Post No. 100: How to ride a century, 100 miles in a day, in the suburbs

Welcome to this website’s 100th post!

It’s taken about a year and a quarter to hit 100 since I launched this website. I’ve written 98 of the posts, while two were pickups of Ralph Banasiak‘s Daily Herald columns. Ralph has provided bits of material for other posts, too.

My very first post was my overview of the top bike trails in the suburbs. It continues to be a staple, especially now in the spring as bicyclists research their options, and I keep updating it.

A few other posts have been compilations that I’ve regularly updated. There’s the list of bike clubs, first of all. I compiled trail and road construction projects in 2025, and I’m doing the same for 2026. Plus there was local news in 2025 and now more for 2026.

My big study of bicycling infrastructure suburb to suburb has become a resource for advocates. And so has my compilation of e-bike laws throughout the suburbs, as e-bikes vs. e-motos became a hot topic in 2025. That led to analyses here and here. More will be coming on that in 2026.

Another staple of this website is the list of organized and charity bike rides of interest to suburban Chicago bicyclists. It contains several century rides — and what better topic for the 100th post than riding 100 miles in a day?

Organized century rides

Riding a century marks a big achievement for amateur bicyclists. It’s like running a marathon, though believe it or not, riding a 100 miles on a bike is a little easier. It’s highly acceptable, even encouraged to stop for breaks during a century, for one, and you can eat more, too. It’s also likely easier on your knees and other joints.

But before we get into what it’s like to ride a century, let’s look at the regular organized rides that offer a 100-mile option.

McHenry County Century Ride

• This year on Sunday, May 24
• Routes of 25, 50, 62 and 100 miles
• Starts at Sunset Park, 5200 Miller Road, Lake in the Hills, and rolls on McHenry County’s great country roads.

Arlington 500

• This year on Sunday, May 31
• By the Arlington Heights Bicycle Club
• Routes range from 20 to 101 miles
• Starts at Lake Zurich High School and runs on the rolling Barrington-area roads mostly in southern Lake County.
• Read about last year’s ride

BCLC Ramble

• This year on Sunday, June 7
• By the Bicycle Club of Lake County
• Four loops; you can ride 21-100 miles
• Starts at Wilmot tubing chalet and continues on southern Wisconsin country roads.
• Read about last year’s ride

Swedish Days Ride

• This year on Sunday, June 14
• By the Fox Valley Bicycle & Ski Club
• Routes range from 12 to 133 miles
• Starts at Harter Middle School in Sugar Grove and runs on the nice Kane County country roads.

Bike MS: Tour de Farms

• This year on Saturday-Sunday, June 27-28
• By the National MS Society, with significant fundraising required
• 25, 62 or 100 miles — the century on the first day
• Starts at Kuipers Family Farm, Maple Park, and rolls on Kane and DeKalb county country roads.
• Read about last year’s ride

Cowalunga Charity Bike Tour

• This year Saturday-Monday, Aug. 1-3
• By the Respiratory Health Association, with significant fundraising required
• Routes from 18 to 190 miles over one or three days
• Starts at Gurnee Mills Mall in Gurnee

Two Rivers Century

• This year on Sunday, Aug. 2
• Hosted by the Kankakee River Bike Club
• Starts at the Splash Valley Aquatic Center, 1850 River Road, Kankakee
• Six routes or loops offered of 8 to 26 miles each; can ride up to 101 miles

Roun’da Manure Bicycle Tour

• This year on Saturday, Aug. 15
• By the chamber of commerce of Sharon, Wisconsin, just over the border northwest of Harvard
• Four loops of between 20 and 37 miles offered; ride them all for a century.
• Rest stops are at ice cream shops! BBQ lunch afterward at local bar.
• See the review of the 2025 ride.

North Shore Century

• This year on Sunday, Sept. 20
• By the Evanston Bicycle Club
• Routes from 25 to 100 miles
• Starts at Lakeview Center at 800 Gillson Park Drive in Wilmette and runs north

Apple Cider Century

• This year on Sunday, Sept. 27
• Popular ride (like 4,000 riders) out of Three Oaks, Michigan
• Routes of 15, 25, 37, 50, 62, 75, or 100 miles

Keep up to date with my complete calendar. If you want to travel a bit elsewhere in Illinois, you can find plenty more century options. Ride Illinois offers a statewide calendar that includes some big rides.

Riding a century

Advice on training for and otherwise riding a century abounds. I won’t even start linking to coaching advice because there’s so much, and it varies so much. You can do your own web search and see what suits your taste (don’t necessarily take the AI summary as the best information).

