Advice for metric

[li10up]

I've decided to try to ride my first 100K next Saturday. Saturday I rode with a group of folks who ride at a very casual pace. We rode a total of 47 miles and it took about 5 hours. We stopped at things interesting to look at and took a long break near the half way point. At the time I didn't think I could go much futher. I'm not sure I can go 62 miles.

My question is...can riding slowly actually make it harder to go 100k? I'm wondering if I should go at a slow pace or try to sustain a brisk pace? I'm afraid that riding slowly will only equal more time on the saddle meaning a sore butt, sore arms and a sore neck (my neck was really bothering me on the 47 mile ride). I know that going too fast might burn me out but can riding too slowly do the same thing?

[TsPoet]

I think riding a pace that isn't yours is tiring. Slow or Fast doesn't matter, it's more important that its natural for you.

[li10up]

I think riding a pace that isn't yours is tiring. Slow or Fast doesn't matter, it's more important that its natural for you.
I would agree with that...but should I slow my pace down a bit in order to complete the longer distance...I've never gone 62 miles before...or just ride at my normal pace?

[natheless]

I would start out a little slow, for the first 10-15 miles maybe... allow yourself to get nice and warmed up, then just go at whatever pace feels comfortable. If you already did 47 miles, you should be able to handle 62!

Good luck and enjoy!!

[Geonz]

What factors make you feel like you can't do any more? Plain ol' boredom? Muscles? Aerobic fatigue? Pain in the butt? What makes you tired? Answer that question and then coddle that aspect of your riding. If it's pain in the butt, then going faster will help that a lot 'cause you'll prob'ly be leaning forward more and of course you'll simply have less time *on* your butt.
That's the part I know about, 'cause that's the part that gets tired for me, but I'll hypothesize about the rest... If it's muscles, you want to make srue you're using good technique that uses lots of muscles all the way around the stroke of the pedal, and listen to muscles getting tired, and be sure to eat and drink right and keep those electrolytes in balance.
Are you a "keep going the same pace, don't stop" rider, or do breaks every once in a while really re-energize you? Recognize your pattern and work with it.

[li10up]

I've never gotten bored while riding and I usually don't feel like my legs sore. It's just a general feeling of fatigue. I usually only ride between 20 and 25 miles so I never take any breaks. I'm not sure how my body would respond to breaks. I did enjoy the long one we took on the 47 mile ride. The short ones didn't seem to help any. There will be rest stops every 10 miles so I don't plan on wearing a Camelbak. I wore one on the 47 mile ride because I was afraid of running out of water (along with 2 bottles of Gatorade). There were a couple of times I felt like tossing the Camelbak in the ditch!! I felt like my back was on fire!! I drank 1 1/2 bottles of Gatorade and about 1/3 of my Camelbak. I sweat a lot! I can see little rivers of sweat running down my shins, my hair becomes wet enough that I can actually wring it out, and sweat drips off of my nose and chin. When I take off my helmet a puddle of sweat runs out - the headband in the helmet acts as a dam. So under those circumstances that's still plenty of fluid, right?

[SnappyPix]

li10up,

I'm no expert, but if you only drank one and a half bottles of Gatorade and a third of your Camelbak, for a 5 hour ride, it sounds like you were massively under-hydrated to me - especially given the amount you sweat.
I don't know how big the bottles were, or how big the Camelbak (I'm assuming about a 2 litre capacity), but given the Texan heat, you should be drinking AT LEAST 500-750ml of fluid an hour. Probably nearer the 750ml mark (about the size of a large water bottle). That should have been ALL the contents of your Camelbank, the two Gatorade and more besides!
Dehydration can be the biggest cause of fatigue.
From what you said, you sweat LOTS, therefore you need to drink enough to replenish the moisture you're losing (without going to the other extreme and over-hydrating).
The Gatorade site has a fluid loss calculator, which might be helpful.
http://www.gatorade.com/hydration/fluid_loss_calculator/.

I honestly think that your hydration may have had a big part to play in your fatigue. And that's speaking from experience - as someone who never used to drink enough, and would always start to feel "flat" halfway through the ride. As soon as started to pay attention to the fluids I was taking on board (along with the fuel), my fatigue disappeared.

[Trek420]

Hi,

What they all sed :) and these are some good tips

www.velogirls.com/resources/publications/century.htm

[Geonz]

Oh, and when I have a "general feeling of fatigue," it always means I didn't have any caffeine.

[li10up]

li10up,
I'm no expert, but if you only drank one and a half bottles of Gatorade and a third of your Camelbak, for a 5 hour ride, it sounds like you were massively under-hydrated to me - especially given the amount you sweat.
I don't know how big the bottles were, or how big the Camelbak (I'm assuming about a 2 litre capacity), but given the Texan heat, you should be drinking AT LEAST 500-750ml of fluid an hour. Probably nearer the 750ml mark (about the size of a large water bottle). That should have been ALL the contents of your Camelbank, the two Gatorade and more besides!
Dehydration can be the biggest cause of fatigue.
From what you said, you sweat LOTS, therefore you need to drink enough to replenish the moisture you're losing (without going to the other extreme and over-hydrating).
The Gatorade site has a fluid loss calculator, which might be helpful.
http://www.gatorade.com/hydration/fluid_loss_calculator/.

I honestly think that your hydration may have had a big part to play in your fatigue. And that's speaking from experience - as someone who never used to drink enough, and would always start to feel "flat" halfway through the ride. As soon as started to pay attention to the fluids I was taking on board (along with the fuel), my fatigue disappeared.
Thank you for your input. I guess I'm not getting enough fluid. I checked out the gatorade link and it confirms it. Yeah, it got up to 90 degrees that day. It was pretty warm. Texas heat, gotta love it. I've actually had the straps on my helmet dry with a thick crust of salt on them...I couldn't believe how much salt was on the straps that go in front of my ears. Yep, I sweat.

