Home Forums Bike Forum Share your tips for riding further.

  • This topic has 33 replies, 26 voices, and was last updated 4 months ago by zomg.
Viewing 34 posts - 1 through 34 (of 34 total)
  • Share your tips for riding further.
  • zomg
    Full Member

    Tomorrow I’m going to get up early and go for a long road ride. After the first hours I’ll be on new roads to me.

    I’ve chosen my comfiest shorts with a suitable chamois and a comfortable and aerodynamic jersey, and thought about where I’ll stop for food every couple of hours along my route. I’ll follow a GPS breadcrumb trail on an old Garmin Edge 500 as that’s what I’ve got. My route is nice and flat until the last couple of hours, so I’m hoping to carry good speed with minimal effort for much of the day. I’ll take some electrolyte tablets to keep those cramps at bay, and some bars for emergency food. I’ll be carrying a couple of spare tubes, a necessary tyre lever, a pump, and a multitool for emergencies. Aside from that, I’m just going to keep the pedals spinning until I get there, which should be comfortably before dusk.

    I think that if I don’t go out too fast I can manage the (~315km) distance and moderate (~1600m) elevation gain, but I’ll find out if not. It’s years since I rode anywhere near the distance though, and it’s longer than I’ve ever ridden by 40km or so. If it all goes badly pear shaped I’ll divert to a railway station or phone for a rescue.

    What are your tips for long rides?

    Jamz
    Free Member

    I would be planning for a proper sit down meal at that distance. I would do cafe stop at 50 miles, proper lunch at 100, then another cafe stop at 150. I would also take a quick link and chain tool, cos snapping a chain that far from home is a pain; plus something to patch a split tyre.

    Kramer
    Free Member

    I’d also be eating and drinking energy drink all the way as well as rehydration tablets.

    However I’ve never ridden as far as that.

    andrewh
    Free Member

    Sounds like you’ve already done what I’m would suggest, eating lots and often, and I find, psychologically, riding to somewhere is much easier than just going round in local circles to get the miles in

    1
    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    Keep your efforts no higher than zone 2 heart and power for at least the first few hours, unless you run out of gears on inclined.

    Install the Refill app on your mobile, to know where you can fill your bottles for free.

    Put some Calorie drink powder, perhaps one that also has caffeine, in your first set of bottles. Put some more powder in a sealed bag to add to your refills. The High5 mix I’m trying only has ~44g of carbs per 750ml bottle portion iirc, but it means you need to carry and consume a bit less food.

    A 250g bag of jelly babies will give you something like 4 hours of ~60g per hour of carbs.

    Go into Google maps on your mobile and create an offline map area that covers your route comfortably.

    Make sure your mobile is fully charged before you set off and it’s with you for the ride!

    1
    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    Start slow and get steadily slower, eat and drink lots.

    1
    jameso
    Full Member

    The best kind of rides in the summer, good stuff.

    315km, maybe 13-15hrs plus – got emergency lights?

    Perhaps some low fat savoury snacks for the second half or last third when bars and electrolyte drink etc might be getting too much? I prefer normal food for rides like that since the effort level is lower and digesting food isn’t an issue. Others do it on gels so YMMV.

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    Don’t eat/drink anything you’re not used to.
    Don’t set off too fast – it’s always a huge mental effort to rein yourself in for the first couple of hours, especially if it’s flat / flattish to start.

    First time I did Manchester to London (350-ish km), I surprised myself by how strongly I finished, I really picked up the average speed in the last 60km, was cruising past groups who were really struggling. I think the weather in the first few hours (mostly pretty wet) had made me slow right down so I was able to finish well.

    Good luck, let us know how you get on!

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    Take the concept of speed out of the equation. Keep the effort low and steady. Proper cafe meal every 100k, nibble on whatever you fancy from the moment you set off, drink constantly.

    Sounds like an audax event?

    jonba
    Free Member

    Spin, go slow at the start.

