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Only half joking...
Due to work commitments ( 12 hour days, some weekends) and climbing commitments (twice a week at the wall and outside when I'm not working) I have found it hard to fit in training. My commute is 10 miles each way which I do 3/4 times a week and I manage a 25 miler once, sometimes twice a week. I am trying to get a couple of longer( 75/80 miles ) in but struggle with time. The longest I have cycled before is 60 miles and that was fine so I'm not worried about the distance But making the minimum speed will be a struggle. (average 25km - I'm averaging about 26 on my 10 mile commute) and I want to enjoy it.
Any tips on nutrition (I'm veggie) tactics, length of breaks, hydration, training and anything else would be very much appreciated.
Thanks JB
Due to work commitments ( 12 hour days, some weekends) and climbing commitments (twice a week at the wall and outside when I'm not working) I have found it hard to fit in training. My commute is 10 miles each way which I do 3/4 times a week and I manage a 25 miler once, sometimes twice a week. I am trying to get a couple of longer( 75/80 miles ) in but struggle with time. The longest I have cycled before is 60 miles and that was fine so I'm not worried about the distance But making the minimum speed will be a struggle. (average 25km - I'm averaging about 26 on my 10 mile commute) and I want to enjoy it.
Any tips on nutrition (I'm veggie) tactics, length of breaks, hydration, training and anything else would be very much appreciated.
Thanks JB
In reply to johnboybuchan:
May be a bit late to make any significant effect.
Tactics: eat early (before you think you need to) and often, likewise with hydration but don't overdo it. Try and get in a group that is going at about the right pace (ask if it's OK to join) as it will make it a lot easier. On the Ripon Revolution a couple of years ago I realised that the last quarter was in to the wind so found myself a group that was just a little quicker than I was going, it took me three miles to get on to the back of them but we worked together and made good time, good enough for me to get a gold time, there's no way I'd have been as quick on my own.
May be a bit late to make any significant effect.
Tactics: eat early (before you think you need to) and often, likewise with hydration but don't overdo it. Try and get in a group that is going at about the right pace (ask if it's OK to join) as it will make it a lot easier. On the Ripon Revolution a couple of years ago I realised that the last quarter was in to the wind so found myself a group that was just a little quicker than I was going, it took me three miles to get on to the back of them but we worked together and made good time, good enough for me to get a gold time, there's no way I'd have been as quick on my own.
In reply to johnboybuchan:
Sounds like you're doing enough biking, but I really would sacrifice a bit of climbing for a long ride or 2, to get used to it. Oddly, I find on longer rides my triceps can ache and need stretching.
On the day:
- Drink plenty, but don't overdo it. Take some electrolyte tabs, as water stops may have plain water.
- Eat regularly - aim for something every 45-60 mins. I use a stopwatch with a timer on my handlebars as a reminder.
- Know where the feed stations are, but don't rely 100% on them - they may not have anything you like/can eat, so take some of your own food in case.
Sounds like you're doing enough biking, but I really would sacrifice a bit of climbing for a long ride or 2, to get used to it. Oddly, I find on longer rides my triceps can ache and need stretching.
On the day:
- Drink plenty, but don't overdo it. Take some electrolyte tabs, as water stops may have plain water.
- Eat regularly - aim for something every 45-60 mins. I use a stopwatch with a timer on my handlebars as a reminder.
- Know where the feed stations are, but don't rely 100% on them - they may not have anything you like/can eat, so take some of your own food in case.
In reply to johnboybuchan:
As a rule of thumb, you can cycle in a day what you cycle in a week. It's easy to trundle along on a commute, so make sure you make the most of every mile. Work at getting your cadence up so that you're pushing less hard but spinning faster. Spin circles with your legs rather than push pistons.
When you're on the ride, follow someone closely - about a foot from the back wheel is right for someone you don't know, if they're pedalling smoothly. If they're not, find another wheel. Drafting behind them will save you about 20%. Don't forget to thank whoever is one the front when they ease off, and take your turn from time to time. Be a nice person to cycle with, put in your share of the effort and the pace will rack up remarkably.
Make sure your shorts are comfortable.
Keep on drinking - a little and often. I have one bottle with electrolyte and one with an energy drink. No idea if it makes any difference but there's a psychological thing going on there.
