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I suck at this sport

Old 06-13-12, 02:38 PM
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I suck at this sport

This is my third year in a Randonneuring club. The first year, I completed only a 200 and a 300 because that's all I could make time for that year. Because I was new, the rides were tough, but rewarding.

Last year, I started out all bright eyed and bushy tailed, intending to complete a SR series. I finished a 400 (on my second attempt, a week after a humiliating DNF), but it took a lot out of me, and doubts about my abilities started to creep in. Later that summer, I bailed ⅔ of the way through a 300 km solo ride (not a randonee) because I was struggling, and an easy way out presented itself. For several reasons (or excuses, more likely) I opted against a 600 that year, and my goal to complete a series went unfulfilled.

This year, I wasn't quite as bright eyed and bushy tailed, but I still made plans to complete a series, and even made tentative plans for a 1000, pending successful completion of a 600. It appears that this is not my year either.

I got off to a slow start this year, and had a tough time with the first 200 of the year. Not great for my motivation. But a couple weeks later, things turned around, and I rode a strong 300. So it was with a lot of enthusiasm and high expectations that I began a 400 a couple weeks later. It shouldn't have been hard ride to complete...the winds weren't kind, but they could have been much worse. My riding partner that day ran out of steam and bailed after 230 km. This was a guy who had also finished the 300 very strongly, and seeing him DNF was disheartening. I was still feeling okay at that point, but I made it only another 60 km before I pretty much bonked. I made the call of shame, then limped another 25 km to where my wife picked me up.

Feeling very disappointed in myself, I decided to tackle another 300 the next weekend, just to get another ride completed at a distance I knew I could manage. It started off great; I had favourable winds, good energy, and even having to deal with a flat, I still managed to finish the first 200 km in just over 8 hours - pretty outstanding for me. I knew the last 100 would be the most challenging due to winds that had picked up during the day and some good hills. Still, I made decent time, and by the 250 km mark, I knew I had a good shot at finishing in about 12:30, my best time by over an hour. But a little while later, I bonked. By 275 km, I knew I was not taking in enough calories, but I was so close to the end, I just kept pressing on. I tried eating, but I just about retched. I had some weak Cytomax that I sipped, but it wasn't enough. At 290 km, I was having trouble keeping my head up, and couldn't keep a straight line on my bike. Considering how busy the road was, I began to worry about my safety, fearing I would inadvertently weave into traffic, so I finally pulled over. I collapsed in the ditch, and lay there shaking for about 10 minutes.

I was pretty freaked out by that point, and once again, made the call of shame, only 8 km from the finish. By the time my wife was able to get to my location, I had been there for about an hour. I had stopped shaking, taken in some nutrients, and was starting to feel better, and probably could have easily finished the ride at a nice easy pace, but I couldn't put my wife through the trouble of interrupting her plans and driving out to rescue me, only to tell her she was no longer needed. After my desperate plea for help on the phone, I don't think she would have let me ride the rest anyway.

I know what I did wrong in all my DNFs. At least half of my long distance rides so far, I ended up riding solo for most, if not the whole, route, and all my DNFs were on such rides. Then, left to my own devices, I let myself make unreasonable expectations for my abilities, push myself too hard, don't fuel myself enough, and refuse to take breaks. When I realize I can't meet my expectations, I get disappointed, and start losing motivation. My poor mental state is then compounded by physical problems due to over exertion and lack of caloric intake. It then becomes too easy to give up. For me to be successful at this sport, I need to stop treating it like a race, and be willing to listen to my body, take needed breaks, and fuel up properly. But it’s not in my nature to take it easy, and it ticks me off that I can’t ride like I think I should be able to. Why I think I can ride like others who put 2-3 times as many miles on their bikes than I do is beyond me.

