Long Ride Thinkings

[Jim]

I'm not a super-fast cyclist by any means. I commute to work on bike twice a
week, a round trip of about 43 miles, so 86 miles a week.

Once a year I try to get out for a long ride, to see how far I can go.

I'm slowly increasing my personal distance best, from 130, to 150, to 177,
and to 200 in 16 hrs last year.

On my 200 last year, for the last 50, I could hardly lift my head up, and I
was totally knackered. At some point on the ride, I reached a stage where
anything taken on like food or water seemed horribly not at all like a good
option.

Now spring is springing, I am thinking of going for a 24 hour sitting, to
see how far I can go. Based on how I felt last year though, I will need to
rethink things, like:

a) being able to lift my head up reliably - I wasn't that bad, I just felt
more that my neck was really tired, and it required considerable effort to
look up

b) being able to keep eating and drinking.

The drink issue is one that people have helpfully replied to earlier today.
Food - on my ride last year I had jam butties, cereal bars, fig rolls and
apples and bananas. But I really noticed how the thought of food was really
offputting the more tired I became. Could that be because I was tired out,
or dehydrated (I'm sure I didn't drink enough - it was a hot day when I did
the ride)?

Presumably the head-thing was because I was tired from not earing and
drinking enough.

I've never done a 24 hrs before.... seems daunting, but not as daunting as
entering the National 24 Hr event at Fardon and getting overtaken all day by
speedy men and women on slick carbonfibre space-age machines.

Thanks

Jim

 

[Henry Lockwood]

On 15 Apr, 22:44, "Jim" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I'm not a super-fast cyclist by any means. I commute to work on bike twice a
> week, a round trip of about 43 miles, so 86 miles a week.
>
> Once a year I try to get out for a long ride, to see how far I can go.
>
> I'm slowly increasing my personal distance best, from 130, to 150, to 177,
> and to 200 in 16 hrs last year.
>
> On my 200 last year, for the last 50, I could hardly lift my head up, and I
> was totally knackered. At some point on the ride, I reached a stage where
> anything taken on like food or water seemed horribly not at all like a good
> option.
>
> Now spring is springing, I am thinking of going for a 24 hour sitting, to
> see how far I can go. Based on how I felt last year though, I will need to
> rethink things, like:
>
> a) being able to lift my head up reliably - I wasn't that bad, I just felt
> more that my neck was really tired, and it required considerable effort to
> look up
>
> b) being able to keep eating and drinking.
>
> The drink issue is one that people have helpfully replied to earlier today.
> Food - on my ride last year I had jam butties, cereal bars, fig rolls and
> apples and bananas. But I really noticed how the thought of food was really
> offputting the more tired I became. Could that be because I was tired out,
> or dehydrated (I'm sure I didn't drink enough - it was a hot day when I did
> the ride)?
>
> Presumably the head-thing was because I was tired from not earing and
> drinking enough.
>
> I've never done a 24 hrs before.... seems daunting, but not as daunting as
> entering the National 24 Hr event at Fardon and getting overtaken all day by
> speedy men and women on slick carbonfibre space-age machines.
>
> Thanks
>
> Jim

I've not done a 24-hour bike ride before, but I have done a 24-hour
dance. Some of the issues (particularly nutrition!) are similar:
- remember to take on enough salt. This is a big stumbling block.
- balance between steady-release and rapid boost foods. I tend to
rely on a huge breakfast of pasta and cheese when I'm doing any 60+;
that tends to mean I don't need to eat on the trip (just drink water).

I think the inability to make muscles do what you tell them could be
dehydration or salt imbalance: in my 24-hour dance, there was a stage
when two of my toes spontaneously crossed over and wouldn't uncross.
It's surprisingly difficult to stand, let alone dance, under such
conditions! You may have been experiencing something similar.

Best of luck!

Henry

 

[Chris Smith]

Jim wrote:
>
> b) being able to keep eating and drinking.
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Jim
>
>

<puts on randonneur's hat>

That's the knack. Most randonneurs will tell you that being able to keep
eating is probably *the* key to a comfortable, successful ride.

By riding more long distances, you can train your body to burn fat more
efficiently. Once I get to the point in a season where I can ride a
100km early morning ride before breakfast, without bonking, I know my
fat burning is "on song". Time in the saddle will help toughen up those
bits that start hurting; backside, neck, wrists and so on.

I rode a 600km audax last year where my eating went wrong, and I had a
few really tough hours from about midnight to 3am. I didn't feel ill or
anything, but food would just go round and round in my mouth. After a
couple of hours sleep and some help from fellow riders I was able to
start eating again, and went on to complete the ride.

Eat small amounts, regularly. Practice with different things to find
what works for you. If I feel I'm getting a bit strung out, a pint of
milk and a Mars Bar can work wonders. I usually have a bag of Jelly
Babies with me, and some flapjack. Flapjack is food of the gods - sweet
for a quick burst of energy, and oaty for more sustained calories.

Generally, though I snack quite often on a randonnee, I won't eat much
more than I would if I were at home, or work. I have breakfast before
the start, stop for a light lunch around midday, and on 300+ rides will
stop again for something dinnerish in the evening. Night time can be
hard though, as are hilly rides where one is working harder.

Good Luck!

Chris

 

[_]

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:44:40 +0100, Jim wrote:


>
> a) being able to lift my head up reliably - I wasn't that bad, I just felt
> more that my neck was really tired, and it required considerable effort to
> look up
>
> b) being able to keep eating and drinking.
>


Recumbent.