I like Powerbar Shots - sort of Haribo on steroids. No idea if they've got gelatine in them though. Jelly babies are good too. I keep those, gels and bars in a small dry bag so that I can pull the whole lot out of a pocket and decide what I fancy. One 'haribo' to eat, another tucked up the leg of my shorts for a bit later on and we're sorted. Maybe a gel up the other short leg if it's time to top up a bit more. If it's not too hot, an Eccles cake is a nice treat - if it is hot, they're inedible. Wrap in cling film. 9 Bar Original are good and cheap (available in Sainsbury's). The seeds stuck in your teeth give you something to do for a while too.
Take your breaks when the pace eases off, not stationary at the side of the road.
As a rule of thumb, you can cycle in a day what you cycle in a week. It's easy to trundle along on a commute, so make sure you make the most of every mile. Work at getting your cadence up so that you're pushing less hard but spinning faster. Spin circles with your legs rather than push pistons.
When you're on the ride, follow someone closely - about a foot from the back wheel is right for someone you don't know, if they're pedalling smoothly. If they're not, find another wheel. Drafting behind them will save you about 20%. Don't forget to thank whoever is one the front when they ease off, and take your turn from time to time. Be a nice person to cycle with, put in your share of the effort and the pace will rack up remarkably.
Make sure your shorts are comfortable.
Keep on drinking - a little and often. I have one bottle with electrolyte and one with an energy drink. No idea if it makes any difference but there's a psychological thing going on there.
I like Powerbar Shots - sort of Haribo on steroids. No idea if they've got gelatine in them though. Jelly babies are good too. I keep those, gels and bars in a small dry bag so that I can pull the whole lot out of a pocket and decide what I fancy. One 'haribo' to eat, another tucked up the leg of my shorts for a bit later on and we're sorted. Maybe a gel up the other short leg if it's time to top up a bit more. If it's not too hot, an Eccles cake is a nice treat - if it is hot, they're inedible. Wrap in cling film. 9 Bar Original are good and cheap (available in Sainsbury's). The seeds stuck in your teeth give you something to do for a while too.
Take your breaks when the pace eases off, not stationary at the side of the road.
In reply to johnboybuchan:
due to training commitments I have found it hard to fit in climbing. (twice a week at the wall and outside when I'm not working)
Fixed that. You're as bad as my mate who thought he could do a LD triathlon on his commute ride and a short run at weekends.
> Only half joking...
due to training commitments I have found it hard to fit in climbing. (twice a week at the wall and outside when I'm not working)
Fixed that. You're as bad as my mate who thought he could do a LD triathlon on his commute ride and a short run at weekends.
In reply to johnboybuchan:
For me the biggest difference between 100km (60 miles) and longer distances is that I need to get two things right - feeding and pacing. Feeding - on shorter distances I can get away with being slapdash - on longer rides you really pay the price if you don't eat enough. Obviously the faster you are trying to go, the more critical it becoems. As Bob says, start eating early, and keep eating - I try and eat at least one substantial piece of food every hour, and keep snacking on a pocket full something that I can just pull out and stuff in my mouth - I like dried mango. Are you happy getting food out of your pockets, unwrapping it, and eating on the move, while still going in a straight line as part of a group? If not, getting comfortable with doing this is something you could profitably do in 3 weeks. If you can't, you'll have to keep stopping to eat and you won't want to do this if you are making good time as part of a group. Same goes for drinking only more so.
What are you planning on eating? I would get this sorted in training so you aren't experimenting with something new on the day without some idea of how your body will react to it. Personally I find that I get sick of eating very processed sports nutrition products (bars, gels, etc) after a few hours on the bike and really struggle to force it down. I find food I have prepared is much more appetising. I like rice cakes, this is a good recipe: youtube.com/watch?v=RG7bWKK9G7E& current favourite is dried apple, cinnamon, and some posh mix of raisins/cherries/cranberries to keep it interesting.