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. I don’t really have a point, but if anyone would like to share relevant experience and/or suggest how to relax and temper my expectations, please do.
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Old 06-13-12, 03:31 PM
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As a complete newbie to randonneuring, it's really apparent how much the challenge ramps up from one brevet to the next. I'm not sure if I would have finished my 300 and 400 if it weren't for some very kind, experienced, and supportive riders. I learned a lot about pacing, nutrition, hydration, electrolytes, etc, and most importantly, they kept an eye on me to make sure I was following that advice.

If/when I do the 600s and above, I'll probably need to sleep on my own schedule, which means riding solo for much of it. That's when all of the above (along with my motivation) will really be tested. We'll see how it goes.

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Old 06-13-12, 04:39 PM
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Why are you trying to ride so fast?

The minimum speed you have to maintain to finish in the time limit is 15km/h. Yet you have expectations of finishing a 300 at 12-1/2 hours, which is an average of 24km/h. You are "new" to this and you are trying to do this?

Randonneuring is a challenge for you to finish, not beat the other guy. Times and averages are pointless because the winners are those who finish under the cut-off times.

Slow down. At least for now. There are several benefits. First of all, you can pay much better attention to your rehydration and refuelling routines. They need to be developed to being a habit.

Secondly, you will use your glycogen stores in both your liver and muscles at a steadier rate, and combined with a better rehydration and refuelling routine, you will be far less likely to bonk.

This is unusual advice to be given by me, but even think about turning your bike computer 180 degrees on the handlebar do it's facing downwards and you cannot see the speed you are doing.

That way, you can ride at a comfortable pace for how you physically feel, rather than be ruled by numbers of the face of a tiny computer screen. I think that you should be able to maintain the 15km/h minimum pace without any trouble, and you can reference what you are actually maintaining at the checkpoints.

And yeah, the reason why other people do so well is because they indeed are prepared to put in two to three times the distance in training on the bike. Up your training a bit, at first to develop your routines and stamina. You can incorporate pace work later to help improve your event speed.

Right now, I would suggest you take a month's break from riding altogether. The closeness of each recent ride means your emotional woes are just compounding. And when you do get back, do a couple of 200s first to get your rehydration and refuelling routines right first, before graduating on to the 300s, 400s and 600s.
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Old 06-13-12, 06:11 PM
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Rowan offers some great advice above. I agree with all of it except this part:

Originally Posted by Rowan
And yeah, the reason why other people do so well is because they indeed are prepared to put in two to three times the distance in training on the bike. Up your training a bit, at first to develop your routines and stamina. You can incorporate pace work later to help improve your event speed.
I personally don't think there's any reason to increase the amount of training you're doing. If you can finish 200k in 8 hours, then you have all the fitness you need to finish a 1200k.

Successful randonneuring requires some physical fitness (like I said, you have that) and some learned skills. The learned skills cover a broad range from the basics like knowing how to ride a bike, fix a flat and read a cue sheet, to more elusive things like knowing how to pace yourself, and how and when to eat and drink. Some people pick up those learned skills quickly and for others it takes some practice. I think if you slow down and focus on your body's fuel and hydration needs, you'll quickly pick up the skills you need to finish an SR series.
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Old 06-13-12, 06:26 PM
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I agree with Rowan ...

Slow down!

When I first started reading, I thought you were DNFing because you were too slow to make it, and then I see you're attempting to do these rides as though you were riding the local races, and that you've got heaps of time to finish.

On that 300 where you were on pace to make it in 12:30, you could have probably walked that last 8 km and made it in time. In fact, from the 275 km point where you first started feeling bad, you had approx 8 hours to cover 25 km ... you could have walked that and finished it with a couple hours to spare.


The time limits for the SR series are:

200K - 13.5 hours
300K - 20 hours
400K - 27 hours
600K - 40 hours

Just relax. Take it easy out there. You don't win any prizes for finishing in some record time ... you get the same "prize" as I do, when I finish a 300K in 18.5 hours.


