Feedback on Long Distance Cycling Plan

Derf_Smeggle

The plan: 66 miles (106km). Ride broken half with hour martial arts class and lunch between. Riding a hybrid and avg speed sits around 12-13.5mph. Two 24 ounce water bottles.

The Strategy:
Breakfast on an egg, sweet potato w/butter, and quinoa/black bean mix. 600-750 calories.

Smidge under 3 hours estimated down. 2 stops down planned for 300 calorie snacks with 50 - 60g carbs per.

Arrival and snack before class. 1 hour class. Couple hours for lunch. Not sure where we're going, but there will be plenty to eat. Refill water bottles.

Estimating 3.5 to 4 hours back because hills. Snacks for 3 stops planned, similar profile as above.

Cash and card in case I need extra pit stop.

Machka9

What kind of cycling have you done up to this point? What is your longest comfortable distance?

When it comes to food, aim to consume approx. 200 calories per hour. How you want to accomplish that is up to you, and it can include your breakfast.

Don't forget to drink ... approx. one 750 ml bottles of water every 1 to 1.5 hours.

And if it is hot, consume electrolytes. You can find them in things like salted almonds, potato chips, the combination of beef jerky and orange juice or in pill form.

Derf_Smeggle

Machka9 wrote: »

What kind of cycling have you done up to this point? What is your longest comfortable distance?
...
Don't forget to drink ... approx. one 750 ml bottles of water every 1 to 1.5 hours.
...
And if it is hot, consume electrolytes. You can find them in things like salted almonds, potato chips, the combination of beef jerky and orange juice or in pill form.

I typically cycle 10 to 20 miles 3-4x/week.

Did a 35 mile ride earlier this week as a little test. Very little post ride soreness in the following 48hrs. I mean surprisingly little! Encouraged me to green light pushing myself.

This will be my longest distance in one day. Did a half century last year, but we didn't pack much for snacks because the route was cyclists "friendly" on food choices/availability.

Packed some dehydrated bananas for the potassium, and the other snacks all have some salt in them.

Machka9

Derf_Smeggle wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

What kind of cycling have you done up to this point? What is your longest comfortable distance?
...
Don't forget to drink ... approx. one 750 ml bottles of water every 1 to 1.5 hours.
...
And if it is hot, consume electrolytes. You can find them in things like salted almonds, potato chips, the combination of beef jerky and orange juice or in pill form.

I typically cycle 10 to 20 miles 3-4x/week.

Did a 35 mile ride earlier this week as a little test. Very little post ride soreness in the following 48hrs. I mean surprisingly little! Encouraged me to green light pushing myself.

This will be my longest distance in one day. Did a half century last year, but we didn't pack much for snacks because the route was cyclists "friendly" on food choices/availability.

Packed some dehydrated bananas for the potassium, and the other snacks all have some salt in them.

Can you do a 40-50 mile ride before you do this one?

Otherwise what you have planned sounds doable.

Derf_Smeggle

Machka9 wrote: »

Can you do a 40-50 mile ride before you do this one?

Otherwise what you have planned sounds doable.

Did it. Bang on 66 miles round trip. Very easy first half in the morning

Hit a minor snag. The temp hit 89°F in the afternoon during the ride home. Fuuu@&!! It was hot!

Ran short on water in a business dead zone for about 6 miles. Very happy to see a gas station for a 15 min rest and rehydration stop.

Other than that, great times. Pedaled with a group of serious cyclists out for a "stroll" for few miles toward the end. They were a little incredulous that I was doing that distance on a heavier, thicker-tired hybrid.

JessM822

Sounds pretty solid to me. My only opinion is spread out your calories for each hour. Try not to eat all of them at once. If your stomach can handle it then go for it. Everyone's body is different. During my marathons I'll have a Red Bull at mile 17 and people look at me like I'm crazy. Even took a White Castle from a spectator one time and learned very fast not to do that again.

Machka9

Derf_Smeggle wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

Can you do a 40-50 mile ride before you do this one?

Otherwise what you have planned sounds doable.

Did it. Bang on 66 miles round trip. Very easy first half in the morning

Hit a minor snag. The temp hit 89°F in the afternoon during the ride home. Fuuu@&!! It was hot!

Ran short on water in a business dead zone for about 6 miles. Very happy to see a gas station for a 15 min rest and rehydration stop.

Other than that, great times. Pedaled with a group of serious cyclists out for a "stroll" for few miles toward the end. They were a little incredulous that I was doing that distance on a heavier, thicker-tired hybrid.

Excellent!

Derf_Smeggle

JessM822 wrote: »

Sounds pretty solid to me. My only opinion is spread out your calories for each hour. Try not to eat all of them at once. If your stomach can handle it then go for it. Everyone's body is different. During my marathons I'll have a Red Bull at mile 17 and people look at me like I'm crazy. Even took a White Castle from a spectator one time and learned very fast not to do that again.

That is exactly what I did with the snacks. Took 5 to 10 minutes every 60 minutes to eat a little and snap a couple photos. It worked very well. No energy crashes.

