Tips

[iwannabeabiker]

Comments and thoughts please. I've been riding for about 5 months. At the moment my rides range between 25 - 35 kilometres and average 150ks per week. I have entered into a cycle event which is 90ks in distance and would like some suggestions from experienced riders as to some sensible training ideas in order to get ready for this distance - frequency, distance, average speed and diet.
To my knowledge the course doesn't have any excessive hills.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
p.s. I've just upgraded to a Scott Addict R3 2009. Great bike!

 

[the vagabond]

You won't have a problem. Get in a couple of 60-70 km rides before the event.

Re event diet: You will likely burn around 2000 calories which is about the max that can be ridden with little intake. But of course you should intake. If you take in 1500 or so calories you will be fine, but you need to eat early. (My rule of thumb: take in 3/4 of calories in first 1/2 of long rides.). Make your first bottle a fairly strong energy mix (not gatorade or water) with up to 500 calories or so. Take energy bars or gels and eat something in the first hour whether you want to or not. No caffeinated gels, at least until the last 1/3 of ride. You will likely need 1.5 liters of water or fairly clear drinks for this length ride under average conditions - two large bottles.

 

[flyor64]

I would only add a couple of thoughts to the vagabond's post.

First, test out all drink and food ideas before the event. Don't wait til the event to try out a strong drink mix or food type. It's safe to say we all react a little differently to stuff while on the bike. For instance I can not take strong drinks or very heavy food (powerbars for instance) while I'm on the bike. Gels, bananas, and PB&Js are my choice while on ride.

I also can not eat an extremely heavy meal on race day. I try to keep it light, but filling, for my pre-race meal. Yougart with musli, fruit, lighter breads, toast, that sort of thing.

BUT what works for me may not work for you, so I recommend you experiment well beforehand and have your dietary intake mapped and vetted well before your event.

Last thing I would add is to ride your event's full distance on a similar profile if possible 1-2 weeks beforehand. If you've never ridden 90KM in one ride before, it's a good idea to give your legs/body a preview of the full show.

my $.02 anyway.

Good luck!

 

[forty four]

i often have trouble eating at all on race day if i do its a bagel or something similar. i generally carbo load for a couple days prior to the event to get liver and muscle glycogen high this works quite well. i then subsist on gels and carbohydrate amino acid concoctions in my bottles. works for me i try to take in some carbs in races every 20 to 30 minutes. for instance the last race was about 67 miles with 10000 feet of climbing and i was fine with this method no bonking or problems.

 

[fatandfast]

What everybody has told is you is good advice, You are not going to need loads of calories for this ride. Just regular good foods you eat everyday and no excess sugar the night before and morning of. Bring food you can throw away(not use) cut up fruit,power bar,gel pack(s). If you have a digital watch set an alarm or use your cycle comp to let you know to get a gut full at an hour or an hour 10 in if you get caught up. If it's a race not a ride then put a cell phone in your jersey and have your wife,GF or mom call you 40 min and every 20 after that so that you will remember to eat and drink. Don't pick up the phone just tell them to let it ring three times and hang up. I am not sure if it's Marathon or Snickers for you but either of those or anything that is like it is poison during a race, you will be high for a short time and then your body will say F. Eat stuff you are used to,jelly sandwiches work good.

 

[quadsRme]

As stated already, all of the above are good suggestions. If you have the time, a week or so prior to the event do a test run with the types of food that you have already identified as prospects. This way you will know what is agreeable with you for this type of race. Then there will be no surprises on the day of the race. You want it to be a smooth day for you, so you can perform at your best!

I always liked to eat Asian food the "night before", like Thai food. Not too hot though. It is not a heavy food and you still get the carbos, not the bulk. The rice just works wonders for me.

Let us know How your fared on the race!!

Good Luck !

 

[Cobber]

One more suggestion - if you have a heart rate monitor, make sure you don't go into the red excessively. If you eat enough, and stay in your aerobic HR zone, you should be able to ride all day. Good luck!

 

[Rock7586]

Best of luck to you,

The event you have described should take 3 + hours. With that in mind plan on drinking 3 bottles of water minimum. If there are no rest stops / feed zones, plan on finishing a bottle before your ride.

Make sure you get a good warm up before the event, unless you know it is going to start out easy. Imparative if you have even a hint that it will be fast. 20 - 30 minutes should do the trick with 2 x 2 minutes near, threshold. This should be finished about 5 minutes before the start.


Training.
I would recomend getting a long ride in at least once per week (60K or 2 hours + on Sunday if possible?), every week leading up to your goal event.
Add some intensity a little under threshold 2 x 20min during one of your rides 10 - 15 min rest (Possibly Wed). Allow for enough recovery time from the intervals. 5 min between sets. And notice how you feel over the next couple of days. Your legs may feel worse the day after the day after

Nutrition
Depending on the intensity of the ride, I would lean toward eating the more caloric food early, and no more than 250 -300cal / hour powerbar and drink included ect.

Then shift to gels during that last hour of the ride.

Stay smooth and pay attention

If you have a heart rate monitor us it. And stay out of the red untill about the last 15K

 

[iwannabeabiker]

Many thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. I feel that I need to increase the lengths of my rides to 50kms to 60kms per ride. I'll try this 3-4 days per week then 10-14 days prior to the event I'll try doing 90kms. I'll keep you posted. Cheers.

Another matter.... MAGPIES!!! I got dive bombed by 1 yesterday.. Scared the bib off me.... I'd love to hear your ideas for keeping them away duing a ride...

 

[Cobber]

Many thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. I feel that I need to increase the lengths of my rides to 50kms to 60kms per ride. I'll try this 3-4 days per week then 10-14 days prior to the event I'll try doing 90kms. I'll keep you posted. Cheers.

Another matter.... MAGPIES!!! I got dive bombed by 1 yesterday.. Scared the bib off me.... I'd love to hear your ideas for keeping them away duing a ride...

Ha ha ha..... I had completely forgotten about them. They've scared the crap out of me on more than one occasion as well. Not sure what the solution is. maybe strap a pair of huge antlers to your helmet like that crazy Leipheimer fan at this years TdF?!

 

[marrykonta]

Hi iwannabeabiker,

Well,First, test out all drink and food ideas before the event. Don't wait til the event to try out a strong drink mix or food type. It's safe to say we all react a little differently to stuff while on the bike. For instance I can not take strong drinks or very heavy food (powerbars for instance) while I'm on the bike. Gels, bananas, and PB&Js are my choice while on ride.

I also can not eat an extremely heavy meal on race day. I try to keep it light, but filling, for my pre-race meal. Yougart with musli, fruit, lighter breads, toast, that sort of thing.

Thanks

 

[iwannabeabiker]

Hi iwannabeabiker,

Well,First, test out all drink and food ideas before the event. Don't wait til the event to try out a strong drink mix or food type. It's safe to say we all react a little differently to stuff while on the bike. For instance I can not take strong drinks or very heavy food (powerbars for instance) while I'm on the bike. Gels, bananas, and PB&Js are my choice while on ride.

I also can not eat an extremely heavy meal on race day. I try to keep it light, but filling, for my pre-race meal. Yougart with musli, fruit, lighter breads, toast, that sort of thing.

Thanks

Appreciate your thoughts. To date I haven't focused on the dietary side of riding but I think I better. Generally I have a banana on a ride but I'll look at these Gels and PB&Js. PB&Js - what are they.

 

[rutherdbrown]

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