The Coaching Files: Riding the Perfect Back-of-the-Pack Century
Chris Carmichael

My colleague Jim was driving to the Santa Fe Century in New Mexico this spring when his car sputtered and died at the side of the highway. He managed to get it going again, but by the time he got to the century, most of the riders were already miles up the road. As a result, Jim, normally a 5:30-hour century rider, had the opportunity to ride with slower cyclists and experience a hundred from the back of the pack. Over the years, I’ve written and about pacelines, feeding strategies, lightweight equipment, and interval workouts to help people finish centuries faster, but upon his return Jim pointed out that slower riders and late starters face different challenges than the fast riders and early birds. Learning from Jim’s experience, here are tips to help you get through a long day in the saddle.

Carry extra food. Fast century riders and early birds have a secret they’re keeping from the rest of the century-riding crowd: The first people to the rest stops get the best food. Despite organizers’ best intentions, by the time the back-of-the-packers arrive, the rest stops are likely to be picked clean of the best choices. Shoving a few more bars and gels into your pockets at the start or at an early rest stop means carrying a bit more weight, but it’ll be well worth it a few hours later when you pull into a rest stop at mile 80 that has only pretzels and orange slices left. Carry cash as well, in case the route passes a convenience store.

Study Weather.com. Late starters and riders heading for eight-hour-plus finishing times need to be prepared to ride the majority of their century in the heat of the day. That means consuming more fluids—aim for at least two bottles an hour, and possibly three—and plenty of foods rich in electrolytes to avoid dehydration. Sports drinks, bars and gels are good ways to ensure you’re getting enough sodium; try to have sports drink in one out of every two or three bottles you drink. It also means more sunscreen, which breaks down in intense sun and needs to be reapplied every two hours.

Riding into the afternoon also increases your chances of encountering stronger winds and/or storms. In many parts of New Mexico and Colorado, for instance, calm mornings typically give way to windy afternoons, with thunderstorms sometime between 1 and 3 pm. Check weather reports in the days prior to your event looking for patterns, and ask the locals how the weather normally works this time of year. If a shower has rolled in most afternoons, stuff a rain jacket in your pocket—even if there’s not a cloud in the sky when you start.

Skip the first rest stop. The first few rest stops on many century rides quickly become overcrowded. If you’re a mid-packer, late-starter, or simply don’t like the crowds, begin the ride with plenty of food and fluid so you can bypass early rest stops. You shouldn’t need to refill bottles for at least 20 miles, and won’t need to stop for calories in the first 30-40 miles of the ride. Skipping early stops can save a lot of time and get you ahead of a lot of other riders, which means better food choices and smaller crowds when you pull into the later stops.

Don’t try to make up for lost time. Just to show that even experienced cyclists make mistakes, there’s a lesson we can all learn from Jim’s performance in Santa Fe. Since he got a late start, he tried to make up time by pushing harder than normal first few hours. About 30 miles from the finish, he cracked and got passed and dropped by a 54-year-old grandmother – a wise woman who rode sensibly, knew her pace, and stuck to it. If you’re a six-hour century rider, you’re not going to become a five-hour finisher just because you started late. Digging too deep catches up with you. The same applies to riders who start out with a group of much faster riders; eventually you will have to repay the high cost of keeping up. Stick with the pace you can sustain and you’ll finish strong; ride above your level and you risk falling apart in the last third of the ride and crawling across the finish line.

Last Updated: 6/18/2008