Bad cold before first "official" ride

markwill said:

I m embarking on my first official ride on Saturday, a 50 miler starting in Redmond, WA. I have been really looking forward to this. However...

Yesterday I came down with a really bad cold - completely wiped me out with nasal pressure, high temperature, heavy cough, etc. I didn't get a lot of sleep overnight :-( I am hoping that am through the worst of this but concerned about the impact this will have on my ride on Saturday.

I can't say it's a tough ride in the big picture - I know many of you will consider 50 miles a short ride. However, for me it's a pretty significant event. I am a 42 year old chap who got into cycling last year and, although I go our reasonably often (including a 25 mile round trip commute now and again) 40.5 miles is my longest ride to date. I have been confident that I can handle the 50 miler (actually, that's the official distance but I think it's nearer 45) but I don't know how much I am going to be hindered by the complete lack of energy (and rides!) over the past 48 hours or so.

Anyone have any hints on how I can prepare ahead of Saturday? I expect to have perhaps one more opportunity for a ride befor Saturday, which probably won't be over 20 miles and may be as late as Thursday.

Thoughts?

Mark

Flying Wheels? Small world.
Concentrate on getting better and don't obsess about a couple of days off of your bike. You'll be able to ride much better if you feel better. Push yourself and the cold might not go away.
Hope you feel better and good riding its a nice route!

markwill said:

I m embarking on my first official ride on Saturday, a 50 miler starting in Redmond, WA. I have been really looking forward to this. However...

Yesterday I came down with a really bad cold - completely wiped me out with nasal pressure, high temperature, heavy cough, etc. I didn't get a lot of sleep overnight :-( I am hoping that am through the worst of this but concerned about the impact this will have on my ride on Saturday.

I can't say it's a tough ride in the big picture - I know many of you will consider 50 miles a short ride. However, for me it's a pretty significant event. I am a 42 year old chap who got into cycling last year and, although I go our reasonably often (including a 25 mile round trip commute now and again) 40.5 miles is my longest ride to date. I have been confident that I can handle the 50 miler (actually, that's the official distance but I think it's nearer 45) but I don't know how much I am going to be hindered by the complete lack of energy (and rides!) over the past 48 hours or so.

Anyone have any hints on how I can prepare ahead of Saturday? I expect to have perhaps one more opportunity for a ride befor Saturday, which probably won't be over 20 miles and may be as late as Thursday.

Thoughts?

Mark

I Like the natural approach...take [censored] of Vitamin C (OJ), Drink tons of water including a lot of Green Tea, An over the counter could also help and go for it...I would not ride anymore this week though, Spend time off your feet, let your immune system do its job. You can always rest again after the race...and read my quotes below!!! 🙂

Eden said:

Flying Wheels? Small world.
Concentrate on getting better and don't obsess about a couple of days off of your bike. You'll be able to ride much better if you feel better. Push yourself and the cold might not go away.
Hope you feel better and good riding its a nice route!

Thanks Eden. Yep - Flying Wheels. Small world indeed...
I'm feeling a tad better this afternoon. So, hopefully still time :-)

Mark

jaguar75 said:

I Like the natural approach...take [censored] of Vitamin C (OJ), Drink tons of water including a lot of Green Tea, An over the counter could also help and go for it...I would not ride anymore this week though, Spend time off your feet, let your immune system do its job. You can always rest again after the race...and read my quotes below!!! 🙂

The idea of relaxing a bit is certainly attractive but this would put me about a week or so without my last ride, which would be shame. But I take your point - I guess I should be grateful that I got the cold now, rather than, say. Friday :-)

BTW, is that picture you? :-)

Mark

markwill said:

The idea of relaxing a bit is certainly attractive but this would put me about a week or so without my last ride, which would be shame. But I take your point - I guess I should be grateful that I got the cold now, rather than, say. Friday :-)

BTW, is that picture you? :-)

Mark

LOL...No...I love it, I have gotten a ton of comments on it. I was searching the web for a new Avatar and I came across a really cool website and found it...I was like ohh yeahh...I love women and this is just an incredibly sexy avatar!!! 😄

jaguar75 said:

LOL...No...I love it, I have gotten a ton of comments on it. I was searching the web for a new Avatar and I came across a really cool website and found it...I was like ohh yeahh...I love women and this is just an incredibly sexy avatar!!! 😄

While I agree with your comments :-) it is SO disappointing to learn you are a bloke (presumably!!!).

I did enjoy the comment "I love women..." :-)

Mark

OK - so the cold thing is beginning to pass, thankfully. So, a more general question (and this will probably seem pretty comical to those of you who regularly do centuries!!!).

