Riding first Metric Century on Sat...Need Advice

[peasey]

I will be participating in the 'Frostbite Tour' Metric Century on Saturday morning and I need some advice. I'm worried that I'm sorely unprepared for the feat. The biggest problem: I don't know how or what to eat while or before I'm riding. I've never been a breakfast guy (nothing beyond a cereal bar once a week) and I don't know much about those Gels or Energy Bars. I've got the legs and lungs, but my riding buddy swears that I will be 10x better if I would just eat something.

What do you guys/gals recommend? I have to leave the house before 7am, so it needs to be fairly quick and easy. Do I need to pick up some Gels this week? I already hydrate with one bottle of water and one with Acclerade, so I should be good in this department. What about during the ride?

HELP!

Brian

[chipcom]

I'm not a big fan of gels and all that stuff...they provide a quick energy boost, but as any druggie knows, what goes up, must come down.

When I ride distances I have a good dinner the night before, a light breakfast a couple hours before, then munch things like Clif bars, Rice Krispie Treats, cookies, bananas, etc along the way every 10-30 miles or so (depending on how hard I am riding). Same goes for hydration...I drink pink lemondade and water, doing a bottle every 10-30 miles, again depending on how hard I am riding.

[flip18436572]

I think it will all depend upon how hard you are riding. If you plan on being done in 3 hours or 5 hours? Your body will need fuel before you start out, so a decent breakfast that is light should help you out. Take a banana with your or some fig newtons, or clif bars, or whatever it is that you would normally take with you on a ride that you think you would need to eat. Myself, I would probably eat a half peanut butter and banana toast before I left the house, and then just hydrated myself during the ride. I would take a clif bar with me in case I felt like I needed it. A sports drink at the half way point or just before would probably be something else I would do after I have learned a little more about my body and how it reacts.

Good luck and have fun. Remember, if you have a small camera, everyone likes to see pictures of events like these.

[peasey]

Thanks for the input. I'm a newbie to road cycling, so I'm hitting the learning curve. I used to be an avid MTBer, but I really didn't eat that much while on the ride. I'd throw in the occasional Clif bar, but it usually just melted into a nasty heap in my Camelbak.

Needless to say, I'm a little nervous about Saturday. I've only been on a road bike since early December and put maybe 250mi on my Lemond. My bike buddy has been riding for years and he's really pushing me to do rides like these with him(which I really need).

I'll be sure to snap some pics while I'm there.

[Barabus]

Beyond the nutrition, keep heart rate below 70% max for the vast majority of the ride. Try to start nice and easy and stay for awhile at 65% max.

[bautieri]

You can't go wrong with slow burning carbs. Before I did my first metric I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on 12 grain whole wheat bread using Adam's natural peanut butter. If you go the PB route get a natural style which has only three ingredients: peanuts, peanut oil, and salt. You can make this the night before if you really need those extra 2 minutes. During the ride I would take a mouthful of water every few miles, staying hydrated is very important. If you wait until your thirsty you've waited too long. Munch a cliff bar when you need a quick pick me up.

I've also done a few 50 mile rides starting with a Met-Rx protein plus bar, for the most part the cookie dough flavor is tolerable. The rest of the ride I had an apple and a power bar.

Being it is your first metric, if you can spare the room I would take a variety of foods. Pack a cliff bar, a shot blox, a gel, a banana, and a regular power bar. Eat when you need the food, and take note of which works best for you.

Bau

[keithm0]

Try to eat a good breakfast the morning of ride -- scrambled eggs with toast is one of my favorites (good mix of protein and carbs). Be sure you give yourself plenty of time to digest before starting the ride (I usually eat a large breakfast about 2 hours before a big ride).

Drink a lot during the ride. Drink before you feel thirsty. If you're not peeing at every rest stop, you're not drinking enough.

That said, don't try anything new during your first big ride. If you know your stomach can easily handle a certain snack or sport drink, then stick with it. You don't want to find out in the middle of your first century that your new whizzo-gel-super-block-snacks give you gas (or worse).

[Scummer]

You can't go wrong with slow burning carbs. Before I did my first metric I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on 12 grain whole wheat bread using Adam's natural peanut butter. If you go the PB route get a natural style which has only three ingredients: peanuts, peanut oil, and salt. You can make this the night before if you really need those extra 2 minutes. During the ride I would take a mouthful of water every few miles, staying hydrated is very important. If you wait until your thirsty you've waited too long. Munch a cliff bar when you need a quick pick me up.

I've also done a few 50 mile rides starting with a Met-Rx protein plus bar, for the most part the cookie dough flavor is tolerable. The rest of the ride I had an apple and a power bar.

