Preparing for three hard back to back days.

homers_double · August 2014

On three consecutive days we will be riding 120 miles, 80ish miles and another 80ish miles. Is there any way except riding as much as possible to prepare for this?

Nutrition wise it'll be porridge for breakfast, pasta and a few vinos for lunch supplemented by cake bars/flapjack and so on, I expect at least one of our group to go with gels but they do not agree with me. Dinner will probably be pasta and vino.

Tom Dean · August 2014

Are you prioritising the riding or the drinking?

Jules Winnfield · August 2014

Rapid recovery after each day is vitally important. Immediately after and no more than 40 minutes after each days ride you need to refuel with carbs and protein at the ratio of 4-1 of half of your body weight. So for example, if you weigh 140lbs, you need 70 grams of carbs and 17.5 grams of protein, no more than 40 minutes after your ride to help your body replenish lost glycogen stores and aid recovery for the next days ride.

I would also up your carb intake for breakfast. One bowl of porridge doesn't really seem a lot. If I'm going for a longer, harder ride than normal, then I have 6 Weetabix with 400ml of skimmed milk, 4 rounds of granary toast with a thin scraping of spread and a good dollop of marmalade on each. This is followed with the habitual mug of coffee. Also allow at least 2 hours after eating before you venture out to ensure your breakfast is broken down and your glycogen stores are ready to fuel you properly.

lambpie · August 2014

It depends how hard the riding will be - if it's really going to be fast and tough then clearly you've got to pay attention to your training and recovery. If you are going to drink wine at lunch it sounds like you aren't going to be smashing it all day everyday.

On that basis, you've just got to be sensible. Agree with the above poster on eating shortly after finishing. In terms of breakfast, what works for one person often doesn't work for others though. If I ate that lot before riding I think i'd be sick, you've just got to work it out yourself.

Jules Winnfield · August 2014

lambpie wrote:

In terms of breakfast, what works for one person often doesn't work for others though. If I ate that lot before riding I think i'd be sick, you've just got to work it out yourself.

^^^ This

homers_double · August 2014

Tom Dean wrote:

Are you prioritising the riding or the drinking?

Riding.

lambpie wrote:

It depends how hard the riding will be - if it's really going to be fast and tough then clearly you've got to pay attention to your training and recovery. If you are going to drink wine at lunch it sounds like you aren't going to be smashing it all day everyday.

I'd say a glass or three at the most and I don't think we're going to be smashing it, rather completing our goals.

I think I'll look at soe recovery food, are there bars rather than sickly drinks which do the same thing?

Jules Winnfield · August 2014

Real food is king and is always the best option for recovery, but if you can't get to real food immediately after your ride then a recovery drink such as SIS Rego (other manufacturers are available) would be suitable just to bridge the gap before your next meal. I use SIS Rego vanilla and don't worry, it's not sickly sweet at all, in fact it's quite bland but it does what it says on the tin.

JayKosta · August 2014

This should be considered as an endurance 'touring' series of days - the only performance goal should be to reach the end-of-day destination in time for getting good food, and rest.

Be sure to accommodate the slowest rider in the group - stay together and have fun.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

homers_double · August 2014

It is, hence...

homers double wrote:

I don't think we're going to be smashing it, rather completing our goals.

However I am quite mindfull that at my current level this amount of riding may well kill me so in order to die a bit easier I'm after some tips to recover and prep for the following day.

meanredspider · August 2014

Certainly getting some miles in before will help you no end - the more the better - pace isn't important.

Your breakfast sounds good. Are you taking porridge with you? It's a PITA to get otherwise and most hotel breakfast are rubbish in my experience.

You probably won't feel good when you get on the bike first thing on days 2 and 3. I've found that I've felt much better if I stop for a quick drink and a bite after the first hour. Then I feel good for the rest of the day.

Eat well, drink well and sleep well. And try not to drink too much.

If it's any encouragement, I did my first 4 centuries on the 4 days of London to Edinburgh (440 miles in total). Pace yourself at less than 70% HRmax and you'll be fine.

marcusjb · August 2014

When is your trip?

Getting the miles in is important - the more, the merrier; and try and get a couple of back-to-back days, even if they are only 50 or so miles each or whatever.

