? A century ride is really not that
big a deal for a reasonably frequent rider; I've ridden centuries on
consecutive weekends with no training at all ever, other than riding
my bike. I do commute by bike - at the time I was doing 15 miles
round trip every day - but I don't believe that massive training
effort is required for century rides, unless they are competitive or
you're aiming to go fast.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Harry said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries

(100-145

Quoted message said:

miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4

months

Quoted message said:

having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the

feasibility

Quoted message said:

of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in

mid January.

Quoted message said:

Why all 16?
In 2003, I set my goal to do a century a month. (I got to do
a metric century if it was below 40F).
I did 24 in all. My yearly mileage is usually 4000 (more
last year, less this year).

However, there were a couple of months where this was a
burden, and I only completed it because of the goal. In
July, I ended up riding 40 miles in the dark to complete the
century. So, I wouldn't advise you to have completing the
ENTIRE series as a goal.

Quoted message said:

We are in our early 50s (yes, I've read the thread about

one's age -

Quoted message said:

which is a factor!) and have been riding our tandem since

the fall of

Quoted message said:

2003. We have logged about 2500 miles during this year,

with our

Quoted message said:

longest ride being about 70 miles.

Then you can certainly do a century (100 miles). You'll be
tired the next day, though. Think about the last 10 miles of
the time you did 70, and figure that will extend out.

Quoted message said:

Our schedule is such that we
usually have only 3 days per week available for riding,

with 2 of

Quoted message said:

those days being a Saturday and Sunday. I have the

following

Quoted message said:

questions:

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly

with only 3

Quoted message said:

days per week of training?

Yes. Do stuff the others days that will help keep your
fitness up. Try to have at least 5+ days of 30+ minutes of
aerobic exercise each week, of which the biking would be 3.

--
Mike Kruger
If you fall and break your leg, don't come running to me.

you know? said:

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 12:20:15 -0600, Harry <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

How fast are you intending to go? A century ride is really not that
big a deal for a reasonably frequent rider; I've ridden centuries on
consecutive weekends with no training at all ever, other than riding
my bike. I do commute by bike - at the time I was doing 15 miles
round trip every day - but I don't believe that massive training
effort is required for century rides, unless they are competitive or
you're aiming to go fast.

Guy

We average about 15-16 mph on our longer rides. We have no desire to
be competitive, and speed is of little concern to us (although I admit
to limiting downhill speeds to under 40mph.) Our primary riding goal
is to spend time together on the tandem, but have noticed that if we
don't have a specific goal, our rides (typically about 25 -35 miles)
tend to become more of the meandering sort. While this doesn't bother
us, we have found that if we do want to do longer rides (60 - 70
miles) that we aren't up to it.

Cheers,
HarryB

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 14:08:25 -0600, "Mike Kruger" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In 2003, I set my goal to do a century a month. (I got to do
a metric century if it was below 40F).
I did 24 in all. My yearly mileage is usually 4000 (more
last year, less this year).

That's pretty cool. What would you say the average speed you rode at this
level of training, which is under 100 miles per week? Hilly or flat?

Did you have any trouble getting back on the bike after those centuries?
This is the thing I want to prevent by doing a bit more prep.

Quoted message said:

However, there were a couple of months where this was a
burden, and I only completed it because of the goal.

If you don't mind saying what to you mean by 'burden'. Scheduling conflict?
Physical difficulty? Why?

Quoted message said:

In July, I ended up riding 40 miles in the dark to complete the century.

Care to elaborate? Sounds interesting, Mike.

Quoted message said:

So, I wouldn't advise you to have completing the
ENTIRE series as a goal.

Quoted message said:

We are in our early 50s (yes, I've read the thread about one's age -
which is a factor!) and have been riding our tandem since the fall of
2003. We have logged about 2500 miles during this year, with our
longest ride being about 70 miles.

Then you can certainly do a century (100 miles). You'll be
tired the next day, though. Think about the last 10 miles of
the time you did 70, and figure that will extend out.

