jppe

Would all the extra gas from being lactose intolerant and drinking milk increase speed????

I wonder if folks just need to experiment and go with what works best for them.

Mickey2

LOL, exactly, I think it's even been suggested by the Royal Society in London (...not really, but luckily there's dairy free alternatives!),

True enough, a lot depends upon the individual, but something is very general regarding exercise; the body's need to regain electrolyte levels, hydration, glucose,... Some stuff are definitely better than others.

TGT1

An occasional three mile hike with 4000ft of elevation gain and a 10,000 ft finish will do wonders for your climbing.

The three miles back down to the car ain't so much fun on 66yo knees though.

There ain't no magic powders.

You have to put in the altitude.

Machoman121

When i'm back home i do need to go to the toilet to generate a great splatter pattern on the toilet. Luckily i don't have such an urge during the ride......

jppe

Saw this and thought I'd share. It seems consistent with other articles I've seen.







7 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR CARBOHYDRATE AND PROTEIN INTAKE
SEP 06, 2016
By: Dr. Bob Murray, Managing Principal at Sports Science Insights and advisor to HOTSHOT

The American College of Sports Medicine, the leading professional organization for exercise scientists and sports medicine physicians, recently published an updated position on Nutrition and Athletic Performance. The paper reviewed and evaluated all the latest research on sports nutrition. Here are tips athletes should follow to help achieve peak performance:



Don’t skimp on carbs. Carbohydrate (glucose) is the most important energy source because it fuels the brain, central nervous system, and muscles during training and competition. Glucose is the muscles’ preferred fuel during intense exercise because, unlike fat, glucose can be metabolized quickly and produces more energy per volume of oxygen.
Keep your muscles fueled. Maintaining blood and muscle glucose (glycogen) through a proper diet and carbohydrate ingestion during exercise enhances exercise capacity, maintains mental focus, and sustains motor skills, while making exercise feel easier (reduced perception of effort.)
Experiment with low fuel stores. Training periodically with low muscle glycogen stores or training in a fasted state or without carbohydrate intake during training (i.e., “training low”) all result in enhanced training adaptations. “Training low” should be done only periodically—perhaps once every few weeks—within a periodized training program.
Follow these guidelines for carbohydrate intake:
Daily diet. Consume enough carbohydrate during the day to replace the glycogen used during training. For light exercise lasting less than one hour: 1.4 – 2.3 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight will be enough to fully replenish glycogen stores. For hard training lasting about an hour: 2.3 – 3.2 g carb/lb body weight. For hard training lasting 1 to 3 hours: 2.7- 4.5 g/lb BW. For hard training lasting 4 or more hours: 3.6 – 5.5 g/lb BW.
During training and competition. For exercise lasting an hour or less, use a carbohydrate mouth wash to activate the brain and muscles. For exercise lasting 1 – 2.5 hours, ingest 30 – 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour. For exercise lasting more than 2.5 hours, consume 60 – 90 grams of carbohydrate each hour.
Eat enough protein. Athletes need more daily protein than sedentary individuals because stressed muscles, bones, and connective tissue require more protein (amino acids) for growth, repair, and adaptation. For that reason, athletes should strive to consume a total of 0.5 – 0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day.
Spread your protein intake evenly. Protein intake should be spread evenly across meals to maximize recovery, adaptation, and strength gain. For example, a 165-lb athlete who wants to consume 150 grams of protein each day should achieve that goal by ingesting 50 grams of protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If the athlete wants to eat five meals each day, each meal should contain 30 grams of protein.
Refuel soon after training. After training, consuming carbohydrate and protein as soon as possible speeds recovery and helps maximize adaptions.

Doohickie

The thing that's made me as strong a rider as I am is that I ride to almost all of my rides. Most of the group rides I do start 7-10 miles from my house, and I'll ride to and from. So in addition to the 20-30-40 miles that the group does, I get another 15 or 20 miles in. Riding home when I'm tired has improved my stamina, especially since it's up hill and usually into the wind.

Oh, and riding fixed gear makes everything else seem easier.

canklecat

Same as this guy.

Except for the fixie. I'm not riding a fixie. I'll have another beer instead.

