Fatigue after 3hrs / 30+ miles
Discussion
I cycle on and off, most weekends when the weather is ok, and have been for years but taking it a bit more seriously / more dedicated now. Whereas some aspects of my cycling seem to be improving, I always seem to 'hit a wall' after about 3 hours or around 30-odd miles. It's not legs or joints aching, or out of breath, more a feeling of fatigue / lack of energy / bored of it!
Want to be able to get past this as I hope to do LEJOG in 2013.
Tbf I am on very hilly terrain so I imagine if flat I could do a lot more. Currently max distance I can manage is 50 miles but that is with 4000 ft of elevation.
Any recommendations for avoiding this. Water and carbs on the ride I think are ok.
Want to be able to get past this as I hope to do LEJOG in 2013.
Tbf I am on very hilly terrain so I imagine if flat I could do a lot more. Currently max distance I can manage is 50 miles but that is with 4000 ft of elevation.
Any recommendations for avoiding this. Water and carbs on the ride I think are ok.
Your body has used up all of its readily available energy stores at this point, mostly food in your stomach currently digesting -> glucose and of course glycogen.
Plan ahead and eat large carbohydrate rich meals the night before you go out.
Take some better food with you, a snickers is perfect.
Put some sugar in your water bottles.
I refuse pay stupid money for any gels or holland and Barrett glucose. Standard granulated sugar is just as good for me...
Or referring to the rules MTFU.
Plan ahead and eat large carbohydrate rich meals the night before you go out.
Take some better food with you, a snickers is perfect.
Put some sugar in your water bottles.
I refuse pay stupid money for any gels or holland and Barrett glucose. Standard granulated sugar is just as good for me...
Or referring to the rules MTFU.
As previous said make sure you're eating enough.
I had the same problem and started using these
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/high-5/zero-hy...
they made a massive difference, for a 3 hour ride I'd carry two water bottles with a tablet in each.
I had the same problem and started using these
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/high-5/zero-hy...
they made a massive difference, for a 3 hour ride I'd carry two water bottles with a tablet in each.
30 miles doesn't require a decent meal the night before, its just not needed for this duration.
Take a Soreen Maltloaf with you, its perfect and far better than gels which have no place outside racing imo, total silliness to be using those for a bimble around the lanes when you can take real food in a jersey pocket , and then two bottles of water, that should see you fine for up to around 4 hours.
Take a Soreen Maltloaf with you, its perfect and far better than gels which have no place outside racing imo, total silliness to be using those for a bimble around the lanes when you can take real food in a jersey pocket , and then two bottles of water, that should see you fine for up to around 4 hours.
okgo said:
30 miles doesn't require a decent meal the night before, its just not needed for this duration.
Take a Soreen Maltloaf with you, its perfect and far better than gels which have no place outside racing imo, total silliness to be using those for a bimble around the lanes when you can take real food in a jersey pocket , and then two bottles of water, that should see you fine for up to around 4 hours.
Maltloaf is f. heavy (from a digestion POV!) and sticky, non? Better to take a banana or two, p'haps?Take a Soreen Maltloaf with you, its perfect and far better than gels which have no place outside racing imo, total silliness to be using those for a bimble around the lanes when you can take real food in a jersey pocket , and then two bottles of water, that should see you fine for up to around 4 hours.
Jimbo. said:
Maltloaf is f. heavy (from a digestion POV!) and sticky, non? Better to take a banana or two, p'haps?
Not really, just much it down with a bit of water, stomach acid is quite effective you know... not enough calories in a bannana really, you'd need to take 6 of them to have same cals as one maltloaf.As many have said before and will continue to do so in the future.... Good Brekkie/meal beforehand and then eat before hungry and drink before thirsty!
My 30 mile round trip is fine without feeding and rely on a drink but I do feel better at the end if I start my Banana and MArs bar BEFORE half way! FInish around 2/3rds of the way and drink plenty of 'energy' drinks or sugar type stuff.
Seems to work in my experience at those distances.
Good Luck!
My 30 mile round trip is fine without feeding and rely on a drink but I do feel better at the end if I start my Banana and MArs bar BEFORE half way! FInish around 2/3rds of the way and drink plenty of 'energy' drinks or sugar type stuff.
Seems to work in my experience at those distances.
Good Luck!
Some good tips in here, only started riding recently but have done a few 20-25 mile long rides and so far have really struggled to get the last mile or two out. Luckily it's always been on the home stretch but I'm conscious that if I wanted to up the distance a bit and go 30 miles plus it would leave me in a bad way!
little and often.
i like the elevenses bars and take a few on a regular weekend ride (70-80kms). i find them easy to digest and as close as real food. half a bar every 15 miles or so is plenty. wash it down with a mouthful of water and all is well. I also take a few torq gels because of all the gels i've tried, they are the most palatable as well as providing an instant hit that doesnt seem to fade too quickly either. bananas are great but you need to eat it in one go. an emergency mars bar in the saddle bag is also a good treat if you feel jaded on a long ride. no nutritional value whatsoever but mighty fine!
as i said, little and often. if you start to feel hungry and a bit wobbly, its probably too late but it doesnt take too many rides to start learning what your body wants and when. sometimes its just thirst rather than hunger?
i like the elevenses bars and take a few on a regular weekend ride (70-80kms). i find them easy to digest and as close as real food. half a bar every 15 miles or so is plenty. wash it down with a mouthful of water and all is well. I also take a few torq gels because of all the gels i've tried, they are the most palatable as well as providing an instant hit that doesnt seem to fade too quickly either. bananas are great but you need to eat it in one go. an emergency mars bar in the saddle bag is also a good treat if you feel jaded on a long ride. no nutritional value whatsoever but mighty fine!
as i said, little and often. if you start to feel hungry and a bit wobbly, its probably too late but it doesnt take too many rides to start learning what your body wants and when. sometimes its just thirst rather than hunger?
At the moment when I go for a ride with the duration of about 2 hours my legs are F*****d. Today I went for a loop which consisted of about 2500ft of incline over 25 miles. The last miles my legs were gone. Hopefully this is due mainly to leg strength but I'm always willing to try new things and will try some of the above.
Jimboka said:
TBH running out of steam at that distance is not due to nutrition . More likely lack of training / fitness. Get more miles in and you should be able to ride a hard 30 miles with no water/food ...
This. Give it time and OP will be fine.I think most half decent riders could do 3 hours/30 miles without food. You'll need drinks of course though. Look at all the people that do London-Brighton (56miles) without cake
dave0010 said:
At the moment when I go for a ride with the duration of about 2 hours my legs are F*****d. Today I went for a loop which consisted of about 2500ft of incline over 25 miles. The last miles my legs were gone. Hopefully this is due mainly to leg strength but I'm always willing to try new things and will try some of the above.
This could be lack of minerals in the muscles, try some of the High5 tablets I linked to earlier.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff