I am going to do my first century ride in April, the Wildflower Century in Central California. I would appreciate any insight on what to expect, any 'be sure to' or 'be sure not to' items. Looking for anything that will make the experience something I will want to repeat

I haven't done one but my buddies tell me that if you go out too hard then don't pay attention at the end of the ride, your form can get sloppy at about mile 70. After that, you might make it another 10 miles with it being uncomfortable, but the last 20 can be sheer hell and will screw your knees up. So, not to scare you off, but apparently it's a very real problem.

Thanks corndoggy, that gives me a lot to think about. It looks like the main thing I will need to remember is not to go out too fast. I'm pretty competitive so it may be difficult, but I can see the need for it.

Chuck

Hey cyclist! Chico right? I was thinking of doing the same one, but then it ended up my husband has that week only for our family vacation Good luck! report back cause I'd really like to do it next year and love to know how it is!

Actually Sparrow, this is the other Wildflower Century. It begins and ends in Creston in beautiful San Luis Obispo county in Central California. If I do this one successfully, I would like to do the Chico Wildflower next year. I'll post how it goes.

Chuck

oh awesome. good luck!

I don't know how fast you go or how much you train a week, but 100 miles once a month or so is not so bad. Just eat well the night before, drink water along the way, and eat a gu every 45 mins and you should be fine. The hardest part is the ravenous hunger you will get that night. Its almost impossible to sate, at least for me!

Today was the day. I obviously was not well prepared. Not enough riding, improper food preparation, some combination of...... Anyway, 42 miles in I caught the sag wagon back to the start line. Weather was very warm, low 90's, and there were LOTS of hills, some really long ones. My quads cramped up etc. etc. I will either give up the idea of doing a century, or, try the Lighthouse Century in July, much flatter they say

I did my first century last year and I the only training I did specifically for it was to take one day a week and ride 40 miles, two hour break, 40 miles, two hour break, 40 miles. I have my doubts as to whether or not this was a good training idea, but it was an excuse to ride ALL day long and I did finish the ride in pretty good form.

Also dont be afraid to get rid of that compact crank if you use one and slap on the granny gear. There is absolutly no sense in mashing up hills on a ride like that.

Interesting training idea aharris, but you can't knock what works! Congratulations. As for the compact crank vs granny gear, I am really wet behind the ears when it comes to terminology. Could you tell me what the difference is?

Objective-
The 'standard' double road crank set up uses two chain rings w/ 52t & 39t respectivly. The triple road crank uses three rings, usually 52t, 42t, and 30t. Doubles are lighter, but dont have the gear range that triples have. A compact crank is sort of a comprimise between the two, it has only two chainrings but they are generally 50t & 34t which gives almost the same gear range as a triple, but not quite.

The granny gear refers to the smallest chainring on a triple crank.

Opinion/Advice-
Some roadies (not ones I listen to, however) think that even having a granny gear on your bike makes you a wuss, but I dont like killing my knees on very long rides. Being able to spin up a hill is VERY worth the extra weight of the triple crankset to me. I have two geared road bikes, one for touring/long distance and one for going fast. I have set up the long distance bike with slightly heavier, but unbreakable components (might be just luddite tendencies, but whenever I see super light wheelsets I think that they must be brittle as a saltine ) and a triple crankset. On my fast bike I use a standard double because I dont mind mashing up hills if Im only out for less than three hours.

Im not sure on this forum's policy about linking to other forums, but if you ever want more information on long distance cycling this is the single best place on the internet to go -
Long Distance Cycling

And thats not and exageration. Over 70,000 registered users and LOTS of accumulated experience.

Thanks for the info aharris. My bike, a Trek 1000 Discovery Team model, actually came with a triple crank. I'm glad it did, because I did use it on my failed century! I actually got all the way down to the lowest gear on a couple of hills, so I am glad I had it. And I will check out that long distance site