Being it is your first metric, if you can spare the room I would take a variety of foods. Pack a cliff bar, a shot blox, a gel, a banana, and a regular power bar. Eat when you need the food, and take note of which works best for you.

Bau

+1 Natural PB on whole grain bread with a sliced banana on top and some honey sprinkled over it is what I normally do for breakfast in preperation for a century.
Also I shuffle in a good junk of noodles the evening before.

[Mr. Beanz]

Everybody thinks of breakfast. I think of dinner the night before. IF I eat a good spaghetti dinner, I feel great on the bike the following day. Even if I have a light breakfast.

Alos, if you don't frequent them kind of miles. you should start hydrating a couple days before the hard effort. Don't think you can drink a bottle of Gatorade on the ride and feel great!:D

[Tex_Arcana]

Speaking of noodles, I'm sure that everyone likes the Italian type durum wheat type pasta, but one of my hobbies is oriental cooking as well (I make a mean Asian curry, a little Thai, Chinese, and Japanese at the same time).

While udon is wheat based it probably isn't durum. Anyone have thoughts on soba (buckwheat based) or rice based noodles?

[c_m_shooter]

The breakfast that holds me over the best is a bowl of plain cereal(crispix, or chex) and then a can of peaches or pears. I drink the syrup from the can too. i am good for 50 miles with two water bottles after that. Any further and I pack a cliffbar or two.

[Tom Stormcrowe]

All good advice. Remember, like Mr Beanz posted, to carb load the night before. That way youre liver and muscle glycogen will be at max levels. Stay hydrated, if you wait til you're thirsty, you're already behind the curve on hydration. That isn't a good thing, either. Sip every 10 minutes.

Stay ahead of the nutrition curve as well. A long ride isn't the place to even worry about weight loss. Take in about 250 calories an hour, as that's all you'll be able to absorb. It won't match your output, but it will keep you from bonking. I use low density liquids for ease of absorption, but everyone's system is different. Too much solid food, though will just sit in your stomach and slosh around and make you sick.

[Indyv8a]

Stretch your back out well. My first metric my back was the weak link, I was a hurting puppy with cramps in my back and side. I need to do more core training. If you are in pain, stop and stretch. (I pushed because it was raining, but normally I'll stop.)

[NYJayhawk]

How far do you normally ride? If you can typically ride for a couple hours, you should be good to go. Other than that, you're looking at roughly a 4 hour ride, so you don't need to worry that much. Refill your water bottles at the 30 mile mark and have a powerbar, a couple cookies, a snickers....no big deal.

[Miguelangel]

All good advice...
I would keep your eating habits, dont change them. Over eating may cause an adverse reaction. If you have no breakfast most probably your heaviest meal is at dinner. So the nite before just have some extra carbs. the important thing is not to over eat but to keep fuel going into your body so you dont bonk. My heaviest meal is at midday, so when I did my last metric I knew I was going to start eating more towards the midmorning, my stomach is more use to it. So like I made sure I ate a bit more as moning kept going.I do like hammer gels it does give you a boost, buy some try them..see how they suit u.... Also Bananas are great.. Drink while riding... lots of sips frquently , And if you have done your trainning right you must know what your pace is like.... keep it ... let the flyers pass you by ... your race is to finish not to keep up or arrive in the first 5...
good luck and enjoy

[The Historian]

I will be participating in the 'Frostbite Tour' Metric Century on Saturday morning and I need some advice. I'm worried that I'm sorely unprepared for the feat. The biggest problem: I don't know how or what to eat while or before I'm riding. I've never been a breakfast guy (nothing beyond a cereal bar once a week) and I don't know much about those Gels or Energy Bars. I've got the legs and lungs, but my riding buddy swears that I will be 10x better if I would just eat something.

What do you guys/gals recommend? I have to leave the house before 7am, so it needs to be fairly quick and easy. Do I need to pick up some Gels this week? I already hydrate with one bottle of water and one with Acclerade, so I should be good in this department. What about during the ride?

HELP!

Brian

Hi Brian,

I used to have a roadie acting as a 'bike mentor' to me, and so I was indoctrinated into the cult of gel-eaters. Now that I've ridden a bit more, I realize a metric isn't the Tour de France. Eat a good healthy dinner the night before, eat bananas, banana chips, apples, trail mix, peanut butter sandwiches, and the like on the ride, and drink, drink, drink. You should be fine.

[peasey]

Wow, wow and wow. You guys are great! I've never had a problem hydrating as I (painfully) learned its importance early in my MTB years. I had a good coach back then that really helped me get with the program. Now that I'm older, I really want to try to get it right the first time.

I've been bit by the 'bike bug' and I'm excited about the challenge of a long ride. Hopefully the weather holds out and we can get a fairly nice day on Saturday.

