Riding a Century - TIS question

[Catrin]

I have changed my riding goals for this fall, instead of doing a 200k brevet in 3 weeks, I will ride a century before the winter.

I have found this "wall" at about 5-5.5 hours into my ride. I think it is more a time-in-saddle issue than an actual mileage thing - right now that is about 68-70 miles for me - I am still slow which is one of the reasons why I have put off the brevet.

The more thinking/research I do, it seems to be a nutritional issue than anything. I have begun to wonder if I am doing something wrong in those first couple of hours that I am paying for once I cross that 5-hour mark.

I am wondering if you more experienced riders approach your nutrition on the bike differently for rides > 5-6 hours? I know that everyone is different, just wondering how others approach this. My endurance is fine - until I hit that wall and my energy just drops to nothing pretty suddenly- I think that I am starting to bonk at that point.

[Crankin]

I find any ride over 3-4 hours requires more eating than I think I will need. I get this weird slight tingly feeling unless I pay attention.
Everyone is different. I like a combination of real food and Shot Blocks at that point in the ride. I am also ravenous after long rides. If I just eat the "small amount of protein and carbs" recommended right after a ride, I really can't do it. So, I have learned t give in to my cravings, because they don't go away. I don't eat anything unhealthy, just a lot of good food and maybe a bigger meal.
I find that eating a very substantial breakfast of eggs, whole wheat toast, and fruit helps set me up for a long ride, as well as nibbling on a Luna Bar right before starting the ride and during the first hour.

[sgf726]

Hi,

I have found for the longer rides I need to make sure I eat on a fairly steady basis - usually about every 20-25 or 70-90 minutes. I usually eat a good breakfast - whole wheat bagel with either eggs or almond butter and a banana. On the rides I tend to do bananas, peanut butter, energy bars. I only use the GUs/Gels for races when I can't really stop to eat. I also have found that if I eat too much as once it impacts my performance so just small amounts paced about 90 minutes apart. If its warm I will use an electrolyte drink under 65 deg usually just water.

Everyone is different so need to figure out what works best for you, some of my friends can eat a big lunch mid-ride. I wouldn't be able to move if I did that. I am also typically pretty hungry afterwards so will eat a good dinner.
The other key is the night before. If am doing a longer endurance ride or race I will make sure to have a good high carb meal the night before.

[Veronica]

When I was doing double centuries and my monthly 200Ks I would eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drink chocolate milk on the way to the ride. If I had enough time I'd also eat a yogurt. Depends on how long the drive was. Once on the bike, I drank every 15 minutes and ate every 30 minutes like clockwork. One of the checkpoints for the brevet was at a grocery store and coincided pretty nicely with lunchtime. I'd get a banana, a Red Bull, a bag of ice and peanut M&Ms. I'd eat half to 2/3 of the banana, drink all the Red Bull, and the M&Ms went in my Bento Box since I'd be sick of Sport Beans and gels by then. I prefer my drinks cold so the ice ensured I kept drinking the rest of the day.

I figured out that this was I needed to do on all the long training rides I did before I did my first double century.

I followed this same routine for all the long rides I did. Then I got over doing long rides.

Goodness, I haven't had a Red Bull in like two years.

Veronica

[Pedal Wench]

I have a similar "wall" that I hit about 65-70 miles into a ride. For me, it's mental - I just don't like my bike at that moment and I'll do anything to be done with the ride. I just make sure my nutrition's on track and just push through it. Then I just keep riding. And riding. And riding!

[azfiddle]

Catrin,

My longest ride so far is 66 miles, but I'm training for 109 in November (The Tour de Tucson). The first time I rode 65 miles, I didn't eat enough and got tired and cranky. I also had serious chaffing from my shorts - the shorts that fit fine in October were just too loose by December.

Recently, I rode that distance again, but I ate a lot more frequently- bananas, and cookies that were offered at the aid stations, plus shot blocks and a Luna bar. At around 55 miles, I pulled out a peanut butter and nutella sandwich, and it tasted great and really revived me. I will see how it goes as I increase my mileage.

[OakLeaf]

I need protein if I'm going over four hours or so. Believe it or not, my go-to meal is a tuna salad sandwich (easily available in convenient stores, and my stomach tolerates it fine). You may want something a little more digestible.

[Catrin]

For longer rides I have tried to eat at least a serving of Shot Blocks every hour, and there is Heed in my Camelbak, along with two bottles of Accelerade on my bike. I try and remember to stop to drink the Accelerade every 30 minutes or so, and of course have the Heed available for sipping all of the time on a long ride.

When riding loops, I try to construct my route so that I am back at my car about every 25-30 miles, and then I eat something like a Cliff bar, or a banana/PB sandwich. Both sit on my stomach well, and Shot Blocs sit fine, better than other things of that type.

I've read that it is important what you eat the first 3 hours of a long ride for that sets you up for later. It may be that I am not getting enough calories in those first couple of hours. I will admit that I find that I stop less often now that I am clipped in - am still retraining my body HOW to stop and it is easier just to keep going...

[nscrbug]

I have done 4 centuries so far this year. Two of which seemed easy and effortless...the other 2, not so much. The key for me, is that I never plan to do a century when I set out on a ride. Because knowing that I have 100 miles to ride at the start of a ride, will totally get myself psyched out and I won't be able to do it. All of my centuries happened when I just decide on a whim, at a certain point in my ride (usually around the 75 or 80 mile mark), that I've come this far so surely I can crank out another 15 or 20 miles. I too, struggle with dialing in my nutrition correctly on long rides. I start every ride out with a big bowl of plain oatmeal with a small sliced banana in it, a small dollop of natural PB, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Sometimes, I will also have a hard-boiled egg white.

On long rides, frequent rest stops are key for me. I only bring 1 21oz. bottle filled with some type of electrolyte drink like Heed or GU20. My routes always take me past many gas stations, so I always plan on refilling my bottle whenever we stop. At stops, I usually refill with G2, diluted Gatorade, or plain water...and lots of ice. I will nibble on something, too...depends on what I bring along with me. I always bring a package of some type of energy "chew" like Shot Blocs, Honey Stingers, Sport Beans, or Luna Moons. In addition to that, I also bring either some "mini" Lara Bars or I'll cut up a standard Clif Bar into 4 smaller pieces and will eat 2 pieces at each stop. And finally, depending on how I feel...I sometimes bring a PB & Honey Uncrustable (soooo yummy!). Sometimes I end up eating everything I bring....sometimes not. All depends on what my body needs on any given day.

[GLC1968]

You know, I used to have a similiar problem on long rides. Right around mile 60 or 65, I'd just lose all energy and it felt like just keeping the pedals moving was a massive effort. I was with my husband for all of those rides and each time, he'd keep me going. Usually about 15 miles later, my energy would return and I'd feel fine. I have no idea if it was nutrition or what and I never really studied it much because I just knew that if I kept pushing, I'd get past it. It happened on every ride over 70 miles or so.

The funny thing is, my longest ride this year was at Crater Lake. We did ~78 miles and I never hit that bad spot at all. I was tired and my saddle was killing me, but I never lost all my energy. The main difference between that ride and others I've done was both what I ate and when. For the Crater Lake Century, I ate at every rest stop and they were really well placed for my stomach. I swear my tummy would grumble and I would think 'hmmm, I'm hungry again' and BAM, there was the next rest stop. Because I was in the midst of a weight loss challenge, I was careful with what I ate, too. I had my typical protien oatmeal prior to the ride (same thing I always eat before long rides/races) and then at each rest stop I would focus on fruit (mostly grapes) and sandwiches. They had 3" subway sandwiches so all told, I think I ate 3 or 4 of those (turkey) over the course of the day. I also had a home baked cookie at each stop, too. I did not touch my own food (sharkies and cliff bars) and my water bottles were filled with water in one and with Nunn in the other. I avoided all crap (like store bought cookies, trail mix, donuts, chocolate, granola bars, etc) and it really worked well for me.

Anyway, I think that for me, consistent fueling of QUALITY food (which in my case means fruit/grain carbs and protein, not sugar) was what made the difference.

[Desert Tortoise]

Like many have commented, protein with carbs to start the day has also worked for me on long rides. Regular rides start with oatmeal and brown sugar. But for a long ride, I also have lowfat cottage cheese. It is packed with protein, a little bit of fat for staying power and the carbs from the oatmeal give me energy.

Also, I get grossed out with too many gels and stuff. I eat dried fruit like dates and pineapple (nutrition label will tell you the carbs) sometimes throw in some salty almonds into the mix. This way a gel pack mid morning and another in the afternoon.

The small protein packed sandwhich after several hours helps too.

Az Fiddle, good luck with El Tour. You'll have a blast! By the way, despite all of the great aid station snacks and water, I took a small peanut butter sandwhich to have around mile 60, glad I did. The fresh fruit was great but that protein hit the spot.

[warneral]

I can't relate to rides this long (yet), but I keep a couple squeeze pouches of natural PB or almond butter (Justin's or Barney butter) in my saddle bag in case I ever need some quick fat& protein

[malkin]

Long rides aren't really in the picture right now for me. But when I was doing many of them, I ate really an astonishing amount. On and off the bike. Ride days and rest days.

[Catrin]

Yeah, I have pretty much realized that I am not fueling enough for my long rides. I think WHAT I eat is fine, just not enough of it. As I am newly clipping in I find myself resistant to stopping very often to do that, so will have to just make myself do it. Of course I could also cut something into smaller portions and put it in my bento box... I HAVE done that with shot blocs from time to time. Those don't provide many calories though.

[Crankin]

Catrin, I am not so good at eating/riding at the same time, either. Well, not so good at unwrapping things, etc. As a result, I also was feeling bad a lot of the time on long rides. Now, if I don't want t stop so much, I cut up pieces of my Luna Bar, or pieces of a whole wheat bagel and stick them in my jersey or jacket pocket. That is usually OK, until a stop.
I also need to eat an incredible amount on the bike. DH doesn't eat hardly anything. He barely drinks, either, and rarely uses any type of energy drink. But, he never feels badly, so I guess it works.