I went through a similar set of DNFs recently too. I had several really good years of randonneuring, then developed a rather serious case of DVT which knocked me right back to struggling with 6 km rides. Yes ... six. Not sixty or six hundred. When I started randonneuring again, I struggled and DNFd many events ... even now, 3 years later, the longest I can manage is 300K. But here's the thing ... I'm slow. I'm too slow to finish the events in time. I'm determined and motivated to finish ... but I'm just not fast enough. I'd like to be in your position ... fast enough to have about 8 hours to play with as I'm wrapping up a 300K!

If I had been in your position, feeling a little bit bad at the 275 km point and with approx 8 hours to finish the last 25 km, I would have found a nice place to stop and take a break. I would have pulled into a McDonalds for some fries and an ice cream. I would have stopped at a park to get some cool water, to eat the cookies I brought with me, and to sit under the trees for a little while. I might have even taken a short nap in the ditch.

When you start to experience the fear and disappointment, knowing that you're never going to finish in time ... get back to us about "sucking at this sport".

Meanwhile, either slow down and finish the rides at a pace your body can handle ... or go back to racing.
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Old 06-13-12, 07:43 PM
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My first year of randonneuring went pretty well. I didn't finish with the top guys every ride, but I had a comfortable time cushion at every distance. My second year of randonneuring didn't go nearly as well. I had some health issues and got sick all the time in the winter and left me overweight and in poor shape for the SR series. I finished dead last at every distance in the series, including finishing the 200 just as time expired. I think I had something like 2 hours total under the time limit in the 4 rides. Rather than taking it as something to be ashamed of, this experience gave me a lot of confidence. I decided to start with the basics and correct my mistakes one by one. The 600 I just finished went really well. I don't think I ever got behind in my eating. I got enough sleep.

In the case of the OP, it sounds to me that the issue really boils down to eating. Figure out why you aren't eating and correct that. I get into this mode where I need to eat, but the controle is only 8 miles away so I'll just eat there. That's a fools game and I've stopped doing that. It's amazing how long it can take to ride 8 miles when you really need to eat. I also was too reluctant to sit up and fish something out of a jersey pocket to eat. So I got a food bag that I put on my stem. It has really helped me, and I don't care if it makes me look like a dork.
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Old 06-13-12, 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Machka
I agree with Rowan ...
You better agree with him...



IMHO what the OP really needs to work on is the piece of the puzzle between his ears. Long distance riding is 90% mental. I think you talked yourself into all those DNF's. Everything that is wrong can be fixed, even the part between the ears but it takes some patience and it takes really listening to what your body is telling you. Everyone goes through ups and down on these rides and the thing that differentiates the successful rider from the unsuccessful rider is how he/she deals with the inevitable lows. Simple (and difficult) as that!

As far as training goes, I'm a quality over quantity guy any day of the week!
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Old 06-13-12, 10:55 PM
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I think the discussion about how much training the OP should have depends on what the OP is currently doing. Physically, there should be no reason why he can't finish these events with his current level of training ... he could have walked the last 25 km of that 300K and still made it with time to spare.