    Eat and Drink as soon as you start riding and keep on top of it. I’d also be thinking about a proper (cafe) stop on something like that. Get some real(ish) food in you even if it is only sandwiches.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    The “proper cafe meal” thing sounds good but is the bit I fail at. No matter how hungry I am and how much I know I need food, I struggle to eat enough, so I prefer shorter and more frequent snacks. It’s then a question of being cognisant of stopped time as that eats into average pace.

    I’m a fan of having a number of interim goals/checkpoints and I’ll often make up a table of these with distance and ETA, pulling it out of my bag or pocket as I ride, just to confirm progress. It’s mightily useful when fatigue starts to set in, especially as I tend to ride fairly slowly and hence take an absolute age in a ride of that distance.

    FWIW I think I might still have the FKT for the Caledonian Way, from Campbeltown to Inverness 🙂

    jimdubleyou
    Full Member

    If you’re doing it on your own, the temptation to go in a fast group in the first 50-100km won’t be there.

    Good advice above:

    Stay in zone 2 unless you are climbing
    Climb as slow as you can.
    Eat regularly, stop regularly for proper food, but don’t faff when you’re stopped.
    Maybe think about “chunking” you got files – gives a boost to get them out of the way…

    I’ve completed a 200, 300 and a 400 this year – still got a 600* to go for my Super Randonneur badge…

    *failed on my first one.

    If you can complete it faster than 15km an hour, come have a go at audax 🙂

    1
    jameso
    Full Member

    Maybe think about “chunking” you got files – gives a boost to get them out of the way…

    This is a good one, something I’ve found works well for long days touring is is to break it down into 3 rides. One early am till before lunchtime, one lunchtime to later afternoon, one later afternoon till it’s time to stop which includes a dinner stop. How far you go in each section depends on many things oc but aiming for 3 even chunks helps with pace I think.

    supernova
    Full Member

    Food, food and more food. Can’t eat enough for that kind of distance. I like the chunking advice and breaking it into before lunch, after lunch, evening rides etc. That should help with the psychological hurdles.

    1
    dovebiker
    Full Member

    The problem with a big sit-down meal is that digestion diverts a lot of blood away from carrying oxygen to your muscles, consequently you could feel rubbish for a while. I’m firmly in the little and often refuelling strategy – every 15-20 minutes without fail

    13thfloormonk
    Free Member

    Perhaps some low fat savoury snacks for the second half or last third when bars and electrolyte drink etc might be getting too much? I prefer normal food for rides like that since the effort level is lower and digesting food isn’t an issue.

    100% agree with the gist of this but I would swap it around, low (refined) sugar snacks at the start and for as long as possible. Treat yourself to the sweeter gels/bloks/drinks occasionally and much closer to the end.

    I fuel my longest rides with those Naked vars from the supermarkets (and the Cooperative ‘protein’ balls). These all consist largely of pressed date which is reasonably easy to get down, energy rich but apparently still more low GI than proper refined sugars. Plus Bananas obviously.

    I save gels etc. for the end when I’m starting to struggle. Also haven’t felt great with drinking my carbs as it doesn’t allow you to ‘just’ hydrate. I prefer electrolytes or just water in bottles, and fuel in solid form.

    Macaroni seems to feature high in my mid-ride ‘proper’ food stops. Best was macaroni on top of chips at Dalwhinnie last year, but in a pinch a macaroni pie goes down well!

    aggs
    Free Member

    Just aim for your first “target” for me it where i plan to get water and snacks.

    Then the same for the next target  and repeat all day one aim at a time.

    The distance will then pass , not focussing on the whole distance.

    Keep eating and drinking all day.

    I make sure i can carry enough food and drink on the bike at all times and alternate drinking plain water and hydrating drinks to prevent cramps etc.

    Sounds fab have a great day.

    I prefer to keep moving and stop only once at a cafe in the last 1/3 of a ride like that, if at all.  I prefer just stock up.

