AUGUST: Gear Up for a Fall Century

Gear Up for a Fall Century

By Fred Matheny

September is a magic month for cyclists. A summer’s riding has peaked our fitness. The fall nip in the air brings increased energy. And many of us have a goal that helps define the season. Traditionally, century rides take place in late September or October.

Even if you haven’t been riding consistently all summer, you can still complete a century. But it’s important not to underestimate the challenge. One hundred miles is a long way and it’s likely to take more than 6 hours. That’s a lot of saddle time.

But if you can ride comfortably for two hours right now, my schedule will get you century-ready in 7 weeks.

I’ll assume you’re busy (who isn’t these days?) so I’ll limit total training time to 6-9 hours per week including one long ride. A century can be done on relatively modest training time because it’s a one-shot effort. To prepare for multi-day tours, on the other hand, you need to train long miles on consecutive days.

Here are the major components of my plan:

Do one long ride each week. The pace should be moderate and steady. Don’t go anaerobic on climbs. Try out the shorts, saddle, gearing, food and fluids you plan to use during the event. Ride different courses if possible so you get hills, flat roads, wind and new scenery. Ideally you’d do at least one of these long rides with a group to get accustomed to having other wheels around you.

You don’t need to ride a century in training. Save the thrill of completing 100 miles for the event itself. I’ve suggested a total ride time for the week’s long effort, but minor variations caused by weather or the exact route are fine.

Increase riding intensity two days each week. Don’t worry -- I won’t ask you to do agonizing interval training each time. Simply bumping up your effort to a “comfortably hard” level will significantly boost your fitness and cruising speed. I’ll suggest different approaches to keep you from getting bored -- time trial simulations, hills, classic intervals and a few sprints. If you have a heart monitor, aim for 80-85% of your max heart rate.


Rest well. One long ride and two days of faster efforts is all the training you need each week. In fact, it’s all that most recreational riders can assimilate. The other four days should be spent resting off the bike (one or two days) or spinning easily for an hour. This amount of rest and recovery guarantees that you’ll be fresh for your training rides, thus getting maximum benefit from them.

Remember to space the hard days throughout the week. A typical pattern: ride long on Sunday; ride hard on Tuesday and Thursday; ride easy Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; rest on Monday. If you’re feeling fatigued, take a second rest day on Friday or Saturday.

Because R&R days are the same each week, I won’t include them in the schedule. I’ll list only the long day and the two days of more intense training. When I say “max” in this program, I’m referring to your max heart rate. No monitor? Then make the effort about 8 or 8.5 on a scale of 10. You should be going hard but not past the point where deep breathing turns to panting.

Week 1

Long Ride: 2:30

Intense Ride #1: 1 hour. 5 minutes at about 85% of max; 3 sprints at 90% effort.

Intense Ride #2: 1:30. A long climb or 15 minutes on the flat at about 80% of max.

Week 2

Long Ride: 3:00

Intense Ride #1: 1:15. 2 x 3 minutes at 85% of max.

Intense Ride #2: 1:30. Two hills that take about 5 minutes each to climb, or 2 x 10 minutes on the flat at 80% of max.

Week 3

Long Ride: 3:30

Intense Ride #1: 1:15. 3 x 3 minutes at 85% of max. Do these on hills if terrain allows. 4 sprints at 90% effort.

Intense Ride #2: 1:30. 20 minutes at 80% of max on rolling terrain or into a headwind.

Week 4

Long Ride: 4:00

Intense Ride #1: 1:15. 2 x 5 minutes at 85% of max on hills or into a headwind. 5 sprints at 90% effort.

Intense Ride #2: 1:45. 2 x 15 minutes at 80% of max on rolling terrain or into a headwind.

Week 5

Long Ride: 4:30

Intense Ride #1: 1:30. 3 x 5 minutes at 85% of max on hills or into a headwind.

Intense Ride #2: 1:45. 3 x 12 minutes at 80% of max on rolling terrain or into a headwind.

Week 6

Long Ride: 5:00

Intense Ride #1: 1:45. 4 x 5 minutes at 85% of max on hills or into a headwind. 5 sprints at 90% effort.

Intense Ride #2: 2:00. 2 x 20 minutes at 80% of max on rolling terrain or into a headwind.

Week 7

Taper for Sunday’s century with rest days on Monday and Tuesday, one-hour easy spins on Wednesday and Thursday, another rest day on Friday, and an easy leg-loosening ride on Saturday.

Eat well, hydrate well, and on Sunday you’ll have the fitness and energy to ride strong!