Why?

I've done exactly 1 century and that is all I ever plan on doing. Done MANY metric centuries which are the sweet spot for me - of being a long ride without being needlessly grueling.

I purposely did no bitch-out points, because I knew I would.... The last 25 miles for me were brutal - balls of my feet were on fire (wear some good socks), and I could not get comfortable in my saddle. I ran out of water in an area with no gas stations. Realized my GPS ran out of juice and Strava'd the last part of my ride. Bonked super hard with less than 5 miles left - I was chugging Coke just trying to get the energy to get back home.

I'm sure nobody here follows the grand tours (Italy, France, Spain) but I highly recommend it. 3 weeks of brutal riding and you get familiar with who's who of the event.

Also, you can bet on the events (overall winners, podium, top 10) and you can bet individual stages.

I'm sad this is the last week of the VUELTA.I tried clipping in once and hated it so much. The worst feeling.... Like having a hair in your mouth. Now I won't even try because it's been too long.

Not sure when I'll try another century, probably soon. Also have some rad mountain pass roads to do before it snows.

To each their own... Clipless are nice when you need to bunnyhop something in the road, or a curb. I hate riding flat pedals when I get ice-cream with my kids.

flat pedal user here as well. just pumped out my longest ride recently - 155km, 2763m of elevation, highest point 3541m (11617ft for freedom brahs)

clipless seem silly to me. with the right technique you can climb, bunny hop, sprint 99% as well and youre not stuck to your bike when coming to a stop or have limited foot movement which is crucial on technical descents

Yeah, on one hand I can see the slight gain in efficiency, but then you have a guy like Sam Hill just destroying people while he uses flats.

Whatever, it's a preference that most people would swear that their preference is the correct one.