Long ride problem

I'm near the end of my training for a week long bike trip the second week of September. I'm having one last issue that I'm trying to sort out. As my long rides go on, I start to feel not so good. Here's how it plays out. (The hours are wheels rolling hours, not clock hours)

End of hour 1: feeling good, smile on my face, love my bike, isn't it gorgeous here?

End of hour 2: feeling good, what a nice day, la, la, la

End of hour 3: feeling ok, reminding myself to enjoy the view, starting to feel a little bit of a head ache

End of hour 4: could definitely keep going, but wouldn't mind stopping, legs good, but have a little more head ache

End of hour 5: head ache, just looking at the road ahead of me, getting reactive emotionally (irritable, easily very emotional, even teary once), feeling like my ability to attend to cars/traffic/funky pavement deteriorates, legs could still keep going.


During Cycle Oregon, there are 2 90 mile days with climbs, and I'm sure that those will be close to 7 hours for me. I want to enjoy the ride, but it feels like something goes weird with my brain/body chemistry as the ride goes on.

I've been experimenting with food/gels/drinks, and staying fueled helps some, but doesn't fix it completely. (I have learned that if I get hungry, I get much worse, much faster.) I'm well hydrated.

I'm starting to wonder if I should try riding just a little slower. On long days, I have a tendency to want to move along, just knowing that there's a long distance to cover.

Any ideas? My big goal for the CO week is to enjoy the experience. I don't need to ride faster than anyone or get anywhere first, but I really, really, really want to ride with my smile on.

lots of things cause headaches from bad posture( bones pushing on nerves) to tight helmets to dehydration and hunger.

I solved an excruciating headache by loosening my helmet!

some folks get headaches from riding in the heat. sorry; I dont think i can help in any other way; except to throw all this at you.

Just one little thing....I used to get a headache on my bike from the sunglasses I was wearing. Something about how the lenses curved, I think. As soon as i took off those glasses, my headache faded away. Now I wear better sunglasses and don't get headaches. Just something to check out.

When you say "fueled", do you mean electrolytes too? And do you stop at all? Sometimes a couple minute stop to stretch makes all the difference. Have you been riding with others? That helps. I get funky after a few hours when I'm riding alone.
Headaches often come with dehydration or lack of food, but you say you're well hydrated. How many calories are you consuming per hour? At least 250-300?

Hmmmm.... how much are you drinking? You say you're well hydrated, but this sounds in part like it **could** be dehydration... and low blood sugar.

Edit:
Also, have you been training at this level for a long time (over a year), or have you ramped up training pretty quickly? I've never read anything about this, but in my experience running at least, your body gets much better and more efficient at regulating glucose as you train, but it takes a while (several months) training at a consistently high intensity for this to happen. I really noticed this last year when I was training for a marathon, and I'd go for runs or rides with my boyfriend, who was in decent shape but not "training", and he'd get really low blood sugary (that is, not just sore, tired, etc but spacey and lightheaded) far before I would, and he also wasn't very good about realizing that it was happening, until I called his attention to it. For quite a while I had to remind him every so often to have some calories, so we could prevent any catastrophies (he actually had a crash that was basically due to inattention/spaciness due to low blood sugar, so I became maybe a little hyper-vigilant about it). But the thing was, being less well trained at that point, he was BOTH not able to go as far on the same amount of fuel AND not as aware of the fluctuations of his blood sugar/energy level as I was, being relatively well trained at that point (though not now, unfortunately!).

I don't know if this applies for you in any way, but I thought I'd share just in case...

For me, I've discovered that my head must swell while I ride. I was suffering from headaches on long rides. One day I thought to feel for the tightness of my helmet. It was significantly tighter after 3 hours on the bike than it had been at first! :eek: When I loosened it, the headache went away! Hasn't been a problem since.

DH gets headaches if he doesn't eat enough. So, keep up the experimenting with food. Starting out with some protein and fat before the ride will give you the energy you are going to need late in the ride. (Cause it takes longer to digest).

don't laugh, but are you a coffee drinker? if so, do you consume the same amount of caffeine when you ride as you would on days you don't ride? I had a client who would suffer caffeine withdrawal symptoms after 3-4 hours on the bike. we added in some caffeine and all was good.

btw, I'm also doing Cycle Oregon. maybe we'll meet among the 2,000-odd cyclists?

Lorri

Thanks for helping try to figure this out...

The head ache isn't severe, it's more of a marker of the whole feeling, if you will. It starts out as a little tightness, and gradually grows. I could ride with that feeling, but it feels like my ability to pay attention & respond to what's happening around me isn't as sharp either. And my feelings dive. (It's similar to pms, in that my feelings just seem to come out of nowhere & don't correspond to what's really happening.) I feel almost like my brain is sort of shutting down, even though the legs will keep right on pedaling.

I really thought it was blood sugar, so I've been reading up around here & online about fueling for endurance, and trying to pay attention to what I'm eating & when. On Saturday, we did a 4.25 hour ride, and here's what I ate:

Giant bowl of old-fashioned oatmeal w/nuts & raisins for breakfast.

