How to Prep for a Century Ride So You Kick off Training Feeling Strong
Completing your first century is exciting, rewarding, and undeniably challenging. While conquering a century ride is super doable for many (even those of us with full-time jobs, families, and other commitments), the more prepared you are to dive into training, the more you’ll get out of it—and the more confident you’ll feel when the going gets tough.
For exactly how to prep for your century ride, we turned to experts for all their tips on laying a foundation before you begin your formal century training. Here’s what to know.
Establish a Workout Routine
It’s possible to go from the couch to a century within a few months, but the more fit you are coming into your training, the more you’ll enjoy it—and the more consistently you’ll be able to complete your workouts. While you can certainly bike during your off-season, you can also develop or maintain your aerobic fitness through activities like running, swimming, or cross-country skiing.
If you do dive into century training without any bike-specific fitness, start with one or two bike workouts per week and spend the first month gradually (and carefully) ramping up to four days of riding per week. Ideally, though, you’d start training for a century being able to comfortably ride for an hour, two to four times per week, says USA Cycling-certified coach and skills instructor Patrick Carey of Speed Science Coaching.
“The less fit you are, the more careful you need to be, especially early on, to avoid extreme fatigue, injury, knee pain, and saddle sores,” says Kurt Perham, founder and head coach of PBM Coaching.
While building an aerobic fitness base is important for century training, many endurance athletes tend to push strength training to the back burner—but that’s a mistake. “Weak things break,” says Perham. Even two 20-minute strength-training sessions per week provides valuable use of your time (although three or four is even better).
Not only will strength training help prevent injury, it also builds bone density, helps you generate and sustain power for hard efforts, and offers a chance to move in multiple planes—something you don’t get on the bike.
Before you officially kick off a century training plan, try to implement those two strength days into your regular riding schedule. Start with bodyweight moves to nail form, then add in weight.
Gather Your Equipment Essentials
Chances are, you already have a bike, helmet, and floor pump. If you don’t already use clipless pedals, now is a great time to start. Yes, they’re awkward and scary at first but they boost your pedaling efficiency and power transfer without any extra effort.
If you’ve tried them before but weren’t a fan, the issue may not have been the pedals but your set-up, says Carey, who also performs bike fittings. He says clients frequently report knee pain when using clipless pedals, but that’s often solved not by going back to flat pedals but by adjusting the cleat position to put the knee in better alignment.
Other common solutions for knee problems include inserting insoles to provide arch support (which in turn alleviates pressure on the knee), or raising the saddle height by a couple of millimeters, according to Carey.
In addition to pedals and cleats, make sure you also have a set of daytime running lights (a front light and a rear light), which are designed specifically to make you visible to drivers during daylight hours. “That’s a non-negotiable,” says Perham.
Dial in Your Bike Fit
If you’re buying a new bike, don’t leave the shop before spending about 30 minutes having them perform a very basic bike fit, including adjusting your saddle height and fore/aft position. While it won’t be perfect, it’s at least a starting point, and there’s no extra fee, says Perham.
From there, you’ll probably need to keep making micro-adjustments to get the fit exactly right, starting with saddle height. If your budget is tight and you feel comfortable with a DIY approach, enter your inseam measurement into an online saddle height calculator (just Google “saddle height calculator”) and tweak your saddle height accordingly.
If you can swing a professional bike fit, the benefits pay for themselves, says Carey. “We’re talking about injury prevention, enjoying the ride a lot more because it’s not hurting you, plus you almost always get what I call ‘free speed’ because you’re more stable and in a better position to produce power.”
Consider Buying an Indoor Trainer
Depending on when and where your target event is, you may want (or need) to invest in a trainer. If you live in a place where you get snow in May and your century is in June, or an early season century finds you without enough daylight to complete your weekday rides outside, a trainer can be a lifesaver, says Carey. And while you can spend a lot on a trainer, there are some budget-friendly options (as in under $200) that will get the job done.
Prioritize Healthy Habits
You can ride 250 miles a week, but you won’t get very far if you’re cutting corners on the basic building blocks of health. “You can’t gain fitness on ill health,” says Perham.
That means making sure you’re getting enough quality sleep, fueling adequately, eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods, and stretching on a regular basis, according to Perham.
The healthier you go into your training, the less likely you are to skip workouts due to illness or injury. “Consistency is the single most important thing you can bring to your training,” says Perham.
Lay the Foundation for a Solid Fueling Plan
While you can’t know exactly how to fuel on a long ride until you’ve done some real-world experimentation, it’s never too early to start incorporating nutrition habits into your day (both on and off the bike).
If you’ve been working out in a fasted state, now is the time to start training your body to tolerate preworkout nutrition (regardless of whether you’re cycling or doing some form of cross-training).
“Fasting has more risks than benefits and going into a workout fasted makes it infinitely more challenging,” says Carey. Prioritizing carbs in your breakfast or preworkout snack sets you up to feel better during the workout, puts less stress on your body, and helps you recover faster.
It also makes sense to start practicing fueling during your workout. Take in some calories in the form of a sports drink anytime you’re working out for over an hour, or for workouts as short as 45 minutes if they include some intensity (like a spin class).
If your goal is to complete a century and have a good time doing it, you’ll probably have to put weight loss goals on the back burner. “You fuel first to power the workout, second to recover from the workout, and lastly to change your body composition,” says Perham.
Find the Right Event
Finding the right event means asking yourself what feels fun and exciting. First decide whether you’d prefer road or gravel, says Perham. Then, consider what venue, route, and type of terrain appeal to you.
You might want to use this event as an excuse to explore a new place. On the other hand, if you find the idea of completing a century is stressful enough without throwing travel into the mix, consider a local or regional event. When you stay close to home, not only do you get to sleep in your own bed the night before the ride, you can ride parts of the route ahead of the official event, and you might even be able to rope friends and family into cheering for you on the course.
Be Prepared
You certainly can ride without bringing the essentials to deal with common mechanical issues, but it’s not a great idea—especially if, like most of us, you don’t have time to wait for a ride when something goes wrong. Perham suggests never leaving home without front and rear lights, supplies to change a flat tire (a tube, tire lever, and hand pump), and, if you have SRAM electronic shifters, extra batteries for your shifters and derailleur.
At the risk of stating the obvious, all the emergency provisions in the world are useless if you don’t know how to use them. It’s worth taking the time to get comfortable changing a flat when you’re not racing the clock or contending with elements.
Sharpen Your Skills
Adequate preparation also means getting comfortable maneuvering your bike. “There’s riding a bike, which we can all do, and then there’s driving the bike, which is a totally different thing,” says Perham. “Driving” includes mastering the abilities to ride in a straight line, point out road hazards, and grab a bottle from your cage while keeping your eyes on the road. “If you’re doing a century as one of a thousand people, you don’t want to be a liability to the other 999,” says Perham.
Plus, the more comfortable you are with your bike handling skills, the more you can relax and enjoy the ride—all 100 miles of it.
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