Isn't tandem riding easier than solo? Just wondering.

Best,
-B

Harry said:

you know? said:

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 12:20:15 -0600, Harry <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

How fast are you intending to go? A century ride is really not that
big a deal for a reasonably frequent rider; I've ridden centuries on
consecutive weekends with no training at all ever, other than riding
my bike. I do commute by bike - at the time I was doing 15 miles
round trip every day - but I don't believe that massive training
effort is required for century rides, unless they are competitive or
you're aiming to go fast.

Guy

We average about 15-16 mph on our longer rides. We have no desire to
be competitive, and speed is of little concern to us (although I admit
to limiting downhill speeds to under 40mph.) Our primary riding goal
is to spend time together on the tandem, but have noticed that if we
don't have a specific goal, our rides (typically about 25 -35 miles)
tend to become more of the meandering sort. While this doesn't bother
us, we have found that if we do want to do longer rides (60 - 70
miles) that we aren't up to it.

Cheers,
HarryB

That's not a bad speed, depending on the terrain, even for the flats. I
only ask about the speed b/c that can give a rough approximation of the amt
of training or experience and a way to say the following:

Next time you go out, check your speedometer and at various speeds ask
yourself, 'could I maintain this speed for x hours', where that time is a
function of that which you could complete a century. For instance, riding
at 12-13 mph or 8 hours of riding for a century. At 15-16mph that only
requires ~7 hours of riding.

Obvious, I know, but it gives you a different way of looking at that
distance. (I often think of the times the pros ride for 100 miles, and then
you realize that those amateur riders, while going slowly are spending
often double the time in the saddle - hah! - who's tougher, ya gotta
wonder. ;-) )

Anyway, if you can't increase the number of times you ride, for training
purposes, you might try riding twice a day for the two months prior to your
'event'. That way you still get a cool off period, and rest, but you're
spacing the rides. It's also a way to increase the mileage 50% or more. Of
course ramp up the 'two a days' for those three days a week slowly. Start
doing and 'am' and 'pm' ride on Saturdays, then add another of the three
potential ride days. Near the end of the two months, say, week 7, start
cutting down on the # of hours between each ride. That will tend to
increase the total amt of time in the saddle from which you can recover,
getting you closer to 'ride day' conditions (i.e. a lot of hours in the
saddle).

If by the beginning of week 7 or 8 you can ride your two 30 mile rides with
only 2-3 hours rest, then you're repeating 60 mile rides in two days, and
so on.

Again, just some 'out of the box' thinking on training. You might be
totally against two-a-days for some reason...but I'm suggesting it might
help for the final ramp up particularly if you're limited to the number of
days you can ride.

-B

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 14:18:10 -0600, Harry <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

Our primary riding goal
is to spend time together on the tandem, but have noticed that if we
don't have a specific goal, our rides (typically about 25 -35 miles)
tend to become more of the meandering sort. While this doesn't bother
us, we have found that if we do want to do longer rides (60 - 70
miles) that we aren't up to it.

In which case I respectfully suggest that instead of trying for
centuries, which are really not much more than a pissing contest for
most cyclists, you join a club which takes leisurely rides around the
countryside, stopping at nice cafes and the occasional scenic spot,
and do what you clearly do best: enjoy spending time in each other's
company. I guarantee to envy you: leisure rides are a thing of
distant memory with two sons' social lives to organise!

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Badger said:

Harry said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

We are in our early 50s (yes, I've read the thread about one's age -
which is a factor!) and have been riding our tandem since the fall of
2003. We have logged about 2500 miles during this year, with our
longest ride being about 70 miles. Our schedule is such that we
usually have only 3 days per week available for riding, with 2 of
those days being a Saturday and Sunday. I have the following
questions:

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly with only 3
days per week of training?

2) If the answer to question #1 is yes, are there any published
schedules for this type of training? I have found many 6 day and a few
5 day schedules, but non with 4 or 3 day rides per week.