    Eat ,drink ,replensish bottles and move on, but I am slow!

    bikesandboots
    Full Member

    195 miles, is not what I was expecting when I opened this thread. Enjoy!

    tall_martin
    Full Member

    At 300k I think I’d like your tips for riding the distance!

    I eat on the hour and set a beep on my watch to remind me to do so.

    I train up for my yearly 130 mile ride. 50m, 50m and finish with a Hilly 90m . Sounds like you are past that point

    Have a great ride

    1
    defblade
    Free Member

    Vaseline on your nipples.

    Or is that just me?…

    Jamz
    Free Member

    The problem with a big sit-down meal is that digestion diverts a lot of blood away from carrying oxygen to your muscles, consequently you could feel rubbish for a while. I’m firmly in the little and often refuelling strategy – every 15-20 minutes without fail

    Eat every 15 mins on a 200 mile ride – pull the other one! You would need a pair of panniers just to carry all your food! Not to mention the risk of stomach upset. And why on earth would you do that when your body handily stores all those calories for you in the form of body fat and glycogen?! Plus, on a ride of that length you really want to be getting a decent amount of protein because your body will start eating itself, not to mention the micronutrients that need to be replenished.

    You aren’t gonna be riding fast/hard enough for digestion to be affected by the meal – it’s effectively touring pace, anything more and you’re just gonna blow up. It doesn’t need to be a ‘big’ sit down meal either, I simply mean more than coffee/cake/bar/snack. It’s as much about having a decent length of stop too, so that you can actually come back to the bike feeling refreshed. Plus you break the distance into manageable chunks which you can the target one at a time: 50 miles, break, 50 miles, lunch, 50 miles, break, 45 miles, home.

    Anyway, hopefully the OP is heading to bed now and getting a decent night’s sleep – that’s just as important as anything else.

    Bonne chance!

    jimdubleyou
    Full Member

    Bonne chance!

    et Bon Courage!

    stevious
    Full Member

    Agree that it’s as much about eating as pushing the pedals. I try and eat every 30mins ish but don’t bother structuring what I eat when – I just leave that to my appetite. If I’m struggling to decide what I want (or don’t really want anything) then I’ll have a gel.

    I go for one bottle of sugaryness and one of just water. Particularly useful if it’s hot for skooshing the head/neck.

    andrewh
    Free Member

    Eating every 30mins works for me in 24hr races.

    Something ‘proper’ in the pits each lap, banana, mars bars, rice pudding, chips, cold pizza, macaroni pie, whatever, and a drink of milkshake or fruit juice, and then a gel or a mars bar or similar half way round the lap. I try to have a bottle of energy drink each lap, and always have one of plain water with me too (mostly just for something different to drink occasionally, but also you never wash an insect out of your eye with Torq twice! It was unintentional, got the wrong bottle, but it does sting a bit…) A lap is usually around an hour or so.

    1
    poah
    Free Member

    e-bike

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    I go for one bottle of sugaryness and one of just water. Particularly useful if it’s hot for skooshing the head/neck.

    I do the same, but I do sometimes take a spare dose of sugaryness in a sachet, if I polish off the first bottle (on a long ride) I can chuck the powder in the already ‘contaminated’ bottle and pour the water from the just water bottle in and find fresh water elsewhere. Two bottles of ick are not always ideal.

    I’ve been taking little bags of trail mix and dried fruit recently, high energy, low bulk and of course flapjacks, knocking gels and sweets on the head… Basically you can run on various forms of carbs and sugar for a whole day if you want, but too much refined sugar will mess with your guts, and eventually you run out and have a sugar crash which is almost worse than a regular bonk (IMO), better to mix it up a bit and get some nuts, oats and fruit and stuff in there too…

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    ****! – <backs away from the thread>

    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    Just a quick post to say I got carbs per 750ml bottle wrong on previous post about High5 caffeine with carbs powder. They suggest three scoops, so that’s ~66g carbs per bottle, not 44g. So approx two hours of carbs at z2 per bottle.