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 16, 6:44 am, "Jim" <[email protected]> wrote:

> a) being able to lift my head up reliably - I wasn't that bad, I just felt
> more that my neck was really tired, and it required considerable effort to
> look up


If you usually wear a helmet, try going without. I found this improved
my neck pains (originally due to an old injury) substantially.

James

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>, _
[email protected] says...
> On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:44:40 +0100, Jim wrote:
> >
> > a) being able to lift my head up reliably - I wasn't that bad, I just felt
> > more that my neck was really tired, and it required considerable effort to
> > look up
> >
> > b) being able to keep eating and drinking.
> >
> Recumbent.
>
With a little lap tray to put your snacks on.

 

[Doki]

"Jim" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:WLadne55lqKmv5jVnZ2dnUVZ8rednZ2d@plusnet...
> I'm not a super-fast cyclist by any means. I commute to work on bike twice
> a week, a round trip of about 43 miles, so 86 miles a week.
>
> Once a year I try to get out for a long ride, to see how far I can go.
>
> I'm slowly increasing my personal distance best, from 130, to 150, to 177,
> and to 200 in 16 hrs last year.
>
> On my 200 last year, for the last 50, I could hardly lift my head up, and
> I was totally knackered. At some point on the ride, I reached a stage
> where anything taken on like food or water seemed horribly not at all like
> a good option.
>
> Now spring is springing, I am thinking of going for a 24 hour sitting, to
> see how far I can go. Based on how I felt last year though, I will need to
> rethink things, like:
>
> a) being able to lift my head up reliably - I wasn't that bad, I just felt
> more that my neck was really tired, and it required considerable effort to
> look up
>
> b) being able to keep eating and drinking.
>
> The drink issue is one that people have helpfully replied to earlier
> today. Food - on my ride last year I had jam butties, cereal bars, fig
> rolls and apples and bananas. But I really noticed how the thought of food
> was really offputting the more tired I became. Could that be because I was
> tired out, or dehydrated (I'm sure I didn't drink enough - it was a hot
> day when I did the ride)?
>
> Presumably the head-thing was because I was tired from not earing and
> drinking enough.
>
> I've never done a 24 hrs before.... seems daunting, but not as daunting as
> entering the National 24 Hr event at Fardon and getting overtaken all day
> by speedy men and women on slick carbonfibre space-age machines.

My experiences of being awake for too long suggest you'll fall off at some
point. A good few years back the American Army did studies in tiredness and
found out that it's as bad as being drunk.

Here we go:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3604-combat-leaves-soldiers-drunk-with-fatigue.html

Beyond that, certainly IME, not enough sleep and too much time concentrating
leads to a dulling of your mind until you get some rest.

 

[Nick]

Jim wrote:
> I'm not a super-fast cyclist by any means. I commute to work on bike twice a
> week, a round trip of about 43 miles, so 86 miles a week.
>
> Once a year I try to get out for a long ride, to see how far I can go.
>
> I'm slowly increasing my personal distance best, from 130, to 150, to 177,
> and to 200 in 16 hrs last year.
>
> On my 200 last year, for the last 50, I could hardly lift my head up, and I
> was totally knackered. At some point on the ride, I reached a stage where
> anything taken on like food or water seemed horribly not at all like a good
> option.
>
> Now spring is springing, I am thinking of going for a 24 hour sitting, to
> see how far I can go.

Why?

 

[Mark T]

Nick writtificated

>> Now spring is springing, I am thinking of going for a 24 hour
>> sitting, to see how far I can go.
>
> Why?

If you have to ask that question, you'll never understand the answer.

 

[Dave Larrington]

In news:[email protected],
Doki <[email protected]> tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:

> My experiences of being awake for too long suggest you'll fall off at
> some point. A good few years back the American Army did studies in
> tiredness and found out that it's as bad as being drunk.
>
> Here we go:
>
> http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3604-combat-leaves-soldiers-drunk-with-fatigue.html
>
> Beyond that, certainly IME, not enough sleep and too much time
> concentrating leads to a dulling of your mind until you get some rest.

This is true. Do not ask me how I know this :-(

--
M. le Maire
<http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk>
Apparently Guy has now got a Brompton. I'd never have guessed.

 

[Paul Boyd]

Nick said the following on 16/04/2008 09:01:

> Why?

Why not? His bike, his time, his life.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

 

[Nick]

Paul Boyd wrote:
> Nick said the following on 16/04/2008 09:01:
>
>> Why?
>
> Why not?

It didn't sound like fun.

> His bike, his time, his life.

I wasn't implying he shouldn't do it. I was just asking why he would
want to. But I guess Mr T's answer sums it up, I'll never understand why.

 

[vernon]

"Rob Morley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, _
> [email protected] says...
>> On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:44:40 +0100, Jim wrote:
>> >
>> > a) being able to lift my head up reliably - I wasn't that bad, I just
>> > felt
>> > more that my neck was really tired, and it required considerable effort
>> > to
>> > look up
>> >
>> > b) being able to keep eating and drinking.
>> >
>> Recumbent.
>>
> With a little lap tray to put your snacks on.

And a mount for you LCD TV....

 

[PoB]

"vernon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
|
| "Rob Morley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
| news:[email protected]...

| >> Recumbent.
| >>
| > With a little lap tray to put your snacks on.
|
| And a mount for you LCD TV....

I have (on all my bikes, not just my 'bent) got a mount for my mobile phone
(for its GPS device, honest), and it can also play videos - does that count?

pOB