LesterOfPuppets

I saw a teaser for a buffalo goring at Yellowstone, didn't click on it yet. Maybe after we get back from thus epic tandem ride...

Heathpack 

I used my Competive Cyclist- Strava $30 to get Alan Lim's Feedzone Portables Cookbook. I figured since I have had nausea in endurance events, it would be worth trying other foods on the bike.

Yesterday I ate my normal Cliff Bloks but also homemade granola bar from the @coasting ride (still have lots in freezer) and Lim Chocolate-Strawberry-Coconut Rice Cakes. They were pretty good.

Today I picked up a loaf of challah bread at the Farmers Market and made these French Toast Bites, also from the Portables Cookbook:



These are super tasty. I had to wrap them up and get them into the freezer because every time Mr H walked through the kitchen, he took one off the cooling rack & popped it into his mouth.

Basically it's bread, eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, mixed together, sprinkle of raw sugar on top and baked for 15 min. Easy to make.

Jiggle

Attention Cyberspace!

I'm going to go ride my bicycle.

I'm going to ride it where I like.

That is all.

3alarmer 

...some of us have moved on already.

3alarmer 

...if I send you two of the hardly used tyres we get at the Bike Co-op as donations from racers who only use them once, and people who buy a pair, try them out, and don't like them, is there any chance at all you will quit *****ing about this, and just start riding your bike again ? #hopeful

3alarmer 

...be sure that you wave.

Trsnrtr

Yes, the meat is expensive.

3alarmer 

...just quit stopping for ice cream, Jezebel.

mvnsnd

^^^^ Those look GOOD!!

Trsnrtr

OK, you convinced me. I'll take a dozen.

mvnsnd

Serious question. Next Sunday is a Century group ride. I've never done one before, my longest is about 60 mi. Should be fairly flat though. The day before will be killer though. 44 miles with 3500 ft and grades of up to 18%.

Now the question. I usually use Heed in a big bottle and plain water in a normal bottle and carry a gel or cliff bar. For the century, what should I consider for fueling? There will probably be at least one stop.

Heathpack 

What you eat is going to depend on a few things. Namely how well-conditioned you are to the effort (the less conditioned, the more you'll be burning carbs over fat), how much lean mass you have (storage site for available glycogen), the intensity you will riding at relative to your max), how much glycogen you have stored (you may be depleted by the time you ride).

So my basic questions for you are: 1. How intensely will you be riding & 2. How long do you think it will take?

LesterOfPuppets

Stay 25' away from bison.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — A 16-year-old girl has been gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park while posing for a picture near the animal.
The National Park Service says the unidentified girl's injuries were serious but not life-threatening.
The agency described her as an exchange student from Taiwan who was visiting the park with her host family.
The incident occurred shortly after noon Friday in the Old Faithful area.
The Park Service says she and others were between 3 and 6 feet from the bison when she turned her back to the bison to have her picture taken. The bison took a couple steps and gored her.
The girl was airlifted to an area hospital.
The Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison in the park.

Ramona_W

What kind of cheese? Grana Padano and something?

mvnsnd

1. Probably fairly intense for me. But it depends on the group I'm with.
2. Lead group did a 62 mile ride a week ago in 2:45. I don't think I'll be able to keep up with them. I would be happy with under 5.5 hrs.

LAJ

Very cool

LAJ

Good news, Herbie. Keep at it.

rjones28 

rjones28 

Extra sharp cheddar.

Ramona_W

36.6 miles on the tandem this week.

Today I met another lady who rides a tandem. (Her s/o was there too but she got her story in before he got to the table.) She told me that one time she and her husband were riding and she jumped off so she could push the button to make the traffic light change. She didn't say anything to him and, I guess, he didn't notice the back of the bike was lighter because, when the light turned green, he took off without her. I had no idea what he said when he discovered she was missing or what *she* said when she got back on, but she seemed like a very genteel old lady so I'm sure it was something gracious.

LAJ

You'll be fine after your "openers" the day before, @mvnsnd. If you're accustomed to Heed, stick with it. Skratch is super easy on the belly, if you can get it. My personal favorite is raspberry, that is until I take a swig of some pineapples. It's all good though. I would try that on the second bottle. I assume there will be a refill stop, so if you can get a pack or two of Skratch single serve to carry with, go for it. If not, I can go with Gatorade, but not all can stomach that. I am a firm believer in solids, along with gels and Bloks. A buffer for the stomach, or something. Nutri-Grain bars are great, and they're flat and easy to carry, but I have also taken a shine to Fiber One bars too.

