Long Distance Cycling - Mid Ride Dip?

Just a quick query for you experienced riders out there...

I did my second 'big' ride on Sat. - 132 miles,8hrs 21mins ride time. I rode my comfy 6 speed cyclocrosser with one other rider. I'm hoping to get a better time when I get a 'proper' road bike.

On long rides I always start strong & finish really strong but I definately get a dip,mid ride.I'm hot on keeping up with eating & drinking - and I haven't bonked (not on long ones - I have on short rides in the past!) I always start off nice & steady & keep that way...

Just wondered if other folks out there experience that too?

Having a low point somewhere along a long ride is common. Just keep eating and drinking and stick with it and things always pick up.

It's perfectly normal. When you go into that "dip", eat something fairly substantial (like a meal), drink lots (like a large glass of coke with the meal), and rest (like get off your bicycle and go into the restaurant to eat the meal).

Ride slowly when you get going again to allow your food to digest, and about 30 or 60 minutes later, you'll be blasting down the road!! :D

Just a quick query for you experienced riders out there...

I did my second 'big' ride on Sat. - 132 miles,8hrs 21mins ride time. I rode my comfy 6 speed cyclocrosser with one other rider. I'm hoping to get a better time when I get a 'proper' road bike.

On long rides I always start strong & finish really strong but I definately get a dip,mid ride.I'm hot on keeping up with eating & drinking - and I haven't bonked (not on long ones - I have on short rides in the past!) I always start off nice & steady & keep that way...

Just wondered if other folks out there experience that too?

It's really common.

It is possible that you're light on salt if you're sweating a lot.

I hate those mid-ride dips! Always seems to happen to me around 2/3rds of the way in. I just feel flat... don't know if I'm going to make it etc. I think its a post halfway mark thing. Normally my long rides are out to a point and back, so the first half of the ride is spent focusing on the halfway point. Then just after you leave the halfway point.... there is this impending feeling of 'oh man, now I have to ride all the way back...'

I hate those mid-ride dips! Always seems to happen to me around 2/3rds of the way in. I just feel flat... don't know if I'm going to make it etc. I think its a post halfway mark thing. Normally my long rides are out to a point and back, so the first half of the ride is spent focusing on the halfway point. Then just after you leave the halfway point.... there is this impending feeling of 'oh man, now I have to ride all the way back...'

Yup, and I experience the same thing at about the same time whether I'm riding a century or whether I'm riding a 1200K. I think a lot of it is psychological. You've already done a long ride by the time you reach the halfway point, but there is still a long way to go.

On just about every ride I do, no matter what distance, when I get within about 20 kms from the end, all of a sudden I get a burst of energy ... and I can just fly across the finish line.

I've learned to appreciate the mid-ride dip, not while it's happening of course, but there's a real satisfaction in overcoming the doubt and fatigue. I love being in the endorphin high after a long ride and thinking about the part where I almost gave up (and how silly I was!)

On centuries I definately tend to get this going into the last 25-30 miles. Sometimes it lasts till the end and sometimes I get over it. Usually its a sign of how hydrated I am. I haven't yet seemed to have nutritional issues, though my longest ride to date is a little under 200k.

I came in here thinking the conversation was about jumping in a swimming hole to cool down. It sounded quite appealing, almost as good as stopping for an icecream.

I came in here thinking the conversation was about jumping in a swimming hole to cool down. It sounded quite appealing, almost as good as stopping for an icecream.

I thought it was about throwing in a pinch of copenhagen!

I came in here thinking the conversation was about jumping in a swimming hole to cool down. It sounded quite appealing, almost as good as stopping for an icecream.

And I've actually done that in the middle of my rides. Back in Manitoba ... the land of lakes ... I used to plan most of my weekend rides out to a lake and back.

I can almost count on having a couple of dips during a long ride - will usually have one fairly early on and then another one or two at seemingly random times.

In my case, I don't think it has to do with hydration or nutrition, it's just my legs and/or lungs sending a quick message that I need to ease up for a little while. Sometimes it passes very quickly and sometimes it takes a while longer - but it always seems to go away so I never really dwell on it.