Geonz - I ate a packet of Power Gel with caffeine with about 30 minutes left in that ride...and it really did make me feel a lot better! I guess just the Gatorade isn't enough for me to stay energized.

natheless - thanks for the encouragement...I sure hope I can do the 62 miles. It would feel like such an accomplishment for me. I'll start out a little slow like you recommend.

[Nanci]

Don't forget that you did your 47 mile ride, will have recovered, your muscles will have gained strength, and you will be ready to go longer! When I rode 200k, I thought I was going to die at the end- I was the most tired I've ever been, and I was scared for the 300k in three weeks, but it was a piece of cake compared to the 200k! Apparently that's exactly how things are supposed to work!

Nanci

[li10up]

Don't forget that you did your 47 mile ride, will have recovered, your muscles will have gained strength, and you will be ready to go longer! When I rode 200k, I thought I was going to die at the end- I was the most tired I've ever been, and I was scared for the 300k in three weeks, but it was a piece of cake compared to the 200k! Apparently that's exactly how things are supposed to work!
Nanci
I sure hope it works that way for me.

Hey let me ask an etiquette question. I will be riding with a friend of mine who is a bit slower. If I feel like I can make the 62 miles but she feels she needs to change over to the 50 mile route how should that be handled? We are planning on riding the 62 miles together. We aren't close friends but we do ride together occassionally during the week. We really haven't discussed what we would do if we feel like one can make it and the other can't. Is there some type of protocol? Should we stick together or is it okay to split up?

[Geonz]

I fill one of my bottles with iced tea. Around the 50 mile point I take a nice, long hit from it. (Yes, it's warm. It just means you can taste it better. ) I'm close enough to the end that usually it won't make me have to pee 'til then (tho' if the corn's high enough, that doesn't matter).

Etiquette-wise: maybe talk about it ahead of time - figure out where "decision time" will be. This can help a person who's not sure feel a lot better (just knowing "I can bail out at the fourth rest stop"). Ideally there will be a rest stop before the 'split' where you could decide, in which case she could hook up with another person or group that are also going "just" the 50. Basically, "let's meet at the end" is something that happens sometimes. Try to watch especially at the beginning that your comfortable pace isn't a pushing-hard pace for her and she'll be more likely to be able to finish... but it sounds like you already know that.

Some things I've done when riding with somebody slower on a long ride - sprint the last half mile or mile into the rest stop (and if I'm the slower person, I'm the one who takes off 20% and tells 'em "go ahead, I'll see you at the rest stop"). (That's really all I was trying to do when I picked up that guy in my drafting story (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=6313), honest :-)) Or, charge to the top of the occasional hill and then get back togetehr on the downhill. The interval effect is a great equalizer. (I've told people my bike has special gearing to accelerate uphill.)

[li10up]

I fill one of my bottles with iced tea. Around the 50 mile point I take a nice, long hit from it. (Yes, it's warm. It just means you can taste it better. ) I'm close enough to the end that usually it won't make me have to pee 'til then (tho' if the corn's high enough, that doesn't matter).
The corn thing got me laughin' pretty good! The tea's a good idea too. I can't stand plain warm water!

[Nanci]

I agree, you and your friend should discuss what will happen if she only wants to go 50 miles ahead of time. Usually there are so many people on organized rides, it won't be like you'd be leaving her on her own.

Another thing that will make it easier for you is just the fact that it's an organized ride- there will be tons of other riders for motivation, and nice (hopefully!!!) SAG stops with good food and cold drinks. Plus, it's always really motivating to go the longest distance ever for the first time.

If you start to feel disheartened and doubtful about finishing your planned distance- eat something! That can be the first sign of an impending bonk- mental tiredness. Calories can really pick you up quickly.

I also almost always get this feeling on really long rides, at about the 65-75% mark of "Why am I doing this, why did I think this would be fun, I hate riding my bike this far" etc. It used to make me feel badly, until I figured out that I ALWAYS felt better once I reached the 80-90% mark, and now as soon as I recognize those feelings coming on, and accept them, and know that they will soon go away- it barely affects me anymore.

Nanci

[Kathi]

Don't think of the ride as 65 miles, or just 40 miles to go etc. Break the miles up into parts, 10 or 20 miles to the next sag stop, etc. and just focus on those miles. The time will go faster and you'll be at 65 miles before you know it.

If I'm doing an unsagged ride, for example 60 miles, we try to plan lunch around 30 miles. That way there's only 30 miles left to finish. So its 2-30 mile rides instead of a 60 miler.:)

[li10up]

We are riding together after work tonight so I guess we can talk about it then. Shoot, I'm just as likely as her to want to quit at the 50 mile mark. I really, really want to do the 100K though. I hope I don't talk myself out of it during the ride.

Nanci - thanks for the tips for the mental aspect of it. I'll be sure to keep them in mind.

I am so excited about this ride. I just hope it stays below 90 degrees. The Texas heat can be brutal!

[Nanci]

I have a few little sayings that keep me going:

Do, or do not. There is no try. (Yoda)

It never always gets worse.

Pain is weakness leaving my body.

Pain is temporary, quitting is forever.

[li10up]

I have a few little sayings that keep me going:

Do, or do not. There is no try. (Yoda)

It never always gets worse.

Pain is weakness leaving my body.

Pain is temporary, quitting is forever.
My favorite:

If you REALLY want to do something you will find a way; otherwise, you will find an excuse.

[Trek420]

my favorite and the one I use when thinking of walking a hill, I think it's a quote from Eddie Meyrxx (sp?):

"you're faster going than not going"