On a five hour century, I would have 2-4 Gels, 3-4 Nutri Grains, and likely 4 bottles. Maybe some Bloks. Adjust as needed.

Heathpack 

Under 5.5 hours seems pretty fast to me. Is this a flat ride?

Basically you probably have around 2000ish cal of stored glycogen. If you're riding intensely, you'll probably be burning 550ish cal/hr, maybe more if you're big. You don't want to run your glycogen stores too low, lest you get bonky. Without eating, you'd probably become glycogen-depleted at around 3.5-4 hours into the ride.

Since you're not well-conditioned to the distance, you should basically assume that your ability to metabolize fat won't be great. But the truth is a decent percentage of your calories needed on the bike will probably come from stored fat (of which for the purposes of cycling you have an infinite supply). So if you miss a little on your calorie intake, you'll have some wiggle room because of the fat metabolism.

Most people can process 200-250ish cal/hr during exercise (I'm talking about at the level of the GI tract), maybe 300ish cal/hr if you are using a mixed sugar source (I can elaborate on that if you want, I just feel like I'm already going long with this answer). So that should be your goal, around eat around 200-250 cal from carbs per hour. After your ride the day prior, be sure to consume some protein and carb within an hour of the ride, something like chocolate milk, to replace glycogen & aid in muscle recovery. Then eat a normal dinner with some carbs. Well before the ride, at least 2 hours, eat a normal, lightish breakfast. Something with carbs to top off your tank. And protein to slow digestion. For example a bowl of oatmeal with an egg whisked in (I know this sounds weird, it's good though, makes the oatmeal custardy and delicious).

I'm not exactly sure what is in Heed? It's an electrolyte drink, right? You may not need too much electrolyte early in the ride when it's cooler and you're not sweating much. My theory is that part of my nausea came from hours of drinking electrolyte drinks (the salt in that can be irritating to the stomach. I've moved to drinking honey, water & lemon juice early, then Skratch electrolyte drink later.

Whatever you're drinking, you'll need something between 16-25oz water per hour. Could be more in extreme heat, which I doubt you'll have. There is a real argument for lower-calorie drink because it has a lower osmolality, this is why I drink Skratch, it has a lower concentration of solutes in it. For me, I mix Skratch at 80 cal/25 oz bottle and honey (2 tablespoons plus generous lemon squirt) at 120 cal/25 oz bottle. Usually I'm drinking at the rate of 1 bottle per 1.5 hours. Then I make up the rest of my calories with solid food, aiming for 200 cal/hr. I can typically keep up with this early on, but I get behind later in the ride.

What to eat is a bit of trial and error. Basically you want carbs and not much else. Pure carb products like gels and Cliff Bloks are great but they empty from the stomach very quickly. This gives your small intestine a lot to deal with all at once (not good). But easy to eat on the bike. Real foods that contain mixed ingredients (a little protein or fat) and that require a little digestion will empty from the stomach more slowly, which is good. So you want to try to eat some real food too. Pretzels, breakfast bars, graham crackers, fruit etc.

It's way better to eat small amounts frequently, gives your stomach less to deal with at any given time. I have a timer on my bike computer that goes off every 15 min. My goal is a few sips from my bottle and about 50 cal every 15 min. Sometimes this doesn't work logistically (for example you're on a rough road). For me, it's a mistake to try to make the calories up, especially late in the ride, my GI tract can't handle the overload. So I just get back on schedule as soon as I can. Eat at the back of a pace line, at the top of a descent. Get your food into a state such that you can easily eat it while riding- for example, I open 3 hours of Bloks in advance so it's easy for me to grab one while I'm riding (the go into a top tube bento box that I have).

And lol, if you decrease intensity, none of what I wrote matters. You can eat less calories and bigger amounts less frequently & you'll be fine. If you get bonky (lightheaded), stop and eat. Then you can probably keep going without too much trouble at less intensity with more eating. If you get dehydrated (for me, just really weak with big drop in power output), it will be hard for you to recover, it will affect the rest of your ride, just do your best to drink more and get through the ride.

rjones28 

I did go catch some of the racing action. I rolled out a little later than planned, so I missed the finish of the Cat 5s. But not by much.

Andy (right) from the shop and a couple of other guys discuss confusion at one of the final corners with a race official.



Leaders of, I think, the Mens 1-2 field pass by.



There were Canadians. French Canadians.

FLvector

Great news. Deserves a 3 thumber.

rjones28 

Neutral race support.