Comfort is key - make sure you're comfy on the bike, and sort anything out that is not comfortable.

On the ride, pace yourself (as meanredspider says, keep the heart rate well in check, especially when climbing).

Stretch often - especially at the start and end of each day.

There may well be mornings when you get up and nothing works. The legs have nothing, everything hurts. It will pass and, before long, your legs will return and you'll be back cruising along without a care in the world.

Food and drink - mostly, you have to work it out for yourself I am afraid.

Most of all, enjoy it - especially if you are treating it as fast touring with the long lunches etc., don't forget to stop and look around, take photos and enjoy wherever you are!

homers_double · August 2014

meanredspider wrote:

Certainly getting some miles in before will help you no end - the more the better - pace isn't important.
Your breakfast sounds good. Are you taking porridge with you? It's a PITA to get otherwise and most hotel breakfast are rubbish in my experience.

I was aiming for a charity 100 miler at the end of August with two others but they've peeled off so I'd be on my own and I may as well ride one around here instead of paying the entry fee.

Going to our house in Italy, parents are driving out for a bit at the end of this month so are taking some stuff, CO2 canisters, spares, porridge etc.

marcusjb wrote:

When is your trip?

Early October

Getting the miles in is important - the more, the merrier; and try and get a couple of back-to-back days, even if they are only 50 or so miles each or whatever.

Comfort is key - make sure you're comfy on the bike, and sort anything out that is not comfortable.

Taking our own instead of hiring so that should be sorted

On the ride, pace yourself (as meanredspider says, keep the heart rate well in check, especially when climbing).

Stretch often - especially at the start and end of each day.

There may well be mornings when you get up and nothing works. The legs have nothing, everything hurts. It will pass and, before long, your legs will return and you'll be back cruising along without a care in the world.

Food and drink - mostly, you have to work it out for yourself I am afraid.

Most of all, enjoy it - especially if you are treating it as fast touring with the long lunches etc., don't forget to stop and look around, take photos and enjoy wherever you are!

I was contemplating a gopro on the front but am wondering if thats a bit overkill and just use the iPhone instead.

bobmcstuff · August 2014

Based on what I've seen you doing on Strava I think you'll be able to manage it OK by then in my completely non-expert opinion, but my main bit of advice is you really need to find the time to do a few longer rides because while you're doing quite a few, they're all fairly short (obviously because you're fitting it in around having a life).

As a disclaimer I haven't done 3 days at that kind of distance before - biggest was 92 miles followed by 63 miles the next day (were some pretty serious climbs though) and I didn't find it too bad, it's more in the head than anything else.

How fast are the other people you're doing it with going to be? As in are you going to be the guy who has to nail it to keep up or are you going to get some extra breaks...

homers_double · August 2014

Cheers Bob and yes I know they're short but as you say, thats life...

Head wise I'm confident I can do it all so I just want to help my body recover.

I'll be third out of four in terms of ability but we're all riding as a group so will be at a steady pace. I'm thinking the charity ride I mentioned would be a good idea still, at least I won't be slogging around the hills on my own for 6 hours and it'll give me a good idea what to expect.

meanredspider · August 2014

Riding as a group, done well, will make it an even more doable prospect.

TFC1 · August 2014

I did 5 back to back days in Spain at the end of May after 9 months training (3 months serious training). I think the key things i found are (a lot of which i was told about on here before doing it):

1) Make sure you do at least one or two rides as long as your longest day before going
2) Do a few sets of back to back days to get used to starting off in the morning 12 hours after finishing a long day
3) I was burning over 7,000 calories a day so you need to eat and drink a lot more than you think. Little and often is best.
4) For Goodness shakes are billiant and very convenient recovery drinks for afterwards. Just add water.
5) Find yur own pace on climbs over 5% otherwise you will burn your legs out.

The best tip i found for food was to make sandwiches int he hotel every morning to carry with you to get a break from energy bars etc. I always made a ham and cheese and took a tub of peanut butter with me so i could make peanut butter and jam sandwiches every day... the kinf of cycling foods in my opinion!

I loved every minute and am sure you will too.

Enjoy!

Preparing for three hard back to back days.

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