3) If there aren't any schedules for 3 day training, does anyone have
suggested guidelines?

TIA,
HarryB

I use the rule of 'three', which is to say you can usually ride (or jog)
three times your daily mileage. Thus to ride a century, you should be
riding at least ~33 miles per day for the previous month. Note this is just
a rule I intend to use.

I understand you to mean that if we ride 33 miles, 3 times a week,
that a century should be within our grasp. I've never heard of this
before, but thinking back to our riding over the past year it rings
true. Our "standard" ride is 23 miles long, and we have not had any
problems doing a 45 or 50 mile ride on the spur of the moment.

Quoted message said:

Likewise, to 'race' a distance your daily mileage should be three times the
race distance. IOW to race 10 miles, ride daily at tempo, at least 30 miles
in the previous month. (I'm talking amateur club races, here).

In your case, how did you feel after the 70 miler? Was it easy, hard, or
just barely limping in to finish. If the latter, I'd say you're not ready.

We recently did a 70 mile ride one day and 50 the following, all on
flat roads. We were tired and sore! But, we hadn't had much saddle
time the two weeks before that. OTOH, a couple of months ago we did
two 63 mile hilly rides a week apart and had no problems at all. We
had been riding three or four times a week prior to that.

Quoted message said:

2500 miles in a year while commendable, is only about 200 miles per month,
or 50 miles a week. Though you may be able to finish a flat century, you
may be hurting. My feeling is why set yourself up for failure, and in fact,
possible injury by trying to up it that much. Why not ride out 30 miles,
then turn around. After a few of those you might be able to get the whole
century.

Why not get a normal road bike and up your mileage individually. Even
though you can't get out more than 3 days a week together, you might be
able to squeeze in an hour here and there the other four days,
occasionally. If the driver can get in about 100 miles per week for four to
six weeks prior to the ride, it might be doable.

Yes, we had considered that. However, for us right now, bike riding is
all about being on the tandem - together. The tandem was a 30th
wedding anniversary present to each other, and any goals we strive for
on the bike we wish to use the time together to achieve those goals.
(This may not be logical, but love is a rather mysterious thing, isn't
it?) However, a "normal" road bike (the tandem seems normal to us...)
might be in the future.

Quoted message said:

FWIW

-B

Thanks for the suggestions.
HarryB

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 19:11:45 GMT, "Alan" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

This is possible but it takes some planning. One of the better books that
I have read is Fred Matheny's book which you can order at :
http://roadbikerider.com/bookstore.htm#Fred%20Mathenys%20Complete%20Book%20of%20Road%20Bike%20Training

He has several schedules that you can adapt for your usage. You'll be
riding many more miles than 2500 to do this as you'll discover that you'll
probably double your annual mileage to do this series. I'd focus as much on
eating and hydration as I would training. My recommendation is to drink
Accelerade during the ride along with an energy bar per hour and Endurox
after the ride. Camelbaks are also very helpful when riding long distance
particularly when it is hot. As long as you have the endurance fueling is
absolutely critical.

Good luck

Is that "Fred Matheny's Complete Book of Raod Bike Training?" Looks
quite interesting. I'll have to consider purchasing it.

Thanks for the suggestion.
HarryB

Quoted message said:

"Harry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

We are in our early 50s (yes, I've read the thread about one's age -
which is a factor!) and have been riding our tandem since the fall of
2003. We have logged about 2500 miles during this year, with our
longest ride being about 70 miles. Our schedule is such that we
usually have only 3 days per week available for riding, with 2 of
those days being a Saturday and Sunday. I have the following
questions:

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly with only 3
days per week of training?

2) If the answer to question #1 is yes, are there any published
schedules for this type of training? I have found many 6 day and a few
5 day schedules, but non with 4 or 3 day rides per week.

3) If there aren't any schedules for 3 day training, does anyone have
suggested guidelines?