Thanks so much for all your help!! I will put it to good use.

PS - I'll be sure to post the end result Saturday night.

[tombailey]

One other piece of advice - if/when you stop, don't stop for too long. Several short breaks will serve you much better than a 2 hour lunch break. Ride at your pace. Relax and enjoy it.

Good luck!

[BigBlueToe]

As a diabetic, I have more reason than most to regulate my eating. I like to eat a little at a time, but eat often. During a century I stop at every rest stop and eat a bit - a banana, a bagel, etc. I also keep a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my rack trunk and eat a half of one at the first sign of bonking.

If you've ridden much you've probably experienced bonking. I think it's best to avoid it, or if you feel it coming on, eat something quick before it gets bad.

I'd say eat a little at a time but eat often. If you feel yourself starting to bonk, eat something.

One other piece of advice - if/when you stop, don't stop for too long. Several short breaks will serve you much better than a 2 hour lunch break. Ride at your pace. Relax and enjoy it.

I agree with this. When I've ridden centuries I've always had some tough moments when I thought I wasn't going to make it - often around 60 miles. When I take a break for 20 minutes or so I feel much better when I get back on the bike - I start to believe I can actually make it to 100. But if I rested for a couple of hours I don't think I'd get back on the bike!

[Ranger63]

With me it's carbos the night before and a mixture of dried cranberrys/walnuts while on the ride.
No idea if you're going for time or simply to accomplish the feat.
When I stopped going for time I began to see the countryside and sights and the ride seemed to go by sooooo much easier. Having a good group to ride with makes all the difference as well.

[StephenH]

Peasey- thread was started a week or two ago- so how did it go?

[CliftonGK1]

Peasey- thread was started a week or two ago- so how did it go?

Last Post:
Riding first Metric Century on Sat...Need Advice
02-20-08 01:03 PM

:( Maybe it didn't go so well, since it doesn't look like he's coming back to BF.

[peasey]

well,...I didn't go. I rolled over on my left ankle while taking the trash out the night before. I woke up with some soreness and a little purple underneath my ankle bone. I was scared to do anymore damage (read: lots of ankle sprains as a kid) so I caved and backed out. The only good to come of it was that I still got to donate my entry fee to the ride. Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled to miss the event. I spent the week preparing for the feat, but gave up in the end.

I have since been back on the bike and nursing a mild sprain and I have to say that I will do this again. I am planning on riding a local Metric in July and the MS150 in September. I'm sure that there are some long ones between now and then that I will consider riding in. Until then, I will be eating right and training and trying to break into the 190# range.

Thanks for all your help!!
Brian

[Tom Stormcrowe]

Probably just as well. Riding through an injury to win a race is one thing, this is another. Don't sweat it ;)

[v1k1ng1001]

a metric century shouldn't be too hard if you eat the night before, maybe have a protein shake for breakfast

I'd maybe carry a couple of gels just in case?

[JohnKScott]

Wow, wow and wow. You guys are great! I've never had a problem hydrating as I (painfully) learned its importance early in my MTB years. I had a good coach back then that really helped me get with the program. Now that I'm older, I really want to try to get it right the first time.

I've been bit by the 'bike bug' and I'm excited about the challenge of a long ride. Hopefully the weather holds out and we can get a fairly nice day on Saturday.

Thanks so much for all your help!! I will put it to good use.

PS - I'll be sure to post the end result Saturday night.

Oh Oh....

That's how it starts. Before you know it you'll be doing a centrury, then a 200k, then a double century...the addiction begins...:D

That's how it started for me. First it was 15 miles that wore me out in April, 2007. Before long it was 20. Then 35. Then I jumped to a 75 mile ride (probably too big a jump because I was EXHAUSTED after that one) and finally a Century last September.

Lot's of good advice already. I carry one bottle of water (24oz) and one bottle of Cytomax (20 oz & about 135 calories the way I mix it). I try to drink a set of those about every 2 hours (carry dry mix with me). Plus I usually eat fig bars & bananas and carry some Cliff Shot Blocks if I need them. I try to make sure I get about 250-300 calories an hour (including the cytomax) on long rides.

I'll be testing this out this year as I'm still trying to dial it in for rides over 3.5 hours. I plan to do some centuries, a 200k and maybe a double century this year.

Good luck & go get'em!!

[brandenjs]

I would try to find another one to ride before July. I can't wait for my next one. I can't wait for the weather to break here in the East so I can put some mileage on. As for eating during a ride, I've tried gels and really prefer real food. Bananas,Fig Newtons, etc. I kinda like eating beef jerky on rides. Water,water, water, can't be stressed enough.. Good luck...and hope the ankle is better...