But in general, I find that if I'm not riding 1000 km/month or something very close to that, I struggle with the 300K+ distances. I need to be out there riding a lot in order to finish the randonnees comfortably. And I need to be riding long distances. One thing that helps get my head into the game is to do the Century-A-Month challenge ... I'm out there riding at least one century each month (and sometimes a longer distance). I get comfortable with what to eat, what to drink, my bicycle setup, the right clothing to wear, etc. etc. And in the past, many of my centuries in these CAM Challenges were solo. Me, my bicycle, and the road in front of me.
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Old 06-13-12, 11:30 PM
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Machka, I think a lot of long distance riders get sucked into this "you have to ride tons of miles" mentality and they really don't need too if they train properly. The real problem with too many "training" miles is that what many of these people are doing is just training themselves to be slow. Sure they have a ton of endurance but what good does that do if you only average 15km/h? The key to long distance riding is to be able to ride sustained distances under your lactic threshold, red zone, whatever you want to call it. You don't do anything to raise that by just putting on miles. I've seen guys who ride 20K+ miles ( 32k+ kms) a year and barely finish a 200k on time. Plus, (everyone is a little different here) once you go past 100-150 miles or so, you're not doing your body any good anymore. All you are doing is tearing it down. It is eating itself because you cannot absorb enough calories to counter the number that you are burning. IMHO long training rides are a waste of time except for training to ride through the night. There is only one way to do that. You have to ride through the night. That doesn't mean that you don't need to put in some miles, you need to do the training, what's most important is that you need to be smart about how you do it.
To be honest, I don't think we're too far off on target miles. 1000kms in a month is a good target month for me. The difference may be that my training rides are less than 50 miles each with a longer 70-100 mile ride on the weekend, that's it. Also, all my rides are target specific. I'm either doing intervals, hill climbing, TT or easy days. No miles, just for the sake of miles (unless I'm riding with friends).
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Old 06-13-12, 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by groovestew
But it’s not in my nature to take it easy, and it ticks me off that I can’t ride like I think I should be able to. Why I think I can ride like others who put 2-3 times as many miles on their bikes than I do is beyond me.
Homey, this is what the OP said. We don't actually know how many training miles a week or month he is doing. But certainly, if he is making the observation that his peers are doing many more miles than he is and finishing at the pace he expects, there has to be something to it.
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Old 06-13-12, 11:38 PM
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Like most things in life worth doing or having, randonneuring is about problem solving. That's all that's going on. The fitness part is not the big deal, as others have said. I can ride however far on a diet of 120 miles/week and nothing over 80 in one ride. I do ride hard, though. No, it's all about, I don't know, I suppose in the military it's called combat readiness. You know before you start that things are going to go wrong. That's the fun of it. It how you plan in advance for those things and then execute, even when you are sure you won't be thinking straight, that makes it work. It's a different mindset. It's not the racer mindset. It's a creative mindset.

Still, there is this goal thing going on. It isn't all touchy-feely. You want to win, and you don't want to die. Winning is defined as being alive and operational at the finish inside some time limit. That's the same race we all run and will all eventually lose. But for now, we can win a few.
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Old 06-13-12, 11:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Homeyba
To be honest, I don't think we're too far off on target miles. 1000kms in a month is a good target month for me.

The thing is, the OP may be well below the 1000 km/month distance. Remember, he's from Edmonton. Their snow has only just melted about a month ago. Between November and April, he may have been doing only short fast rides. The fact that he's fast would would indicate to me that he has just focused on his speed work ... perhaps he was in a spinning class over the winter, or doing interval training on his trainer. There's nothing wrong with his speed ... he can comfortably do an 8-hour 200K.


But now, if he wants to continue with randonneuring, he needs to focus on getting in some distance work at a steady (but not too slow) pace to build his mental capacity to stay on the bicycle and keep cycling.


Since he is having trouble completing a 300K, I'd recommend that he go out and ride a nice, relaxed double century (323 km). Choose a route that takes in some scenery. Stop for lunch at the 100 km point. Stop for dinner at the 200 km point. Stop to take photos.

No, I'm not recommending that he do ALL his rides like that, but at least one a month should be like that until pacing himself, and paying attention to nutrition and hydration becomes more natural.