Macy9336

Snacks are good but your plan has you eating 300 plus calories every hour all day. You have big breakfast, two snacks, lunch, then three snacks and presumably dinner. Over eight hours, you're eating eight times. Different strokes for different folks but personally I could not eat every hour.

Machka9

Macy9336 wrote: »

Snacks are good but your plan has you eating 300 plus calories every hour all day. You have big breakfast, two snacks, lunch, then three snacks and presumably dinner. Over eight hours, you're eating eight times. Different strokes for different folks but personally I could not eat every hour.

It's a good way to start. If someone hasn't ridden a distance before it is better to overeat than undereat. I would never suggest that someone new to a distance cut back on the amount they are eating.

As a person gets used to doing a distance, and gets fitter, that person can start cutting back on what they are eating.

Next, it is a very good idea to eat once an hour on longer rides. It is a good habit to get into. I can tell you from experience that while it might not matter over 100 km, it does matter over 300 or 400 or longer. As the rides get longer, a lot of cyclists struggle with stomach issues and one of the ways to ward off stomach issues is to get in the habit of eating something, even just a little bit, once an hour ... sometimes more frequently. On a 400 km, I need to be taking a bite of something about every 15 min.

And ... personally, I eat about once every 1.5 hours normally in daily life. That works for me.

sijomial

Macy9336 wrote: »

Snacks are good but your plan has you eating 300 plus calories every hour all day. You have big breakfast, two snacks, lunch, then three snacks and presumably dinner. Over eight hours, you're eating eight times. Different strokes for different folks but personally I could not eat every hour.

Eating hourly can be a really good plan on a long ride. I use hourly reminders and make sure I do eat whether I feel I actually need it or not. By the time you hit an energy slump you've left it too late.
Your stomach isn't at its best to handle large amounts of food in one go when you are exercising.

Hourly snacks is exactly what I did last Sunday - plus 6 bottles of sports energy drink. Felt good all the way (200k) and finished really strong. Most of my snacks were eaten while moving, stops kill your average speed.

Constant fuelling works better for me than fewer large snacks/meals but some experimentation is sensible.

OP - I logged my food and supplements if you are interested. Pre-logging really helps with planning rather than winging it on the day.

Derf_Smeggle

You guys have some really great points, and the reading I've done before hand supports it. The 60g of carbs every hour while riding was pretty consistently recommended, so I tried to followed it. Here's a little additional information behind my higher calorie intake:

Stats:
Male, 41, 5'11", 207 pounds (94kg)
Equip:
Trek DS 8.3**
Chain ring 48/38/28
Rear Cogs 11-32
700-38c tires, Bontrager AT750 rims
Ride:
Miles: 66
Pedal time: 5h07m
Total time: 5h56m (pics, eats, h2o refills)
Calories
HRM Readings had me at around approx a 633 calorie exercise burn per hour. Total calorie burn was roughly 710 calories an hour.

I ride a hybrid because of neck issues; I need a little more upright position. Also, some of where I ride is gravel and a wanted better traction. It's a stock purchase from a summer sale a few years ago, and haven't the money to do more/different.

Ends up that I work a little harder on this bike, but I busted out 66 miles!

** My one regret is the front fork suspension. Locked out for 2 years now.

sijomial

If you feel the need for more than 60g of carbs per hour you can go to a 2:1 ratio glucose/fructose formula.
That boosts your intake to 90g/hour. Longer the ride the higher you need of course.

Glucose and fructose take different digestive pathways.
This explains it in more detail....
https://highfive.co.uk/high5-faster-and-further/21-fructose-and-caffeine/

Many different brands are available of course.

Derf_Smeggle

Thanks for the recommendation.

I will note that my dairy is open too, so folks can look at what I did. I did go lighter on breakfast, and a little higher on a couple of my snacks (Pro Bar is compact and calorie dense).

Macy9336

sijomial wrote: »

Macy9336 wrote: »

Snacks are good but your plan has you eating 300 plus calories every hour all day. You have big breakfast, two snacks, lunch, then three snacks and presumably dinner. Over eight hours, you're eating eight times. Different strokes for different folks but personally I could not eat every hour.

Eating hourly can be a really good plan on a long ride. I use hourly reminders and make sure I do eat whether I feel I actually need it or not. By the time you hit an energy slump you've left it too late.
Your stomach isn't at its best to handle large amounts of food in one go when you are exercising.

Hourly snacks is exactly what I did last Sunday - plus 6 bottles of sports energy drink. Felt good all the way (200k) and finished really strong. Most of my snacks were eaten while moving, stops kill your average speed.

Constant fuelling works better for me than fewer large snacks/meals but some experimentation is sensible.

OP - I logged my food and supplements if you are interested. Pre-logging really helps with planning rather than winging it on the day.

Yep, we are all different. Personally I get stomach cramps if I eat while exercising so eating every hour would not work for me. I've mostly done mountain climbs and long rides over mountain passes so miles wise it's not as long as a century ( which I have done) but I find it more fun and challenging to be going forty miles uphill, then a quick bite before screaming back down ( zero effort other than braking and steering)..the ride down is so exhilarating and such a reward.