How To Complete Your First 100 Mile Bike Ride!

What’s the furthest you’ve ever cycled in one ride? 🚴👇

I’m a 50 yo male, 6’1” 255lbs 20% body fat, new to biking, been biking for a year. I’m doing an organized century ride tomorrow, I have done 60 miles at 16mph average. Wish me luck!

My wife's great uncle used to ride over here to visit, 40 miles on an old steel bike. Had a cup of tea then rode back. 80 miles and thought nothing of it. They truly were the greatest generation.

Saturday 9th September 2023 was the date of a charity event I do every year. Normally I cycle 50 miles or so in a shirt and tie in a pair of chinos on my very ancient Carlton Corsa. This year it was 32 degrees celsius and a head wind for 90% of the planned route, the year I had chosen to do my first 100 mile ride. I managed to cycle 102 miles. I did move to three pairs of boxers under the chinos. The last 7 miles went on forever. I had done a 77 mile ride before but 100 miles seems a lot further. I am properly awestruck by everyone that does a 100 mile ride especially if they can do it in 6 hours or less it took me ages. Fortunately I managed to stay fueled and hydrated pretty much throughout but there were moments when I know I ran low on sugars.

We're u at I challenge the to a 100 mile bike race

❤ I am running a hundred miles too

6 hours? We're not all youngsters

Crazy part is how TDF riders do this every single day for 3 weeks, and have to race it, often with big mountains in between.

First of all, if I want to ride a 100 miles (and maybe a hundred more) I get my trusty recumbent out of the garage.

4 and a half to 6 hours for 100 miles for a regular rider? Are you in the real world? That's about 23 mph down to 16.6 mph. Not the average cyclist, mate.

If I build up to regular weekly 60 mile training rides with several climbs in it, I've found 100 miles do-able. Agree with comments about pacing, especially at the start and not getting too carried away with the excitement of an event. Weather conditions have made a big difference in how easy the distance feels and my times. Not surprisingly. it's much more of a slog in the wind and rain with wet-and-cold hands and feet. I try not to overdo it with gels and use them for a bit of a boost towards the end. I find them a bit stomach churning if I have too many.

6 hours?
Maybe on one of your superbikes and the glass smooth roads in this video.

As a non roadie who likes to ride on dedicated bike trails, getting a century done in under 9 hours is a really fast day for me.

I love the "It might take 4.5-6 hours" part. Who has done their first century in 4.5 hours? Who has done their first one in 6 hours?

Tour De France vibes are intense in this video!

A friend and I went for a century ride around the Boston area last weekend. I neglected to tell him it included over 10,000 feet of climbing. It was all short and punchy hills. 😂😂

about 60 miles/ 100 km

Once again GCN delivers a "rinse&repeat" video...without some key advice!!!!! If you are watching GCN I hope you know that you need to fit your bike and eat well on your bike...I would NOT recommend cutting a ride into 4-25Mile sections...How about the obvious: ride your current 40mile loop twice and add a half-lap to complete the 100 (if you have to hit triple digits). Why? Because anyone who hasn't ridden a 40+ mile ride consistently shouldn't be doing 100!!!! Unless you plan on spending the day at feed zones and asking for help changing your tubes (not fun for anyone). Ride a loop you know and one that is easy to get home to since 80-100miles is serious (at a decent pace). Literally knowing the route is much better than looking at Google earth or Strava the night before a ride. I feel like GCN, Cade Media et al really are not experienced enough to be producing these videos...everyone seems to not know that 95% of the audience is really new to the sport.

I'm still working up to a 100-km ride. Maybe by fall I'll try a 100-mile ride.

Im doing my first grandfondo in June. The Marmotte, so videos like these are great for someone like me who just trys to do it more mentally over physically When cycling

Did 100 miles on Zwift in winter, 40+ laps of Volcano circuit... woohoo

I've done several centuries by now and by far the most important advice from Hank is to pace yourself. When pacing, I ended my century sprinting to the finish and was ready for more. Another time I got excited and pushed hard at the 50-mile mark and the last mile was absolute torture. So now, I simply dial in the power I know is sustainable and just ride at that power level till the end.

