RideLondon 100- Rest stops?

Hanlev

Hi everyone,
So i got a ballot place in the RideLondon 100 and this will be my first century ride. I'm a bit worried about the food situation as I have no idea how it works for these organised rides. Do they provide food/water/energy drinks at rest stops like they do in the marathon? If so, what kind of food is it and how often are the rest stops? Or do you pretty much have to provide your own? And if so, where the hell do you put it all?!?!

Thanks v. much

drlodge

Not sure for this ride, but I would expect about 4 stops and lots of food/drink etc at each. It goes in your back pockets

TommyEss

I'd expect water and a sports drink, as well as flapjacks, gels and bananas.

Problems however:

1) unless you're in the front few hundred riders, there's a very real chance there won't be much left/full choice by the time you get there. People seem to grab armfuls of everything when they get to feed stops, and then carry it right round to the end never touching it. Very hard for the volunteers at the stops to prevent this.

2) if you drink SIS and they provide High 5 you may not like the drinks much

Best advice is to take at least some of your own food. I make sure I've got flapjack type bars, a couple of gels/shot blocks, and my nuun tablets (so I only need water)

Hope that helps. Check the weather forecast too - remember arm warmers and wind/rain jacket if it looks iffy.

drlodge

I would think with 20,000 riders on this event, there will be *loads* of supplies. Both Sportives I've been to so far have had oodles of food & water. But I always carry my own stuff, since I don't want to rely on food I haven't tried before. So that's 2 litres of High5 Isotonic, home made flap jack and jelly babies. Then I stock up at a food station if I see something that's nice (brownies, gels, more jelly babies).

My first sportive was 800 riders, and there was just water (no other drink), the one yesterday was more like 150 riders and there was SIS drink there in a vat.

fnb1

given that the largest part of the route is through very heavily populated areas, if at all worried about feed there are numerous retail outlest available to suppleement whatever the feedstation or back pocket strategy may be

drlodge

fnb1 wrote:

given that the largest part of the route is through very heavily populated areas, if at all worried about feed there are numerous retail outlest available to suppleement whatever the feedstation or back pocket strategy may be

Only issue with that is the more populated parts will have barriers to separate the road from the pedestrians/spectators, so actually finding a place to stop other than on the road may be tricky. I'm sure there will be more than ample supply of food/drink from feedstations.

Hanlev

Hi everyone,
Thanks for your replies. Really useful and reassuring!
Cheers

bigmat

There'll be a few feed stops and I would expect them to be very well stocked. I usually take enough in my back pocket to get me round just in case - a few gels and some energy tablets should do it. Raced over 80 miles yesterday and only needed one gel (actually, I probably needed two but I got round OK!) plus a litre of energy drink - you'd be surprised how little food you can manage on. I have done sportives in the past where I have eaten enough cake to feed an army - its really not necessary!

Pumpkin Positive

TommyEss wrote:

Problems however:

1) unless you're in the front few hundred riders, there's a very real chance there won't be much left/full choice by the time you get there. People seem to grab armfuls of everything when they get to feed stops, and then carry it right round to the end never touching it. Very hard for the volunteers at the stops to prevent this.

I've heard of this happening but I've never experienced it. My wife rode the Etape Caledonia last weekend and reported that the feed stops were cleared out by the time she got to them.

It's worth being self sufficient just in case, and you could be 20 miles from a feed stop when the bonk comes! You won't need more than half a dozen gels which will easily fit in your jersey pocket. Ignore the advice supplied by the gel manufacturer to eat 4 per hour - I won't start into mine for the first three hours and after that only have 1 per hour.

It's worth having some real food too. Gels and energy drinks are good for a quick 'pick me up' but they won't satisfy you for long. Soreen is good (and you can buy it in little snack size packets), i find it's easy to eat when I'm breathing hard. Flapjacks are good too as they're a good mix of slow release oats and fast release sugar, however I find them difficult to eat on the move as they can be dry and difficult to swallow.

Good luck

Stedman

I am not planning on stopping as I shall be taking two bottles with energy supplement in them, four gels, two sources of energy food and wine gums, butI have already tested this feeding regime out previously at this distance.

One tip that I found that works is if you wrap your food in silver foil, it is easier to get at with one hand behind your back!

drlodge

Stedman wrote:

One tip that I found that works is if you wrap your food in silver foil, it is easier to get at with one hand behind your back!

I've been experiementing with "storage options" too. I tried silver foil instead of cling film, and dint find it much better. I now use a length of baking paper wrapped around my flapjack, in a paper bag with top rolled over a couple of times. Means I can find the top of the bag and then the flapjack comes out fairly easily.

Velonutter

Stedman wrote:

I am not planning on stopping as I shall be taking two bottles with energy supplement in them, four gels, two sources of energy food and wine gums, butI have already tested this feeding regime out previously at this distance.

One tip that I found that works is if you wrap your food in silver foil, it is easier to get at with one hand behind your back!

