Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Question about resting

In doing a long distance ride, how do people suggest resting?

a) Go until you're really pooped and then rest.
b) Rest at regular intervals even if you don't feel like you need it.
c) Rest only at strategic spots (and what these spots might be).

for a brevet, where you're being timed (but it's still not a race), i choose option C.

e.g. trying to only stop/rest at the control-points, which are normally 50-100k apart (30-60mi).

I would choose option "c" as well. Or if I do a really brutal climb I might rest for a bit at the top just to recover.

But generally speaking I ride from control to control and rest at the control points. If the controls are spaced over 75km's apart or father I may stop briefly at a spot such as a coffe shop or covered area.

How does one determine the location of the best stops, given only the rider's concerns and the topography... not the location of parks and such.

Given just those options, I'd probably say "C" as well. On a randonneuring event, the controls are usually anywhere from about 30 kms to 80 kms apart. If two controls are 30 kms apart, I'll stop at the controls to use the facilities, get something to eat, and of course get my card signed. That's about as much rest as I need. If the two controls are 80 kms apart, I might stop somewhere around the 40 km point if I come across a grocery store, gas station, park where there's water and toilets, or something like that.

Now, for example, let's say the controls are 80 kms apart, and about the 40 km point I flat, fixing the flat is my rest time ... I'll try not to stop anymore on the way to the control.

Controls on brevets, or rest stops on centuries, are usually located in towns or at rest stops, parks, traffic pull-outs, etc. ... out of the way places where cyclists may have access to toilets, food and water ... without getting run over.

I'll also stop to do things like ... take off my jacket, put my jacket on, use the ditch, take photos, or make a technical adjustment to the bicycle ... if I feel the need. These stops are as short as possible.

Oh, I'll also add ... on the Tour de l'Alberta this year, they had rest stops every 20 kms. That was actually very nice. At first I thought it would be too much, but it wasn't ... and riders didn't have to stop at them all. It was a refreshing change from the much longer distances the randonneurs go between stops.

If you're thinking about organizing a century or something like that, look up the Tour de l'Alberta ... that is a VERY well-run ride!!


And if I'm riding on my own ... I'll stop whenever the urge to stop overcomes me ... and I'll remained stopped until the urge to ride again appears! :D

As my buddy Big John says, "There is no speed slower than stopped." He doesn't rest. Get your business done at the control in the most efficient manner possible, and get back on the road. The theory is that if you need to rest, you're going too hard and you'd be faster if you'd slow down just a bit. This is true. On a long brevet, if you work very hard at that, you'll have time to sleep! Another friend, who does about the same thing, finished the Cascade 1200 this year in 78 hours, including two 6 hour sleep periods in his private motel room. So that's the impetus behind learning to be quick in the controls on shorter brevets.

So I guess that's option "c"?

In doing a long distance ride, how do people suggest resting?

a) Go until you're really pooped and then rest.
b) Rest at regular intervals even if you don't feel like you need it.
c) Rest only at strategic spots (and what these spots might be).

Although you may think you've given appropriate thought to your question by suggesting some answers in advance - the facts are - you've completely missed the "point" or reasoning behind resting at all.

First of all - the very first "rule" of anyone interested in being able to their own "longest possible distance" - is to ride at such an easy pace that you do not have to get off the bicycle at all. In other words, you ride to preserve your ability to keep riding - non-stop. (I'll leave this topic alone for the sake of this particular thread.)

However, the correct response to determining your rest stop needs depends on the dynamic nature of your own status - and your ability to maintain your pace with respect to the route's length, the environment you are riding in and your own subjective judgments with respect to distance left to be ridden.

Therefore, I'll offer a few thoughts that apply to "rest" in general. First of all any benefits of resting from a given activity are realized in the first minutes after ceasing the activity. For instance 50% of the benefits of a "rest" may come in 15 minutes, while it may take another 30 minutes to "double" the benefits - that's supposing this could be measured - and it probably can't. (no Interval talk in this thread)

The second feature of rest has to with "stress relief." This means that there is mutual multiplicative benefit when environmental, emotional or psychological stresses are relieved. (resting in a heated or air conditioned space is obviously more beneficial depending on what season you are riding) Avoiding dangerous areas to rest is another no-brainer....

I often attempt to answer questions with an eye towards "theory" rather than specifics, I hope this answer has helped.

In doing a long distance ride, how do people suggest resting?

a) Go until you're really pooped and then rest.
b) Rest at regular intervals even if you don't feel like you need it.
c) Rest only at strategic spots (and what these spots might be).

Not sure what you mean by long. Some people that's 50 miles, others it's 400 miles. Or more.

I try to ride at a "ride forever" pace on long rides if I'm solo (group rides are a bit different). My goal at rest stops is to just to a quick in and out, and take no more than 10 minutes. I find that if I take <n> minutes off the bike, it takes me just as long to get back into a rhythm.