am i hitting the wall???

Are Tuesday and/or Thursday your only rides? It's possible you lack a good base. Put in some longer, easier 50-75 mile endurance rides on the weekend. Keep it steady. Do it earlier in the day to eliminate heat stress.

Ride lots!

fatcatdogbog said:

i have been riding for several years and continue to have the same problem. i ride with a group and we have a 23 mile ride we do with alot of hills. on tues. and thurs. not mountains, but pretty darn steep. i am 45, female and in good shape and health. sometimes i can ride without any problem. i can definitely feel the hills and it is an intense ride, but i can keep up with the group without any problem. however, i also have rides where i absolutely, totally shut down about halfway through. i dont do anything any different nutritionally pre-ride. i drink and eat the same way all day and during the ride, but some days my body just quits. i might also add that we are riding in extreme heat. 97-99 degrees and this is in the evening, but we have been doing it all summer. these arent really even that long of rides, so can you even hit the wall on such a short ride? i have been reading alot about this and what it "feels" like is that i am not getting rid of the lactic acid, as my whole body just burns and my legs just burn so bad they just wont go any faster. and then i am totally depleted and exhausted for days after. but why does it just happen sometimes and what can i do about it. i can literally go from being the first person finishing one day and the last person the next time. i just cant tell what is causing it. any help would really be appreciated.

Are you warming up enough prior to your rides?
23 miles is a nice short distance but for myself it would take at least a 1/3 or that to warm up sufficiently to get into my zone especially with quite a few hills thrown in.
Also riding in that kind of heat regardless of distance you definitely want to be hydrating every 10-15 mins, you will lose a lot of electrolytes in that heat along with the effort you are putting into your ride.