Day 4. Hit a Brick Wall
 

Hello everyone. I am a new bicycle rider and just got done with a bike ride. This was ride 4 out of 7 days I have owned the bike. This ended up being only an 8 mile ride because I ran out of energy. The first three days I felt great and seemed to have energy to spare. When I started today I felt great. I'm not in great shape by any stretch but not too bad at 51 yoa. Is this a common occurrence with others? Any tips on pre-ride nutrition?

What was the first three rides like? How far and fast did you ride then... compared to this forth ride?

Yes, specifics please. How far, how fast? And what is your exercise history?

Not too surprising. It takes time to develop your body's ability to produce energy from stores. Long time riders don't need to eat anything before a ride of less than 2 hours, but beginning riders can't do that - eating a little before the ride, mostly carbs, then then continuing to eat a little maybe every 1/2 hour during the ride will be a big help. Bananas, bagel, sports bars, gels, shot blocks, sports drinks - there are about 2 zillion choices, but keep it mostly carbs on the bike. But don't eat too much, either! That'll make you logy and then fat. Keep it to 25g-50g carbs/hr.

If 4 days in a row, brand new to the bike, then I say possible overtraining. As silly as it sounds. Take a day off the bike, do some other form of exercise, or just take a walk.

Thanks for the responses. Sorry for the lack of info. The first three rides were about 12 to 13 miles. The second ride was about 10 miles on pavement with about 2 miles on MTB trails. My average speed, according to app, was about 9 to 10 mph. This may not sound like much but in the last year or so my level of cardio excercise has been pretty low. The extent of my exercising, prior to getting MTB, was push-ups, air squats and light weight training. There was no shortness of breath or anything like that today. Just low energy. At peak times my heart rate averaged about 160 BPM. Thanks again for y'alls kindness.

OK, so what did you eat and drink before the ride?

I think you're just unfit, which won't be news to you.

What happened to you has happened to me, albeit at higher levels of activity, when I have suddenly increased my training load by a substantial margin. You aren't overtrained - overtraining is the accumulated effect of failing to recover properly over a long period of time - you're tired, that's all.

Don't stop. Gradually building time on the bike will make a big difference to your fitness surprisingly quickly. But listen to your body and give yourself time to recover between rides. Fitness comes with exercise and recovery, not just exercise. Initially I'd suggest riding every other day, with a day off in between. After a month or so you'll find the rest days are less necessary and you can ride five or six days a week.

As far as pre-ride nutrition is concerened, just eat normally. Your rides so far aren't long enough to worry too much about on-bike nutrition, either, but as CFB says above, you might find it useful to nibble. Make sure you have water with you.

You likely did not hit a physical "wall", but mentally are not prepared for the increased activity level. Take it easy and slow and build up your distance slowly. Don't worry about pre ride meals. Sure, bring a small snack for mid ride, but really your body has the reserves for an hour ride without a problem.

This happened to me when I first started commuting day after day on a 20 mile round trip....thought I was invincible! Over time the body adapts to recover faster and become fitter. As other people have said, it is much to do with what you eat and your current fitness level.


Best advice I have is eat well (good balance of carbs proteins and fats) and listen to your body I.e. Take a break if you feel worn down. Over time you will adapt.