On the ride, spaced fairly evenly:

1 hard-boiled egg
1 banana
1 slice pesto/mushroom pizza (fantastic!!!) minus part of the cheese
1 Clif bar
4 Accelerade brand gels (the 4:1 carb/protein ones, as I was trying to see if this would help)

I'm small & this seems like plenty for 4 hours of flat riding.

I drink 1-1.5 bottles of water/hour, and if I don't have electrolytes via drinks or gel, I take an electrolyte capsule every hour.

I started training in February, and have been building my long rides following a progressive training plan since then. (started from 1 hr sat/ 1 hr sun; built to 5 hr sat/ 4 hr sun.) Even though it's been progressive, it is a big increase in volume over the course of 6 months.

Could it be that I'm riding at just a little too high of an intensity? I was pretty conscientious about wearing a HR monitor and keeping the longer rides at low intensity when I started out. Then I started to feel more confident in my judgment of intensity, and just went by feel & got out of the habit of using the monitor. But lately, I think I've been feeling strong, and wanting to work harder. Which feels good, but maybe I'm going beyond what I can sustain for the long rides... My training plan calls for low HR zones on the long rides even still.

Hmmmmmm.............

to fairly assess if you're ingesting enough calories, you really need to know how many calories you burn and how many you eat. try using a tool like fitday.com. depending on your body weight, I'd say that it doesn't appear that you're eating enough calories for a 4.5 hour ride. I'd recommend replacing 250-350 calories/hour. are you doing that?

Whether you are a coffee drinker or not, those gels with the caffeine in them might help! I'm thinking specifically Clif Shots.

Also, think more about the types of food related to the time on the bike. Fats and proteins first, simple carbs later. So maybe eggs and meat for breakfast (or if you're vegan like me, tofu and veggie sausage), and then once you're riding stick to simple, quick digesting carbs as needed.

BTW, my advice only comes from what I've gathered through all my obsessive reading...

I've had similar problems as what you described- the headaches, moodiness/irritability, and focus issues.

The gels with caffeine offered some relief, as rij73 mentioned.

I have also found relief by checking my breathing and doing some slow deep breaths to help myself relax. Also, doing some on the bike stretches and moving things around (stretching neck by moving head side to side and up and down, rotating my shoulders, etc). And, I noticed that when I start to get these feelings, I get even more tense (even to the point of gritting my teeth), so I do have to play some mental games to get myself in a better frame of mind.

So, for me, it's been a combo of the caffeine and relaxation techniques that have helped.

This is a reassuring thread. I experience in the 4th hour what you are getting after 5. The frightening part to me is how my concentration deteriorates. Or rather, how I have to concentrate on what should be natural. Like keeping my bike on the road and in a straight line. Like unclipping at a stop. Sometimes at the end, keeping my eyes open and focused ahead. My brain gets more tired than my legs!

Having done many 9 hour backpacking days in higher-than-I'm-used-to altitudes, I got in the habit of replacing cals every hour on long hikes. We use a GORP mix which is basically m&m's (peanut), pecans, raisins, and sometimes prezels. It does help with fatigue and listless feelings. It gives a sugar boost, some protein, and some carbs.

I agree with all of the above. I also get headachy after about 5 or 6 hours on the bike. I think, for me, part is dehydration (even though I'm trying to consume waters, gels, gatorade as much as I should), part is overall fatigue. And finally, for me, my body starts to shut down when I'm almost finished my ride (or long runs). Say, for a century, my body knows it's 100 miles or so - about mile 90 I really start to get the headache, the shoulder aches, the fatigue. If I'm doing a 60 mile ride, about mile 50 or so, I get it. For me, it's all a mental game that I have to trick my body because it knows it will be finished very soon whatever torture I'm putting it through. It's the same for long runs too.

Lots of good advice here.

You either didn't say, or I missed, how long you have been riding overall. You said since February, but how many years?

I ask because I used to get a lot more of what you're describing when I was in my first year or two of riding. A LOT more. I did a multi-day tour with rides up to 80 miles my first year, so I'm not saying newbies can't go far, etc. But, I do notice that the longer I'm at it, even pushing harder to do more and more, I get what you're describing less and less. I don't know if that has to do with better fueling, more self-knowledge on the bike, or whatever, but there it is.

Also, and this is probably just due to my personality type, I notice that when I ride alone, I feel freer to just really take care of my own needs -- stopping if I need to, eating exactly when I need to, etc. When I ride with others, I tend to put off eating if the pace is high and I feel the need to keep up, or I just don't stop if I feel the need, etc. In the long run, riding with others probably would make me faster by getting me past stopping a lot, etc. But, the added little stress of a group or riding partner can make me a little crankier if it means I'm pushing, pushing, pushing and having to keep someone besides myself in mind.

Just some other stuff to consider... :)

There are excellent tips here and maybe what they suggested will help you. You might want to pack a little Anacin with you--it has caffeine and it may help your headache.

I found my long rides are much more enjoyable if I stop for just a few minutes to stretch. It also keeps aches and pains at bay. :)

My hubby discovered that he gets headaches because he's essentially underhydrated.

a way to tell if you are getting dehydrated is what color your urine is.
If it's almost clear, you're drinking enough. (of course this doesn't take into account electrolytes)
if it's dark like morning urine... you're really not drinking enough!