Also really recommend this book for a bit more variety, lots of the recipies are veggie or can be made so:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=feed+zone+portables
Drink wise - know how far it is between water stops. I always take two bidons might not always fill them both if I know it is not far to the next stop - saves having to lug extra weight especially if there is any steep climbing to be done. Might as well point out here that if you are concerned about time, the easiest gains are the time you might spend standing around at a feed zone - it is really easy to lose 20 minutes per stop without really noticing. If I am trying to get a fast time, I try to be selective about where I stop, and make stops really fast - go in, have a wee, grab food, fill water, get back on the bike - then eat/drink once you are moving.
Pacing - I find 100km rides I get away with going out fairly quick (eg. hr zone 3) but struggle to keep this up for 160km/100 miles. For longer distances I try to ride at an easy pace (eg. hr zone 2, or easy enough you could maintain a conversation) until halfway, then up the pace if I am still feeling ok. You probably have some idea how fast you can sustain 60km, so once you reach 60km to go you can afford to press on. Concentrate on trying to be really efficient with your pacing and don't let yourself go over threshold. On my first 100 miler, I got onto the back of a really fast moving group and made really good time, but should have had the sense to let them go earlier than I did - eventually I was going into the red just trying to stay on the back, I got dropped on a hill and then had to crawl a really, really painful solo 20km to the next feed stop bonking the whole way. This is probably the worst 20km I have ever done on a bike.
I find an HR monitor useful to pace myself, especially to make sure I am not working too hard too early on - on a sportive it is easy to get carried away, you think you are not trying that hard but in reality you are. Then again it only really becomes a useful tool once you have used it in training and you know what e.g. 150 bpm actually means in terms of how long you can maintain it for, otherwise it's a bit meaningless, so if you don't have one already it might be a bit of a distraction.
For me the biggest difference between 100km (60 miles) and longer distances is that I need to get two things right - feeding and pacing. Feeding - on shorter distances I can get away with being slapdash - on longer rides you really pay the price if you don't eat enough. Obviously the faster you are trying to go, the more critical it becoems. As Bob says, start eating early, and keep eating - I try and eat at least one substantial piece of food every hour, and keep snacking on a pocket full something that I can just pull out and stuff in my mouth - I like dried mango. Are you happy getting food out of your pockets, unwrapping it, and eating on the move, while still going in a straight line as part of a group? If not, getting comfortable with doing this is something you could profitably do in 3 weeks. If you can't, you'll have to keep stopping to eat and you won't want to do this if you are making good time as part of a group. Same goes for drinking only more so.
What are you planning on eating? I would get this sorted in training so you aren't experimenting with something new on the day without some idea of how your body will react to it. Personally I find that I get sick of eating very processed sports nutrition products (bars, gels, etc) after a few hours on the bike and really struggle to force it down. I find food I have prepared is much more appetising. I like rice cakes, this is a good recipe: youtube.com/watch?v=RG7bWKK9G7E& current favourite is dried apple, cinnamon, and some posh mix of raisins/cherries/cranberries to keep it interesting.
Also really recommend this book for a bit more variety, lots of the recipies are veggie or can be made so:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=feed+zone+portables
Drink wise - know how far it is between water stops. I always take two bidons might not always fill them both if I know it is not far to the next stop - saves having to lug extra weight especially if there is any steep climbing to be done. Might as well point out here that if you are concerned about time, the easiest gains are the time you might spend standing around at a feed zone - it is really easy to lose 20 minutes per stop without really noticing. If I am trying to get a fast time, I try to be selective about where I stop, and make stops really fast - go in, have a wee, grab food, fill water, get back on the bike - then eat/drink once you are moving.
Pacing - I find 100km rides I get away with going out fairly quick (eg. hr zone 3) but struggle to keep this up for 160km/100 miles. For longer distances I try to ride at an easy pace (eg. hr zone 2, or easy enough you could maintain a conversation) until halfway, then up the pace if I am still feeling ok. You probably have some idea how fast you can sustain 60km, so once you reach 60km to go you can afford to press on. Concentrate on trying to be really efficient with your pacing and don't let yourself go over threshold. On my first 100 miler, I got onto the back of a really fast moving group and made really good time, but should have had the sense to let them go earlier than I did - eventually I was going into the red just trying to stay on the back, I got dropped on a hill and then had to crawl a really, really painful solo 20km to the next feed stop bonking the whole way. This is probably the worst 20km I have ever done on a bike.
