Bad Ride - Opinions?

[DarcyInOregon]

I had a ride like that once, and I whined and complained to my riding buddy (and when she got tired of hearing about it, I whined to myself) the whole time about how sluggish I felt, and how little energy I had, blah, blah, and and it turned out I had accidentally let a huge amount of air out of my rear tire when I was using this new pump I had, which I didn't discover until mile 19 of a 25 mile ride Ahem. Now when I feel like I am really dragging, one of the things I do, in addition to considering the food/water intake, is to get off the bike and check tires pressure and brake (for rubbing).

Gosh, that is funny. Thanks for sharing.

However it made me think of something else that I can contribute to this thread.

Last month I went on a ride with Suzie and Ellen, who are two other TE members. Part way through the ride Ellen starts to drag and is really trying hard to maintain her pace, and not understanding why her speed is going down and it is getting difficult. If Ellen is reading this thread, I hope I am telling the story correctly. Well, I think what happened is that Ellen's saddle pack started rubbing on her wheel, and she stopped, and she realized her saddle had been dropping on the post. Remember, the saddle pack fits under the saddle above the rear wheel, so if the saddle is rubbing the wheel, then the saddle is too low. Ellen raised her saddle, got out one of her little gizmo bike tools from her saddle pack, and with all of her arm strength tightened the saddle clamp. For the rest of the ride Ellen didn't have a fatigue problem.

So be sure to check and make sure your saddle is still at the correct height.

Darcy

[singletrackmind]

Last weekend's experience on a 23 mile ride: Breakfast, whole wheat cinnamon raisin bagel and a banana. Hydration pre-ride, not much. During ride no food as is usual for me and a 70 oz camelback. Hottest day of the year so far caught me off guard.....I didn't drink enough and ended up paying for it with a headache.


I've always got food on hand and will eat a little here and there if I need it. For me hydration or lack of it is what really affects me most.

[dingster1]

For me, I tend to be hypoglycemic, so food/hydrate is a must. I eat something lite before I ride, scared of puking, cereal/oatmeal ususally. THen I keep something like fig newtons or fruit on the bike plus Gatorade. Haven't gotten into the gel things I see at the bike shop yet. If I start feeling a little loopy, I'll stop and eat.

[singletrackmind]

Those gel things make me feel dizzy, especially if I've been drinking gatorade.

[IFjane]

I HAVE to use gel (usually ClifShots) on long rides because if I need to eat while riding they are the only things I can use. I breathe so hard that if I try to actually bite and chew I will aspirate a crumb & be in real trouble. Fig Newtons & energy bars (love the Power Bars Nut Naturals) have to be saved for when I stop.