How many calories do you need to replace on a long ride?

[Crankin]

If you are recording your rides on a GPS, then can you look on Ride With GPS for rides in your area, that you can download and follow? Or, if you don't have a GPS, you can at least print out the cue sheet from any ride you see, that you like.

[emily_in_nc]

Congratulations on not bonking and getting your food/drink intake figured out! That's great.

Definitely sounds like clipless pedals would help. I can't imagine riding without them (other than on a MTB on singletrack). I think you'll find you get speed/efficiency gains once you get used to them.

As far as the getting lost thing, if you don't want to buy a bike GPS (and they are pricey -- I don't have one either), I am not sure what to advise. I get lost too, at times, if I am riding in unfamiliar areas. Some people are just less spatially inclined than others. If it's any comfort, my DH, who is really good with directions usually, got lost around 7 times on his way back from riding the Centennial Trail in Washington State. He did not carry a map with him and assumed he could find his way following the signage, but it was confusing. Every time it went off trail and onto roads, he missed a turn or took a wrong one, it seemed. If it's a trail you haven't ridden before and not well-signed, it can be challenging to find your way. So maybe just give yourself a break? And print out the maps and carry them along if you can.

[kajero]

Thanks

It is nice to know I am not the only lost one! My friends all say it would be a bike ride if I didn't get lost! However, they also said one day I might get so lost they may never find me! The positive things that happen when I get lost are I do get extra miles ridden and I will know the way for next time. Hopefully!

And, oh yes, make sure you put maps you print out are entirely enclosed in your plastic sandwich bag BEFORE you put them in your jersey pocket. Because if you don't . . when you sweat the ink on the maps runs kind of making the map hard to read!

[Crankin]

Kajero, buy a plastic cue sheet holder that has velcro straps that you can put on your bar. The map or cue sheet goes inside, you can look at it, and it doesn't get wet. Most LBS's have them, or go online. They are not expensive. And again, you can print out cue sheets from Ride With GPS if you search for rides in your area. I have found lots of good rides this way, even before I had the GPS.

[ny biker]

Kajero, buy a plastic cue sheet holder that has velcro straps that you can put on your bar. The map or cue sheet goes inside, you can look at it, and it doesn't get wet. Most LBS's have them, or go online. They are not expensive. And again, you can print out cue sheets from Ride With GPS if you search for rides in your area. I have found lots of good rides this way, even before I had the GPS.

I have both of these Bar Map holders. I usually use the smaller one, but sometimes the layout of the cue sheet makes the larger one the better choice.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodBM_H.html

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodBM_S.html

As for getting lost on trails -- I've done that too. The feeder trails that connect the main trail to adjoining roads in this area are sometimes not marked well, so you end up making a wrong turn and having to double back. For paved trails and roads, I find it helpful if I can look at the route in advance on a mapping site like ridewithgps, so I can picture the general layout in my head. (For off-road trails, I just have no sense of direction at all, which is one reason I don't go mountain biking alone.)

[azfiddle]

Glad the suggestions worked for you! I read the posts, but didn't add anything. I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal or half a bagel, and start "refueling" about 60-90 minutes in to the ride. 200 calories an hour or so, and I drink an electrolyte mixed with water for my 2nd bottle on hot days.

[kajero]

Woo! Woo! I went riding today. I dunno -- maybe I should put this in a thread by itself. I am SO happy.

My SO and I went on a 14.58 mi ride today. I AVERAGED 14.4 mph! I have never come even close to this!

I did not bonk.


I attribute my successful happy ride to everyone's advice and suggestions!
I got a really night's sleep!
I ate the, hopefully, a proper breakfast one hour and 15 minutes before we left.
I really hydrated myself before we left.
We stopped at 30 minutes and I had a snack and sports drink. (We weren't going to be on the trail 90 minutes this time because I wasn't going 10 mph!)
And then when we got back my Garmin Edge 500 gave me all that neat news!
I also wore sunglasses on this ride and my last ride. Could this possibly be helping with not "bonking"?

We also studied the trail map over and over again. We made sure we knew where the turns were and what direction we should turn! If you look at my ride you can see we didn't backtrack ever.

My ride is here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/565753385

I still don't think I could have done that with ut all of the advice you wonderful cyclists offered!
And I felt so good when I got home I washed my bike. I love my white Ruby Elite but I am not so sure buying a white bike is the best for keeping clean.
Now I have other questions . . .but that's another thread!