Is a weekly century safe?

RedRider2009

On Saturday I completed my first century, the last 10 miles were very exhausting to me, but I enjoyed the ride. Would riding a century 1 time per week be bad for my health? Is that overdoing it? I would be riding the century every saturday for example, plus other smaller rides ranging from 15 miles to 40 throughout the week. Any suggestions would be helpful, because I have heard that overdoing it can cause an irreversible outcome.

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Julian G.

Last summer I did 120K rides twice a week... the only negative thing I noticed about this is it did nothing for my top end speed (I did however end up being able to do 120K at my 40K pace).

jhuskey

"irreversible outcome"

Not sure what someone meant by that, but a weekly century should be fine for an individual in good health.
Anyone can over extend themselves. 10 miles, 20, 30 or a century could do it if you push past your bodies ability.
It all depends on the individual and knowing your limits.

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jdom

I don't see anything wrong with doing a century ride once per weak.
Many people training for randonnuering ride a century per day for two or three days to help simulate the long times in the saddle.
If your bike fits then don't worry to much about overuse injuries.
As JulianG said it wont help you go faster but it will help you become a better century rider.

Powerful Pete

If you can handle it, do it. Your fitness will increase. Obviously, not your top end speed, but if you are riding those distances that is not what you are after.

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dgregory57

Seems to me I heard about some cyclists over in France that will be doing over 100 miles per day at race pace for many of the next 20+ days...

Just listen to your body. If the rides start getting more and more difficult, you may be pushing yourself too hard, but if you can do one, you can probably do one every week.

As stated by others, people push themselves much harder than 100 miles once per week and do just fine. The randonneurs mentioned ride serious distances. The "holy grail" for some of them is to ride the PBP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris-Brest_et_retour which is 1200 km (around 745 miles) in under the 90 hour time limit (less than 4 days), so 100 miles once a week is just a ride in the park for some folks.

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Crankyfeet

Doesn't it depend on how hard you ride? If one has enough time and eats enough during... riding 100 miles in zone 2 heart rate max is not that stressful. If you push yourself though... different animal.

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alienator

For some people, it's not safe to go up and down the stairs once a day.

How well do you know your body?

garage sale GT

Coincidentally, I just did my first century. An attempt last year was ruined by a broken derailleur coupled with heavy headwinds.

I would think you'd want to stop if your times got worse without explanation, or if your nutrition strategy left you stinking of ammonia or cramped up.

What are some other pertinent measures?

I have heard vitamin C is used up during long term endurance exercise of several hours or more, and it was from a pretty mainstream source.

Let's make a pact to do one every weekend, and report what happens!

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RedRider2009

Powerful Pete...I am kinda an all around rider...I enjoy doing fast/short rides/amateur night races

Dgregory...There is a difference between me and them...it is called the Atlantic Ocean hehehe...

Garage Sale...lets try it...I will try to do it every week...

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TheDarkLord

There are a number of brevets in North America also. Boston-Montreal-Boston is also around 1200 km.

Powerful Pete

TDL take it easy on the guy. He is proposing one 100 mile ride per week and admits to having had a lot of trouble in the conclusion of his first century. I think he can wait a bit and ride more before he begins to tackle brevets...

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TheDarkLord

Just pointing out that 1200 km brevets are not limited to one side of the pond. In any case, isn't the shortest brevet 200 km? That's not that far off from a 100 mile ride, except that you have to ride it within a time limit (around 14 hours I think). If he can do frequent 100 mile rides, then he can consider doing brevets at some point...

Powerful Pete

I see. And yes, the shortest brevet is 200km. Thinking of doing one myself...

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