Rests during long rides

Dave Stallard said:

Curious to know what strategy people take for rests during long rides
such as centuries. Specifically, how often do you stop and rest, and
for how long? I do sometimes get that out of gas feeling, and wonder if
I could have forestalled it by resting preemptively, much as your
supposed to eat preemptively (before you're actually hungry).

The number of rest stops hasn't been an issue. Water and food are what
counts for me. While there are usually a couple of stops if I'm
drinking enough water, I've finished a few centuries without stopping
with no ill effect.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

"Dave Stallard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Curious to know what strategy people take for rests during long rides such
as centuries. Specifically, how often do you stop and rest, and for how
long? I do sometimes get that out of gas feeling, and wonder if I could
have forestalled it by resting preemptively, much as your supposed to eat
preemptively (before you're actually hungry).

Me, I normally stop every 90 minutes or so for 10-15 minutes on a 60+ mile
ride to eat, drink, and stretch; I'm usually riding solo and in no
particular hurry. On this sort of schedule I can ride 100 miles without much
stress.

Recently on a trip to Chicago I found myself having committed to actually
meeting someone at a place 60 miles away at a specific time that I thought
would be an easy ride with an hour to spare. Then I got lost, twice, and
found myself having to actually ride hard without stopping. It ended up
being 75 miles and I was very tired when I got there, and started having leg
cramps immediately after (very unusual for me). The constant headwind didn't
help, either.

I don't know if my 10-15 minute breaks are pre-emptive or recovery, but I'll
never skip them on a long ride again.

RichC

Dave Stallard enquired -

Quoted message said:

Curious to know what strategy people take for rests during long rides
such as centuries.

Apart from stopping and resting, a few things that help -

when its safe to do so, ride no hands and stretch your back and shoulders
out (after you have done a few long rides, this will feel natural even if a
bit hairy at first)

change location of your hands on the bars often, and occasionally take one
hand off the bars and turn the wrist away from the bike and push the wrist
outwards - extraordinary how tense your wrists get over a long ride.

if you can handle it, take a foot out of the cleat and fold your foot back
under you on the seat (great stretch for tired quads)

and absolutely best, find a similarly paced to companion to share the work
and the experience with - even better if you can find a similarly paced
bunch of riders that stick together.

best, Andrew

Dave Stallard enquired -

Quoted message said:

Curious to know what strategy people take for rests during long
rides such as centuries.

That's a broad question in the absence of any conditions. I stop at
grocery stores whenever I feel I need some food and drink or when
there won't be any for awhile. How often depends on how long and
steep the hills are and how hot or cold the weather. You don't need
to raise your hand and ask the teacher whether you are allowed to stop
or not. Just do it.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

Rich Clark said:

Me, I normally stop every 90 minutes or so for 10-15 minutes on a 60+ mile
ride to eat, drink, and stretch; I'm usually riding solo and in no
particular hurry. On this sort of schedule I can ride 100 miles without much
stress.

[snip]

Quoted message said:

I don't know if my 10-15 minute breaks are pre-emptive or recovery, but I'll
never skip them on a long ride again.

Aside from their "stop and smell the roses" value, my thoughts on
rest stops are that if you need them then you're riding too hard.
I feel better if I keep the legs moving than if I stop, so I pace
myself, eat and drink on the bike, and keep refueling stops and
nature breaks as short as possible. I'd rather rest on the bike
than by the side of the road.

--
Michael Fuhr
http://www.fuhr.org/~mfuhr/

On "event" rides--organized centuries or metrics--some of my friends
like long stops where they eat and kibbutz. Some of my friends prefer
quick stops--refuel and go. Some of my friends--and I--are in between:
generally, I like to grab some food and eat quickly, drink then refill
my water bottles, stretch my legs a bit, then go. I find that I get
cold and stiff if I stop too long, so the benefit of the breather is
offset by having to warm up again.

On my longer weekend club rides (40-60 miles), we usaually stop once,
about half-way. On the long "event" rides (75-100 miles), I need to
eat a little bit every ten minutes or so--a bite of bagel does it. I
always stop at the stocked rest stops on these rides, even if just
briefly, to get some food and drink and to get off the saddle for a
moment.

If you feel that you hit empty, you may be misinterpreting what your
body is telling you about what it needs to keep going. That is, it may
be a "refueling" problem, not a "pre-emptive rest" issue. --Roy Zipris

[email hidden] (Michael Fuhr) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Aside from their "stop and smell the roses" value, my thoughts on
rest stops are that if you need them then you're riding too hard.
I feel better if I keep the legs moving than if I stop, so I pace
myself, eat and drink on the bike, and keep refueling stops and
nature breaks as short as possible. I'd rather rest on the bike
than by the side of the road.

Maybe so, but I don't find climbing restful, and around here (SE
Pennsylvania) it's hard to go 5 minutes without hitting some sort of
climb. So I rest by the side of the road.

I was stunned and amazed (having not ridden in Illinois since 1970) at
how much farther and faster I went just because it was so freakin'
*flat.* I probably could have done as you suggest -- should have --
and just laid back for 10 minutes without stopping, but it's not a
habit I've developed. Next time.

RichC

Roy Zipris said:

If you feel that you hit empty, you may be misinterpreting what your
body is telling you about what it needs to keep going. That is, it may
be a "refueling" problem, not a "pre-emptive rest" issue.

Yeah, I've been thinking that maybe I need to eat more early in the
ride, so as to have the fuel available and online at the 3 hour mark,
where I sometimes feel zonked with my current practices.

Probably a big part of my problem is just the weekend warrior syndrome,
though. I don't ride during the week, generally. I need to start
getting out of the house early for a 20 mile ride, a couple of mornings
during the week.

Dave

Quoted message said:

If you feel that you hit empty, you may be misinterpreting what your
body is telling you about what it needs to keep going. That is, it may
be a "refueling" problem, not a "pre-emptive rest" issue. --Roy Zipris

I'll add another vote for paying attention to nutrition on long rides.
As long as the pace is moderate enough so that I don't blow up I find
that fatigue is more related to my caloric consumption than "resting."
I think lots of folks really underestimate how many calories you are
burning and how many are readily available to burn. Over 50 miles and
I make sure to eat. Less than 50 miles and sports drinks seem to be
sufficient.

(Michael Fuhr) said:

I'd rather rest on the bike
than by the side of the road.

On longish rides I might stop every 30 miles or so, I might not. If I
stop too long, I get cooled down and it takes effort to get started up
again. Gearing down and slowing down works well for me.

RFM