Summer is coming and you’re probably planning a long ride. You may not be up for a century but look forward to the club’s 50-miler or a 100K with a friend. Or you may be preparing for a century, 200K or longer. Whatever the distance here are 12 potential mistakes to avoid:
1. Inadequate training. A long ride is an endurance event and a successful and fun event requires miles in the bank. Build up to a long training ride of 2/3 to 3/4 the distance of your planned event over similar terrain.
2. Ramping up too fast. Increase your week-to-week volume by 10-20%. Increase your weekly long ride by 10-20%. Increase your month-to-month volume by 15-25%.
3. Training at the same intensity. Effective training includes endurance riding, some hard intensity rides and also easy recovery rides.
4. Training too hard. Most rides should be done at a conversational pace including the weekly long ride. You should be able to talk the whole time but not sing.
5. Not testing and your perfecting nutrition, clothing, equipment, etc. in advance. Nothing new during the event.
6. Skipping breakfast. Glycogen supplies (from carbohydrate) are limited in the body. You should eat a good breakfast (but nothing new!) primarily of carbohydrate with a bit of protein and fat.
7. Not eating enough during the event. You should eat at least 200 calories per hour and 300 calories hour is better.
8. Not eating regularly during the event. If you eat at a rest stop, ride several hours to the next rest stop and then eat again, then your energy may fade in between rest stops. You should eat 200-300 calories every hour.
9. Improper hydration. We were taught to drink before we are thirsty; however, on multi-hour rides drinking too much may dilute the blood sodium, resulting in hyponatremia, a potentially dangerous condition. Drink enough to satisfy your thirst but not more.
10. Improper pacing. Riders sometimes go out too fast and then fade and struggle by the second half. If you can’t ride with a group at that conversational pace then drop off. The right group for you is behind you!
11. Getting lost. Don’t assume that the group you are with is on course. Pay some time in advance studying the cue sheet and then double-check each turn.
12. Inappropriate equipment. Bike shops generally sell a range of racing-style road bikes. These may have a fairly short wheelbase and straight fork, which make for quick responsiveness in a criterium, but the bike is harder to ride straight and the ride is harsher. The bike may have a significant drop between the saddle and the handlebars, great for aerodynamics in a road race but tiring on a century. The bike may have reduced spoke count wheels, which make for faster acceleration but aren’t as durable as wheels with 32 spokes.
By avoiding these mistakes you’ll finish an endurance ride with a grin on your face.
More Information
To learn how to train effectively, eat correctly and ride an endurance ride get my bundle of three eArticles Endurance Training and Riding.
- Beyond the Century describes training principles and different training intensities and how to integrate these into program of long rides. Although written for roadies doing longer events all of the principles also apply to shorter events. I lay out an 8-week plan to build up to a century and then a 200-km ride (about 125 miles), plans which could be easily adapted to shorter rides.
- Nutrition for 100K and Beyond provides you with the information you need to fuel your engine before, during and after endurance rides.
- Mastering the Long Ride gives you the skills you need to finish your endurance rides. Effective training provides your base, and proper nutrition gives you the fuel. The key to success is to use your smarts to complement your legs.
The 50 page Endurance Training and Riding bundle is $13.50 ($11.48 for our Premium Members).
Coach John Hughes earned coaching certifications from USA Cycling and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. John’s cycling career includes course records in the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200-km randonnée and the Furnace Creek 508, a Race Across AMerica (RAAM) qualifier. He has ridden solo RAAM twice and is a 5-time finisher of the 1200-km Paris-Brest-Paris. He has written over 40 eBooks and eArticles on cycling training and nutrition, available in RBR’s eBookstore at Coach John Hughes. Click to read John’s full bio.
OK, Before reading this article I’d decided last night to not register for our annual club ride the Tour de Oahe a 67 mile out and back sufferfest on the Missouri Breaks. I reasoned that after spending the last 4 weeks kitesurfing in Cabarete I’d lost too much fitness, however after reading this article I’m confident that, if I follow Coach Hughes, I’ll have the fitness necessary to do the ride and not come in last.
Drinking to satisfy thirst is highly individual. I have learned how much to drink over lots and lots of 100+ mile rides in lots of different weather conditions, and for me that means staying well ahead of thirst. By the time I am thirsty, I am dehydrated and it’s too late to drink enough to catch up. It may well be different for other people.
Great article, Coach. I’d like to add a showstopper I’ve experienced many times – don’t seem to learn my lesson.
The mistake is eating too much for breakfast the morning of the ride.
I make this mistake because I think I need to fuel up for the long ride. But, if the pace starts out fast, I can get into the awful situation of my digestive system shutting down and not metabolizing the food. So it sits there in the gut and pretty soon, I start feeling worse and worse. Eventually the miserable feeling turns to nauseous and worse – having to drop out of the event.
But, it’s tricky knowing how much food is enough and how much is too much. For me, I would say it’s better to err on the side of too little than too much. I try now to eat between 300 and 400 calories 3 hours before the ride start. Hope this helps someone avoid my mistake.
Jim
Re spoke count for wheels: Sheldon Brown said if your wheels have the same # of spokes front and rear, either your front has more than necessary or your rear has too few
A straight bike fork — as you mention in your article — has nothing to do with quick steering, John. You should know that.
Steering quickness or slowness is determined by Trail, the distance between the line from the fork angle to the road ahead, minus the distance to the vertical drop from the front axle.
More or less trail (hence quicker or slower steering response) an be accomplished by altering this dimension when designing the frame/fork, when desired Trail can be gotten by either a straight fork, or a slightly forward-bent fork.
Another mistake: latching on to the tail end of a faster line that’s making you still work harder than your normal cruising pace. Pay the price once you’re dropped.