A couple of weekends ago I was blessed with a perfect set of riding conditions:
- The kids were away on holiday with my Mother-in-law
- My wife was off to the races for the afternoon and evening
- The weather was forecast as dry and warm but with a bit of cloud cover
I therefore decided to attempt my first ever 100 mile ride. Up until this point my previous longest rides had all been in the 50 to 55 mile range. This was therefore a big step up from anything I've done before.
Here's how it went...
Route Planning
I'd spent a good few hours playing around with some different routes. I wanted to start out with some familiar territory and then go on to explore some places I've never been before. However, to avoid getting lost too much, I decided that each new part of the route would link up with places I was familiar with. The result was a nice mix of alternating new and familiar roads and places.
I planned the route on Strava and then replicated it onto Movescount so that I could sync it to my Ambit3. The route following option on the Ambit3 is great as you can display a nice map on the watch that follows along based on your GPS location. This ensured that I didn't take any wrong turns throughout the ride. The planned route was 173km.
Next I looked at the elevation profile for the route and noticed that it looked quite hilly, mainly because I was taking in quite a lot of the North Wessex Downs. However, as I really wanted to enjoy the countryside and the views, and I wasn't under any particular time constraints, I decided to stick with my plan rather than alter it to something flatter but less interesting.
Preparation
My preparation was fairly thorough. I gave my bike a good service and prepared all my kit well in advance. Strava was predicting an estimated moving time of a bit under six and a half hours for my chosen route, so I used this as a basis for planning nutrition along the way (see later).
I also prepared myself a little route cue sheet listing the road numbers and towns as a backup to the Ambit3. I later found out that Strava route planner actually provides a cue sheet that you can use!
In my saddle bag I had the usual set of tools and spares: inner tube, puncture kit, tyre levers, multi-tool, chain tool (which was a ride saver - see later) and some tissues. In my jersey pockets I had: mobile phone, credit card, cash, another inner tube and my food.
Pre-ride
The morning before the ride I went to Parkrun as usual and, given I had no kids to run round with, decided to smash out a full effort and try for a new PB. It was pretty hot and I managed an 18:25 for the 5k - 8 seconds off my current PB. With hindsight this was perhaps not the best pre-milestone ride warm-up strategy!
After Parkrun it was a case of having a good sized meal, getting kitted up, applying body glide to the required places, dropping my wife to the station and then setting off. This all took a little longer than I'd expected, so I didn't set off until about 40 minutes later than I'd planned.
Dealing with a Broken Chain
The initial part of the ride was going nicely. I completed the first 40km with no problem, sustaining an estimated average power of 174W with an average speed of 28.1km/h. Very happy with this as most of the first part of the route was a gradual climb up onto the downs.
Then from about 40km I started noticing a small bump while peddling. Felt like something was loose somewhere or that there was a stiff chain link. I stopped a couple of times and gave the bike a quick once over but didn't immediately spot anything. I was planning a slightly longer stop at around 65km so decided to press on and do a more thorough investigation at that point. This proved to be a bad decision as at 63km, on the steepest hill of the ride, my chain fell off!
Recovering the broken chain I moved off the side of the road, whipped out my trusty chain link tool and started repairs. Fortunately it was just a link popped open and using the tool it was easy enough to force it back into shape and re-insert the pin. A good lesson here is to make sure you know how to use the tools you are carrying: they are just dead weight otherwise.
Fortunately I've fixed a few chains over the years, so it wasn't a huge problem. Although I did rush a bit and didn't thread the chain through the rear mech correctly the first time and then had to do it all over again. Doh! In all I lost about 25 minutes fixing the chain. Also I learnt that grass is a pretty good way of removing grease from hands.
Mental Toughness
Once the chain was fixed I got back on the bike and started off again. Mid-way up a steep hill, struggling to get moving again and annoyed at the wasted time the last thing I really needed was the 'trying to be helpful' cyclist coming down the hill shouting across "you need to pedal faster". Thanks!
