Benny
07-25-2008, 04:36 PM
We have a couple of new riders planning to do their longest ever rides next Saturday. 50 miles at the Covington Century. I thought I would throw out a few suggestions to help make it an enjoyable accomplishment and not an agonizing ordeal.
I'm no doctor or physiologist, but I have done a whole lot of long road rides on hot days. This is what has worked for me - after many mistakes along the way.
1 - Make sure your bike is clean and working properly. Take that new bike in for a free adjustment. Make any needed fit adjustments now, not the day before the ride.
2- Wear good bike shorts. This no place for running shorts. You'll need the pad to keep from chafing.
3- Try to ride as much as possible between now and Thursday. If possible, get in a 25-30 mile ride by Wednesday.
4- Don't overtrain. This is not going to be that hard a ride. You don't need to kill yourself getting ready. Take an easy ride on Thursday or Friday, just enough to keep yourself active. Don't make that late ride a hard one.
5- Start gradually increasing the amount of water you drink each day as the ride approaches. You want to be well pre-hydrated.
6- Same thing for carbohydrates. Ramping up for a few days will do you more good than a huge pasta feast the night before the ride.
7- Eat a good breakfast at least 2 hours before the ride starts. Don't try eating exotic things you aren't used to eating. Just a good, healthy breakfast.
8- Remember it is a ride, not a race. You can work on increasing your speed or increasing your distance. Don't try to do both at the same time. Better to take it easy and ride within your limits than to push too hard and blow up before the finish. You can work on going faster next time if you wish.
Remember to spin easy gears. If you push too hard a gear, the only thing that will go fast is your knees.
9- Drink plenty of water and/or energy drink. I usually carry water on the bike and dring energy drink at rest stops. Rest stops will be every 12-15 miles. You should arrive at each stop with one empty bottle. Carry two.
10- Stop at every rest stop and eat and drink something. Talk to the people you see at the stop. Some of them are pretty interesting folks. I usually drink two cups of energy drink and eat whatever fruit and snacks are available during the time it takes to finish the two cups.
11- Have fun. It's supposed to be fun, not work. :D
Take these tips for what they're worth. Others might offer more advice.
I'm no doctor or physiologist, but I have done a whole lot of long road rides on hot days. This is what has worked for me - after many mistakes along the way.
1 - Make sure your bike is clean and working properly. Take that new bike in for a free adjustment. Make any needed fit adjustments now, not the day before the ride.
2- Wear good bike shorts. This no place for running shorts. You'll need the pad to keep from chafing.
3- Try to ride as much as possible between now and Thursday. If possible, get in a 25-30 mile ride by Wednesday.
4- Don't overtrain. This is not going to be that hard a ride. You don't need to kill yourself getting ready. Take an easy ride on Thursday or Friday, just enough to keep yourself active. Don't make that late ride a hard one.
5- Start gradually increasing the amount of water you drink each day as the ride approaches. You want to be well pre-hydrated.
6- Same thing for carbohydrates. Ramping up for a few days will do you more good than a huge pasta feast the night before the ride.
7- Eat a good breakfast at least 2 hours before the ride starts. Don't try eating exotic things you aren't used to eating. Just a good, healthy breakfast.
8- Remember it is a ride, not a race. You can work on increasing your speed or increasing your distance. Don't try to do both at the same time. Better to take it easy and ride within your limits than to push too hard and blow up before the finish. You can work on going faster next time if you wish.
Remember to spin easy gears. If you push too hard a gear, the only thing that will go fast is your knees.
9- Drink plenty of water and/or energy drink. I usually carry water on the bike and dring energy drink at rest stops. Rest stops will be every 12-15 miles. You should arrive at each stop with one empty bottle. Carry two.
10- Stop at every rest stop and eat and drink something. Talk to the people you see at the stop. Some of them are pretty interesting folks. I usually drink two cups of energy drink and eat whatever fruit and snacks are available during the time it takes to finish the two cups.
11- Have fun. It's supposed to be fun, not work. :D
Take these tips for what they're worth. Others might offer more advice.