bruce19

Yesterday I went out on my club's B ride. We had 14 riders, male and female, and we did 56.6 mi. and 3700 ft. elevation. On the way out to mid-point I was hitting the climbs better than I ever do. Putting some effort into it instead of just hanging back which I normally do. After about 20 mi. I decided to go easy to save some for the end of the ride. At the mid-point I was feeling very strong and everything had been effortless. After about 10 mi. on the way back I started to lag. One of the ride leaders, and the strongest rider, told me to get on his wheel. I had been gapped by a couple hundred yards and was losing ground. I couldn't hang on his wheel and was truly confounded at my loss of strength. My legs weren't feeling like jello but my body just didn't want to respond. I guessed I might have been under-fueling even though I felt like I had been doing all the right things up to that point. I had eaten a pack of those gummy things, 2 GUs, a small energy bar, a bottle of water, a bottle of water with GU tab and had a large energy bar and a bottle of water w/GU tab left. So, because I couldn't think of anything else to do to rectify the situation, I ate the energy bar and drank the bottle. After we regrouped I found it easier to hang with the group. As the ride went on I got energy back and by the end of the ride, when people are tending to crank it up, we hit a straight section of road with some rolling hills. At that point I was with the ride leader and 5 other riders. At one point I went by two of the riders and chased the ride leader and two others who had opened a gap. When we hit the last small climb before our start/stop I blew by the others and rode up to the ride leader and smacked him on the ass. He said, "Damn, you're back. Nice." I guess I was. I've never had this happen before but it was encouraging to know that I can recover in the middle of a ride. It was an interesting day. FWIW my ride average was 15 mph.

ConGrUenCy

You ate so much after only 30 miles? That is an awful lot to eat over such a short distance...

chasm54

How many forums are you going to post this in?

bruce19

How many are there?


FWIW didn't seem to generate much interest in 50+. I thought it might spur a conversation re: fueling or fitness or something here in Road. Is that somehow a problem?

Pirkaus

A pack of gummies, 2 gels, and an energy bar= too much food and digestion was sapping your strength
Did you feel like you were bonking, you may have blood sugar issues.
Do you pre fuel for a ride like this? Are you fully hydrated when you start?

bruce19

Pre-fuel consisted of a breakfast of a slice of french bread with peanut butter, jam and banana. I also drank water. If too much food was the problem, why did eating a Power Bar and drinking a bottle of water w/GU2O help? I didn't feel like I was bonking. Just lost strength and energy is the only way I can describe it. FWIW I've had recent blood work (just an annual thing) and everything was fine. I didn't think I was under-fueling but I can't see any other reason. I am at a loss.

datlas 

Good recovery, but I suspect it was some (relative) rest that got your strength back.

Lazy Dog

I suspect EPO.

StanSeven

This. I've had that happen many times. Rest combined with eating and drinking something with sugar got me back.

Plus you ate way too much.

ConGrUenCy

People eat this much sugar and then wonder why they don't lose weight despite cycling...

bruce19

Just a couple questions....what I ate and drank was really too much for a 180 lb male over a 4 hr. period? That's 4 hrs. of riding time for 56 mi. and 3700 ft. elevation. Every way I know of computing calories burned indicates that I burned at least 2400 cals. How could what I ate be too much? I am not trying to be argumentative. I just don't understand.

StanSeven

It sounds like you took in most of the food in the first part of the ride. On a similar ride I might have one Gu and an energy bar at the halfway point. That's roughly 28 miles. But everyone is different.

eriku16

If you ate all that over a relatively short time period, no wonder you felt that way. Your digestive system and your legs are competing for the same blood supply. Guess who won?

FLvector

You admitted that you went easy after mile 20 to save some for the end of the ride. Sounds like you burned a few matches the first part of the ride and you started to feel it, then sat in and recovered for most of the remainder. Most others probably did several long pulls during this ride while you hung back and conserved your energy until you blew by them on the last hill. I had one clif bar, one bottle of Skratch, plus water during a 65 mile ride today which was plenty of fuel.

bruce19

I think one thing I'm taking from this conversation is that my fueling has to be more evenly spaced. Will do that and see how it works for me. Thanks.

Dan333SP

Everyone is different, but I did a similar ride solo last weekend (51 miles, 4,800 ft climbing, about 3 hours) and ate 2 nutri grain bars and a little Gatorade (plus a ton of water) and didn't feel like I was bonking. I would feel sickly full with that much food on a ride. Fwiw I'm also 180 lbs.

dvdslw

I weigh 225lbs and regularly ride 60 miles with a diet consisting of 2 cups of coffee to wake up, two slices of toast with peanut butter, a banana, down a bottle of water, and head out the door. Along the ride I'll have one bottle of water and either a Gatorade or water with two Endurolyte Fizz tablets at all times and switch back and forth between the two, I also pack a couple folded single slice peanut butter sandwiches in a ziplock back in my jersey pocket for snacks along the way or cliff bars which I usually eat one at 1/2 way and another at 3/4 of the way.

bruce19

One of the assumptions underlying my thinking about this is my age. At 68 my body doesn't function like it did even 10 or 20 years ago. So I've been assuming that I need to re-learn how my body is functioning on the bike. If anyone has insights about the aging aspect of this I'd love to hear them.

WhyFi

That's a lot more than this 200lb male would eat over that course. I typically have a banana at about mile 20, maybe half of a pb&j sandwich an hour later. Fluids will vary, but no more than one Gatorade (or whatever) and the rest would be water.

MikeyBoyAz

I agree with everyone else in this thread... Too much food. Too much sugar. I have my best rides with real food before and only if it's longer than 2 hours. I like to imagine my body restoring all the glycogen supplies while I sleep so in the morning I must have at least 1500 kCal to burn before I pop. If I have a piece of toast and a banana I had better be ready for at least 40 miles without another bite.

Mornings when I eat a big chunk of food or lots of sugar always result in a lethargic ride.

roadwarrior

LOL.

Dr. Ferrari....call on line 3.

heffdiddy

You should experiment with real food. Nuts are good. Natural jerky would be good also. You had way too much junk food. You could also boil some eggs and eat a couple before you head out.

bt

holy diabetic sack lunch batman!

caloso

I realize everyone is different and has different nutritional needs, but that still seems like an awful lot of food, especially on top of PBJ and banana. Personally, I'm surprised you were able to put out a hard effort and still keep it all down.

pdbike

...at 195 over that distance I would have a handful of raisins and one banana. I drink as much water as needed to not feel thirsty which is normally 2 larger bottles. Even at that, I feel like I could have skipped the snack half the time.