First organized ride (& other ?'s)!!!

[mandigreene]

My husband and I are joining a group of riders in training for the tour de Tucson...we upgraded to the 66 mile ride (the 35 wasn't enough) What does everyone suggest to snack on?...and although I've ridden bikes throughout my life I'm a tad shaky on my new road bike and have to use a camelback...it's about a liter...any suggestions? I guess stability comes with time? Oh yeah...and building core muscles, is pilates good? happy biking all, peace!

mandi

[snapdragen]

Pilates is excellent for building your core. I've been doing it for 4 years now, although I have a "spare tire", my core is very strong.

Besides water, you will want a sports drink. I carry gatorade, in my bottle diluted 1/2 strength. Other good bike foods are Fig Newtons, Paydays (thanks jobob!), Trail mix (my favorite).

[jobob]

I got the idea about Paydays from someone else here - I think it was emily_in_NC - thankyee kindly.

I really like bagels too - plain Lender's bagels, the kind you get in the supermarket (not to be confused with the REAL bagels one gets at Jewish delis & bakeries in the northeast - whole different thing alltogether) ... uh, where was I? Oh yeah, I like to carry a Lender's bagel in a ziplock in my handlebar bag, it's very easy to reach in and unzip the bag and tear off a bit of bagel to munch as I'm riding.

[Trek420]

mandigreene asked " What does everyone suggest to snack on?...and although I've ridden bikes throughout my life I'm a tad shaky on my new road bike and have to use a camelback...it's about a liter...any suggestions? I guess stability comes with time? Oh yeah...and building core muscles, is pilates good? happy biking all, peace!"

mandigreene check here for good tips on managing your first century, there's also a handy dandy checklist of what to bring (and not to)

http://velogirls.com/century.html

TREK

[KkAllez]

The fun part about tours is the rest stops with all the food! We just carry water and Hammer gel flask on the bike. The last little ride we did I got a banana and he got some cookies at the break. We only did 25 miles.

We are doing Hotter N Hell 100 and upgraded from 25 miles to 50. They advertise rest stops every ten miles and tons of food plus plenty of water to refill your bottles.

If I were carrying food other than Hammer gel, I'd probably go with a banana stuck in the back pocket of my shirt and maybe some fig newtons.

Have fun on your ride!

[spazzdog]

I never liked using the bike mounted water cages. I tend to look to grab or put it back... and off my line I go (you remember me, spazz is the name - crash is the game).

Any-hoo I bought this behind-the-seat saddle mounted cage rig (Xlab Saddle Wing) and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I just reach behind my butt and pull... oooh, that sounds a little weird. But you get what I mean... I hope

Xlabs can be found at triathlon gear places. I use Tri-zone.com

They also have a rig that clamps to your seat post. I had one of those also but couldn't use it on my new bike because of the carbon fiber seat post.

[Maine-iac]

My stomach and exercise have a definate hate-hate relashuionship. I CANNOT eat at least two hours before a ride or I end up carbo unlaoding. I'm a nibbler and it has to be easyily digested. A couple a gus for emergency and cliff bars seem to work for me. Fig newtons are a good one. I never stop for lunch on a long ride. I just can't do it. Sceptical me has also discovered the accelerade does seem to make a difference, especially with recovery.

[aka_kim]

My "humble" opinion (from a spoiled Californian) -- the food at El Tour de Tucson is terrible! Expect only water, bananas, and maybe some oranges and grapes at a few rest stops. You'll definitely need to bring your own snacks and powders along. This race is not the moveable feast so many other organized rides are.

[mandigreene]

Thanx for all the advice...I thing I'll carry granola bars (I luv em) also one of my fellow riders in a class this weekend had a flask of gel...what do you all suggest as the best for flavor? And does it taste as bad as it sounds? I'm not sure a mouth full of Gu sounds swallowable (I don't think that is a word) on a long ride??

mandi

[mandigreene]

Are there any good beginner races (or races with multiple distances to choose from) near Tucon AZ...hehehe with better rest stops than El Tour?

mandi

[Veronica]

The stuff in the flask was probably Hammer Gel. I've never found a flavor I like.

Instead of Gu, we use Carboom. Same idea, but we like the taste better - Apple flavor. I have to drink almost immediately after eating one.

Veronica

[bounceswoosh]

Originally posted by Maine-iac
I CANNOT eat at least two hours before a ride or I end up carbo unlaoding.

Hah! Carbo unloading! I'll have to remember that one.