Two bottles over 100 miles in the height of summer, you must be mad, if you are riding quick, then you will need at least 6 bottles minimum :roll: :shock:

Stedman

Velonutter wrote:

Stedman wrote:

I am not planning on stopping as I shall be taking two bottles with energy supplement in them, four gels, two sources of energy food and wine gums, butI have already tested this feeding regime out previously at this distance.

One tip that I found that works is if you wrap your food in silver foil, it is easier to get at with one hand behind your back!

Two bottles over 100 miles in the height of summer, you must be mad, if you are riding quick, then you will need at least 6 bottles minimum :roll: :shock:

I have done 100 miles before and not got through the two bottles. On the Etape Caledonia I only got though half a bottle and even on 200 mile audaxes I never get through the quantities of fluids that you are advocating.

I am talking about large bottles. Ok if it is a hot day, I may have to take on some extra fluid but our summers are now noticeably cooler.

sunburntknees

Given how much they are charging and how much corporate sponsorship this event has, I would be VERY surprised/annoyed if there were insufficient supplies at feed stops!

islwyn

Take a couple bars (or flapjacks) and gels (buy some in a cycle shop) for backup, but there will be plenty of stops where you can grab more or fill up bottles.

Velonutter

Stedman wrote:

Velonutter wrote:

Stedman wrote:

I am not planning on stopping as I shall be taking two bottles with energy supplement in them, four gels, two sources of energy food and wine gums, butI have already tested this feeding regime out previously at this distance.

One tip that I found that works is if you wrap your food in silver foil, it is easier to get at with one hand behind your back!

Two bottles over 100 miles in the height of summer, you must be mad, if you are riding quick, then you will need at least 6 bottles minimum :roll: :shock:

I have done 100 miles before and not got through the two bottles. On the Etape Caledonia I only got though half a bottle and even on 200 mile audaxes I never get through the quantities of fluids that you are advocating.

I am talking about large bottles. Ok if it is a hot day, I may have to take on some extra fluid but our summers are now noticeably cooler.

Sorry Stedman but if you ask any nutritionist or coach or even a medic they will all say you are harming yourself by not drinking more, the recommended rate is 500-750ml per hour, so unless you were travelling at 50mph and riding for just two hours :roll: then you are vastly under drinking.

You are also affecting your performance considerably by limiting yourself to that level of fluid intake!

Stedman

Velonutter wrote:

Stedman wrote:

Velonutter wrote:

Stedman wrote:

I am not planning on stopping as I shall be taking two bottles with energy supplement in them, four gels, two sources of energy food and wine gums, butI have already tested this feeding regime out previously at this distance.

One tip that I found that works is if you wrap your food in silver foil, it is easier to get at with one hand behind your back!

Two bottles over 100 miles in the height of summer, you must be mad, if you are riding quick, then you will need at least 6 bottles minimum :roll: :shock:

I have done 100 miles before and not got through the two bottles. On the Etape Caledonia I only got though half a bottle and even on 200 mile audaxes I never get through the quantities of fluids that you are advocating.

I am talking about large bottles. Ok if it is a hot day, I may have to take on some extra fluid but our summers are now noticeably cooler.

Sorry Stedman but if you ask any nutritionist or coach or even a medic they will all say you are harming yourself by not drinking more, the recommended rate is 500-750ml per hour, so unless you were travelling at 50mph and riding for just two hours :roll: then you are vastly under drinking.

You are also affecting your performance considerably by limiting yourself to that level of fluid intake!

Velonutter,

Over-hydration in endurance sports is also very dangerous and where there is much research into sports hydration is financed by the sports drinks industry, there is also plenty of independent research which also questions your hypothesis.

I am an experienced endurance cyclist and in terms of affecting my performance, I did complete this years Etape Caledonia in less than 4 hours without stopping! I also noticed many other riders around me with one bottle at the end of the ride with fluid left in these bottles.

Last night I did a 35 mile chain gang ride and I did not touch my bottle once during this ride. I did drink this afterwards though.

Rather than being sold the hype from the sports nutrition industry, I have actually measured how much weight I lose in sweat and it is no way near the levels which they claim, even on a hot day! I have even cycled in temperatures above 40oC!

I notice that your web-site also has a sponsored link to High5 and if you look at their web-site, they no longer discuss hydration in the way that you describe.
Arguably it appears that I am at the bottom end of the scale in terms of sports hydration; however it is what I am comfortable with, what works for me and it does not appear to greatly affect my performance in the way that you suggest.

Also see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4927936.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2965008.stm

http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/outdo ... ports.html

http://news.menshealth.com/overhydratio ... 012/06/09/

http://www.succeedscaps.com/articles/over_hydration/

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/health/re ... hydration/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

Velonutter

Stedman,

Similarly like you I'm an experienced endurance rider, if I used just two bottles over 100 miles I would have extreme headaches and cramp.

BTW we have stopped using High 5 (gotta changed the logo's) and switched to Torq for this year :roll:

If you can manage on such little fluids without any performance or health affects then great, but I would argue that you are the exception rather than the rule and we shouldn't really be advocating that type of approach to the majority of riders.

jimmurray

I'm with Stedman on this. I did the Caledonia in under 4 hours on a single bottle as did a load of others. Didn't see anyone stopping at the feeds stops from the groups I was in.

