Singed up for a 100 mile ride ride around Lake Tahoe on June 1st. I have done 90 miles in Aug last year and a 100 mile the year before but that’s all flat. Started training well in Jan but had to take a break in March for a month and now getting back at it. Any tips on what I can focus to prep for the ride. It’s a hilly ride as well from what I understand.
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Let Plan Builder do the work for you….put in the date of the ride and choose the Gran Fondo plan. Then let the program work out the best option for you with the time you have left.
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I live in Reno and ride around Tahoe quite a bit. The loop around Tahoe is about 70 miles with some pretty decent climbing. I’m not sure what makes up the other 30 miles. Its all at 6200 feet or higher too.
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There was a ride last year that did an out and back on 89 from Tahoe City to Truckee to make up the 30 miles. If that’s the case, it’s fairly flat. The other option I could see is 89/267 to Truckee and past Northstar. The kicker over Brockway adds a good climb.
The altitude and dry air of Tahoe can hit people differently but avoid alcohol and stay hydrated.
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Awesome ride! Nothing to add or suggest. We were living in Reno and did a few Tahoe centuries ~25 years ago. They were a lot of fun, fantastic scenery of course, and had a wide range of participants, including some handycycles and unicycles I haven’t been up there in 20 years, but I doubt it’s changed much…except for more people and traffic.
What’s the event? I might be interested in signing up
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I did this in 2023. I did the ‘100’ with Truckee out-and-back. It came out to 98 miles with 4,800 ft of elevation gain. Most of the ride is at ~6,300ft. There are only two real climbs… the climb up above Emerald Bay and Spooner towards the end. I don’t see why you’d train any different than your prior long rides.
This event is very much a ‘ride’ vs a race. You will see every imaginable bike and rider. It also attracts a lot of riders, so you will have people to ride with most of the day. If you are not feeling it the day of the ride, there’s no reason you couldn’t cut it down to 70 miles by eliminating the Truckee detour.,
Obviously, the scenery is spectacular. It’s a great day on the bike. Plenty of aid stations along the way. It’s certainly one I would do again.
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I’ve done this ride about 6 times. Really beautiful. A few tips:
- It’s at elevation, so if you’re training near sea level, expect that you’re going to be a little more winded than you’re used to. It’s not a big problem but definitely don’t fight it.
- Save your energy for the Spooner climb around mile 80. That’s about 3 stepwise climbs broken up by very short flatter sections.
- Make sure you’re hydrating well for this ride. At that elevation, the air can be dryer so you’ll dehydrate faster. Also, the climb up Spooner is pretty exposed to the sun, so if it’s at all warm or sunny, it’ll feel hot.
- There are some small rollers after Spooner which feel like a lot more than you’d think because you’ve accumulated fatigue.
- When you ride back from Truckee (the out and back there from Tahoe City adds 30 miles to make this 100), it’s a slight incline. Don’t fight it and burn yourself out coming out of Truckee. Truckee is about mile 45ish on the course.
- There is a lunch stop at King’s Beach at about mile 70. It’s a great stop but it’s tempting to spend a lot of time there to cool down and eat a lot of food. Coming out of that stop is a climb so that can be uncomfortable if your body has fully cooled and you have a stomach full of food.
It’s truly a beautiful ride and arguably lives up to its name. The support and vibes there are excellent. Thousands of people participate from all over the country (so be aware of a range of riding ability and awareness).
Here are the same tips I shared on YouTube last year as I was training with Team-in-Training last year for this event: https://youtu.be/p6tDrkMlZo0?si=BeaGVoDzYrDa99Wj
Here’s my video of last year’s ride: https://youtu.be/ZKs8muezouQ?si=Q0L7pTRCzSsWpMH1
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