Training for a century isn’t just about logging kilometres. It’s about building the kind of resilience that keeps you turning the pedals when everything — legs, mind, weather — tells you to stop.
I finished mine in June. 162 km. 1,840 metres of climbing. 6 hours and 12 minutes. Average power: 198W. Numbers I didn’t know I could produce, until I did.
Finding your pace
Most first-timers go out too fast in the first 50 km. If you’re breathing so hard you can’t hold a conversation, slow down. The century doesn’t really begin until kilometre 80 — everything before that is just getting there.
My watch showed 198W average for the full ride. The opening 60 km averaged closer to 210W. By kilometre 120 I was holding 182W and grateful I had anything left. The negative split wasn’t strategic — it was survival.
“The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.”
The numbers
Distance: 162 km | Elevation: 1,840 m | Time: 6h 12m | Avg power: 198W
Nutrition: eat more than you think
Four gels, two bananas, a rice cake — and I still hit the wall at kilometre 130. On a long ride you’re burning 600–800 kJ per hour. After three hours, your glycogen stores are empty whether you feel it or not.
Eat before you’re hungry. Drink before you’re thirsty. Set a timer for every 20 minutes and stick to it.
Would I do it again?
Already planning the next one. That’s probably all you need to know.