I’ve ridden, I think, 22 centuries, the last one in 2024 when I extended my Bike the Drive on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive (three laps, plus I had to ride a little extra into Evanston). It has gotten harder as I age, but age is by no means an obstacle. People of all ages and shapes ride centuries.

Here are my general tips from my experiences:

Yes, you must establish a base of miles: You do have to ride a lot over several weeks before attempting a century, at least a few months.

But you don’t have to kill yourself: That doesn’t mean running yourself ragged. I’ve seen many, many people just do daily rides of around 20 miles, or just their work commutes, and then do a century.

On the weekends, build up distance: Then you can add distance on the weekend rides. 30, 40, 50, 60 … . You need not ride a century in training to ride a century for real! (That’s for the pros.)

And take rest days: Nor must you ride every single day. As you’ll see over and over in the advice, recovery is as much a part of training as riding. You can ride casually on many days, too; you’re not doing a race (unless you’re doing a race).

A lot of it is getting used to hours on the bike: You have to literally get your butt in gear, first of all — get over the early-season soreness on the saddle (and make sure you find the right saddle for you). Plus your arms, wrists, neck, shoulders, of course legs, and even ankles and toes have to get used to the extended time on the bike. You need to ensure you have the correctly sized shoes, too. Plus an official bike fit at a bike shop isn’t a bad idea — there are certified fitters.

Solo or group: I listed big group rides above, and there’s no doubt riding with and among people is helpful and motivating. There’s an adrenaline rush. Plus other riders could even help block the wind for you (and you for them), such as with an “echelon,” a staggered diagonal formation, as in the video here. But I’ve also ridden centuries by myself, on routes of my own making. I just felt great and took the opportunity — usually late in the season when I was in really good shape.

Mind the weather: Yes, it’s harder to ride a century in hot weather, or windy weather. Rain in and of itself is not an obstacle; you just have to be careful on turns and in crowds. Thunder and lightning, or heaven forbid tornado threats, certainly are dangerous and require you to take shelter.

Eat and drink: Yes, you can and should eat during the ride! Especially early. You may have to find what suits your stomach. Whole, real food may work fine, but so do gels and bars. Drinking is essential pretty much anytime, including in chilly weather, but especially in hot weather.

And yes, you can stop: Presuming you’re not a racer, yes, cyclists take breaks during centuries. The organized rides provide rest stops full of snacks and fluids as often as every 10 miles, and maybe there’s a lunch stop, too.

What it’s like

The start: A century is a long ride (duh). That means pacing. This probably isn’t a race for you. You shouldn’t zoom out at the start, even if you have a tailwind. Just let it flow.

Up to mile 50: You should feel pretty comfortable over the first 50 miles. I find it easier not to think about the mileage so much yet. Mile 25, 75 to go — that can be daunting.

Take it segment by segment: On any long ride, I often think only of finishing the current segment and reaching the next point — a rest stop, a turn, a town or park. Then it’s less about the miles, and you just move on to the next segment.

Second half: Maybe after the halfway point I do start thinking about the mile count — because you’re winning. Ride 60, only 40 to go! Ride 70, only 30 to go! It starts to get exciting; you’ve already accomplished a lot.

After mile 80: Here’s where I might have a tough time mentally. I likely would not have ridden 80 miles in one training outing, so I kind of get into uncharted territory. I do start getting tired; I do get a little nervous. 90 miles is a quite a distance itself! But you push through.

The homestretch: Then it gets really exciting after the 90th mile. Imagine, less than 10 to go! You may be tired, but you can envision getting the century done, finally.

The big finish: Once your computer or app ticks 100, you’ve done it! You should feel proud! And probably tired and hungry, too. You may or may not be able to eat a lot afterward; your body may need to calm down first. (But the next day …)

Do it again? I rode back-to-back centuries over two days once. More commonly, such as during my MS rides, I’ve done 75 miles the second day of two-day events. Hey, no need to do it unless you really want to. My point in saying this is, it’s actually possible to ride that much on a consecutive day, more than marathoners could repeat their feats. But, advice also says you’ll feel the effects of your century for at least a week, maybe two, even as you continue your routine rides. (Doing some easy rides in subsequent days may help ease the recovery.)

Thank you for 100

Thank you for reading this website’s 100th post — especially if you’ve seen it from its January 2025 beginning. If you’re new to the site, I hope you’ll take a look around at the previous 99 posts.

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