Road Cycling - energy on a long ride

Hi all,

I didn't want to hijack the thread below on bonking although I have some similiar questions.

In August, I'll be riding in the Cool Breeze Century, opting for the metric century. It's 62 miles, fairly flat along the coast. Great ride!

I'm looking for some information on keeping my legs alive and moving and not bonking.
I generally only get to ride about once a week, averaging 18-25 miles. I am planning on riding to work somewhat over the summer, which is a 14 mile one way trip. Maybe I'll get that in once a week or so.
(mind you, my other workouts during the week include: 2 four mile runs, 1 one mile swim, 1 three mile walk and 40 min stat bike.)

My longest ride to date is about 36 miles, accomplished a few weeks ago during the Crusin' the Conejo event. That one had about 1500 feet of climbing; the one in August is less than 1000 over a longer distance.

I've ridden mid 30's several times and I'm rarely very tired after finishing in about 2-1/2 hours.

So, what to expect on a 62 mile day? It's not a race, so I can go whatever pace works. There are several rest stops. What should I carry to keep my energy level up? Any reason you think of that I would run out of steam? I'd hate to have to get carried back! I do carry plenty of water. At the rest stops last time, I went for the peanut butter/banana combos..yummm. Does that help?

I appreciate the words of wisdom and advice.
Thanks!

Sheldon
OCR2

My first metric century I had never gone over 50 miles. I actually felt better after the 100k than the 50 miler. I would recommend riding the whole distance before the ride, not necessarily at a race pace. At least you'll know what you're in for. Just my opinion

As for carry grub I'm a Clif bar fan. With the rest stops your food choices should be fine.

you're overthinking this. i had the same concerns when i did my first metric century. there will be plenty of chances to stop and eat along the way. my longest ride before i did the metric century was 40 miles, and i found it no problem to go the extra 25. your biggest concern will be just staying comfortable on the bike - sore neck, butt, back, etc... as long as you're comfortable being on a bike for 3 1/2 or more hours you'll do fine.

a bit more advice... it can get pretty boring sometimes if you're off by yourself. try to merge into a slightly faster group once in a while to keep things interesting. in my ride i picked out a few riders that i wanted to keep up with (they had no idea i was doing this) and paced myself off of them for a while. then i would try to move up to another group. if you can find a paceline to ride with, you should get in with that. it's really fun.

On a ride like that, just take advantage of the stops and keep sports drinks and easily digested food going in. When I do longer rides by myself, I carry water, gatorade, power gel and, if I'm going over 50 or 60 miles with some climbing, I'll carry an energy bar or two. Keep your upper body relaxed throughout the ride, throw on some chamois cream and you'll be set.

I would try to get my milage up a little before the ride. Get those once a week rides up if you can by adding a few more miles every week. If you can get up to about 50 miles, then you should have no problem.

Here is what I do for centuries. My big rides are on Sat. My normal milage is 50. So, in the weeks before a century I do 60, 65, 75. Then I am ready for 100. Go easy the last few days before the ride. Let your body recover. Get pleanty of sleep.

I carbo load for about three days before the ride. Lots of pasta. Eat a good, easy on the stomach breakfast the morning of the ride. I eat pasta for that too. A banana in the car on the way to the ride is good. Drink pleanty of water as you ride. You can add a little Gatorade to your water to keep some calories and potassium going in. I carry GU gel packs. They are great if you feel your energy start to fall off.

Eat at the rest stops. Keep yourself fueled up.

Pace yourself. You can always crank it up near the end if you have more left. Now, that is definately a do as I say and not as I do!!!!

[QUOTE=Avalanche325]I would try to get my milage up a little before the ride. Get those once a week rides up if you can by adding a few more miles every week. If you can get up to about 50 miles, then you should have no problem.

Here is what I do for centuries. My big rides are on Sat. My normal milage is 50. So, in the weeks before a century"


Thanks for the advice. I will try to ramp up a bit before then. Hey, Ava, how did you like the Crusin' Century? I started around a bit after 8 when you guys were long gone. The weather was great that day, huh? How was that downhill into Camarillo? It's a killer just to drive!

Sheldon

My formula for 100 mile rides

Plenty of water the day before.
Carbohydrates the night before/morning of.
Sports drink of your choice in your water bottles.
Power Bars & Gels.

When you are done riding you won't be all worn out unless you push the edge of your ability too much.

Well, a rule of thumb on long rides is to do a training ride that is 70% of your target distance. That means you should have a 40 miler under your belt.

63 miles really isn't that far unless they are throwing a horrendous amount of climbing at you.

The thing to remember about the BONK is that it is caused by glycogen depletion. When you exercise, you can burn either fat or glycogen (carbohydrate). Now you body probably has a nearly unlimited amount of fat (enough to motor you a few hundred miles at any rate and maybe a few thousand). But glycogen is pretty limited and you only have enough for 30-50 miles. No depleting glycogen is no fun.

So which does your body burn? Well, in exercise, your muscles are oxygen limited. Carbohydrate liberates twice the energy for muscle exertion as fat does per oxygen used. So if you are riding hard, you will burn mainly glycogen. If you ride easy, you will burn more fat. People who ride only short rides will go out and hammer on a long ride and burn themselves out. Sure you can ride bonked but that means without glycogen you are now at half power at maximum exertion because now you have to burn fat which is no fun at all.

The surprising thing about it is that you do not have to back off much to ride, say 100 miles and not bonk. I have found that a good exertion level is a bit harder then that level at which you can hold a conversation.

Also, stop at the rest stops, take pit stops, top up the water bottles, eat a light snack, get your contact parts off of the saddle and do not stop too long.

