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/fl...ss_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

http://www.velogirls.com/resources/p...ns/century.htm

[Geonz]

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