    On a flat route, weight isn’t a significant factor. So instead of 750ml bottles, you could use 1250ml squash bottles, which fit cages nicely.

    You could even fit extra bottle cages on your seat post and carry up to four bottles.

    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    OP should be well into their monster ride by now, but tri bars, for more aero position when safe to use.

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    but tri bars, for more aero position when safe to use.

    Assuming that’s a typo, and anyone wants to, I have a pair that I bought for a 400 miles attempt.  COVID put paid to that so they’re virtually unused.

    fossy
    Full Member

    I did a very hilly 200km Sportive in May. It’s about 40km more than I’ve done before but involved alot of constant climbing (Tour de Manc – Mad Manc). Just ease off the pace. If you feel you are pushing it, ease off.

    I was still riding strongly at the finish. I rode with High5 carb drink (powder form) and replenished water at the feed stations. You won’t have this so make sure you stop to refil. I must have gone through 4l of fluid, if not more. I’m another that struggles to eat anything big when riding, so little and often.

    The only thing I would say is watch your undercarriage. I was in the saddle about 10 hours with only quick stops. I think I bruised or caused a bit of trauma to my plumbing as piddling was irritating for quite a few weeks after.

    fatbikeandcoffee
    Free Member

    Recently came back from 6 day epic offroad ride so good timing to ask – my experiences, but all off road.

    1) The right tyres, not too much, keeps the energy in moving as much as possible

    2) remove excessive anything from you and bike – I even went packless to keep weight / heat off my body

    3) As almost everyone above put eat and drink lots, possibly more than you think, I was doing energy gels I was very used to every 30 minutes as easy to plan and regulate, never do anything new, not anything set up / food – nothing changes

    4) Think about clothing and weather up front, if you can take what you need it saves carrying stuff you don’t

    5) If off road think about brambles and stingers, as if you’re trying to sleep and recover they can really screw you over after a few days of incessant stinging.

    Have a ball and enjoy it.

    I was lucky enough (?) to have time to plan to train so by the time it came around it was easier than expected, which weas useful as my planned route had bridleways in that dfidn’t exist in real life, bridleways that were completely unridable (for 6 miles!), and despite using 3 route planners underestimated total height by 20% but still got through it.

    James

    1
    zomg
    Full Member

    It was a good day out.

    275km (170 miles) in 13 hours with 10:43 moving time. It matches my previous longest in distance, though with roughly a third of the elevation gain. That one was an event (Liege-Bastogne-Liege Challenge 2015) so there were others to ride with whereas this was solo, and I was sprightlier and before kids.

    My itinerary was across the fens from Cambridge via St Ives, leaving them at about Bardney; up through North Lincolnshire to Barton; across the bridge; skirting around Hull and Beverley; through the Wolds to Malton; across the Vale of Pickering; and over the Moors to Castleton. I bailed in Malton.

    Cramps started at about 220km. Probably a bit of dehydration and a lot of lack of recent conditioning for the distance. They improved a bit by 250 or so, but I was very carefully measuring my effort and the biggest hills on my route were still to come.

    Next time I’ll take a cap to minimise sunburn at cafe stop, ideally legs with more miles in them, perhaps a small battery pack to top up the Garmin which died a bit after 12 hours. Water was a big problem: worst case I might route nearer some more towns though I much prefer the quieter country roads. Riding organised events does help with water.

    My shorts (Santini Garas) did pretty well i think and with loads of Assos gunk. I too get chafing under my top, so the reminder was a definite help.

    Tri bars would be lovely for many of those flat empty roads.

    1
    zomg
    Full Member

    I used Komoot for planning the route. It was OK. In a couple of places it chose little bits of shared infrastructure where there were better road options. It also chose a route down Chimney Bank, through Rosedale Abbey, and up to Young Ralph’s Cross, which wouldn’t be my choice over the Moors. I’d rather just go by Blakey Ridge.

Viewing 34 posts - 1 through 34 (of 34 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.