I find an HR monitor useful to pace myself, especially to make sure I am not working too hard too early on - on a sportive it is easy to get carried away, you think you are not trying that hard but in reality you are. Then again it only really becomes a useful tool once you have used it in training and you know what e.g. 150 bpm actually means in terms of how long you can maintain it for, otherwise it's a bit meaningless, so if you don't have one already it might be a bit of a distraction.
In reply to johnboybuchan: Did Ride London at the weekend in (for me) a surprisingly respectable time, given that work and travel has meant I'm about 70% down on mileage this year. As others have said - find a group to draft if you can, eat early and regularly (I eat something - flapjack or gel each hou)r, and drink every 20 mins (I only ever use water). If you're going to stop, then decide which stops you're going to use (might be some, might be all of them - we didn't stop at all at the weekend) and make sure you do stop - my mate decided to press on at one ride a couple of years ago because he felt good, then ten miles later was in bits.
2
In reply to johnboybuchan:
What's the profile of the route like? Some sportives (Ride With Brad, White Rose Classic) have some nasty hills towards the end so you need to save something for those, the Ripon Revolution had all the big hills in the first third and the last quarter was basically flat through the Vale of York. Well flat compared to most of the rides in the Dales!
What's the profile of the route like? Some sportives (Ride With Brad, White Rose Classic) have some nasty hills towards the end so you need to save something for those, the Ripon Revolution had all the big hills in the first third and the last quarter was basically flat through the Vale of York. Well flat compared to most of the rides in the Dales!
1
In reply to johnboybuchan:
My tip for long rides is print off a list of towns/villages/hills and their distance from the start. Sellotape this list to your top tube. For a sportive you might want to include feed stops and cut-off times (if there are any).
Shotbloks are my preferred stuff to carry - tasty, nice to chew and easy to swallow (and veggie). I'd presume the sportive has feed stops for more filling items.
The other advice is don't ride in the same position for too long. Stretch your back frequently. Getting out of the saddle using differant muscles etc. (I guess most people will do that anyway, but years of riding a full suss MTB conditioned me to stay in the saddle on climbs)
My tip for long rides is print off a list of towns/villages/hills and their distance from the start. Sellotape this list to your top tube. For a sportive you might want to include feed stops and cut-off times (if there are any).
Shotbloks are my preferred stuff to carry - tasty, nice to chew and easy to swallow (and veggie). I'd presume the sportive has feed stops for more filling items.
The other advice is don't ride in the same position for too long. Stretch your back frequently. Getting out of the saddle using differant muscles etc. (I guess most people will do that anyway, but years of riding a full suss MTB conditioned me to stay in the saddle on climbs)
In reply to johnboybuchan:
Because you haven't ridden the distance, I'd plan for the fact that you have a good chance of running of out gas, bonking, hitting the wall, cramping up, or whatever you choose to call it. No matter what your strategy is. But that's what we do these things for. As for training I'd go for an all day ride of 6 hours in saddle minimum on the next day off, leaving at least a full week between that and the event just to give you a point of reference what the longer distance will feel like. Then just be exicited about the ride, and eat and sleep well up to it so you're fully fueled before hand.
Because you haven't ridden the distance, I'd plan for the fact that you have a good chance of running of out gas, bonking, hitting the wall, cramping up, or whatever you choose to call it. No matter what your strategy is. But that's what we do these things for. As for training I'd go for an all day ride of 6 hours in saddle minimum on the next day off, leaving at least a full week between that and the event just to give you a point of reference what the longer distance will feel like. Then just be exicited about the ride, and eat and sleep well up to it so you're fully fueled before hand.
In reply to johnboybuchan:
Don't try for a gourmet experience and don't eat anything new. My stomach hates new stuff and fatty stuff while I'm on the move, and on longer rides I go with simple low fat mule bar (summer fruits I think), and just avoid variety or I find indigestion stomach swelling stops me breathing properly or eating for the final couple of hours - not pleasant. Eat little and often and before you think you need to - avoid yo-yo hunger. I make sure I go through a bar every hour, quite often half a bar at a time. If you're not happy eating while you move, open all the bars before you start to make life easier, and it'll also encourage you to eat them all! Do some maths about how many to take and add two.
