Gravel, Centuries, and Long Rides (oh my!)

The hardest rides can be magical with blue skies and beautiful scenery

Yesterday I did my first gravel ride in a year, Pastry-Brest-Pastry. It was great to get back on one of my favorite bikes - my Focus Cx bike. The day made for an excellent learning opportunity. Overall, I had a great time - loved seeing the blue sky with fluffy white clouds, the donut I ate was tasty, everyone was super nice, and with a Bon Iver Pandora station playing in my one ear bud (I keep my roadside ear free to hear traffic and cyclists), I had a great soundtrack to keep me company on my solo ride.

Dehydrated - the gravel, hills, cold and wind served as a distraction. When I lost the group I became too focused on trying to pedal through it all and completely ignored taking regular sips. In three hours I drank less than one bottle. The rule of thumb is supposed to be one bottle an hour (sometimes more depending on effort and weather).

Bonked - I bonked like a newb. I was nervous so I didn't eat enough before starting the ride. Only ate 1 Gu and 1 donut in three hours. My legs were tired and I was still too stubborn to get the hint. I worry about overdoing treats like donuts and sometimes go the opposite direction - starving myself because of my fear of overdoing the calories.

Asthma - dusty, windy, cold conditions can have a pretty strong impact on my asthma and I came to the ride without an inhaler. So dumb.

Directions!! This was self-supported and I when I got separated from the group, I didn't have anything but the bandana map to help me navigate. So I got lost. A LOT. I did more than 5 extra miles to get to the first stop and felt so frustrated I decided at that point to cut my ride short. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I could have avoided this by taking the time the night before to load the route on my Garmin so that I would have had turn by turn directions.

Pastry-Brest-Pastry - two riders nearly finished with their ride and still smiling

I saw this article from Bicycling Magazine this morning and it has some great tips to keep in mind when doing Centuries and longer rides.

Pedal Smart
By maintaining a cadence of at least 90 rpm, you give your aerobic and muscular systems a break. Think of lifting a 20-pound bench press 10 times instead of one rep of 200: You lift the same amount but with less overall effort.

Eat and Drink Lots
Aim to drink about one bottle per hour, depending on heat and exertion level. Don't worry so much about what you mix with the water; the water is what's most important. Eat a bite or two of food every 15 minutes—consistency over the day is crucial. If you're out beyond two hours, plan a stop to refill bottles and have a snack.

Use the Rule of Thirds
Divide the ride into three more or less equal distances. The first segment should feel easy, just spinning along. During the second, you should start to feel your muscles working. If you have any jam left, show it in the last third. Nothing screams "rookie" like jumping away on the first climb only to bonk and need to be babysat to the finish.

The rest of the tips and the full article here: http://www.bicycling.com/training/fitness/last-going-long-0

Have any tips for long rides? Stories about tough rides? Pictures of a recent ride?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 21, 2016 at 10:28am

I haven't done gravel, but I've done centuries. Using the rule of thirds to pace yourself is a great way to approach it psychologically. On food and drink - yes! Neglecting fuel on a long ride never ends well.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on March 21, 2016 at 11:30am

This looked like lots of fun, and the weather was beautiful - I was bummed that I couldn't ride it. I was realyl looking forward to it, but I just couldn't make the time. Glad you had fun, even if you bonked! Having done that before myself, I now tend to over-pack food :)

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Permalink Reply by Andrew St. Paul on March 21, 2016 at 7:43pm

Great tips. I've learned couple of these myself through out the years. Thanks for sharing. I need the reminder before kick-starting weekend trips this summer

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on March 22, 2016 at 8:47am

"at least 20 people ask to help me" so excellent to hear!

Thanks for sharing! (Yasmeen also of course!)

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on March 22, 2016 at 10:06am

I wish I had a chance to meet you in person. I remember seeing a few flats. And I think I saw you because I saw the same person fixing a few of the flats I passed.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on March 22, 2016 at 9:58am

For those of you who want more, Barry-Roubaix is coming up in mid-April.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on March 22, 2016 at 10:05am

I did Barry 3 years in a row. I think I'm going to sit this year out and explore other rides. If you like a good sufferfest, that's your ride. Lots of climbing and every year the terrain is different depending on the temps. My favorite quotation was from last year when I guy on a mountain bike was climbing the hill along side me wheezed out, "I hate my life".

Yup. It hurts.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on March 23, 2016 at 2:15pm

Sonds right for the Rapha / Velominati crowd :) I don't think it's so bad, though, as the different route options let you calibrate to your desired level of (non-) suffering. I am all about fun. I decided the full 60 would kick my ass, so I did the 35. Just right. But if that's too much suffering, there's the 20. Moving it from March to April largely removes the weather-based suffering.

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Permalink Reply by Michael A on March 23, 2016 at 10:54pm

It was a great ride despite it being windy and chilly. Whenever someone does their first century or organized ride like this with me I tell them to break the ride into the distance between rest stops. This 61 mile ride had four rest stops averaging 12-15 miles in between. Breaking a ride into managable chunks will help keep your mind positive. Keeping an energy bar or chews in your pocket between stops is my preferred method of fueling when I ride.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1093124686