My first century! South West Pro Tour Ride, 175km (108 miles), 3200m ascent

I recently completed my first 100miler at the Pro Tour Ride in the South West. 108 very lumpy miles with 3200m of climbing.

Much is made of achieving your first century in the cycling world, and I was surprised that in 3 years of pretty serious riding it is something I was yet to do. It became clear on the day though just how far 100 miles is. Doing such a distance can require a lot of time, route planning, and as I was to find out, resources and patience.

Having such an organised ride made it much easier. Logistically, there were route marshalls, signs, support vehicles and feed stations. Physically, it always helps being surrounded by hundreds of other riders sharing the pain and spurring you on, and generally buzzing off the adrenaline of a mass participant event.

All that said, it surprised me how physically ready I was. I have not even come close to 100 miles this year. My rides have been limited to short evening runs, the occasional weekend 40-50 miles and a few hill training sessions. Perhaps the best training I had was the trip in the Southern Alps which was about two weeks prior to the event. I certainly felt like this took me to a level I've never been to before, but I was always aware that it was achieved in a very short space of time and that that strength/fitness might not last that long. Yet, even with 95 miles under the belt I still had the strength to really push on at the end.

The ride was actually far more of a learning experience, not so much about my fitness , but about the bike, eating, drinking and patience! I had a bit of a nightmare, puncturing 5 times and running out of inner tubes. Luckily I was able to profit off the ubiquitous support vehicles, who always had a spare tube and a good mini pump. Without them I may have been walking to the end. But they all frustrated my rhythm and my state of mind and by the 5th time I was ready to throw my bike off the nearest cliff.

I think what I learnt from it, was to prepare myself for the length of time a century can potentially take, and to stay patient in the face of the other disruptions that can occur in that space of time. Also, to take a good variety of food, because mule bars really aint that nice after the 45th one. Maybe the next time it will all go a bit more smoothly, making for a very pleasant surprise! And yes, I'm very keen to do it again, if just to prove to myself I can do it in a far quicker time.