Somehow I ended up riding 75 miles yesterday -- a new personal best.  I think I could have kept going, but it was dark and I was out of snacks.  I'm now convinced I can pull off a century, especially if it were organized so I'm not carrying locks, food, tools around like normal.  As a frame of reference, I thought I was going to die after a 20 mile ride this Spring.  

How far have others pushed themselves?  

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get a decent set of padded bike shorts, gloves... make sure your moving your hands around a lot on the bars, varying your position will lessen the strain put on any one muscle group or area.

Mike Bullis said:
Kevin Conway said:
400K = 250 miles. It's a better thing to have done than to be doing.

Well put and congratulations.

I did a lot, and I mean a lot, of ultramarthon cycling in the mid eighties, early ninties. Double Trouble, Race Across Wisconsin, WisIll 24 hr TT series, countless brevets, and PBP. My best day was 302 miles in 22hrs.
Now, 25 years later, 30 miles is a big day for me and about all the time I care to spend in the saddle. That said, because of all that distance training, I could hop on my old brevet bike tomorrow and do a century. I'd have a sore ass, sore quads, sore neck, and wouldn't break any speed records but I could do it without any extra training.

And so can you guys. Just ride. Drink before you are thirsty and eat before you are hungry. And make double sure your bike fits.
118, Zionsville to Culver, IN. Horrible 20mph headwind. Finally 10 hours later we arrived. Planned on 103, but we hit a bridge out detour along the way that pushed it to 118. It would have been a really bad experience except 4 days later we rode back to Zionsville in just over 5 hours.
The longest I've ever ridden in one day was 125 miles. I was taking part in the Evanston North Shore Century and took a wrong turn. : )

I think if you give yourself enough time, you can easily ride a century. It's all about endurance, not speed. Let the Lance Armstrong wannabes zip by while you enjoy the view.

That said, I agree that a supported ride would be the best place to start.
Maybe 40+ but I also ride an old trek mt. bike mostly and that's my "new" bike I'm sure with a more ergonomic bike and a day of good rest and carbing up I could do more.

Rode 30 miles to the train station from my parents one day then rode home, 38 miles or so.

Rode from 6000 north bike trail and some messing around in the loop, Grant/Millennium park area then to 71st and South Shore then back to Fullerton (where I took the red line back)

Both of these were many hour explorations involving most of the day so not steady riding and lots of winding around exploring so the Chicago trip may be closer to 50.
110 miles at The North Shore Century in 2008 (when I first met Evan, Kelly, Ryan). It was the first time I connected with people through Chainlink.




And the reason I was pointing to my chest....

What do you use to measure the distance?
I assume you mean in general. The simple answer: a bike computer. They all work on the same basic idea: a magnet is attached to a spoke and a sensor is placed on the fork, and the sensor detects the magnet while the wheel rotates. It tells a little computer that attaches to the handlebars when it sees the magnet, and the computer calculates how fast you are going based on the wheel diameter. Every model will work as a speedometer and odometer. Fancier models will do more things.

You can pick up a cheap one for $25. You don't need it, but they are nice. Of course if your memory is good you can always just use a map.

Etienne said:
What do you use to measure the distance?
Hey Julie,

I liked your Chicago Flag biking shirt last Saturday during the Midnight Marauders ride. :)

E.

Julie Hochstadter said:
110 miles at The North Shore Century in 2008 (when I first met Evan, Kelly, Ryan). It was the first time I connected with people through Chainlink.




And the reason I was pointing to my chest....

105
I just thought you were referencing your chest :P

Julie Hochstadter said:
110 miles at The North Shore Century in 2008 (when I first met Evan, Kelly, Ryan). It was the first time I connected with people through Chainlink.




And the reason I was pointing to my chest....

Way to go Michael - though I still can't believe you just started hitting centuries last year! My best is 115 last summer, but that was three rides (40, 40, 35) over the course of a lonely Saturday.. these were my pre-chainlink days.

Michael A said:
I did my first century last yr ( the evanston/ccc pampered century ) almost a year to the day. The longest I had ridden was 35 miles, and did not even have 100 miles in for the season. I had also not ridden a bike for more then 10 miles in over 20 yrs. In the last year I have over 7000 miles in, including at least 10 organized centuries and 2-3 x that is just long rides..... If a 45 yr old 245 lb man can do it, almost anyone can. The longest I can remember was a 160 mile day. My group did a 200 miler but I was racing that day.
I did a ride from Chicago to Milwaukee over two days after riding around a little the first and getting a little lost on the way I think my longest ride was 55 miles then another 45 day two. I definitely want to try a century. Anyone now where I can start train or wanna ride with me?

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