Last edited by Machka; 06-14-12 at 12:10 AM.
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Old 06-14-12, 12:02 AM
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I also average about 1000kms/month and think that that's more than you really need to be a successful randonneur. My training rides are almost never more than 80 miles, usually more like 40 - 60. I have to agree with Homey that the muscle that matters the most is the one between your ears. The good news is that once that muscle is adequately trained, it's pretty easy to maintain it.
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Old 06-14-12, 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Rowan
Homey, this is what the OP said. We don't actually know how many training miles a week or month he is doing. But certainly, if he is making the observation that his peers are doing many more miles than he is and finishing at the pace he expects, there has to be something to it.
Yeah, there probably is something to do with it but I don't think it's the quantity of miles. I've never see where just riding miles for the sake of miles is useful and I think you would agree with that. What does that do for you except train you to ride at the speed you are doing those miles? The problem is that everyone of us rides long distances slightly slower speed than we would shorter distances. The reason is that at shorter distances we can ride at, near or occasionally exceeding our LT without blowing up. You can't do that on long rides, you'll be in big trouble in a big hurry so we slow down and settle into a comfortable pace. The real key to going faster over long distances is to raise that level so that your comfort zone also raises. You have to do that with speed work. There is no other way. I've seen too many randoneurs fall into the I need mega miles trap and still can't meet the control times. And, they wonder why? I do know some guys who do a lot of miles and are fast too but they also do speed work and their LT is higher because of it!!!!!
When I'm talking fast here that doesn't have to mean the first to finish. It can mean just training to raise your average speed from 15km/hr to 20km/hr, whatever it takes to get you where you need to be.
You guys know me, I've ridden a 1/2 dozen 1200ks, raced 4 RAAMs, 8 FC508s and a boatload of other ultra events with one transcontinental record and a couple course records and I've never ridden more than 10kmiles in one year. Usually between 6-10k. I can name off the top of my head a number of other people way faster than me who do the same. If we can race 3000mile races with half the annual mileage as some of these people who barely meet control times tell me who is doing something wrong? I'm a big guy and not what many would concider "fast" over short distances but I can ride long distances at a pretty good clip because I've trained my body to do that with short specific training, not long sustained efforts. Hope that makes some sense to you. We've (you me, Machka) been doing this for a long time and we build conclusions on what works for us and those around us. Maybe we have to agree to disagree on this one?
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Old 06-14-12, 01:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Machka
...But now, if he wants to continue with randonneuring, he needs to focus on getting in some distance work at a steady (but not too slow) pace to build his mental capacity to stay on the bicycle and keep cycling...
I think the crux of the bisquit is right here. I agree that he needs to fix the part between the ears but I don't believe in the "LSP" theory. I think that's a recipe for going slow.


To be honest, I'm not sure that everyone has the right mentality to ride long distances. I am sure that everyone (of reasonable fitness) is capable of riding long distances. Can you "train your mentality"? Good question! I don't know the answer to that.
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Old 06-14-12, 01:27 AM
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We're not suggesting groovestew limit his riding to long, steady distance. We're saying he needs to add some long, steady distance to his current training. It's the long, steady distance that seems to be missing from his training.

He's fast. He can sustain a fast pace over a shorter distance. But he's having trouble with endurance (and of course a large part of endurance is the mental capacity to keep cycling when your head tells you to stop).

We're suggesting a varied approach ... some long steady distance, some speed work, some hills work, some recovery riding ...


groovestew ... you're not too far from Jasper, so here's a suggestion for a couple weeks from now:

Drive to Jasper.
Cycle from Jasper to Banff (approx. 290 km).
Take your time, look at the scenery, take photos, stop for lunch, dinner, snacks, etc.
Get a good night's sleep.
Cycle back from Banff to Jasper (approx. 290 km).
Take your time, look at the scenery, take photos, stop for lunch, dinner, snacks, etc.

That will give you practice riding long distances at a pace you can sustain the whole way, in a beautiful part of the world so you'll have lots to look at, and it will give you some practice in a variety of terrain.



And during the week, keep working on your speed and strength training.

Last edited by Machka; 06-14-12 at 02:20 AM.
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Old 06-14-12, 02:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Homeyba
I think the crux of the bisquit is right here. I agree that he needs to fix the part between the ears but I don't believe in the "LSP" theory. I think that's a recipe for going slow.


To be honest, I'm not sure that everyone has the right mentality to ride long distances. I am sure that everyone (of reasonable fitness) is capable of riding long distances. Can you "train your mentality"? Good question! I don't know the answer to that.
I think you can train your mentality, bit it does need time in the saddle, and a fair degree of motivation (and that usually means a goal of some sort, such as building up to a 1000, 1200 or 1500.