Stedman

Velonutter wrote:

Stedman,

Similarly like you I'm an experienced endurance rider, if I used just two bottles over 100 miles I would have extreme headaches and cramp.

BTW we have stopped using High 5 (gotta changed the logo's) and switched to Torq for this year :roll:

If you can manage on such little fluids without any performance or health affects then great, but I would argue that you are the exception rather than the rule and we shouldn't really be advocating that type of approach to the majority of riders.

However the level of fluid intake which you are advocating is also dangerous based upon some of the more recent research into endurance sports hydration.

TommyEss

Stedman wrote:

Velonutter wrote:

Stedman,

Similarly like you I'm an experienced endurance rider, if I used just two bottles over 100 miles I would have extreme headaches and cramp.

BTW we have stopped using High 5 (gotta changed the logo's) and switched to Torq for this year :roll:

If you can manage on such little fluids without any performance or health affects then great, but I would argue that you are the exception rather than the rule and we shouldn't really be advocating that type of approach to the majority of riders.

However the level of fluid intake which you are advocating is also dangerous based upon some of the more recent research into endurance sports hydration.

Do you have any links to any of that research? I'd be genuinely interested to read them.

To be honest, that value of 500-750ml per hour doesn't immediately strike me as outrageous at all - to call it "dangerous" seems quite a leap - that's, what, a pint and a half! I polished off an 850ml serving of lemon Robinson's with my dinner tonight, so the numbers alone seem hard to believe, hence being interested in reading the research if it's freely available (some are behind paywalls, I know)

kentphil

Just been reading this thread with interest. I currently do 60 miles on 2 brunch bars, rasins, and a bottle of water. Sounds like I'm not too far off what I'll need for my 100 ride. Perhaps I'll look at those energy gels too or flapjack looks good too.

Was also wondering if to have a small rucksack as I thought I'd need a light rain coat, spare tubes, pump etc phone, food. Or just fill my back pockets up? I'd be a long way from home is anything went wrong.

bikergirl17

I also second being careful about under hydration -- especially if not used to cycling long distances. I had a really bad accident after passing out from insufficient fluids ... and, stupidly, two subsequent episodes where I've had to pull out of rides as close to that point. I think it would be very hard to over-hydrate (more likely is over eating!)

chrisaonabike

I did 70 miles at the weekend on 2x600ml bottles, one with water and an electrolyte tablet (taste test), the other with fruit juice diluted 4:1 with water.

One bottle was empty, the fruit juice bottle was about 1/3 full at the end. I had a glass of water when I got home.

Admittedly, it wasn't ultra hot, but I sometimes think people confuse a dry mouth with dehydration.

rich_e

KentPhil wrote:

Was also wondering if to have a small rucksack as I thought I'd need a light rain coat, spare tubes, pump etc phone, food. Or just fill my back pockets up? I'd be a long way from home is anything went wrong.

Its probably a bit of a pain to cycle with a rucksack for this kind of distance, especially if its a hot day, you lose the breathability from the back of your jersey.

You should be able to fit everything you need in a jersey and small saddle bag.
A couple of spare tubes, puncture repair kit, phone, keys, money, pump, compressed air pump, tyre levers, chain link, multi-tool and food, I always carry those when out riding.

As for a rain jacket, if the weather looks it, then it might be worth wearing a proper rain jacket. Otherwise, if there is only a chance of rain, probably best to just have a wind/waterproof jacket that you can stick in a jersey back pocket. Most of those don't have much use protecting from heavy rain, but might keep you a little warmer if the temp drops.

Remember also that you can leave any items in your race bag they give out at registration before the start of the event, which then gets transferred to the end. Finally, there is also mechanical support available at a number of spots, no idea what they may have in the way of spares, but its there. Plus with 20,000 people taking part you would think somebody might have a spare tube if you get stuck with none left.

kentphil

Thanks for the advice Rich :-) Didn't know about the race bag being transferred to the finish. That will be really helpful. I ride to work with a rucksack on so I think your right that it would be a bit too much for 100 miles.

MattPillinger

Ok, dumb question, but do I need to take money for the drink & food stops?

Also, I'm used to running events where the drinks etc are at the side of the road and hence you don't need to stop, I assume for cycling events you pull into a field or something, to prevent carnage;

final dumbie question - if you pull into stop I assume the clock is still running, ie there isn't a timing mat at entrance and exit of field?

Thanks

Shackster

No, yes, and if only!

Gizmodo

The route map on their web site shows 3 food/water/maintenance areas, at about 25, 45 and 75 miles. The route map on http://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/P ... ey_100.htm

Shackster

There's additional drinks stops as well.

VO2min

I'd hope for the feed stations they've have tables set up down the side of the road for those who just want to grab a bottle of water, some gels and a flapjack. Obviously this would require them to be on a wider stretch of road to avoid carnage. Possibly with barriers so there is a bypass lane and a 'pit lane'. Toilets and repairs will have to be further back. Having to divert into a field/carpark just for a drink would be more than a little annoying.