Fill up water bottles at every feed station, even if you don't need to and don't let yourself get tempted into an unknown energy drink you've not tried before.
Clean the bike, oil the bike, check the brakes.
Don't try for a gourmet experience and don't eat anything new. My stomach hates new stuff and fatty stuff while I'm on the move, and on longer rides I go with simple low fat mule bar (summer fruits I think), and just avoid variety or I find indigestion stomach swelling stops me breathing properly or eating for the final couple of hours - not pleasant. Eat little and often and before you think you need to - avoid yo-yo hunger. I make sure I go through a bar every hour, quite often half a bar at a time. If you're not happy eating while you move, open all the bars before you start to make life easier, and it'll also encourage you to eat them all! Do some maths about how many to take and add two.
Fill up water bottles at every feed station, even if you don't need to and don't let yourself get tempted into an unknown energy drink you've not tried before.
Clean the bike, oil the bike, check the brakes.
In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut:
It's not that difficult - if you only cycle 50 miles a week, trying to do 100 in a day is going to be painful. On the other hand if you cycle 100 miles a week, you should be able to do 100 miles in a day OK. It's a rule of thumb, that is to say a guide. nothing more QED, the people giving up on the London to Brighton at halfway who only do about 10 miles a week.
Thus I did Ride London on a diet of 120-150 miles/week but no ride longer than 50. Did my 100 miles at 21.5 mph average
It's not that difficult - if you only cycle 50 miles a week, trying to do 100 in a day is going to be painful. On the other hand if you cycle 100 miles a week, you should be able to do 100 miles in a day OK. It's a rule of thumb, that is to say a guide. nothing more QED, the people giving up on the London to Brighton at halfway who only do about 10 miles a week.
Thus I did Ride London on a diet of 120-150 miles/week but no ride longer than 50. Did my 100 miles at 21.5 mph average
1
In reply to johnboybuchan:
I've only done a few long sportives and probably am a bit less cycling fit than you.
Some very good advice above - I always find the food stops disruptive and struggle to get going afterwards so I'd keep these as brief as possible rather than lounging around.
Tape a pork pie to your top tube for emergency nutrition.
I've only done a few long sportives and probably am a bit less cycling fit than you.
Some very good advice above - I always find the food stops disruptive and struggle to get going afterwards so I'd keep these as brief as possible rather than lounging around.
Tape a pork pie to your top tube for emergency nutrition.
1
In reply to nniff:
Kind of makes sense until you get to bigger distances. I average 280 miles a week so not quite as easy to do in a day. Ride London averages are just an ego booster, I was quicker than you but there's no way I would be on any other 100 mile course except possibly a flat TT course.
> It's not that difficult - if you only cycle 50 miles a week, trying to do 100 in a day is going to be painful. On the other hand if you cycle 100 miles a week, you should be able to do 100 miles in a day OK. It's a rule of thumb, that is to say a guide. nothing more QED, the people giving up on the London to Brighton at halfway who only do about 10 miles a week.
> Thus I did Ride London on a diet of 120-150 miles/week but no ride longer than 50. Did my 100 miles at 21.5 mph average
Kind of makes sense until you get to bigger distances. I average 280 miles a week so not quite as easy to do in a day. Ride London averages are just an ego booster, I was quicker than you but there's no way I would be on any other 100 mile course except possibly a flat TT course.
In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut:
Flatish course, no slowing, lots of drafting - ideal way to get a nice number up. At 280 miles a week I'm not surprised you went faster than me. My mileage this week (from Monday) was gross - 144 miles
Flatish course, no slowing, lots of drafting - ideal way to get a nice number up. At 280 miles a week I'm not surprised you went faster than me. My mileage this week (from Monday) was gross - 144 miles
In reply to johnboybuchan:
What John Simpson says. Just do at least a 6 hour ride at least just once, at least a week before, then just psych up. You'll be fine.
I did a similar thing getting into sportives, like yesbutnobut, did 100 at good pace no probs after just commuting 10 each way every day (ie 100 a week).
What John Simpson says. Just do at least a 6 hour ride at least just once, at least a week before, then just psych up. You'll be fine.
I did a similar thing getting into sportives, like yesbutnobut, did 100 at good pace no probs after just commuting 10 each way every day (ie 100 a week).
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