Hardest thing(s) you found from endurance events?

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Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

I'm thinking about this charity event next year 2019 which is an endurance ride of around 220miles/360km+ (Edited ...gave wrong distance info)
My experience is very low, longest is only about 2hrs of relaxed riding.

I'm trying to get a scope on how people train and what their biggest hurdles were on these longer distance rides...

On your first ever big distance ride (so 200km and upwards), what was/were the biggest things that you wish you had done/adjusted/changed/took?

could be anything from....that better pair of bibs friends always recommended,
that other saddle you wanted to try because you werent 100% satisfied with the current one,
that bike fit by that renowned guy,
should have been able to do centuries (miles) weekly before doing this event...
that better pair of shoes because the current one is just that little snug riding passed 1hr.....
that specific waterproof jacket instead of a water resistant jacket
Last edited by Boshk on Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:16 am, edited 2 times in total.

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peted76
Posts: 433
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:30 pm

by peted76

I'm time poor so difficult to train for long distances without other long distances in your legs.. however I just to intervals, which helps you 'recover' a bit better.
I figure that once a reasonably fit cyclist get's past a point, distance wise, it's just about good fueling from there on in. Your muscles will feel like they've been 'tenderised' regardless.

My advice would be
1) invest in a decent pair of shorts and base layer (I like PedalEd or Rapha for shorts and merino for base layers but everyone has their own preferences).
2) pace yourself, it's too tempting to push on early in the ride, but if you do, you'll pay for it later, keep it steady.
3) stop little and often, just have a stretch and a bite to eat - make sure you eat 'normal food' forget bars and gels they'll just mess with you on the inside on a long or multi-day ride.
4) ensure your bike is comfortable, if you've any niggles then get a bike fit to stop or minimise them, any small niggle will be a big deal on a big ride.

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LouisN
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Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:44 am
Location: Canada

by LouisN

With proper training ( mostly volume) you'll discover (as experiences come by) everything you have to dial for rides that long.
One thing for shure: without proper training, material will do nothing for you. And changing what works for your 2hrs rides will make it worst.

Louis :)

TobinHatesYou
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

I disagree with the suggestion of sticking to real foods. If you are at all riding at a decent pace, your glycogen exhaustion will outpace your replenishment. Your refueling strategy should be as follows.

In the days leading up to the event maybe carb load a little bit. Dont worry about it too much, any excess you’ll store as fat, which is fine.

On the morning of the event, eat a normal sized breakfast consisting of mostly carbs and some proteins. Don’t fill your stomach with roughage/fiber.

Before the start, eat a low-medium glycemic index food like a dense energy bar...Banana bread larabars or something like that. For the first couple hours you want your carbs to be low-medium GI, so stick to bars, rice cakes, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, etc.

Moving into the later hours, start using simpler sugars like gummies, Clif Bloks, etc.

In the final hours, switch to gels if you have them.

Save the real food for post-ride. Make sure to get enough protein at this time.

If there is a designated lunch stop, then of course take the opportunity there to eat real food. Just keep in mind raw fruits like bananas, while popular, will make you feel bloated and won’t supply the calories from carbs you need.

Hydration and sodium/potassium/magnesium/etc replenishment is very, very important. Take sips of water even if you don’t feel thirsty. If your stomach can handle sugary drinks, keep one bottle of that and one bottle of water per refill.

jih
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Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:54 pm

by jih

Tubeless tyres with good sealant. Because over distance, the risk of seeing a puncture is higher.

Use components that you know will work to the end. Reliability is number one concern.

Ride with people you like - it's a long day together and nerves can fray with exhaustion.

Set off with oiled chain, brake pads with plenty of life etc - any mechanical imperfections will be found out over distance.

Make sure you know how to follow the route. On longer rides there's less time for messing with GPS devices.

Marin
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Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

- Eat *all the time*, from the start.
- Everything that hurts after 2hrs will hurt more after 10, so make sure nothing hurts.

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TonyM
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:11 pm

by TonyM

- A must: A bib short adapted to long distance!
(Assos has marveleous bib short for long distance. Expensive but far better than Rapha for example)

- Another must: good tires/ tubes for long distance and depending on the tarmac that you will ride on etc...