What type of food should I eat a) the evening before and b) on the morning of the ride (and, for the latter, how much before the ride begins). Food stops are available through the ride (is this generally just PowerBars and the like) but I'm not sure what I should do before the ride. No "performance" goals other than to finish without feeling like c**p :-)

As I said earlier, I have done 40 mile rides before so hopefully this isn't a major stretch but would like to come up with a good approach to food/drink for such rides (all being well I intend to do a bunch of these over time).

Mark

markwill said:

While I agree with your comments :-) it is SO disappointing to learn you are a bloke (presumably!!!).

I did enjoy the comment "I love women..." :-)

Mark

Your assumption is correct...I am a guy...

As for your other post...I would say eat a meal the night before that consists of good complex carbs like whole wheat pasta or brown rice, I would not eat anything before the race that contains a lot of protein because the body needs alot more energy to breakdown proteins and this is energy that you will need for your ride. I would load up on energy bars and any drinks that have a lot of electrolytes and viatmins...

Knowing Cascade rides I can be more specific :o. They are good organizers and there is usually plenty of food to go around at good intervals - if you like the brands. Their sponsors are Ultima and Cliff, so you'll usually find at least Cliff Bars, Cliff Shot, Ultima drink, water, bananas and bagels at the food stops. I don't know if there is a full scale lunch stop for the 50 milers, but if there is there will be wraps of some sort, fruit and cookies in addition to the other stuff. I found out last year on the STP that Ultima Replenisher to me tastes horrible (at least the rasperry flavor they had did -tastes like baby asprin- yuck), so this year I will take my own drink mix and use the water.

I don't usually eat anything special the day before a century, but I normally have a pretty carbohydrate-veggie rich diet in any case. I do have to be careful to drink enough and eat enough on the day of a ride and I still struggle with it. If you don't you'll start feeling completely sapped. I believe the convetional wisdom is try to drink about every 15 min, though I know that I have a hard time living up to this. Eating small amounts often works best for me. I've also just been introduced to the power of energy gels - I resisted for a long time -thought I would not like them as I have little tolerance for overly sweet things, but I now think they are awesome little boosts.

hope this is helpful info

I've done plenty of hard rides during a raging head or chest cold. My rule of thumb is not while I still have a fever, and as long as I'm up to getting out of bead then I'm good to go. I don't go out to set my personal best at these times, but sometimes a good ride will realy clear out the junk. Also sometimes a week off can be the best thing for you. You have to ask yourself, did I get sick out of the blue, or did I get sick because I have been running myslef raged for weeks training at the limit. Listen to your body. If you go ride and it feels OK then fine, if not stop or go very easy until you get back to your start point. 🙄

How did it go? It was a beautiful day for a ride!

Eden said:

How did it go? It was a beautiful day for a ride!

Had an absolute BLAST, thanks!!! Yes, the weather was just peachy and I really enjoyed myself. I am somewhat bummed that the so-called "50 miler" wasn't even close (43.4, according to my Polar). But, whatever - still my longest ride by 3 miles so I am happy.

I really enjoyed the hills. The first one was (initially) somewhat scary because as I turned the corner I saw a reasonable grade (I have no idea what grade it was - no "reference point" in my mind) - and a whole bunch of people pushing their bikes. But I sailed up that and the 3 mile hill at the 26 mile point. I really like hills because they give me a good challenge and - assuming I actually reach the top!!! - they can only be good for me!!!

My problem is being too "self competitive" :-) I have no competitive intensions whatsoever against others (simply because I am too old and would get frustrated easily!!!) but I did hope that I could complete the course in under 3 hours (I did 2 hours, 51 mins). So, I basically kept moving through the whole course (only one brief food stop) so I really don't have any sense of what I COULD achieve, in terms of distance, if I take a more measured approach. However, I'm going to give myself a chance to find out in August - I intend to sign up for the "Tour De Peaks" in Snoqualmie and go for the metric century (62 miles). Obviously, I'll have to take a different approach all together.

Anyway, all in all, a very enjoyable day. My first official ride is under my belt - looking forward to many more.

What about you? Enjoy the day?

Thanks.

Mark

markwill said:

What about you? Enjoy the day?

Thanks.

Mark

It was beautiful. I didn't do the CBC ride, but I did get out for the day. Rode over from Seattle on the Burke Gilman trail to meet my poor husband who had to work over in Redmond and then we went out for a little hill climbing of our own.

Glad everything went well - keep riding!
Eden