All good advice, but I would also like to mention that the kind of carbs you intake in can make a big difference. Some carbs , like sugar, get released very fast. I used to have a big energy dip in my rides untill I started loading up on oatmeal pancakes with a little jam, as opposed to regular pancakes with syrup. Oatmeal (oats, are released slower and last longer than the more simple sugars (banana, furuit, refined white flour etc.).

The other thing I can also heartily recommend is to carbo-load at least the night before. I always have pasta the night before a big ride (whole wheat) -- and as some others mentioned, if it's a century, start a couple of days before. Additionally, you should eat approximately 300 cal/hr between your sports drink (Citomax works for me like no other and I've tried most of them!) and your snacks. Your body can't uptake any more than this so if you eat more you will just be riding around with a full stomach which can also adversely effect hydration.


Hi all,

I didn't want to hijack the thread below on bonking although I have some similiar questions.

In August, I'll be riding in the Cool Breeze Century, opting for the metric century. It's 62 miles, fairly flat along the coast. Great ride!

I'm looking for some information on keeping my legs alive and moving and not bonking.
I generally only get to ride about once a week, averaging 18-25 miles. I am planning on riding to work somewhat over the summer, which is a 14 mile one way trip. Maybe I'll get that in once a week or so.
(mind you, my other workouts during the week include: 2 four mile runs, 1 one mile swim, 1 three mile walk and 40 min stat bike.)

My longest ride to date is about 36 miles, accomplished a few weeks ago during the Crusin' the Conejo event. That one had about 1500 feet of climbing; the one in August is less than 1000 over a longer distance.

I've ridden mid 30's several times and I'm rarely very tired after finishing in about 2-1/2 hours.

So, what to expect on a 62 mile day? It's not a race, so I can go whatever pace works. There are several rest stops. What should I carry to keep my energy level up? Any reason you think of that I would run out of steam? I'd hate to have to get carried back! I do carry plenty of water. At the rest stops last time, I went for the peanut butter/banana combos..yummm. Does that help?

I appreciate the words of wisdom and advice.
Thanks!

Sheldon
OCR2

I don't have much to add. Just wanted to point out that avalanch325's advice about tapering starting a few days prior applies to all your exercise. It isn't just about the muscles getting tired, it's the glycogen thing everyone's been talking about. Running depletes it faster than riding, IMO (don't know about swimming).

Also, work-out oriented foods like gels get in your system pretty quickly. Real food takes longer, I figure about an hour. So, eat now for your needs later. Don't over-do it. As someone mentioned, about 300 calories an hour is about all your body can process during exercise.

Only other thing is to pace yourself wisely. Don't let early ride enthusiasm cause you to ride a pace you'll regret later.

Sounds like you're in good shape, the odds are stacked in your favor. Good luck, have a great ride!

On any ride over 2 hours . . .

1. Eat 250-300 calories per hour - interesting coincidence that energy bars are about that!

2. About every 5-6 hours stop for a meal - something that contains carbs, of course, but also fat and protein . . . like, say, a chicken sandwich.

3. Drink one 750 ml bottle every 1 to 1.5 hours - and you might want to alternate between water and a sports drink.

4. Especially if your rides are long and hot, make sure you eat something with salt along the way.

HEY! A METRIC CENTURY, HUH?

What a coincidence. My church biking group, we call ourselves the magnificent seven plus(because "the doughboys" was a name already taken by another local group!), has a metric century next Sunday: the Cystic Fibrosis 65 Roses ride here in hilly Southwestern Pennsylvania. I consider this ride tougher than any local regular 100 miler or MS150 ride. The hills just keep a' comin' at ya! And you never seem to get back on the downhills what you have to pay going up.

My advice? POUND WATER. HYDRATE YOURSELF! Eat bananas and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Why not cram a banana and a P&J in that little pocket in the back of your lycra top?

And remember...62 miles is NOTHING. If you can ride thirtysome miles, you can ride sixtysome miles NO PROBLEM. Have fun conquering the next big distance!

Steve

I did 50 miles once and forgot to eat anything that morning. All I had was half a bottle of water.
As long as you're eating regularly, whatever you've eaten in the previous days would hold you up as long as you don't push too hard. Maybe sip some gatorade along the way.

Agree PB and banana sandwiches at rest stops are great, but overeating during the event is no good either. I've read that we only digest around 250-300 calories per hour when riding anyway, so putting more than that in the tank only adds weight and diverts blood flow from the legs. I do better if I don't eat too much at the stops, maybe a quarter or half sandwich max, then take something with me to nibble every 15-30 minutes while on the road.

Great advise from everyone;
Carb load 3 days min before event (century). Whole wheat pasta only. Hydrate for 3 days prior.
Be able to ride 75% of the distance 2 weeks prior. Taper off and nothing long 4-5 days prior.
Start off slow and easy...ramp up after 2 hours...level out...15 miles from finish kick it out...last 2-3 miles haul ass.
Eat and drink along the way...rest at least twice for a minimum of 5 minutes. I like to lay on my back and elevate my legs.
Warm up the kidneys 15 minutes before your first drink and you won't have to pee a lot.
Hook up with pace lines, have good conversation, take your turn pulling.
Watch out for people in pacelines that have no experience in group riding. They will cut you off on a regular basis. Don't ride to the oblique of them.

The other day I accidently did an experiment. Took off with only water and forgot any food. Kept my max heart rate below 80% for the first 1.5 hours. The last hour was below 87%. My average mph was actually higher than any ride in the previous 3 weeks and I felt great.