Week 2: Finding a Century Ride
June 28, 2016/ Maria Parker
This is week two of a twelve week series to help you train for and successfully complete a century ride. Check out the free 12 Week Couch to Century training plan here.
You’ll want to plan to do an event sometime at least 12-16 weeks in the future. Century rides are very common spring through fall and in the south you’ll find them in the winter too. Pick one that has a reputation for great support and fun. Often these are charity rides. I like charity rides because they tend to bring in a greater variety of riders and it’s helpful to my training to have a cause to give meaning to the time I’m training.
There are a couple of good websites to find a ride near you:
If you are training in flat areas, you might like a ride that is relatively flat. On the other hand, it can be delightful to ride a different kind of terrain. Just don’t pick a ride that has any words such as “suffer”, “pain,” “blood,” or “assault.” Leave those for the crazy people.
One final note: It is not necessary to ride an organized ride. My first century was an all day ride with my husband. After a few months of riding, we challenged ourselves to ride all the way to a bordering state and back. It was incredibly fun and empowering. We took our time and stopped along the way for pictures and meals. It was a wonderful day. This is a valid alternative to an organized ride, just plan it, write it on the calendar and commit to doing it on a day to do it 3 or 4 months from now.
Next up in this series: the history of the century ride
Congratulations on taking on your first Century ride! Maria Parker, world record-holding cyclist and Cruzbike CEO, put together this 12 week training guide and blog series to help you successfully complete your first century ride. Share your progress with the Cruzbike Community @CRUZBIKE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We’ll cheer you on through your first 100 mile ride.
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