JackRussellRacing
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Location: USA

by JackRussellRacing

IMHO nutrition and fitness are fairly easy to adjust in preparation for a very long ride. The difficulty, for me (and many I've ridden with) is simply the mental boredom that can just about bonk your spirits. For me, 100 miles is a non-issue. 130 miles is a non-issue. At about 160-180 miles, I find myself just sick and tired of pedaling and simply want to get off the bike. I've soldiered on > 200 miles, but at that point in the day, I've run out of conversation topics with my riding mates and kinda just want to go home and see my wife+family. That mental 'anguish' is more challenging than anything I've encountered in the fitness realm on long rides.

YMMV

AJS914
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

Is this charity ride a multi-day ride? People that I've know who have done this sort of thing have had a blast.

Just get in some proper training and mileage this year. At least once a week, try to poke past your longest ride to get your time in the saddle up to at least the longest day you'll do on the ride.

Another strategy is to string together 3 or 4 days into a mini training camp - like 3 hours on Friday, 4 hours on Saturday, and 6 hours on Sunday. if you do this once every couple of months it will bring your fitness to a higher level each time. By the time you do the charity ride, the distance and time in the saddle won't seem daunting at all.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

JackRussellRacing wrote:IMHO nutrition and fitness are fairly easy to adjust in preparation for a very long ride. The difficulty, for me (and many I've ridden with) is simply the mental boredom that can just about bonk your spirits. For me, 100 miles is a non-issue. 130 miles is a non-issue. At about 160-180 miles, I find myself just sick and tired of pedaling and simply want to get off the bike. I've soldiered on > 200 miles, but at that point in the day, I've run out of conversation topics with my riding mates and kinda just want to go home and see my wife+family. That mental 'anguish' is more challenging than anything I've encountered in the fitness realm on long rides.

YMMV
+1!

maccpres
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:11 pm
Location: Atlanta

by maccpres

Get with some of your local Randonneurs. Do some 200K, 300K, 400K rides and you'll be ready for a 600K. You'll learn a lot riding with experienced long distance riders. I found that when I felt bad like my foot hurt with 100 miles to go I'd think "oh @$#" I'm in big trouble. Then a quick stop or a slowing of pace for a little while and I felt good again. Stay positive. Also, do some night riding to get your lighting and navigation tested since it's different out there in the middle of the night.

morganb
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by morganb

Definitely do a few long (5+ hour) rides beforehand and see what agrees with your stomach over the distance. I know people that can live off gels but they make me sick and my body handles fruit and other fibrous stuff well. Pancakes with honey or peanut butter are also good.

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

Doping! I'm serious.

I have my own crisis crank which consists of an SCap pill, tramadol, and caffeine. Maybe throw in a tylenol as well. Last summer I worked myself up be able to handle 10 - 12 hours of ride time with little discomfort. I found that at a certain point I would need a lift and found the combination above to be very helpful. I have a spinal injury which is how I came to tramadol, the SCap is just salt, potassium, and sodium bicarbonate to stave off cramps, and the 50 mg caffeine is in a PowerGel.

Be very careful not to get behind in food or liquid consumption. Hard to catch up. If you are big - over 175 pounds (80 kg) this is a challenge. In the actual event in which I participated , I consumed about 200 calories every hour in addition more substantial real food that constituted my meals lunch, dinner etc. but we were going pretty hard as it was only 10 hours on the bike.

Ride the route if you can. Even if you do it in pieces. I find this helps psychologically.
Last edited by Mr.Gib on Sat Jan 20, 2018 6:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ergott
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by ergott

You have more than enough time to get a few centuries under your legs. You'll learn a lot about your body and capabilities after a couple of them. Then you'll have a better idea of what else you need to do.

964Cup
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Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

Don't go too fast, ever. If you go into the red it will hurt you for the rest of the ride.
Eat all the time, small portions - real food or gels depending on your stomach, but nothing too heavy. Keep drinking too, water as well as electrolyte mix since you shouldn't be sweating too hard.

If you stop, don't stop for long; better to roll slow than let your muscles cool off completely.

A 550 is likely to take you into the night, or start at night. You need to have good lights (dynamo for preference) and experience of night riding. Don't underestimate how hard it is to ride through the night - if the plan includes riding in the small hours, you need to practice that (i.e. do a ride that starts at midnight and ends at 04:00).

Find a group. Some people like long-distance solo riding, but having someone to talk to, or hide behind for a while, is invaluable in my opinion. At the very least have one riding partner.

Bike needs to be comfortable - titanium is best - and have easy gearing. I've got a 34x32 bottom gear on my Audax bike, and the guys who use triples sometimes go down to 1:1 or even over-geared. It depends on the route, of course, but it helps with staying out of the red. Add a spacer or two under your stem if you can, assuming you're doing this on your race bike.

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