TIA,
HarryB

Badger said:

Harry said:

you know? said:

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 12:20:15 -0600, Harry <[email hidden]>
wrote in message <[email hidden]>:

>Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
>miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
>having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
>of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

How fast are you intending to go? A century ride is really not that
big a deal for a reasonably frequent rider; I've ridden centuries on
consecutive weekends with no training at all ever, other than riding
my bike. I do commute by bike - at the time I was doing 15 miles
round trip every day - but I don't believe that massive training
effort is required for century rides, unless they are competitive or
you're aiming to go fast.

Guy

We average about 15-16 mph on our longer rides. We have no desire to
be competitive, and speed is of little concern to us (although I admit
to limiting downhill speeds to under 40mph.) Our primary riding goal
is to spend time together on the tandem, but have noticed that if we
don't have a specific goal, our rides (typically about 25 -35 miles)
tend to become more of the meandering sort. While this doesn't bother
us, we have found that if we do want to do longer rides (60 - 70
miles) that we aren't up to it.

Cheers,
HarryB

That's not a bad speed, depending on the terrain, even for the flats. I
only ask about the speed b/c that can give a rough approximation of the amt
of training or experience and a way to say the following:

Next time you go out, check your speedometer and at various speeds ask
yourself, 'could I maintain this speed for x hours', where that time is a
function of that which you could complete a century. For instance, riding
at 12-13 mph or 8 hours of riding for a century. At 15-16mph that only
requires ~7 hours of riding.

Obvious, I know, but it gives you a different way of looking at that
distance. (I often think of the times the pros ride for 100 miles, and then
you realize that those amateur riders, while going slowly are spending
often double the time in the saddle - hah! - who's tougher, ya gotta
wonder. ;-) )

Anyway, if you can't increase the number of times you ride, for training
purposes, you might try riding twice a day for the two months prior to your
'event'. That way you still get a cool off period, and rest, but you're
spacing the rides. It's also a way to increase the mileage 50% or more. Of
course ramp up the 'two a days' for those three days a week slowly. Start
doing and 'am' and 'pm' ride on Saturdays, then add another of the three
potential ride days. Near the end of the two months, say, week 7, start
cutting down on the # of hours between each ride. That will tend to
increase the total amt of time in the saddle from which you can recover,
getting you closer to 'ride day' conditions (i.e. a lot of hours in the
saddle).

If by the beginning of week 7 or 8 you can ride your two 30 mile rides with
only 2-3 hours rest, then you're repeating 60 mile rides in two days, and
so on.

Again, just some 'out of the box' thinking on training. You might be
totally against two-a-days for some reason...but I'm suggesting it might
help for the final ramp up particularly if you're limited to the number of
days you can ride.

-B

That sounds like a very sensible suggestion. Come to think of it, that
is what we used to do when we first started riding. We would park our
truck about 12 miles from the local (small) airport and ride to a
picnic area near the runway. We would have along a small cooler with
drinks and sandwiches and we would have a leisurely lunch. Then we
would get back on the bike and ride back to our truck. Now we often do
the complete 23 mile ride without stopping (except at the stop sign,
of course ;-) ) Also, the first time we did a "half-century," we did
it in two stages. We took an extended (~2 hour) break midway during
the ride along side a small stream in a rural park. We ate a lunch,
laid out in the shade and snoozed for a little while. Then we got back
on the bike and finished our ride. (Maybe we didn't really ride a true
half-century, but we had a good time.)

Thanks,
HarryB

Badger said:

Mike Kruger said:

In 2003, I set my goal to do a century a month. (I got to

do

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a metric century if it was below 40F).
I did 24 in all. My yearly mileage is usually 4000 (more
last year, less this year).

That's pretty cool. What would you say the average speed

you rode at

Quoted message said:

this level of training, which is under 100 miles per week?

Hilly or

Quoted message said:

flat?

