Half-century?

Teece

I know that riders often talk of a century ride [100miles] but do beginners celebrate half century efforts?

Yesterday was my longest ever ride at 50.02 miles at a leisurely 13.1mph. I rode from Solihull to Stratford upon Avon and then turned back. All on little country lanes. There were many hills to glide down on the way there but consequently, a lot of climbing on the way back!

A bowl of porridge and 2 lumps of homemade flapjack along with 1.5 litres of water got me through it.

I felt a bit sick after the ride and this morning my legs were a bit wobbly - nothing to complain about really.

I just thought I'd share this with my fellow beginners!

Garryboy

Well done!
I remember my first 50, was a real slog but I was chuffed I'd done it.

With family and work I rarely get time to get in a longer than 50 ride these days!

wishitwasallflat

Well done! I am working towards my first 50 - done 40 a couple of times but settled into regular 25-30s and working on improving speed (over 15mph average for first time ever on last four rides!) as very short of time just now.

My aim is 50 before I am 50 so I have a few months to get there yet but boy when I do I will certainly celebrate and so should you

si2k2000

Yes 50 is definitely worth celebrating. Make sure you recover properly with plenty of stretching and then get ready for the next one. I try to do 50 miles once a week, that on top of my regular morning rides of around 15 miles I find the long ride essential for building up strength and endurance. Good work!

p9uma

Good result, I've yet to do my first 50, I'm hoping to do it later this week, depending on time and weather, I did 40.2 yesterday.

Anyway well done, I think it's a Hell of an achievement.

ianbar

yes very much worth celebrating! i did 50 on saturday only second time for me 13.2 average.got a 55 mile sportive in 2 weeks. i went out for just half an hour today to get the legs moving a bit. well done and yes get ready for another!

desweller

All milestones are worth celebrating. Don't forget to celebrate your first century in those new-fangled Napoleonic measurements when you make it; that's not far away now!

alihisgreat

Teece wrote:

I know that riders often talk of a century ride [100miles] but do beginners celebrate half century efforts?

Yesterday was my longest ever ride at 50.02 miles at a leisurely 13.1mph. I rode from Solihull to Stratford upon Avon and then turned back. All on little country lanes. There were many hills to glide down on the way there but consequently, a lot of climbing on the way back!

A bowl of porridge and 2 lumps of homemade flapjack along with 1.5 litres of water got me through it.

I felt a bit sick after the ride and this morning my legs were a bit wobbly - nothing to complain about really.

I just thought I'd share this with my fellow beginners!

Well done on the 50!

If you were feeling sick and wobbly after the ride then you need to eat more

~1g of carb per kg of body weight per hour is supposed to be there or there abouts -> you can get away with less in the first hour or hour and a half providing you've eaten within 1-2 hours of riding.

If you have eaten enough and you still get the sick feeling then you just need a sugary boost towards the end, pushing too hard up a hill or something near the end of a ride can leave you on the floor feeling faint when you get home!

Hydration might also be something to look at?

Lossie Loon

Definitely worth marking, and it's great knowing that with another 12/13 miles you will get a metric century as well, so should be achievable as long as the 50 wasn't too much of a stretch. Always good to set the achievements in manageable chunks so you can edge your way up through them.

Teece

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments and valuable advice. I'll certainly be looking at ways of getting more carbs and fluid on board during a ride.

I'll be riding the 75mile Birmingham to Oxford ride on July 1st and yesterday's ride made me feel a lot less nervous about it!

Cleat Eastwood

Well done Teece, your last comment there is really good to remember; achievments like that are excellent at alleviating fears and letting your body know that big miles can be done - i bet you'll be doing the ton in under a year.

sancho1983

I would certainly be chuffed with 50!

I've not done much more than 20, although I did 30 yesterday (in 2 separate rides)

I'm on a ... Ahem... Mtb though. Waiting for my first road bike to arrive.

I look forward to celebrating my first 50 on here, you'll be on your first century by then!

Teece

sancho1983 wrote:

I would certainly be chuffed with 50!

I've not done much more than 20, although I did 30 yesterday (in 2 separate rides)

I'm on a ... Ahem... Mtb though. Waiting for my first road bike to arrive.

I look forward to celebrating my first 50 on here, you'll be on your first century by then!

Speaking as an enthusiastic mountain biker I would suggest that 30 miles on an mtb is comparable to 50 on a road machine! Mtbs are so much heavier than road bikes, and the wider knobbly tyres are superb at slowing you down on the tarmac.
You'll love the difference when you ride your road bike for the first time and with a background of long mtb rides, you're sure to hit the 50 mile target pretty soon after!

sancho1983

That gives me confidence. Been reading this forum too much and people seem to not get out of bed for less than 100 miles up a hill!

I'm hoping that I notice the difference, feeling a bit guilty about the cost (and It's not that much compared to most!)

andy46

Congratulations on the 50 miler, I am also hoping to get to my half century this year. As someone else said, I'm doing 15-20 mile loops at the minute and working on increasing my average speed.

I can't decide on weather increasing my average speed or working on distance is better at the minute.

CiB

Teece wrote:

I know that riders often talk of a century ride [100miles] but do beginners celebrate half century efforts?

There was a time on here not that long ago when beginners were celebrating their first 10, first 20 etc but luckily that's calmed down a bit now.

Fifty is worth a self-congratulatory pat on the back and a thread that purports to ask a question about it but exists mainly to announce that you did it, so well done on it. Now you've done that we'll expect an 80 then 100 before summer arrives in earnest (early October at this rate)

markos1963

Well done on your first 50, I certainly remember mine. Funny now that I don't think about it and just go out and ride what I want 50,60 100 whatever takes my fancy. Keep setting goals and your riding will continue to improve. Next one must be the 100km barrier.

Wobbler72

Well done buddy.

I did my first 50 in a sportive ride 2 weeks ago, so i know how you feel

rc856

Well done.
I'm sure I started off (like everyone) with a 20 mile target and you're doing more before you know it.
My regular runs are now 65-75 with the last two being 80 milers thanks to moving up to my main bunch club runs.

This Sunday will see me tackling a 125miler and my first century

Are you in a club?

Teece

RC856 wrote:

Well done.
I'm sure I started off (like everyone) with a 20 mile target and you're doing more before you know it.
My regular runs are now 65-75 with the last two being 80 milers thanks to moving up to my main bunch club runs.

This Sunday will see me tackling a 125miler and my first century

Are you in a club?

Nope, not in a club. I rode once with Solihull Club but I couldn't stand my mudguards rattling and rubbing on the wheels. Solihull don't like their riders to go without mudguards in the winter. I'll hopefully be riding with them again in the summer months.

Good luck on your 125, that seems huge!

Cliveyp

Brilliant stuff! Congratulations!

Time stops me getting on to doing things like this, but with London to Brighton coming at me quickly I really need to start piling the miles on. My usual trips are 10-12 miles, with the occasional 19 mile commute home from work, so i've been working on speed over those distances....all be it still not great!

I've managed to wangle a bit of 'me' time on Saturday morning, so am planning on heading out for 25-30 miles.....it'd be nice if it ended up more!

BobScarle

Celebrate a half century? Of course you should! Celebrate all personal milestones. Well done you.

The Birmingham to Oxford ride is good, I did it last year. A few lumps especially around Hook Norton but a nice route along quiet lanes. I am hoping to do the ride again this year although there seems less interest than before in the group I normally ride with.

mikeabanks

I intend to celebrate my first 50 which, like a previous poster above, I intend to do before I am 50 in July. I have actually done 45 miles so finding another 5 miles should not be a problem. Mind you I would like them to be flat