The next 30kms were really tough - behind schedule and realising that the later start and unexpected delay would mean needing to complete the remaining 100km of the ride without a major break in order to finish in daylight. Then there was 15kms of almost continual up hill. At this point I seriously considered cutting the ride short at Hungerford (100km) and heading home.
Fortunately I then reached a long 20km stretch of downhill and flat road where I was able to get back to averaging 30.8km/h on an estimated average power output of just 131w. This gave my legs a chance to recover and my mojo to return. By the time I reached Hungerford I was both mentally and physically ready to carry on for the remaining 70km of the ride.
The remainder of the ride remained both physically and mentally tough, but I’d got myself through the down period and was now fully focussed on realising my 100 mile goal.
Hydration and Nutrition
I'd set out on the ride with two 750ml bottles, one with water and one with electrolytes. I don't tend to drink much on the bike, so was pretty confident this would be sufficient. However, the warm weather and hilly nature of the route meant I was getting through fluids far quicker than expected. A quick stop at a Hungerford newsagent and I refilled with water and Lucozade Sport. These drinks lasted for the reminder of the ride, with plenty of water still left.
Food-wise I decided to go with a mix of Eat Natural bars and trail mix. I picked these because they are both carb rich and I know I can eat them in reasonable quantities without any gastro-intestinal problems. Much better than energy gels or bars. Based on my typical energy burn rate on the bike I estimated needing about 1 bar every 60-75 minutes, topped up with some trail mix every 30-45 minutes in between.
I therefore packed 5 bars and half a bag of trail mix. I also purchased a bag of crisps on route to top up sodium levels. I came back with one bar remaining. I think I got the nutrition just about right as I felt my energy levels remained good right to the end of the ride and I didn't suffer any post-ride energy dip.
The Final Stages
The last 30kms of the ride were hard work. While I still had good energy levels, it was starting to get dark and my legs were feeling very tired. The steep hill up from Overton up to Kingsclere was an absolute killer. I had to dig very deep to make it to the top without stopping. Just after the top I hit the 100 miles (160km) distance with a very happy cheer and a big air punch!
From Kingsclere I’d planned to go out towards Ashford Hill and Brimpton before heading back home to Thatcham. However, with the light fading fast and the 100 mile mark already passed I opted to the slightly shorter and more direct route home. This only chopped 3km off the planned route, but by this time my legs had had enough and I was just pleased to be home.
The Aftermath
Surprisingly I didn't suffer any major ill effects from the ride. No chaffing shows I got the body glide and Vaseline application right. The next day I didn't really have any leg stiffness and wasn't really saddle sore either. In fact I was able to go out for a gentle 30km ride with a friend - a great active recovery. Probably the only parts of my body suffering any aches were my arms and my neck. The neck was the most sore just from being in a riding position with my head lifted up for such a long period of time. Felt generally tired for a couple of days and then returned to full on training.
Stats for the ride were: 170.6km covered in 7:11:49, with 6:19:16 of that spent moving. Fifty minutes lost to chain repairs, refuel stop and a couple of comfort breaks. Average speed was 24.7km/h with a top speed of 64.8km/h. Average heartrate was 148bpm, which was pretty good considering how hilly the route was. Estimated average power was 145w, with estimated normalised power being 197w (wish I could afford a power meter!).
Learnings
The main conclusion is that I now know I can complete a 100 mile ride and that I want to do it again in the future. I've also gained a new respect for Ironman athletes, being able to do that ride distance and then run a marathon straight after. However, it's also given me confidence that with the right training plan I could complete the iron distance (3.8km swim, 180km ride, 42.2km run) event and probably with a fairly decent age grouper time of between 12 and 13 hours.
The ride also re-enforced the requirement that I not only carry repair tools but that I need to make sure I can use them properly and efficiently. I also learnt that I know my bike really well and that as soon as I notice any change in sound or feeling from the bike then I need to stop and find out what's up rather than ploughing on and hoping to sort it out later.
I'll certainly be looking out for another free day in my schedule and filling it up with another long ride.