Average speed was not impressive.
Jan 1 I did a metric century (temperature in the teens)
using studded tires due to the ice. That average was 11.9.
In March, I averaged 12.5 -- the trick to this one was doing
the entire thing without changing gears.
(this answers your question about hilly or flat!)
April's century was a 14.0 average.
May's was on crushed limestone (Katy trail in Missouri), for
12.2 average.
June I did a bike tour, so I'm riding with a lot of pounds.
It was also all against the wind.
My averages were 13.0, 11.0 (lots of gravel), 12.4, (rest
days), 12.3, 11.6, 11.1, 11.3.
(This was 3 metric centuries and 4 regular centuries.)
July's was 13.1 average. You get the idea.

Quoted message said:

Did you have any trouble getting back on the bike after

those

Quoted message said:

centuries? This is the thing I want to prevent by doing a

bit more

Quoted message said:

prep.

I used to have more problems than I do now. On the solo tour
in June listed above, that's one reason for the slow
times -- there's another century to be done tomorrow.
Another reason is that I do a lot of mileage when I commute
to work, and my route is on city streets where I can't
really go all-out. So, I don't do as many rides as I'd like
to "flat out" to improve general speed.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

However, there were a couple of months where this was a
burden, and I only completed it because of the goal.

If you don't mind saying what to you mean by 'burden'.

Scheduling

Quoted message said:

conflict? Physical difficulty? Why?

Quoted message said:

In July, I ended up riding 40 miles in the dark to

complete the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

century.

Care to elaborate? Sounds interesting, Mike.

The "burden" was primarily scheduling burden. For example,
in July I thought I'd do the century on the last weekend of
the month. But then my wife turned out to have committed us
to another activity that weekend that I couldn't
realistically get out of. So, I had one day to do the
century. I commuted to work by a longer-than normal route
(25 miles). Naturally, there was some low-level crisis at
work that meant I had to work later than normal. I rode back
by going 20 miles out of the way, but I was still only at 60
miles when darkness hit. So, I did loops around 3 familiar
parts of my suburb for the remaining 40 miles, finishing
about 11:30.

So, I was doing the end of this particular ride for no other
purpose than to complete the monthly century. But as a
recreational rider and commuter, I am usually riding either
for fun, to go to work, or to do some shopping.

This was just MY madness, and I could have quit any time and
given up a goal only I cared about anyway. However, a
tandem isn't just about YOU, it's about the other rider. So,
I'd caution the original poster not to end up in a situation
where one rider wants to go to finish the series, and the
other rider doesn't want to go out in the cold rain with a
head cold. Above all, tandem riding is about fun together.

--
Mike Kruger
If you fall and break your leg, don't come running to me.

you know? said:

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 14:18:10 -0600, Harry <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

Our primary riding goal
is to spend time together on the tandem, but have noticed that if we
don't have a specific goal, our rides (typically about 25 -35 miles)
tend to become more of the meandering sort. While this doesn't bother
us, we have found that if we do want to do longer rides (60 - 70
miles) that we aren't up to it.

In which case I respectfully suggest that instead of trying for
centuries, which are really not much more than a pissing contest for
most cyclists, you join a club which takes leisurely rides around the
countryside, stopping at nice cafes and the occasional scenic spot,
and do what you clearly do best: enjoy spending time in each other's
company. I guarantee to envy you: leisure rides are a thing of
distant memory with two sons' social lives to organise!

Guy

We live in a smaller community and there is only one bike club here,
so we have no other choice. It caters mainly to people who enjoy fast
road riding and also to some off-road riders. Although we seldom ride
with the club, they are a good bunch of people and we don't feel that
we are looked down upon because our riding style is different.
Besides, we get a 20% discount at the one and only LBS.

When I was a teenager I preferred to ride my bike rather than drive my
'65 Mustang convertible! My longest one day ride was some 225 miles
and I had about 35# of camping gear in a backpack, on my back. I rode
in cut-off jean shorts, no helmet, no shirt, no gloves, and tennis
shoes! But, what I remember the most was the wonder of riding for
hours on end as the rural countryside slipped peacefully by. I
wouldn't be surprised if I'm not longing for a return to those
carefree days, except that in this case I'll be accompanied by my best
friend and soul-mate of the last 30+ years.

