Loading ...

I blogged about that I bonked yesterday which was an odd occurrence because I generally am good to go for 5-6 hours with no problem.   I was talking to my sweetie last night and told her about hitting a wall around mile 55  (which generally adds up to 110 road bike miles) and she said “Scott, don’t you remember when you were happy to get 10 miles in of mountain biking?” It’s true, I could barely get around a root without dying of exhaustion.  Now I can get around two!

I’ve found out that nutrition plays a huge role in how to maintain long distances when on a bike.  I’ve probably made more mistakes than I’d care to admit when trying to do long rides.  One time I packed my camelbak bag full of fruit…the result? Hot mushy and squished fruit.  One time I ate a bunch of solids before a Cyclocross race and after the second barrier the only thing that was jumping was the food rolling around in my belly.

Through these mistakes I’ve learned a lot and what has worked for me.  I’m going to log this information down as “things that worked for Scott Thigpen“  it may not work for you, in fact you should experiment before you figure out your own magic formula.

When embarking on a long ride:

(or riding a road bike century, mountain bike century, your first long distance run on a bike or something enormously tough on a bike)

• Getting a good night’s sleep – Before a race I’ve made the bad mistake of not sleeping and it generally kills my performance.  If it’s not a race and a long ride, I tend to sleep better (no anxiety of racing against others) and I can tell a vast difference.
• Using liquids instead of solids – ever been on a long ride and stop for a break to eat that yummy Clif bar only to have it revisit you 20 minutes later?  Found you had less energy than you’d hoped for?  Yes, that’s your stomach working overtime to digest that and taking away energy that could be used in your legs going up a hill.  Me? I prefer HammerGel’s Perpetuem…the coffee kind…it’s like drinking a mix of coffee + chocolate milk.  YUMMY! (also, take in these calories every 20 minutes)
• Keeping your electrolytes up -  When you sweat, do you have it run over your lips and have the faint taste of salt?  It’s not just salt coming from your body, you’re losing electrolytes too.  You need to replenish that as well as your sodium intake.  Gatorade does an okay job.  I’ve tried varying things from various companies.  I’ve found no magic bullet.  Personally? I like Gatorade as it has sugar and I crave it after 4-5 hours.  That may or may not be the best thing (I’ll update if I find something that works)
• Carbs before and after a ride -  On a low carb diet?  You’re going to have trouble biking.  I know, trust me, I’ve been there and have the t-shirt for “trying to bike hard on low to zero carbs.”  Eating the right carbs at the right time is key.  I generally stick to whole grain pasta, fruits and veggies for my good carbs.  After a hard ride, you should get some carbs in you within 30 minutes of stopping.  This is important as your body needs them.  Me? I use EAS as it’s fast and easy to get down.
• Not riding on a full stomach -  Hoo-boy, there’s not enough fingers and toes on me to count how many times I’ve made this mistake.  Solid foods on your body immediately before a ride is going to kill you.  My sweetie and I went to Cracker Barrel one time and ordered multigrain pancakes then tried to go ride.  We were both so sleepy and tired from the carb overload that we had to wait 30-45 minutes before we could even hop on our bikes.  When consuming solids before a ride, do it a few hours beforehand.

This is a formula I’m trying to perfect for myself.  I, by no means, do not have the key to a successful endurance ride.  I can tell you that when I did the Rouge Roubaix a few weeks back that I had 0 problems with bonking and that was me on a bike spinning for 6 hours with only one 60 second break for the whole time.

I’m not sure how this is all going to translate in the Divide Race.  From what I’ve read, a Divide Racer is 13 hours in the saddle a day while spinning at an endurance race pace.  I’m still working on how to watch for water, my calorie intake and listening to my body.  I’m nowhere near ready for this race…but I’m closer than I was.