I’m mainly just checking if I’m missing something or any advice about that distance sort of thing.
100% make sure you have the right gearing. 34/34 will be a lot of grinding up those steep gradients and you don’t want to have to prematurely end the ride due to legs blown up, or knee pain.
Maybe look into getting a ‘Wolftooth roadlink’. You can use that to extend your derailleur and fit as much as a 42 cassette on the back. Plenty of Youtube vids available on this topic.
Like Amber once said on the podcast: “I’ve never met a gear I didn’t like.”
Sounds pretty solid then!
I might suggest pushing the Saturday outdoor ride to 6, 7, and eventually 8 hours, keeping it solidly in Z1/Z2. Not every Saturday, maybe once or twice a month. It’ll make event day more enjoyable and those long fat burners will help with the weight goals you mentioned. You should still fuel these long rides of course. I usually shoot for about 50-60% of the KJs burned.
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It does sound like a solid plan. Since he lives in a flat area, he could do longer tempo intervals to simulate the climbs encountered on the century. Or, do Alpe du Zwift intervals.
That was the plan to work up the saddle time over the months. Possibly doing a 5 hour plus ride twice a month with maybe 3 hour rides in between. This is my first crack at this so I feel like I’m asking stupid questions. 
you’ve got a plan and so you’ve got this! My first 10,000 climbing century was 7 months after buying a bike, I live at sea level and it involved 60 miles above 7000 feet and I finished in 8 hours moving time. It was a club ride, and warm summer day with a lot of stops for water (a few cars doing SAG) so elapsed time was 9 hours 22 minutes.
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Thanks for the support I’m looking forward to it. This will probably be the first of many to come. Haha. 7000feet that must have felt difficult we have nothing like that in the UK, most I have done is 2000 feet.
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everything is better at elevation!
Ride description:
Climb for 28 miles. Then spend 60 miles riding above 7,000 feet. Hey, you’re the one who signed up for the Death Ride. So here’s your chance at a “near death experience.” Nothing like a side of elevation with your humble pie!
It is strongly advised that this not be your first century of the year. Seriously! That said, there are several logical places to turn tail and run for home.
Just get out there like you’ve planned, do some long rides, and nail your hydration and nutrition strategy (make a spreadsheet like Nate if it helps). Then on the ride hang onto some wheels and have a blast!
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Assuming you’re on a smart trainer, do some SS/Threshold intervals in a small gear (little ring, mid-high cassette). That low speed/low inertia on the flywheel will feel very different from doing all your intervals in 50x11, and will give you a sense of the muscles needed to put out power at low speed.
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I’ve heard a few people mention about gear selection on the turbo. I currently do most intervals in the big ring and keep a straight chain line. Does using the little ring create a more climbing like feel?
Yup, with less inertia in the flywheel it takes more active engagement to get the pedals to kick over. You can think of it as the difference between cruising along a flat road at 300 watts versus inching up a steep grade at 300 watts. Same power, but they do feel different. If you just do little ring and a straight chainline that should get you the desired effect.
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I’ll give that a go. I’ve got 90 minutes tomorrow to tackle.
Nice, enjoy! And good luck on the ride
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We’ve got some good punchy short climbs in the Sierra foothills outside Folsom. Wasn’t really riding much when I lived in Bay Area, but I think there is some good punchy stuff in the coastal range too?
A lot of steep canyons in the coastal range… up and down the entire west coast.