Do You Road Bike?

[AbsolutEnduser]

Interesting. Well I basically feel low and undernourished after any harder ride. Like a low blood sugar basically. That’s exactly what it is probably— since other people say above “I just eat normal”

—-

Ps. Also checked a ride a month ago, only in SF..it was 15.6 miles but the elevation gain is 1600 ft.. only inside SF city …

 

[Tally Whacker]

The basic answer is that you're depleting your blood sugar levels, which are more or less static in general. Overeating afterward will replenish them, but so will eating normally.

If you're just desperate and ravenous immediately after your ride, drink a Coke. The sugars will pretty much flood right into your system, and the caffeine (which is a vasodilator) will help speed the process.

In fact, there's nothing wrong with drinking a Coke mid-ride, if you can take a little break. This may be all you'd need to stave off those hunger pangs later.

A bottle of Coke is 225 calories (IIRC), which is a bit above the upper limit of what your body can absorb in an hour anyway, so it'll enter your bloodstream as rapidly as anything else* you could possibly consume.









*This is not actually true- some sports drinks (not available in mini marts) contain glucose and sucrose, which take different pathways and can enter the bloodstream slightly more quickly than the fructose in Cokes (or Gatorade or the like).

 

[Tally Whacker]

Interesting. Well I basically feel low and undernourished after any harder ride. Like a low blood sugar basically. That’s exactly what it is probably— since other people say above “I just eat normal”

—-

Ps. Also checked a ride a month ago, only in SF..it was 15.6 miles but the elevation gain is 1600 ft.. only inside SF city …

The human body really only contains enough glycogen to get through about an hour's worth of hard effort before it becomes depleted and you hit the low blood sugar crash.

There's really nothing you can do to change that. What you can do is condition your body to go for the energy stored in fat as a preference rather than a fallback, and the way to do that is to start your rides out very slowly. This is one of the ways that long slow distance riding in the off season is so beneficial. If the effort is low enough, the body spares the glycogen and draws mainly from fat reserves, which are basically endless.

Ride at least the first half hour really mellow- a pace at which you could easily hold a conversation. This trains the energy channels to go for the limitless energy supplied by your fat reserves. The drawback is that these channels supply energy only slowly, so the minute you put in a hard effort your body throws up its metaphorical hands and says "Well, I tried, but it looks like it's gonna be one of those days" and reaches for the good stuff.

 

[stangmx13]

For a hard ride, I try to consume 200 Cal/hr during the ride. If I ate breakfast right before, I skip the first hour and eat for the other hours. It impossible for me to consume that many calories with solids, so I put a lot of calories in my bottles. Also I would eat more if I could. After these rides, I'll have a protein shake right away and then eat a normal meal.

There are a caveats with all that though:

- "Hard ride" is relative. My hard rides burn a lot more calories than others because my muscles and cardiovascular system can support it. Some won't need to eat that much during the ride.

- The longer the ride, the more this matters. For hard rides that are <2hr you can get away with not eating during. Your recovery will be delayed, but you'll be fine. For any hard ride >2hrs, you will perform significantly better in hour 3 with eating. And most people would struggle to finish a 5+hr ride with zero calories, let alone keep a "hard" pace.

- It may take years of training to allow your stomach to eat that much during a ride. Gastric distress from all carbs during exercise doesn't feel good. Start with some calories and increase slowly.

- Carb intake is mostly relative to your body mass. 0.7-1.1 g of carb / kg of body mass is the recommended range for trained athletes. I'm 63kg. 200Cal is 50g of carbs. That's ~0.8 g/kg. I'd like to eat more, it's just really hard. Heavier riders doing the same effort would need to consume more.

For easier rides, I naturally reduce the calories. I still bring everything, but find I don't consume it all. I'll drink my bottles, but not eat my solids. This probably drops me down to 100-125 Cal/hr.

 

[stangmx13]

Ride at least the first half hour really mellow- a pace at which you could easily hold a conversation. This trains the energy channels to go for the limitless energy supplied by your fat reserves. The drawback is that these channels supply energy only slowly, so the minute you put in a hard effort your body throws up its metaphorical hands and says "Well, I tried, but it looks like it's gonna be one of those days" and reaches for the good stuff.

I've been doing a lot of research on polarized training and will be using that for the winter and spring training. My plan is to do 80% of my training at "conversation" pace and the rest at "kill yourself" pace. We'll see how it goes.

Last spring, I tried to do all my training at FTP. I could sustain 2 days a week. But I quickly burned out when I added a 3rd day. I got stronger, but the training didn't feel THAT productive. I suspect I didn't have enough recovery time for consistent hard efforts.

 

[Mike95060]

How are you guys keeping track of your workouts? Brain only? Sports watch? App? All of the above?

I think I want a watch and heart rate monitor. I'm not sure what ecosystem I want to be in. My main focus is triathlon. I'm leaning towards Garmin. Im curious about Polar though.

Love the nutrition and training talk!