Oh, and not running over armadillos. That usually helps my speed.

Doohickie

Heheheheh. Check the average speed thread.

IronM

I got back into cycling later in life, to combat stress, long hours at the office, and ‘the big one’. What elevated my game from recreational rider to competitive amateur was several things> 1. Inspiration from older racers I had met. 2. Constancy in training – developing a training plan and following it. 3. Rest – to allow gains to sink in, combat chronic stress, and keep the sport fresh. 4. Strava! I had a couple summers where I had great fun chasing KOM’s once or twice a week. I would plan hilly routes & target segments. What I found was this very high intensity interval works paid off in dividends, promoting me from a struggling B-rider to a solid A-rider. I didn’t do this, however, until I had a very solid base of consistent training & was sure my heart could take it.
Other factors – nutrition. Eating carbs (like oatmeal) no sooner than hr before riding. A real sports drink (like Infiniti) during workouts exceeding 1 hr, solid food for rides exceeding 2 hrs (Cliff Bar, Fig Newton), and a protein shake immediately following a workout. Nutrition itself didn’t improve my riding, but fueled the activities that did improve my riding.
Oh – and weight. Getting a good grip on power:weight ratio. I struggle with this today, as badly as I struggle with hills. As my power naturally goes down with age, I can no longer rely on brute force to get me up the climbs. A little weight loss pays HUGE dividends where it counts. And for me, that’s hills.

Machoman121

i've decided to not put a lot of effort on maintaining the pecs and back muscles - i've not done any bench press nor barbell rows in ages - whenever i did put on muscle weight i felt as though i'm struggling on the bike. I do build my arms though so i'm not letting everything go. The arms - biceps/triceps I believe are needed to be strong for everything else - plus a set of guns look great too. I do dips instead as it's a compound exercise for the upper body (good for the shoulders too) and i love the stretch. And the squats, jumps and lunges of course are for my cycling. Wifey believes i've shrunk (from aging and the cycling) quite a bit from my earlier years but it would have to be quite unnatural to maintain muscles you don't really need like pecs and lats. especially when it will affect my cycling.

Barrettscv 

I get best result with hilly metric century rides. I also stop, find a comfortable park bench in the shade, and eat a healthy snack and drink plenty of water after two hours on the bike. This gives me the energy to climb a total of 2500 ft and complete a 62 mile ride without excessive fatigue.

As Eddy Merckx said "Ride as much or as little or as long or as short as you feel, but ride"

RockiesDad

For me its yoga. I love doing core exercises. All that stretching and holding positions has helped me feel better after a long ride. Otherwise I would have whole body aches and pains that would last through the night. A little weight training is good too. But general truth of just going out and riding more is probably the best thing...

Machoman121

I think there's no magic silver bullet to cramps - if you have not conditioned your muscles appropriately for the mileage -it'll give up and you'll cramp. When i started this thread i was at my peak of my fitness - it was summer/early autumn and there was still plenty of light - so when i got home i could do a short couple of kms at mid week. Then went out for the longer harder rides at the weekend. These mid week rides would condition the muscles for the longer weekend rides.

It's winter now and i'm coming home dark so there's no riding after work and i find i struggle on the weekend rides. So the secret is to ride frequently if possible during the mid week too.

Carbonfiberboy 

What helped my cycling . . .in this order . . .
Proper cycling clothing. Comfort, veratility, and for any weather other than snow.
Good quality clipless shoes and pedals.
Consistency. Trying to ride at least 50-100 miles/week year 'round, more in spring and summer.
Endurance. Starting out at 50, I'd ride away from home until I was quite tired, then ride back. The first year I did an 80 miler, the second a double.
Protein. I learned that if my legs hurt on the bike, I needed more protein.
Weights. Full body workouts help some.

Machoman121

yes i agree on just getting the mileage in as often as i can - even if it feels like it's not much - something is better than nothing. The muscles will atrophy without activity.

canklecat

I'm doing more upper body conditioning now. No apparatus. Stretches, isometrics, pushups, that sort of thing. Neck and shoulder pain (old accident injury) was limiting me from enjoying bikes with lower, more aerodynamic bars.