Ride a century

Riding a century is a rite of passage. It’s a significant challenge – 100 miles is a long way, make no bones about that – but an achievable one for regular cyclists.

Many sportives will have a route option of more than 100 miles and having a specific event in the diary gives you a date to work towards, but there’s also a joy in plotting a route and following it turn-by-turn on a long summer’s day to bag your first century with friends for company.

Summer, by virtue of improved weather and more daylight hours, is the best time to ride a century. If riding 100 miles seems a daunting task even from a distance of several months, consider the time you have between now and then to prepare. Follow a training plan, slowly build up your mileage (if you can ride 75-85 miles in training then you can ride 100 miles on the day), have a bike fit and think about nutrition. Bon courage!