Although I would anticipate that we would be riding most of those
centuries at our own pace, by ourselves (the bike club is rather
small,) those centuries would provide specific training targets which
would force us to prioritize some of our time off the bike.

Thank you for your thoughts.
HarryB

"Badger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I use the rule of 'three', which is to say you can usually ride (or jog)
three times your daily mileage. Thus to ride a century, you should be
riding at least ~33 miles per day for the previous month. Note this is
just
a rule I intend to use.

Likewise, to 'race' a distance your daily mileage should be three times
the
race distance. IOW to race 10 miles, ride daily at tempo, at least 30
miles
in the previous month. (I'm talking amateur club races, here).

This is rich. Someone giving advice about training for centuries, and
racing, without ever riding a century or racing.

Frank Drackman said:

"Badger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I use the rule of 'three', which is to say you can usually ride (or jog)
three times your daily mileage. Thus to ride a century, you should be
riding at least ~33 miles per day for the previous month. Note this is
just
a rule I intend to use.

Likewise, to 'race' a distance your daily mileage should be three times
the
race distance. IOW to race 10 miles, ride daily at tempo, at least 30
miles
in the previous month. (I'm talking amateur club races, here).

This is rich. Someone giving advice about training for centuries, and
racing, without ever riding a century or racing.

Frank,

Are you saying that this is bad advice?

HarryB

Frank Drackman said:

"Badger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I use the rule of 'three', which is to say you can usually ride (or jog)
three times your daily mileage. Thus to ride a century, you should be
riding at least ~33 miles per day for the previous month. Note this is
just
a rule I intend to use.

Likewise, to 'race' a distance your daily mileage should be three times
the
race distance. IOW to race 10 miles, ride daily at tempo, at least 30
miles
in the previous month. (I'm talking amateur club races, here).

This is rich. Someone giving advice about training for centuries, and
racing, without ever riding a century or racing.

This -is- rich. Someone replying to a message that can't read.

"Note this is just a rule I intend to use".

In addition what person -better- to give advice on this that is in training
for a century, and who rides 150-160 miles per week?

In the past I've done a lot of jogging and for long distances this rule
worked for me consistently, which is why I offered it.

-B

"Badger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Harry said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly with only 3
days per week of training?

Quoted message said:

I use the rule of 'three', which is to say you can usually ride (or jog)
three times your daily mileage. Thus to ride a century, you should be
riding at least ~33 miles per day for the previous month. Note this is

just

Quoted message said:

a rule I intend to use.

Perhaps you should dispense advice *after* you have done your first
century...

"Harry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

We are in our early 50s (yes, I've read the thread about one's age -
which is a factor!)

It's not a factor. Perhaps being in one's 70's might be a factor.

Quoted message said:

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly with only 3
days per week of training?

Yes, easily.

Quoted message said:

3) If there aren't any schedules for 3 day training, does anyone have
suggested guidelines?

You don't need schedules, it's not that complicated. Just ride. If you want
to ride distances, start riding distances. Many people who do cross-country
tours train during the first week of the tour. If you wanted to, you could
probably ramp up to a century/day rate after a couple of weeks even
starting from where you are. If you're comfortable doing 3, 30 mile rides a
week now, make it 3, 40 mile rides, then 3, 50 mile rides, etc.

Peter Cole said:

"Badger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Harry said:

Our local bike club has scheduled a series of 16 centuries (100-145
miles) during 2005. There is one about every month with 4 months
having 2 per month. My wife and I are thinking about the feasibility
of attempting this series. The first ride is scheduled in mid January.

1) Is it possible to successfully ride centuries monthly with only 3
days per week of training?

Quoted message said:

I use the rule of 'three', which is to say you can usually ride (or jog)
three times your daily mileage. Thus to ride a century, you should be
riding at least ~33 miles per day for the previous month. Note this is

just

Quoted message said:

a rule I intend to use.

Perhaps you should dispense advice *after* you have done your first
century...

OK, Dad.

-B