It's a lot harder when you're just doing circles of the same unchanging route

Thanks god we use the metric system in Brazil… 3 digits more easily 🤣 Nice vid 🎉

Seen a couple of these "100 mile" videos on GCN but this was my second favourite, after Connor's one, fun, informative and makes me want to just get out there and do it :)

What's about Your Second 100 Mile Bike Ride?

I did a 32km ride originally as a king distance gravel ( old railway line ride ) doubled it up now and again to then Ride up the highest old railway line in England. That got me to my first ultra and a APN ( yikes the weather ) eventually over the 18 months to the North Cape 4000.

Everyone can have an adventure just do a tiny bit more than you have done before and it’s enough. It doesn’t have to be round the world. Just maybe a county away.

I wonder how many riders do complete their first century in less than six hours…

I nreak mine in the.middle. ride to st.charles eat caffeinate drink more coffee, refill water bottles, take off home. What should you not eat on a 100 mile, midpoint meal?

One day you must ask me why the hotel opposite the Abbey is boarded up......

i recommend instead of doing combo of carbohydrate bar / gel / cookies / and water, its better to use isotonic drinks powder that already has sugar in it - while you sip some water, you will also provide constant loads of carbs every 15-20 minutes and it makes a lot of in terms of endurance. Also for very warm weather (everything over 20 degrees celsius) I recommend taking additional water bladder fiilled with cold water (1 litre models in most cases will be enough, but for very long ride or if you dont plan to make stops to shops - you can pick even larger models like 2 or even 3 litre)

Great advice👍

Great advice. I'm doing RideLondon 100 at the end of May for Blood Cancer UK - which I am recovering from (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia). I'm 62 and a cyclist for 40 years. I've done a couple of centuries previously. I started following the training plan they send out but then figured that 2 hourly gym sessions twice a week, weekly studio cycling stints and a long ride every week should see me through!

My first solo 100 miles was fueled by lots of gels and some pizza, also I never actually trained. By the time I did the ride I cycled about 3000 more before hand. Consistency is key. Just keep riding and you'll eventually have enough endurance!

300 miles

I’m doing a century mountain bike ride this Fall with around 25-30k total elevation. I have a marathon this May, then switching focus to my bike. Thanks for the tips

I just did my first century on Sunday! Was a great feeling. Can’t wait to extend it over this summer 🎉

I'm doing a 100km in June, riding for Macmillan, so this is bang on topic for me. Just got to start the serious training 😮

4.5 to even 6 hours?!?! Ha! Unless you're in great shape and experienced, figure at least 7 hours when including breaks. And even that's pretty quick.

'might even take 6 hours' [to cycle 100 miles]. Sure would...

change to km

Finally! GCN name dropped Philly! Fun fact, NYC and Philly messengers do that century ride all the time. Track bikes, street clothes, with a bag on our backs!

I need these Manon-Bars!

Not seen Hank do anything crazy recently, has the insurance come around for renewal? 😢

"you could be on the bike from 4.5 to 6 hours..." bahahah if only

Getting enough water to cover the duration of the ride is my main concern.

Props to your sound team for putting cool BG music on this video. So much better than super compressed guitar solos.

I just ask the shop to check my bike before I go for rides more than 130km.
I did my first 100mile+ ride at an event I believe only 5 months after getting my first road bike lol. It was an event so free drinks and food. Plus people to tell you where to turn.
That was actually the recce for the actual event. I ended up only doing the 108km ride for the actual event, on my MTB because it was much more comfortable.
Kinda lucky I switched because some of my clubmates bonked the wall and were stuck at the last rest stop, I brought energy jellybeans.
I went a bit more than the distance because some other clubmates wanted to take a shortcut(basically everyone else on an MTB and some on roadbikes)and asked me to follow them but we made a stop and they left while I was connecting my earphones. So I went back on the route.
It was so fun, I had 20 random people drafting behind me at one point. Helped change someone's tube. And someone else's tube but that guy apparently wasn't in the event.
First event I ever went to and I would like to go again, the club not participating for 2 years, then covid when they wanted to, then I graduated from that school, then still covid. And this year I'm in another country when they decided to host it early.
Next year I guess.