IcySmooth52

I did a 118 mile ride yesterday with many hills, averaging 17.8 mph. (I typically do my 35 mile route @ 21 mph). I was wasted in a way that didn't involve alcohol. When I finally got home, I took a Stinger gel shot, protein shake, and drank tons of water with pizza dinner. Wasn't quite enough to be able to keep up a nice pace to work the next morning.

What do you guys do to recuperate from a ride that the day has to revolve around?

datlas 

Pretty much whatever feels good. Eat, drink, stretch, rest.

Oh yeah, do lots of household chores to make up for having ridden so much.

thehammerdog

eat drink rest...take time off a few days

joshnc

I like taking aminos before my workout. It really cuts the soreness down and speeds recovery.

bigfred 

Immediate protein in an otherwise reasonable meal, plenty of fluids, stretch, take a magnesium suppliment (it cuts down tremendously on my muscle twitching in bed), a bit of massage, nap on the couch, household chores and food shopping (to try to make it up to my partner), make dinner, more sofa time.

Next day, easy spin around the neighborhood or quick trainer session focused on cadence drills, etc. but no strength work.

Will frequently have two recovery days before another hard session. But, I'm old and recover slowly.

Clipped_in

I drink a large smoothie made from fruit juice, frozen berries, dextrose powder, whey protein powder when I can. Then, I'll follow up with a meal that largely consists of white rice. Allen Lim's chicken friend rice is a great one and was a favorite of LA. If I can't get that, I'll settle for a Coke and an Allen Lim rice cake.

That works well for me when doing consecutive big days, and I'm not particularly young either...

Homebrew01

That was my pre-race workout yesterday. Climb ladders in 90 humid baking sun while scraping and sanding paint. Then an hour mowing, then 5 hours sleep. Really preps you for the next day.

bigfred 

I'm not saying that I couldn't do better. Just responding to the OP's question about what others actually do.

I love smoothies and several of my riding buddies follow our longer rides with one. But, have you ever added up the calories in one of yours? Mrs. Fred makes a smoothie for us a couple mornings of the week, but, I try to limit my serving size. A full glass of that stuff is massively calorific. But yummy and good for us.

My "big" days are typically only 110km-130km and typically always in the morning. Which gets me home in time for lunch or brunch. Subsequently, a typical post ride meal might be 2 poached eggs, 2 slices of wholegrain bread, some grilled tomato and mushrooms and maybe some beans. Or, something involving some chicken. Either a chick sandwhich or chicken and mushroom pasta.

I need to seek out and read Lim's cook books. Met up with a couple of cyclist a few weeks ago who really swear by his recipes. Although, Mrs. Fred and I try to lean away from the white rice toward more brown and wild varieties. Still, I'm willing to give new things a try.

I see his portables as a potentially great alternative on training rides. But, can't imagine them being versatile or convenient enough for the harder group rides, events or races, when finding a chance to eat can be a reall challenge and it's everything I can do to squeeze a gel down or pop a couple of dates in my mouth.

Carbonfiberboy 

The OP's ride works out to be 6.6 hrs. on the bike. He doesn't mention having instrumentation, but say he averaged 150 watts, that's over 3500kj or mebbe 3500 calories. So he looks at what he ate during the ride, not counting his normal meals that day, and comes up with a figure for calories burned. That gives some idea of how much to replace. Now if he's not going to work out hard again very soon, not much special attention is necessary. OTOH, if he wants his glycogen replaced, 50g of carbs every 2 hours for a day will go a long way, keeping the fat consumed low. Yes, he wants really sugary stuff to eat, right away and the next morning, but more than 50g/serving is contraindicated if he's doing the every 2 hours thing.

I go for a post-ride drink with 25g whey protein and 40g-50g sugar and maltodextrin. I know that's not the approved ratio, but it works for my 155 lb. bod. Then put down a steady ~10g carbs every 30 minutes (1/3 bagel f.i.) until I can get a recovery dinner, usually pasta or rice, that sort of thing, relatively low-fat, and not enough to feel full, just comfortable. Then 15g whey protein just as I go to bed. If I'm going to go again the next day, I'll want ~350 calories of carbs with breakfast, plus some protein and a little fat.

sfrider 

A gel shot isn't enough. You need more like 600 calories in simple sugars within 5-10 min of getting off the bike after a longer ride. Take it and you'll feel much better the day after, if not within a couple of hours. It's the difference between needing one day or rest afterwards and two or even more depending on how often you do longer rides. Much of the fatigue you feel the day after is simply due to depleted glucose levels. Training level matters too; the better trained you are the more do you benefit from simple sugars immediately afterwards, perhaps with a very small quantity of protein. Endurox R4 works very well and doesn't taste too crappy.

squatchy

I started taking protein right after I finish a big ride. I recover faster and am not a sore either the next day. I think the nutrition you eat during the ride is just as important. On longer rides I need more than just blocks and gels and bottle mixes. PBJ's, Fig bars, Payday type candy bars,apples and chocolate milk help a lot. For the longest time I tried doing it on Blocks and gels but real food works so much better for me

telebianchi

In addition to the food being mentioned for after the ride (very important), I would be interested in knowing what the OP ate before and during the ride. The OP's normal rides (35 miles @ 21 mph) are less than two hours. He then jumps to 118 miles for over six and a half hours on the bike. I would expect to be tired the next day after that even if I had the perfect diet before, during and after the ride.

But, since we are analyzing this, did he/she eat and hydrate enough during that time? How hot/humid was it? Sunny day or cloudy? Those things make a big difference to how I feel after a long ride. This past weekend I did an 83 miler on Thursday that included several longer stops (casual 4th of July club ride), and the last two to three hours the temps were in the 90s with heat index over 100. I was beat by the time I go home. Then on Saturday I road 85 miles, more hills, faster avg, but slightly cooler temps and less humidity. I also made sure I was drinking more water and eating something each 45 minutes or so. Got home, quick lunch and 30 minutes later I was doing chores. (Although on Sunday I opted for swimming a bunch of laps instead of cycling.)

IcySmooth52

My most common rides are less than two hours, but i do at least a metric century once or every other week. I've done two other full centuries this year, and 118 wasn't a huge jump for me. Here's a bit about what went down the throat:

They day was VERY humid (55%), sunny, and almost 90 degrees. I drank more than a liter of nuun water an hour by making many stops at bike shops & convenience stores along the way. 4 Clif shots were consumed during the ride. Before the ride I had made myself a full breakfast of 3 eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. In the middle of the ride I ate two Clif bars (they just released a new sierra mix flavor!). After the ride I immediately had the single Stinger shot and half a gallon of milk with plenty of soy protein. Then I had some pizza about an hour after the ride was done.

This is two days after the 118 ride: 21 miles at 20.3 mph wasn't bad in my opinion.

Carbonfiberboy 

Sounds pretty good. Usual rec is to put 5 tablespoons of sugar in every pint of milk. Opinions vary, but mine is that pizza is way at the low end of my post-ride preferences. I try for pretty low fat. For home, I go pasta or rice. For out, I go Mexican. I try to finish with a salad, since my ride food is so fiber and micronutrient poor.

clausen

Last time I did that distance was the Rideau lakes tour last month. A little faster pace.
Had 2 or 3 drinks, a sausage, nap, lots of pasta at dinner, 1 more drink slept 7 hours and did it again. Same pace.

From your description you did not eat properly during your ride. You should also be taking recovery days with an easy pace. Over the weekend my 2 rides around 100 km each day average over 30km/h over varying terrain. Today 33 km 24.5 avg speed.