First metric century

[cycling@42]

I did my first one yesterday...Tour deCure. I was pleased to have completed the ride but disappointed in how I felt at the end of the ride. I was great until mile 50. The last 15 were the pits, with the last five being the worst. It was ungodly hot and humid. I drank plenty of fluid throughout the ride and I think I fueled well at each stop. My husband and son were there at the end to meet me and my first comment was "I feel like $hit!". I was so grumpy, my lower back was so tight and my upper back between my shoulder blades was sore. No bottom pain though! I recovered pretty quick, within 15 minutes. Then I ate pasta, salad and bread, drank more water. I was really surprised that I was not "dead" for the rest of the day. I was incredibly hungry and ate tons and drank tons of water, just lazed around, took a cat nap, and was able to stay awake and engaged with the family until 11. I slept great and woke up without any soreness. Today I did not ride but plan on riding tomorrow. The ride took me 4.5 hours, which is right on for my avg speed...14.4 mph. I'm slow but steady. I ride a Lemond Buenos Aires and love it.

Do you think my "discomfort" was due to lack of training? I have been riding regularly since March to prep for this. I've been riding for around 4 years with one year off for cancer treatments. That finished in October. Could it be due to lack of strength...like in my abs, lower back or upper back? I'm small framed and around 118, age 45. I currently do no strength training, just ride and sometimes abs. I stretch each time I ride. Because of how I finished yesterday, I'm in no hurry to do another but I know I will want to in the not so distant future. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Pedal Wench]

If you recovered in 15 minutes, it sounds to me (with my VERY limited experience) like you just needed to take a break for food, rest, and water during the ride. And - congrats on a ride for a great cause - the one in Georgia was a few weeks ago - we had horrible rain, so it could have been worse!

[jobob]

Well, first of all, congratulations! You should be very proud of yourself. That's a great achievement !

What was your longest ride prior to that? Four and a half hours is a lot of time in the saddle - I don't mean to imply that *you* took a lot of time, I'm just saying that it's a long time to be in that sort of position. Perhaps your body just isn't used to that kind of abuse yet. The fact that you recovered so quickly bodes well.

Just some thoughts - did you take occasional short breaks during the ride to strech and move your back and shoulders a bit? While you were riding, did you vary your riding position from time to time (sit up more, that sort of thing)? I find that if I stay in the same position over a long period of time my back gets a bit creaky, so I try to vary my position during the ride (hands on the top of the bars for a more upright position, hands on the lower drops for a more streched position). Also, did you eat and drink regularly during the ride itself ? [oops, sorry, I see from your post you did - nevermind]

Is your bike set up in an "aggressive" position, with your handlebars much lower than your seat? Being streched out like that can play havoc on one's back and shoulders over a long ride. You might want to consider raising your handlebars to see if that improves your comfort over longer rides.

Finally, you might want to look into an exercise routine for strengthening your "core" - particularly your lower back and abdominal muscles, which are very important especially for longer distances. People in this forum have recommended yoga and pilates. Coincidentally, I'm taking a pilates class starting tomorrow, for that very reason.

All in all though, I think you're doing fine.

- Jo.

[Trek420]

congratulations! you should indeed feel proud, that's a great acheivement.

sounds like the heat was a factor, that takes a lot out of ya, and it takes a while to find out all the things that keep us comfy on a bike (oh heck, just go out and buy a Riv). The fact you recovered quickly bodes well, think you're doing great.

One thing I learned on the ride from Bike Goddess is she said something like this to me "I treat every ride as a training ride".

In other words each ride, longest or shortest you're asking yourself "how'd that diet work? is there anything that hurts and what can i do to fix that? How's the bike performing? What's that squeek? Oh, that's my knee." and you're always tweaking all these things so that bike, body, it all works...hopefully.

If you had a pledge goal please post it to

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=2831

just as a fun thing to do i thought we'd track just how much TE riders raise towards great causes this year.

[bikerchick68]

way to go on completing your first metric!!! and ohhhhh do I know that "I fell like he!!" feeling...

if you fueled well, and recovered quickly, the only other thing I can think to add is to change positions on the bike a little more often maybe... I move from hoods, to drops, to center bar thru out rides... and at every stop I sit straight up and pull first one arm and then the other across my body to give it a chance to stretch a little... I also sometimes roll my neck at stops (which can result in you darn near falling over and looking like a complete dork so be careful with that one... yes, the voice of dubious experience here... )

and as mentioned, the heat can destroy you... I know some riders who are fine in heat and hate the cold... I would MUCH rather ride in the cold than the heat... rode one day last year and thought death was surely imminent... when I got home it was 102 degrees at 11AM!!!! took me 2 hours to recover that day!

[RoadRaven]

Congrats... just wanted to add my cheers too - that is one on my "to do" list

Way to go, 42

[CorsairMac]

Congrats on your first metric! wooohooo way to go! The fact that you recovered so quickly and felt great the next day speaks well about your overall bike fitness!
I'm with everyone else about moving around on the bike even to the point of standing up in the pedals. On my long rides I'll sometimes leave my feet @ 3:00 and 6:00 and stand up in the drops, stretches my back and shoulders and hips. I'll also stand in the pedals with one foot down and cock my hip to stretch the back and hip and ITB on that side, sit down and pedal some than stand and stretch the other side.
I also had to teach myself that it was OK to stop and do some stretches and walk around a bit just coz!......since I ride self-supported I set my stop goals about every 25 miles and that helps a lot.

[RoadRaven]

On the stretches, my son showed me a good way to stretch calves, particularly useful at the end of a ride and having to face hills when muscles are tired.

Semi-stand with one leg locked at full stretch, and with the other foot push back, as if you are back-pedalling. Its a great stretch and quite energising.

[cycling@42]

Wow...thank you for all of your support and cheers! What a great motivator!
In answer to some of the questions posted...
My longest ride prior to the 100k was 42.5, 4 days prior to "the ride". Felt great doing it.
I know I don't change positions on my bike enough. I have a tendancy to ride on the hoods and not alter my hand positions. I really liked the posts about stretches while riding. I will be trying that! My seat and handlebars are about the same height. I probably should have done more active stretching at the rest stops. I did not go out on Sunday (the day after the 100k) but I did do my 15 mile loop on Monday and knocked a minute off my time! Didn't ride on Tuesday but did my hilly 15 (climbing 4 ridges) on Wednesday and knocked 4 minutes off that time! I guess "going the distance" helped me in more ways than I knew!! This is very exciting for me! My friend that got me into cycling did the 50k on Saturday in 2:20 and I did the 100k in 4:31. Not to sound like a witch, but WOW did that make me feel great! She was my mentor and now I have endurance I didn't know existed! My "goal" is to be a good endurance rider and fit as a fiddle! Thanks again for all the posts and hurrahs!!