Women's opinion please!!

[OakLeaf]

I can't go two hours of hard riding without eating. Used to be able to, can't any more. Took me a while to figure it out. An hour and a half is about my limit.

Whether it would "hurt" you... what do you mean by hurt? What are your training goals for the season? What you do after a long, hard effort is super-important in your recovery. (1) Eat - 300-500 calories of mostly carbs within the first 15 minutes, plus a few grams of protein, and replace any fluids and electrolytes you didn't replace during the effort. (2) Static stretching. (3) Ice any injuries, some people "like" an ice bath regardless, 10 minutes or so. (4) Compression sleeves or stockings.

If you've got a whole lot of delayed-onset muscle soreness, then take a few days of gentle activity to circulate the lymphatic fluid and bring blood circulation to the damaged muscles, gentle enough to not cause any more breakdown until you're ready for some more hard effort (but not excessively hard, next time).

[azfiddle]

I've been reading Nancy Clark's books on sports nutrition and nutrition for cyclists. Fuel for the ride comes from glycogen, and the amount of stored glycogen you have available in muscles, liver and blood is less than 2000 calories (that may be too high if you weigh less than 150). I don't have the exact numbers, but it was something like 1300 calories worth of glycogen in the muscles and 350 in the liver. After that, you've depleted your energy source.

For me, 2 hours of riding uses about 1200 calories, and I am down to 113 pounds, so I probably have less glycogen available. If I do rides less than 1 1/2 hours, I don't need a snack. Now I know why I really need to start eating if I ride more than 25-30 miles, because I have used up all the available energy. Hope that's helpful