I don't really want to go round in circles on this, but I think a good base is needed before the speed work starts. And that strikes me as being part of the issue with groovestew -- that he is trying to take a highly competitive short-distance attitude into randonnees.

Every endurance athlete and their coach knows this -- do the long steady distance work (running, swimming, riding, whatever) in pre-season, to give you the stamina to last the distance during the season.

Then the speed work (intervals and so on) cuts in.

For mine, part of the distance work is to enable the rider to get used to the mental aspects of spending long periods in the saddle. It also enables a rider to get those routines that count -- eating, drinking, peeing and so on -- down pat.

But yes, speed needs speed work.
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Old 06-14-12, 03:59 AM
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I am new to this and i have found is using a trainer and riding to videos is helping me with all sorts of real or perceived issues. Where i live I have heat and humidity to deal with. I get more conditioning from the trainer that out on the road during the summer. Last summer I had a lot of people asking me if as alright. I now know that i wasn't. I was near heat stroke. Not really a good condition to be in and believe it's training.
Basically I was training in a panic. Respiration, heart rate and anxiety were all high when i rode. It wasn't fun it was exercise. It wasn't until i got up one morning and decided to ride 100 miles just for the fun of it that i realized I actually like this bike riding thing.

You don't suck at this sport. This is a learning curve. I have been riding two years. Still haven't done any 200 k rides and it has been a year since my 100 mile ride. What i have been doing is riding 45 to 90 mile rides on a touring bike. At about 340 lbs (me + bike + gear) it will make you be patient. This summer I am riding the trainer more. Some of you may chuckle at this but I did a personal best, last week, on the trainer by riding 33 miles in 2hours 20 minutes. 14 mph pushing a 50/13 gear for some of it
Traffic has me nervous again. As i was riding the narrow berm I looked up to see a car passing another car in the oncoming lane. I would say he was doing 70 mph. A few hundred feet down the road a pickup truck does the same thing.
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Old 06-14-12, 05:25 AM
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Originally Posted by groovestew
I know what I did wrong in all my DNFs. At least half of my long distance rides so far, I ended up riding solo for most, if not the whole, route, and all my DNFs were on such rides. Then, left to my own devices, I let myself make unreasonable expectations for my abilities, push myself too hard, don't fuel myself enough, and refuse to take breaks. When I realize I can't meet my expectations, I get disappointed, and start losing motivation. My poor mental state is then compounded by physical problems due to over exertion and lack of caloric intake. It then becomes too easy to give up. For me to be successful at this sport, I need to stop treating it like a race, and be willing to listen to my body, take needed breaks, and fuel up properly. But it’s not in my nature to take it easy, and it ticks me off that I can’t ride like I think I should be able to. Why I think I can ride like others who put 2-3 times as many miles on their bikes than I do is beyond me.

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. I don’t really have a point, but if anyone would like to share relevant experience and/or suggest how to relax and temper my expectations, please do.
Bizarre.

I'm guessing you might be going out too fast.

What you might consider is using your computer to go slower. That is, plan the ride and pick a reasonable average speed and keep from exceeding it. You could even use "reverse splits" where do the ride in segments with an increasing average speed.

Your problem is ride management and pacing.

Last edited by njkayaker; 06-14-12 at 05:33 AM.
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Old 06-14-12, 05:59 AM
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it still looks to me that the big problem is eating. I always thought you had only as many miles in your legs as your conditioning would allow. But what I've found is that as long as I eat, I can keep going. And if I do get to a very low state, I can eat and get back to a reasonable level of performance. I find that candy helps in those cases. The issue of not being able to eat after I fell behind in my calorie intake has happened to me a couple of times, mostly when it's very hot. In those cases it can get tricky, but I've always managed to recover by, get this, eating.

