I_like_cereal

I went out for a ride with some guys from the LBS this weekend. It was the normal ride, nothing had changed.

My legs were feeling about 90%, but that is not out of the ordinary. When we got the back side of Sauvie's Island my legs just decided that they had enough. I was fighting a headwind and I just could not keep up. They others were pacing at the normal speed of 15-18mph. I was at 12-14mph. When we got back to HWY30, after some mechanical and physical problems that were not mine, we decided to take another route back to the shop. The problems allowed me a nice 10 minute break which I though would be enough. Wrong.

I could not make a similar hill that I made the week earlier. I could barely finish, I literally felt like I was pedaling through quicksand the entire way. Rollers became cat 2 hills, hills became mountains it was awful.

I really felt like I held up the two guys I was with. They did wait for me even though I told them that I knew my way back and that they could go ahead.

I told them on the island that I was struggling, but they wanted me to stay with them.
It was the second hardest ride I ever experienced with my first commute being the hardest.

I just feel like I failed, like I should not have done the 40 miles. I got it done which I know is the point, but I still feel like I manned the fail boat.

Anyone else captained the fail boat in a similar manner?

SurlyLaika

nope, just you haha

actually, on tour I tried overtaking this old man on a steep climb I thought would be short. I passed him by an 1/8 mile, maybe more, before realizing, the hill was full of switchbacks, far and steep. The old man caught up and made it to the top while I walked, out of breath. To be fair, that hill even hurt walking. Ridiculous grade.

Brennan

Ahoy, skipper! You just need to pace yourself better. In any long distance physical endeavor, if you push too hard in the beginning, you will run out of steam very quickly, and you'll be hurting all the way through to the end. Moreover, you will likely end up taking more time to finish than if you had just kept a moderate pace all the way through. The key in long distance cycling is spinning. Ride in lower gears and keep your pedaling cadence brisk. If you're riding with people who are faster than you, either don't worry about keeping pace with them, or find different riding partners who are more on your level.

I_like_cereal

Thinking it was my cage and strap setup I went out and scored some good shoes at a local reseller and borrowed some SPDs. I scored some hardly used Nike Hautacams. Nice shoes, real nice shoes.

I had to adjust my saddle this morning because of the height difference between by vibrams and the shoes. Even though my legs feel tired, they feel a little better.

I just have never failed that bad. I have been on two rides with the same group and never got dropped like this.

I_like_cereal

Post deleted. My other post did not show until I posted this one.

Machka 

You haven't said a single word about the fuel you used.

What did you eat?
What did you drink?
How hot was the day?
Did you take electrolyte tablets?

DataJunkie

I have days like this where I just stink for no apparent reason.
The only thing you can do is take your lickings and come back later to vindicate yourself.

ThermionicScott 

Sounds like what happens to me if I don't keep up on the food and water intake.

But when I got back into cycling a couple years ago, and joined up with a local group, we had one of those days where a stiff headwind took a lot out of me and I struggled to keep the group in sight. It also didn't help that I was not in good cycling shape and riding a youth-size Target mountain bike.

- Scott

I_like_cereal

Food 40 min before the ride was:
All Bran Cereal with skim milk
3 egg whites with cheese
2 pieces of toast
Tea
OJ
On the bike was cliff shot gu and water.
Temp was around 60 degrees, overcast, windy.

ahsposo 

Maybe a nice line of Colombian Marching Powder? No?

SurlyLaika

I want to hear other fail stories.

I_like_cereal

Here here. What does your captains log say about your time at the helm of the SS Fail Boat.

rogerstg

IMO, if you finished the ride, you did not fail. There's a big difference between sucking (performance wise) and failing. Most people I know, especially me, suck from time to time. For me it's not common, but it's not too rare either..

I_like_cereal

I am just exceptionally hard on myself. I expect myself to perform at the same level that I performed at previously and I push myself to do it. So for me it is a fail, for the group they said the same thing as rogerstg. Everyone has a bad day it just makes the good ones that much better.

bigbadwullf

Should eat more cereal...

DataJunkie

After experiencing many of my failures I'm not sure that I want to communicate them to others.
Anyhow, here is one from last year.
I was pacelining with a couple of fast friends on a long ride to the Wyoming border and back from Loveland CO.
On the way back I was pulling and ran over glass. I rotated to the back and cleaned off my front tire. I then cleaned off my rear tire and jammed my fingers between the rear tire and the seat post. I cauterized the skin on three fingers and ruined a nice pair of gloves. The remaining 40 miles were quite annoying.
I had been pushing very hard on the ride and proceeded to do something very very stupid. Yet another lesson learned.

fietsbob

Took a day trip with a British Cycle group in the middle of a bike tour , a different culture .
they dropped someone back to keep the lantern rouge, guy
on his touring bike sans panniers, company .

then we had a nice lunch at a cafe cyclist's custom, has kept in business for decades.

back here I took a couple LBS , 's shop rides , the cat 6 racer types dropped me ,
on a couple of those , never looked back ,
and since the route passed the intersection a half block away from my apartment

I turned off there and went home.. I hope they proved to them selves
whatever they had in mind....

as an admirer, I was not their audience.