Quick Tip: Riding a Century or Gran Fondo? Start Slower Than Feels Right

If you’re riding a century, gran fondo, or other big event, the first hour is the hour you’re most likely to get wrong.

Ride it slower than feels right, and you’ll often finish stronger, faster and in a much better mood.

First, “long” is relative. If your normal weekend ride is 30 miles, then 50 miles is a long ride. If you regularly ride 200K brevets, a 300K is a long ride. Any ride that takes you well beyond your usual distance deserves a little more restraint at the start.

The problem with any long ride is that the opening miles feel wonderful. Your legs are fresh. The air is cool. You’re running on event-morning adrenaline. Riders all around you are rolling fast, and the temptation is to find a wheel and go with them.

That pace may feel fine now. It may be exactly what empties the tank at mile 70.

Before the start, decide on the pace you believe you can still hold in the final hour. Then ride the first hour at that pace — not the pace your legs are offering while they’re fresh and you’re still excited from the start. If you use a power meter, choose a conservative endurance-range wattage for the first hour and treat it as a ceiling, not a target to exceed on every hill. A good rule for a long ride in general is to divide the day into thirds and make the first third feel easy. Not moderate. Easy.

Your breathing is the simplest gauge. You should be able to talk in complete sentences. If you’re gasping to stay on a wheel, or can’t hold a conversation, you’re working too hard for a ride that still has several hours to go. The right group for you may be behind you.

Heart rate can be useful, but don’t let it overrule how you feel. Excitement can push it up early; heat, dehydration and fatigue can make it drift upward late. Steady breathing and perceived effort are often better guides. For more ways to judge your pace, see Coach John Hughes’s 7 tools for pacing longer rides.

Racing is a partial exception. You may not be able to ride the opening hour of a road race at an easy pace and stay with the field. But you can still ride economically! Sit in, skip unnecessary pulls, and don’t waste efforts chasing moves that have little chance of succeeding.

This is not an argument for trying to ride the second half faster than the first. Even strong riders will often slow down a little late into a long event. The goal is to slow down a little bit on purpose early on, rather than slow down a lot against your will near the end.

You can’t bank time in the first hour. You can only borrow it, and the interest comes due later.

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