How to Develop Your Own Training Program to Ride 100 Miles

-How many hours do I need to spend in the saddle? 
-How many miles should I Ride? 
-How often do I need to Ride? 
-What food should I eat? 
-What gearing should my bike have?

The key to any successful training plan is variety. Many people simply just go out and ride without paying any thought to the type of riding they are doing.

LSD: Long Slow Distance

One essential element of any schedule should be weekly long slow rides. These types of rides have many advantages, their most obvious being they get you used to riding long distances and spending a few hours in the saddle. The above is great but the most important thing these long rides do is to make your body more efficient at burning fat. When riding at low intensity the body gets most of its energy from fat reserves and when riding quickly and your body is working hard most of your energy comes from glycogen or carbohydrate stores.

The body has limited glycogen stores and you can not top up the levels by eating quicker than you burn them by riding. If you run out of glycogen you will reach a point of exhaustion (often referred to as a bonk). By riding long slow rides in training you body will become much more efficient at burning fat at higher intensities meaning you can ride faster for longer, essential for any successful century training plan.