Really struggled with last 10km

ridgeway_swiss
ridgeway_swiss Posts: 146
edited March 2019 in Road beginners
I typically ride around 50 - 80km routes, so far available time and my lardy arse get in the way of going further :lol: Last few weeks as we've had some nice Sunday mornings i decided to head out early and ride a little longer. Today i ended up at 110km which was a good achievement for me although the last 10km was an absolute killer, my legs just didn't work :shock: lungs were fine but there was nothing coming out of the motor and my speeds dropped hugely, thought i may even need to phone a friend but stuck it out and crawled on...

I went out as i always do after a cup of tea but did eat well on the way and did have 1 stop roughly half way through for a bun and a brew.

So 2 questions really:

1) do i just need to do more longer rides, more KM's and overcome my lack of legs, anything else i can do about that ?
2) is stopping on a ride a big no, no ? (not cafe stops) but "my chuffing legs have given up and i need a minute stop"

The route today was a tad hilly and i know that and the wind (as always) came into play.

Comments

  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    110km is hardly a beginner's ride! The weather out there certainly makes a long ride longer.

    Kudos for a big ride in these conditions.
  • david7m
    david7m Posts: 636
    How heavy are you, how much climbing etc.
    I think you'll need more than a brew and few bits for that distance in today's weather.
    Dave
  • ridgeway_swiss
    ridgeway_swiss Posts: 146
    david7m wrote:
    How heavy are you, how much climbing etc.
    I think you'll need more than a brew and few bits for that distance in today's weather.
    Dave

    Now 82kgs (was 89kgs) but need to be 75ish.

    The ascent was 1700m over the ride.

    I can imagine -7kgs but be very helpful :)
  • Alejandrosdog
    Alejandrosdog Posts: 1,975
    You could ride more and focus on driving up your FTP

    But you haven’t told us much about yourself. Do an FTP build period then go out and ride faster.

    110K is almost 70 miles so take something to eat anyway. Work out what works for you and the effort your making.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    If you're not used to those distances then yes you will struggle if you jump up the levels
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,183
    Was considering postin ‘last 5km of my ride’ in the ‘trivial things that annoy me’ thread when I was riding home today. Although I have lots of nice ride options the home section usually ends up on a draggy slight uphill from the east, on a fast unpleasant B road, that I have ridden 200+ times, usually when knackered and out of fuel.
  • ridgeway_swiss
    ridgeway_swiss Posts: 146
    Mad_Malx wrote:
    Was considering postin ‘last 5km of my ride’ in the ‘trivial things that annoy me’ thread when I was riding home today. Although I have lots of nice ride options the home section usually ends up on a draggy slight uphill from the east, on a fast unpleasant B road, that I have ridden 200+ times, usually when knackered and out of fuel.

    Yeah my last 10km in is typically 2 climbs (not big) and 3 drags, energy sapping for a lardy boy like me.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Is it not always going to be case if you ride reasonably hardish the last bit is going to hurt no matter what the distance.
  • bianchimoon
    bianchimoon Posts: 3,942
    No stopping on a ride is not a No No,(unless you're in a race or being paid to ride) stop when you want, ride when you want, at the end of the day you're supposed to enjoy it, there are times when you will enjoy the pain and struggle of the last 10km and feel more of an achievement when you do finally finish.
    All lies and jest..still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest....
  • ridgeway_swiss
    ridgeway_swiss Posts: 146
    bianchimoon wrote:
    No stopping on a ride is not a No No,(unless you're in a race or being paid to ride) stop when you want, ride when you want, at the end of the day you're supposed to enjoy it, there are times when you will enjoy the pain and struggle of the last 10km and feel more of an achievement when you do finally finish.

    That's good to hear, thought i was being a wuss. Here i only see racing snakes that wouldn't look out of place in a Grand Tour :lol:
  • MiddleRinger
    MiddleRinger Posts: 678
    Just ride more. Your legs will get used to more time in the saddle. :-)
    ~ ~ How fast is fast enough? ~ ~ ~ ~ Tempo Cyclist - Tasmania ~ ~
  • ridgeway_swiss
    ridgeway_swiss Posts: 146
    MiddleRinger wrote:
    Just ride more. Your legs will get used to more time in the saddle. :-)

    seems to make sense and more or less what i had thought, more miles must = better/stronger legs.

    the funny thing was that at first it was a lack of lungs, they seem to have improved and now i need to find some legs :D
  • Midlands Grimpeur
    Midlands Grimpeur Posts: 340
    1) do i just need to do more longer rides, more KM's and overcome my lack of legs, anything else i can do about that ?

    As others have said more miles in the legs will help. I would also do some shorter rides (20-30miles perhaps) where you are riding at a harder effort, something that takes a bit of extra concentration to maintain and that you wouldn't be able to hold for more than 90mins - 2 hrs or so. Even though your legs gave up it is most likely a lack of aerobic fitness that caused this, so it is more to do with your cardiovascular system rather than just a case of riding further. Doing some harder shorter rides will improve your aerobic endurance and increase your ability to ride longer distances without blowing up at the end.
  • crescent
    crescent Posts: 1,201
    I used to find my aerobic fitness gave up before my legs did. It does improve the more you do it. Personally, I found that using a HRM helped me understand better when I was reaching my limits and managing it all better i.e. my heart rate hits 170 and I know I can only sustain it for short periods, so I adjust my effort accordingly. You soon get to know your own limits. I don't race but do enjoy a brisk club run or chain gang session and this kind of information definitely helped me improve.
    I think everyone has been in the last few miles of a ride though and started trying to work out which way home has the fewest hills, perfectly normal behaviour I would say.
    Bianchi ImpulsoBMC Teammachine SLR02 01Trek Domane AL3“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. “ ~H.G. Wells Edit - "Unless it's a BMX"
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Crescent wrote:
    I used to find my aerobic fitness gave up before my legs did.

    Think about what you just said...
  • crescent
    crescent Posts: 1,201
    Yep, thought about it, I'm saying I used to get out of breath before I got sore legs.
    Bianchi ImpulsoBMC Teammachine SLR02 01Trek Domane AL3“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. “ ~H.G. Wells Edit - "Unless it's a BMX"
  • crescent
    crescent Posts: 1,201
    Yep, thought about it, I'm saying I used to get out of breath before I got sore legs.
    Bianchi ImpulsoBMC Teammachine SLR02 01Trek Domane AL3“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. “ ~H.G. Wells Edit - "Unless it's a BMX"
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Crescent wrote:
    Yep, thought about it, I'm saying I used to get out of breath before I got sore legs.

    Your aerobic fitness is what dictates your ability to continue turning the pedals. Sore legs or not.
  • crescent
    crescent Posts: 1,201
    Ok.
    Bianchi ImpulsoBMC Teammachine SLR02 01Trek Domane AL3“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. “ ~H.G. Wells Edit - "Unless it's a BMX"

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