More Food or More Fitness?

Devon Lad

I was on a Club Ride last weekend, and turned up originally intending to do the leisurely 40 miler. However, as it was a cracking day, I decided to hop on the 65 mile ride across some beautiful but punishing landscape with a markedly higher average speed.

As it was I had turned up to the ride with 2 gels, a viper bar, and one of my bottles filled with SIS mix. Over 40 miles this would usually be adequate, including a cafe stop. However on the longer faster ride, after feeling comfortable and great for 25-30 miles (climbing the hills near the front of the group, doing turns on the front on the flat) the bottom dropped out. I noticed on a long drag that my legs didn't have any power any more, breathing was fine.

The remaining half of the ride I felt ill and only just managed to cling on until I got back. I have had this feeling on other occasions, however it was not halfway through a ride and usually when I had been smashing it over a short 30km route.

The point is, does this sound like something I can attribute to lack of conditioning? Or is it simply not eating enough?

Thanks in advance

styxd

More food!

If you kept pace with everyone then you must be fit enough, just sometimes you run out of energy. Happens to everyone at some point.

Bobbinogs

Sounds like a bit of both. Doing turns on the front and getting KOM points when you are not used to the overall speed/length was probably the final nail in the coffin and brought about, understandably, by over-exuberence . You are not alone though, I see the same thing happen in the first half of most big rides I do (sportives, audaxes, etc.) whereas in club rides folks seem less likely to get swept along at the wrong pace because the groups have a known capability (so a B rider won't go out with the A group without some awareness of the need for a little caution).

Devon Lad

Since my sporting background has mainly been Rugby, this endurance lark is fairly new to me, and I think it is beginning to hit home that turning up with a couple of token gels and a bar in your back pocket isn't good enough! What quantity of food would you consider taking for say a 4-5 hour ride?

As for the over-exuberence, I must admit to being guilty on all counts. If there is a group up the road and I am somewhere in the middle and feeling alright I will bridge it even if it will all come back together in a few miles. I'm also a sucker for the many impromptu intermediate sprints for town signs!

Thanks a lot!

styxd

4-5 hour ride

Its hard to say really. Depends how hard you're going. For example, I never bother with food if Im doing a 40miler, I just take a bottle of water.

Last time I did a hard 60 miler I only had a few sugary sweets and I nearly bonked at the end, I could feel it coming on so had to pootle for the last 3 miles.

rick_chasey

Both.

vorsprung

I did a similar distance at the weekend over Exmoor and ate 3 cereal bars, one banana, a bag of crisps and got through a 750ml bottle of weak orange. Mind you I wasn't going at a "markedly higher average speed", I was just going briskly

You probably need to be a little bit fitter to cope with the higher speed and probably need a little more food for that sort of distance.

That's the real reason some riders do "fat burning pace" rides. They aren't trying to get rid of a spare tyre. They are trying to convince their body that it likes to use fat reserves for fuel on long rides instead of having to eat gels/bars etc.

racingcondor

Sounds like you had a lot of fun burning yourself out so I wouldn't be too unhappy with that ride if I were you.

As others have said both food and fitness will help. I'd suggest doing the same ride next time with 3 bars and trying to eat at about 20, 35 and 50 miles. If you keep a caffinated gel for emergencies (incredible what caffine can do you you at the right time) and try to gauge how cooked your legs are after a each attack you should be fine (I'd say don't attack and just work on pace but that's no fun).

Slack

As stated before, a bit of both and not enough fluid (unless you topped up the water bottle at the stop). One observation, gels only really give a short term benefit, so it may be worth considering eating something with a slower burn, for sustained energy.

Which ride was it: 16 or 14? I'm told the pace for the 14 was a little higher than normal, and the 16 ended up being closer to a 17ave for some riders.

Devon Lad

Thanks a lot for all the replies. I think in future I will take more food, and cycle longer distances on my own, but at a slower pace to see if I can steady things out. It was the 16

Thanks again for the advice!