I'm a proponent of not riding too much. Too easy to get burned out. I used to get over-trained in my youth. That's not likely to happen now, but the desire to go ride has to be there. Short, faster rides are the way to go. However, the OP needs to convince himself that he can finish a long ride. It certainly is a lot harder to do something when you are convinced you aren't going to make it.
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Old 06-14-12, 07:23 AM
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Originally Posted by groovestew
... But it’s not in my nature to take it easy, and it ticks me off that I can’t ride like I think I should be able to. Why I think I can ride like others who put 2-3 times as many miles on their bikes than I do is beyond me...
When you go for a ride, don't make a plan to ride as hard as you think you can. Make a plan to ride the way that you will be able to finish and still feel the hunger. Set a target, that will assure you from burning yourself too fast.

My first brevet attempt was last year and it was 400km as I was not able to join the shorter onces before. I knew at that time that if I use too hard gears, I will have problems with the knees, so I planned not to use the big ring in front (in my case it is 46). I managed to reach 225km before giving up due to saddle pain and a bit of knee as well. I was so tired next day, so I didn't even consider to attend 600km, no way. Few months later I did three rides over 200km including end-of season brevet as the only finisher.

Yesterday I had a first day in my training program with the recovery ride. One hour with the HR between 94-110 bpm. I have focused only on the HR monitor (didn't think about turning the computer so I didn't see the speed). It was realy hard to limit myself as I was feeling much more power, but it only happened few times when I passed 110. The average for the ride was 105.

So maybe when going for next long ride, put the target on reasonable average speed, much lower than you can, but still assuring completion within time and stick to that.
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Old 06-14-12, 09:12 AM
  #22  
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Wow! Lots of great responses, good insights, and good advice. Thanks everyone; this group is really helpful.

Reading the responses, the one that resonated the most was HomeyBa's - that my problem is mostly "between the ears". I remember reading a ride report earlier this year from another club member, a strong rider that battled 40 km/h head and cross winds for much of the ride, and ended up with a time of 11.5 hours. My first thought on reading that was, "I would never be able to do that." I know that kind of defeatist thinking is what ultimately gets me in trouble on these rides. When the going gets tough, I too easily entertain thoughts of quitting.

Eating/nutrition is my next biggest problem, and I'm still trying to figure out how to stay fueled up. After a point, I have trouble eating solid food, so I've been trying out more liquid calories with limited success. I can better tolerate food if I actually stop and rest for a bit before eating, but my "gotta keep going" mentality gets in the way.

As far as training goes, this year was bad for me. I broke my wrist back in September (collision with a car while riding my bike to work), and I didn't ride for three months after that (didn't do any exercise at all, in fact). I then started riding a stationary bike a couple times a week through the winter, and in mid-March, finally started doing some outdoor rides. In past years, most of my "training" has been my commute to work (10 miles each way), but between starting to work from home a couple days per week, and a bunch of other lame excuses, I haven't been doing much of that this year either. I also have a toddler, and a wife who has her own hobbies and needs time away from the kid to pursue them, and it becomes a balancing act trying to schedule in riding time. I'm not a 1000 km/month rider. I make the most of my commutes, and on days I work from home, I ride at least 20 km before work, so it's something.

As far as speed goes, I think my language in the original post might have been misleading. I don't think I ride particularly fast. In general, I ride at a perfectly comfortable speed, which for me is about 26-28 km/h on the flats with no wind. I don't use a heart rate monitor, but the only times I perceive a lot of extra effort is when going uphill or against a stiff wind. When it comes to wind, I resign myself to the fact that it's going to take longer, gear down, and try to be satisfied with a much slower speed. Hills around here are never very long, so I do tend to go hard on those. But I'm not riding at a racing pace.

And to clear something up...I cannot "comfortably" ride an 8 hour 200. The only reason I was able to do that on my last 300 DNF was because my strategy worked - I started at 5:00 am and beat the headwinds that picked up in the afternoon, and enjoyed some nice tailwinds for a good 75 km.

