prepping for longish rides

[jacksonpt]

I've never done any long road rides. I've done a few 4+ hour (solo) mtb rides, but the longest road ride I've done is about 30 miles in about 2 hours. I've been eyeballing a route from my house to Cayuga Lake that I think would make a great ride. It's about 75 miles, mostly flat. I think I could do it in about 5 hours. I figure I'd stop about half way to refill my water bottles, take in an energy bar, and stretch my muscles a bit.

Is preparing for a longer ride like this similar to prepping for any other good ride - get rested and hydrated the day before, stay hydrated the day of, etc.? Should I eat before the ride (I normally have a cliff bar before I ride)? What about the night before... a high-carb dinner maybe?

Any tips?

[DBR X6 RIDER]

Eat alot before a longer ride. Also, have plenty of food available when you get home. You're likely going to eat way more than you ever imagined you could.:eek:
Stretching isn't a bad idea, either.

[The Toninator]

eat big the night before and have a good hardy breakfast a couple of hours before hand. if it truely is 'flat' you dont have to go all out with eating before hand but a little more than a power bar you should have.
also bring some gu (i've switched to hammer gel and flask) 1 flask is good for 3 refuelings which is 2 shots every hour or so.

[The Toninator]

also be a little conservative on your pace when you start and get good and warmed up before you attempt to pick up the pace, if you do at all.
also be sure that there are plenty of chances to refill your bottles towards the end you will probably be drinking more than when you started.

[Wumpus]

Drink more than you think you need in the beginning. Very hard to catch up if you are behind. At least a quart(32oz) an hour(big water bottles are about 24 oz) and more if it is hot.

You are also going to have to eat if you are going to be riding for five hours.

[Reactor]

Every body else has been right on. You need to eat something (cliff bar, gu,, cookie, whatever) every 30 minutes or so, about 300 cal per hour. I don't recommend power bars, they tend sit in my stomach.

You're going to burn more than 300 Kcal per hour, probably more like 750 maybe as high as 1200 or more, but eating buffers your system so it isn't drawing everything out of you bodys energy reserves. Your body only has a reserve of 1000-5000 Kcals of glycolgen depending on your shape and training, burn that all out and you're in trouble. As you increase distance and train for endurance your body starts taking energy more from fat. Eat too much and you might get a sour stomach.

You need to drink, the rule of thumb is you lose a liter of water an hour at 100f. Your body can only process about a liter an hour. Some people go as far as setting a watch or bike computer to beep every 10 mintues or so to remind them to drink and eat. Get some electrolyte mix, most drug stores or health store like GNC will care something. You'll be drinking a lot of water, and sweating out a lot of minerals. Without some electrolyte replacement you may get cramping or even hyponatremia.

Good luck on your ride.

[Serial Midget]

Bring spare tubes and potato chips; there is noting you, a bike and a bag of Salt-n-Vinegar chips can't do.

[DBR X6 RIDER]

Also know your route. Getting lost in unfamiliar territory pretty much sucks ass.
Be sure to pass thru some towns on a semi-regular interval...you don't have to carry a ton of food on-board since you can reload at stores along the way.

When I'm really hitting a wall after several hours, I start to set goals for rewards. Something as simple as "if I can go another 10 miles then I'll stop by the DQ for a blizzard" OR "beer o'clock once I knock off these final 15 miles" has an amazing effect on motivation in a situation like that.

[LordOpie]

Bring spare tubes and potato chips; there is noting you, a bike and a bag of Salt-n-Vinegar chips can't do.
Amen!

[dok9874]

You're going to burn more than 300 Kcal per hour, probably more like 750 maybe as high as 1200 or moreI think 1200 is a bit on the high side. I always ride with a HR monitor that tracks Kcal - and when I did a 44 mile ride on Saturday at a fairly hard pace, I only burned just over 1200 during the 2-1/2 hours.

Agree on the Powerbar assessment - but they always give me gas!

Essentials for a long ride: credit/debit card, spare tube, cell phone. As everyone has said, hydration before/during is essential and a carb-loading night before meal is a must. I used to live up your way, but I can't recall what the summer temps were. Make sure you start out early in the morning to get most of your miles out of the way before any heat checks in. Whenever I do the longer rides, I always throw a couple of packs of salt into my Gatorade mix (2-3) rather than buy any fancy electrolyte replacement stuff. Works for me - but you need to find out what works for you. A must is taking in some calories every hour or so. I use gu or Powergel for the first few hours, then about midway I'll eat something solid: usually some peanutbutter crackers.

Good luck!

[Reactor]

I think 1200 is a bit on the high side. I always ride with a HR monitor that tracks Kcal - and when I did a 44 mile ride on Saturday at a fairly hard pace, I only burned just over 1200 during the 2-1/2 hours.

Good luck!


I burn 1150/hr near my anerobic threshold (168 bpm), and I can keep it up for more than an hour. On a typical 19.5 mile commute, which has some anerobic hills, I burn up top 1400 Kcal according to my HRM.

[dok9874]

Obviously, Kcals burned will depend on weight + effort, but if a rider is going to try a 70 miler, don't you think riding at or near AT will be counterproductive to finishing the ride? Especially if its his first one?

[Reactor]

Obviously, Kcals burned will depend on weight + effort, but if a rider is going to try a 70 miler, don't you think riding at or near AT will be counterproductive to finishing the ride? Especially if its his first one?


I appologize for the confusion, I was just replying to the comment about 1200 Kcal/hr being a bit high. I keep looking at things from racing perspective. You probably want to ride 10-20% below your AT if this is your first time. At that point aren't burning much of your glycogen, you are burning some fat, and the overall energy requirement is much lower.

I've trained for endurance events and have a fairly AT of 168, if I ride about 145-150 I can ride until about the end of time. Sunday I did an off road trail ride, 27 miles with 3000 ft in elevation gain, and rode for about 3.5 hours at my AT, and another hour below it. I don't recommend this if you haven't trained.

[The Toninator]

Dear Asshole,

Did you actually attempt the ride or not? Did you live? How'd it go? You asked in public now the public needs to know.

Yours truely
The Toninator

[jacksonpt]

Perhaps the public should be more patient. Not everyone can just drop what they are doing and blow an entire day (or at least the bulk of a day) riding.

Nope - did a 35 miler to see if I even had any business talking about a big ride. It went ok - had lots of mechanical issues, which I need to get figured out before I attempt anything that takes me that far from home (the flats are just part of the story). I think if I were properly hydrated/rested, 60 miles wouldn't be a big deal, so the trip to the lake is certainly doable - just gotta find the time. Plus, we didn't go to the lake, so I had no ride home. My wife is having surgery on her back tomorrow, so not sure how much riding I'm going to be doing for the next few days.

[The Toninator]

that's cool, good luck. there's a group that gets together down here once a month and puts in massive miles.

This months epic is a 240 miler! I’m going to attempt to hang with the group later in the year when it cools off a little.

[biggins]

drink a lot of beer, start at the bottom of the biggest hill on the ride, smoke a big bowl of the stink then a cigarrette and get going. oh and dont forget not to bring any water so you can lip everyone elses bottle.

[indieboy]

I burn 1150/hr near my anerobic threshold (168 bpm), and I can keep it up for more than an hour. On a typical 19.5 mile commute, which has some anerobic hills, I burn up top 1400 Kcal according to my HRM.

unless you are using a powermeter of some form than it's just basically guessin what you're doing.

[Reactor]

unless you are using a powermeter of some form than it's just basically guessin what you're doing.


And thus the part "according to the HRM" , I use a powermeter in the gym and it's pretty close to what the HRM reports.