Old 08-02-05 | 03:12 AM
  #6  
Pat
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Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Orlando, FL

Bikes: litespeed, cannondale

Well, 131 miles is a distance.

You will need to pay attention to avoid dehydration. You will need to take in a decent amount of food. You only need to average a tad over 10 mph, so you can take brief stops to your heart's content. However, in hot weather, on a long ride, it is easy to get electrolyte imbalance and hyponatriumia. You can replace the majority of your electrolytes with something like gatoraid. However, gatoraid is quite low on sodium so taking some table salt with you might be a good idea. A sign of the onset of hyponatriumia is a craving for salt.

Something that almost certainly will happen is that you will deplete your glycogen reserves or BONK. When that happens, all you can do is cruise and you can not sprint at all. Towards the end of the ride, you will probably be forced to just go along at a medium cruise and no better. Plus by that time, various parts of your body will ache like your rear end, hands, neck, shoulders and so on. The last 20 miles will probably not be much fun. But isn't that the price one pays for being able to have the experience?
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