So, yes, I need to work on the mental aspect, which includes allowing myself to take the needed breaks to properly fuel my body. Thanks everyone, great discussion.
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Old 06-14-12, 09:20 AM
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OP, we all suck. It's the nature of randonneuring to challenge us. Any rider, no matter how strong or disciplined, can be brought to tears over the course of a 600km ride. I mean think about that! Only crazy people would get on a bicycle and think "yea, I think I'm going to just keep on pedaling for 35 hours or so." Who the heck does anything for 35 hours? I can't even sit on a couch for that long.

You've received great advice and I am far too new to the sport to add to it. I can only offer my own views: see randonneuring not as a race, but as a grand adventure. You'll encounter all sorts of obstacles; vast distances, grumpy drivers, inclement weather, your own physical limits even. You're striking off into the great unknown, with nothing but your bike, some (hopefully) well chosen clothing and your muscles to propel you. Remember those two little hairy guys in the Lord of the Rings movies, they weren't racing to the volcano, they were just trudging along and doing their best to overcome whatever was placed in their way.

At your level of fitness - capable of 8 hour 200s - the time limits are meaningless to you. If you are in the right frame of mind, you will make it to the end of any ride you choose to. You just have to give up on giving up. A DNF is just not an option, what sort of story would it be if ole what's his name gave up when his little buddy was taken by the spider?!

So, in conclusion, keep your eye on the volcano, and watch for spiders.
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Old 06-14-12, 09:41 AM
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Originally Posted by groovestew
As far as training goes, this year was bad for me. I broke my wrist back in September (collision with a car while riding my bike to work), and I didn't ride for three months after that (didn't do any exercise at all, in fact). I then started riding a stationary bike a couple times a week through the winter, and in mid-March, finally started doing some outdoor rides. In past years, most of my "training" has been my commute to work (10 miles each way), but between starting to work from home a couple days per week, and a bunch of other lame excuses, I haven't been doing much of that this year either. I also have a toddler, and a wife who has her own hobbies and needs time away from the kid to pursue them, and it becomes a balancing act trying to schedule in riding time. I'm not a 1000 km/month rider. I make the most of my commutes, and on days I work from home, I ride at least 20 km before work, so it's something.
If you can, try to get out for a 100 km ride this weekend ... a 100 km at a pace where you can eat while riding. And focus on the eating.

One of the reasons you are feeling sick when you try to eat is because you're riding too fast. Another reason is because you aren't eating early enough. So on your 100 km this weekend, start eating no later than 1 hour into the ride.

I used to have eating difficulties and one of the things I did to solve the problem was to get a bento bag, and nibble. I start nibbling really early in the ride ... just a bite, then another 10 or 15 minutes later, then another 10 or 15 minutes later, etc. My stomach can digest that much better than waiting till I'm not feeling well and trying to down a lot of food to make up for it.
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Old 06-14-12, 09:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Commodus
Remember those two little hairy guys in the Lord of the Rings movies, they weren't racing to the volcano, they were just trudging along and doing their best to overcome whatever was placed in their way.

At your level of fitness - capable of 8 hour 200s - the time limits are meaningless to you. If you are in the right frame of mind, you will make it to the end of any ride you choose to. You just have to give up on giving up. A DNF is just not an option, what sort of story would it be if ole what's his name gave up when his little buddy was taken by the spider?!

So, in conclusion, keep your eye on the volcano, and watch for spiders.
Funny, in some of my better moments during a randonnee, when I'm still in a good mental state but facing a challenge, my thoughts often go to those movies, particularly the last stages of Frodo and Sam's journey, or, when riding in rain/sleet/snow, the battle at Helm's Deep. I can't think of a better cinematic example of humans/hobbits/elves/dwarves/whatever facing insurmountable odds and still coming out on top...barely. But they also had Gandalf to save the day
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