 

[AbsolutEnduser]

Thanks for the nutrition advice. So... Coke, LOL. I guess I have to buy some cans.

also 1g of protein per kg. hmm

So I don't have "much fat" stored at all, so I'm worried my muscles might be depleting sometimes.

--

BTW yesterday, I stopped after my (bike)"stroll" and had a coffee... zinng, a team of 5-6 young women bicyclists stopped outside, too. One was SO COMPLETELY CONKED out, that she had to sit on a curb, in lycra and all... in front of a bus (which came in 2 min) . Another woman, but in USF-Dons sweater and jeans was consoling her. So I guess it turns out I had seen an official team of perhaps USF? UCF? UCI? etc, all of those, + trainer. Then the riders got baked goods and they vocalized it happily

A couple of the bikes were... Ventum. Search says: yeah, completely pro

^^^ that's coke in that bottle! (he did drink it in the movie)

How are you guys keeping track of your workouts?

I just wear THE SAME WATCH LIKE THIS GUY (but have Samsung in pants):

 

[stangmx13]

How are you guys keeping track of your workouts? Brain only? Sports watch? App? All of the above?

I think I want a watch and heart rate monitor. I'm not sure what ecosystem I want to be in. My main focus is triathlon. I'm leaning towards Garmin. Im curious about Polar though.

Love the nutrition and training talk!

I use a Garmin Edge 820 to record and use a HR strap and power meter. Then everything is uploaded to both Garmin and Strava. Strava is fun for tracking PRs and social interaction. Garmin has better data analysis. I especially like to look for any changes to my Power Curve on Garmin. So I use both.

Polar has no presence in cycling around me. All my friends use either Garmin or Wahoo. It may be different for tri's, but I'd bet most everyone is using Garmin watches and the latest HR straps that can be used underwater and without a watch.

There's a big push in fitness devices for customized coaching and workouts. Garmin has made some good progress here for running already and is working on better stuff for cycling. My wife just bought a Garmin Forerunner 255 and it's amazing. She started a Garmin Coach plan for a half marathon in Dec. She put in her race date, her goal time, and how many runs she is willing to do weekly. She then did a run at a specific effort and it used that data to schedule her training runs. The runs so far require a specific duration and target pace - so far all "Easy runs". But I suspect she's a week or two away from intervals. Garmin is using all that data to recalculate weekly. You need a new-ish Garmin device to access these features.

Her Forerunner is so good that I'm getting real tempted to buy one as well. I wouldn't use it for cycling because I need that screen in front of me all the time. But it'd be nice to have for the rest of life and other activities. And for fitness tracking, an Apple Watch does not compare.

 

[Mike95060]

^ thank you!!!

 

[stangmx13]

Thanks for the nutrition advice. So... Coke, LOL. I guess I have to buy some cans.

also 1g of protein per kg. hmm

So I don't have "much fat" stored at all, so I'm worried my muscles might be depleting sometimes.

1g of CARBS per kg of body weight during an hour of hard activity. Not protein.

Cycling isn't destroying muscles like weight lifting. I've never seen a cycling obsession with protein intake to suggest that whole "1g protein/kg/day".

You muscles are depleting each and every ride... of carbs, not fat. Eating some good fats before or during a ride will help to keep your stomach settled and will give you a small amount of long-duration energy. But it won't prevent your muscles from depleting and it won't stop you from bonking if the rest of your diet is way off.

 

[Map8]

Thanks to everyone who is contributing to this discussion.

I'm a casual cyclist; most of my rides are 90 minutes to two hours. Most nutrition articles I find about cycling are geared toward hard core fitness. I just want to make sure I'm maintaining energy on rides that are two hours or longer.

 

[Tally Whacker]

I've been doing a lot of research on polarized training and will be using that for the winter and spring training. My plan is to do 80% of my training at "conversation" pace and the rest at "kill yourself" pace. We'll see how it goes.

Last spring, I tried to do all my training at FTP. I could sustain 2 days a week. But I quickly burned out when I added a 3rd day. I got stronger, but the training didn't feel THAT productive. I suspect I didn't have enough recovery time for consistent hard efforts.

Almost everybody would benefit from more easy riding. It's actually harder mentally to keep that zone 2 pace than you'd think.

Remember- go easier than you you're used to in the easy bits, and harder in the hard parts.

 

[Tally Whacker]

Thanks to everyone who is contributing to this discussion.

I'm a casual cyclist; most of my rides are 90 minutes to two hours. Most nutrition articles I find about cycling are geared toward hard core fitness. I just want to make sure I'm maintaining energy on rides that are two hours or longer.

Drink a bottle of Coke at the 1 hour mark. You'll be good to go.

 

[Tally Whacker]

1g of CARBS per kg of body weight during an hour of hard activity. Not protein.

Cycling isn't destroying muscles like weight lifting. I've never seen a cycling obsession with protein intake to suggest that whole "1g protein/kg/day".

You muscles are depleting each and every ride... of carbs, not fat. Eating some good fats before or during a ride will help to keep your stomach settled and will give you a small amount of long-duration energy. But it won't prevent your muscles from depleting and it won't stop you from bonking if the rest of your diet is way off.

