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.