Blueskies, I counted up the calories of the food you listed, and it is only around 675 calories, give or take. If it is a 5-hour ride, that is only 135 calories per hour.

CycleOregon has rest stops and lunch stops. One suggestion for when you ride by yourself or with a group, and that is to stop someplace and get a meal. The meal calories are in addition to the calories you carry on you.

The more experienced savvy cyclists will tell you that riding longer distances gets to be more about figuring out the calories and the liquid, what is right for you, what you need to do earlier in the ride to prevent the "fogginess" from creeping up on you later in the ride.

The cyclists I know who have completed the CycleOregon tour always take it slow and easy. They say that the cyclists who hammer out in the first days are having medical problems by the 4th day. Their decision is to go slower, so as to enjoy the tour and last for all of the days. They start out earlier. If they see a road side stand selling ice cream, they stop and have a double scoop cone. If they see a particularly scenic sight, they stop and take photos. When they get into the campground in the late afternoon, they are full of energy and are able to socialize and have fun.

Darcy

I agree that it could be a hydration/electorlyte issue. Perhaps you should experiment with drinking your electrolytes rather than taking the capsules. I get kind of jittery when I've uses capsules before. I now stick to Cytomax.

I'm also curious as to what kind of sunglasses you're using. Do they offer any glare resistance? I know that glare used to both me until I invested in some Tifosi sunglasses that protect against it. My eyes don't bother me nearly as much now.

I also found myself getting post-ride headaches when I first started riding again this spring after the winter hiatus. I started taking some Excedrin the minute the ride started and that did the trick. Eventually, I found myself forgetting to take the Excedrin, yet I stopped getting the headaches. I haven't otherwise changed any of my eating/drinking habits, so I tend to think that I was just readapting to riding.

I'm grateful for your help. The overall lesson, for me, has been that the longer the ride, the more chance that a little issue will turn in to a bigger problem. Attend to the details.

Here's what I've learned:

Helmet: Doesn't feel too tight, but checked in the mirror & the straps are adjusted so that it tends to sit slightly crooked. Am taking the time to fine tune this today. I never would have thought about this...

Sunglasses: I paid attention, and noticed that I have a tendency to squint. Partially a habit, because I have dry eyes. Also though, I had changed lenses when we had some cloudy days & hadn't bothered to change them back when it got sunny again. So, I'm switching the lens & reminding myself to relax my eyes/face periodically. Very helpful, and something else that I never would have thought about. :)

Food: Eating even more. I was talking to my husband about this. He said "Yes, I notice that if I'm doing an extra long ride, around 100-120 miles, if I haven't eaten, I can really feel it." I practically need a Clif bar to go around the block!!! Oh, well. Eat early, eat often. I'm monitoring a little more closely & eating even more. Happily, nothing seems to upset my stomach on the bike, so I'm really looking forward to the CO lunches! And breakfasts! And dinners! And lattes! And maybe some ice cream. Love, love, love food that someone else makes! :) Did I forget to mention cookies?

Drinks: Bought a couple different drink mixes, including GU20 & Cytomax to try... I do drink a lot. Refill bottles at every opportunity.

GU & Caffeine: Yes. This is the 4th quarter miracle! Love it!!!

Being new: This is a return to cycling after a 15 year break, and I'm 48. I was in good shape when I started training, but not cycling. I have followed a great, progressive training plan, but I didn't have a base to build on. (But next year, I will.) And it is true, that as I've increased my distances, the point where I start to feel iffy gets further & further out there. In fact, I've been really enjoying that realization this week as I've done rides that are "only" 30 or 40 miles. Big change since February!

Velogirl/Lorri- It would be fun to meet you. I'll keep an eye out. Will you be wearing Velogirl jerseys?

Blueskies

blueskies, sounds like you are finding out what you need to adjust or tweak on your rides.

I noted some things in your post that I thought I'd make a suggestion or two.

You were talking about squinting. Do you have a pair of polarized sunglasses? It really does make a difference with the lighting. And you'll see the road better. Also, you might want to consider a pair of sunglasses with transitional lenses for those overcast or partly sunny days. You can pick up a pair for about $65 or so.

As for eating on the bike, have you considered a Bento Box? This is a nifty little container that holds several snacks. Since it velcros around the top tube and stem, it will be easy access for you to get your gels and goodies.

I hope you continue to have enjoyable rides and good luck with your distance training.

Sundial,

I'm honestly not sure if my sunglasses are polarized. Probably not. They're the Performance Quattro glasses with 4 interchangeable lenses. I just checked their web site & it does say uva/uvb protection, but doesn't say polarized. I bought them & have never thought about them since. Probably because I was busy thinking about how much my sit bones hurt. ;) Really, the saddle/shorts issue completely monopolized my problem-solving skills until the last month or so.

I've been thinking about getting a bento box. I've got a gelbot, so I can get to two packs of gel without stopping. I usually just pull over for a couple minutes to eat something that needs chewing. Would be nice to eat a bit while still rolling, in the right conditions.

Thanks!
Blueskies