Many years ago (late '80s) 2/3 of the way through a 40 mile point to point mountain bike race in British Columbia I bonked so hard it was unbelievable. Tunnel vision, strobing effects when I closed my eyes, complete and utter shutdown. I basically fell off my bike and lay on the side of the trail twitching and drooling on myself for about 45 minutes until the banana and fig bars finally digested enough to enter my bloodstream.

It was freaking epic. I'd gone far, far past empty. This was back before sports drinks were any good, but after that I started running a 50/50 water/gatorade mix in races. Not perfect, but better than not taking in any calories at all.

 

[stangmx13]

^^ OUCH. Way to pull through.

Almost everybody would benefit from more easy riding. It's actually harder mentally to keep that zone 2 pace than you'd think.

Remember- go easier than you you're used to in the easy bits, and harder in the hard parts.

Yes, yes it is. Earlier this year, I couldn't stop myself from hitting Zone 4 within 10min of leaving my house

I've recently been getting over COVID and intentionally riding with one of my least experienced cycling friends. All rides with her are Zone 1&2 if I stick to her pace. The experience has definitely been enlightening. I usually ride to her house, do a loop, then ride home. And of course there are a few fun segments on my way home. It's been amazing to burn a match at the very end of my ride and have it feel good.

 

[Map8]

Drink a bottle of Coke at the 1 hour mark. You'll be good to go.

I'm not Lael Wilcox!

When I read about her slamming Cokes and donuts during long gravel races, my stomach turns.

 

[AbsolutEnduser]

I don'nno if my stomach can fit a whole coke bottle after 1 hr bicycling AND THEN bicycle more...

but I can try a 12 oz can (smaller)

-
CARB 1 / kg -> so that means my "RXBar" was totally insufficient at 23 g of Carbs. OK, that's exactly what I may try.. carry an additional donut while riding. no wonder, once after an
ice-cream in Sausalito, the climb back, bridge and home was easier

--

fun fact, when I was a teen (And ofc not bicycling anywhere fast), we bought a can of coke and I could never even finish it while walking. Ask me why many peeps were slim back then..

 

[Tally Whacker]

I'm not Lael Wilcox!

When I read about her slamming Cokes and donuts during long gravel races, my stomach turns.

You don't EVEN want to talk to 24 hour mountain bike racers about what they consume during a race. It can be eye-watering.

My go-to has always been to drink as much of my caloric intake as I can, but the occasional fistful of twizzlers, half can of Spam, or my old standby, fig bars and bananas... Whatever works at the time.

 

[rcb78]

Going back to the what do you use to track question, 2nd for power meter (on each bike), HR strap and a dedicated cycling computer. I use both a Garmin 530 and 1030 depending on the bike I'm riding.
There's a lot to be said for just riding and learning how your body reacts to different exertion levels, and that can easily be done by logging HR during a ride. Review after and take notes about perceived exertion level. Adding a power meter to the mix removed the 'feels' from the equation and gives you actual numbers. If your making good power at a lower HR than normal over 'x' time interval, then you're doing good.
HR is also a good tool for pacing while your still learning your limits. Do a few tests to get a rough idea of what your zones are, then ride in whatever zone fits your goal. <-gross oversimplification but it is a starting point.
If you like to spend money on toys, consider a smart/interactive trainer and a Zwift subscription since we're going into the off season. It's bike riding gamified, but also makes available some good training tools.

 

[Tally Whacker]

Going back to the what do you use to track question, 2nd for power meter (on each bike), HR strap and a dedicated cycling computer. I use both a Garmin 530 and 1030 depending on the bike I'm riding.
There's a lot to be said for just riding and learning how your body reacts to different exertion levels, and that can easily be done by logging HR during a ride. Review after and take notes about perceived exertion level. Adding a power meter to the mix removed the 'feels' from the equation and gives you actual numbers. If your making good power at a lower HR than normal over 'x' time interval, then you're doing good.
HR is also a good tool for pacing while your still learning your limits. Do a few tests to get a rough idea of what your zones are, then ride in whatever zone fits your goal. <-gross oversimplification but it is a starting point.
If you like to spend money on toys, consider a smart/interactive trainer and a Zwift subscription since we're going into the off season. It's bike riding gamified, but also makes available some good training tools.

I have power meters on all my bikes, but that is literally many thousands of dollars. I would not recommend that route for the beginning data enthusiast.

Personally, I'd recommend finding a Garmin Fenix watch on sale, or used, to get going. Yeah, no power data except what Strava will estimate for you, but heart rate and perceived exertion are good enough for most.


Heck, even running the Strava app on your phone is a good and nearly zero cost entry into ride data.




As to bike-specific computers, again, I'm going to suggest the wearable route instead of a current high-end bike computer, unless you specifically want route mapping and guidance. If you do want route guidance, the Garmins are good, but the Bruntons are, too, and they're cheaper, if less supported. Personally, I run Karoo computers on my bikes, and I like them, but they're all good these days.