Do: enjoy the ride...talk to the other people you're riding with...and eat a lot at the food/drink stations.

Centuries rides are a lot of fun, but not so much for the intense training they provide, more for the laid back aspects of enjoying the sights and riding a bike all morning...and I'd imagine the sights will be awesome in Sonoma

As far as training...I'm sure others can point you to a plan, but depending on where you are now, I'd just focus on slowly building base endurance each week (up to 10% increase per week), with a recovery week every 4 or so. If you get your long ride to the 80-90 mile range, you'll be able to do a century without a huge deal of discomfort.

All the info you'll need and then some

That site helped me a lot when I did my first... but basically it's "ride long, eat lots". :)

jono

The difference between 60 and 100 is surprisingly minor, as long as you get your nutrition right... get 250-300 carb-heavy calories each hour and you're all set.

jono

Get a nice pair of biking shorts.

You will be spending several hours on the bike, might as well be comfortable. No amount of training can make your butt padded, actually would probably take the padding off.

Enjoy,

Maks

If you're going 60 now, doing a century should be no problem at all.

1. Unlike a tri or a marathon, the beauty of a century is that you can eat a nice breakfast of real food beforehand--especially if you're not going for any particular time. So fill up.

2. Chamois cream. Chamois Butt'r makes some single-serving packs that fit in a jersey and which you can find at REI and some bike shops. They are way more expensive per serving than a tube, but some days a reapplication around mile 60 or 70 makes a world of difference.

I'll have to be the dissenting point of view. Though I've not done either for a few years, I've always found a tremendous difference between 62 and 100. This probably relates to training or nutrition, but I always sailed through metrics with 1 stop and feeling well, but made every stop on a century and usually felt bad at some point.

I'll split the difference... Yes, there's a big difference between 62 and 100 miles. But, if you're already riding 60, and your century is in May, you've got a lot of time to build the additional endurance. As already posted, eat, drink and be merry and you'll have a great time.

Remember to not increase your training by a lot more than 10% volume a week. You can get by doing it for a week or two, but after a month or more of doing it, it just may come back and bit you in the butt. So be careful. Five months is more than enough time to gradually increase your mileage. It also give you the real world nutrition practice. Find something that works and tweak it a little at a time.

Do-Slap on the Chamois butter! Take some little packets with you, to reapply half way.
Do-Ride on a seat that is comfortable to you. I ride the Fizik Aliante, it works for me.
Do-Eat and drink the whole way, show up hydrated and keep it going through the ride.
Do-Get your bike set up to fit you, you may need a professional to help with this.
Don't-Show up unprepared. The best thing you can do right now is ride.

I participated in a charity ride last May in Virginia, and the first day we rode 110 miles. The furthest I had ridden up until then was 62 miles. I had no problem at all completing the 110 miles even though it took 11 hours because we rode as a group of 100+ and made several stops. The next two days were 75 miles, which were a piece of cake.

I rode about 1000 miles from January until May to prepare for the event. Nothing special, I just rode.

Have fun and remember to chat with the folks around you, it makes the time go by faster.

[quote=banana hammock]
Do-Eat and drink the whole way, show up hydrated and keep it going through the ride.
[/quote]

How does the constant eating work? I can drink and ride, but so far, I have to pull over and stop to eat. Where do you keep the food and how do you get at it with out stopping? Do you have to slow down for a bit while chewing? I can't chew and breath hard at the same time so I always have to slow down to a comfortable pace. Any tips?

[quote=TonisTri]How does the constant eating work?[quote]

I have pre-ripped the wrappers to my bars and gels to make it easier to open while riding. Also, it helps if you can ride sitting up with no hands like the guys in the Pro Peloton. As far as where to put it, you can stash everything you need in your jersey pockets. In a tri suit you can slide it up the cuff of your shorts. Eating and riding takes practice, I carry something to eat even on short rides just to practice.

And slowing down a bit to eat on the ride isn't such a bad thing, and to bh's point practice does help.