Long-ish & Slow Ride
After the mayhem of Daughter’s birthday party yesterday, I ended up drinking a little more than intended over dinner with my parents last night. So the plans for an early O’clock ride went right out the window, and I ended up not leaving the house ’till almost two O’clock. Not due to a hangover, I hasten to add. No - there was just too much stuff to do in the morning, and Simon couldn’t make it out ’till after 1:30.
We did the loop out to the Metro Centre, and then a few miles up the Derwent Valley to Rowlands Gill, before turning left to go up Busty Bank (fnnaar fnnnaaar!) to Burnopfield, and then home via the Team Valley. It was a pretty slow ride as Simon’s been having some back trouble recently, and I think that after even the first hour, he was pretty uncomfortable.
The weather was also a little wierd - drizzly when we set off, but I had the feeling that it was trying to warm up, so although I was wearing waterproofs, I also had a bum bag - just the right size to allow me to get rid of those extra layers by the halfway point. Which was a good thing too.
As well as taking on plenty of fluids on these longer rides, I’m also working on my fuelling strategy. So on todays ride I took a couple of muesli bars and an SIS Gel. I had the gel (”tropical” flavour, but oddly tasteless) about ten minutes before we went up Busty Bank, and I don’t know if it made any difference or not, though I did feel pretty great by the time I got to the top. I mean, I always feel great at the top of this hill, but it’s usually closer to grateful that it’s all over, whereas today, I felt closer to Tiggeriffic and ready for more.
As part of my training schedule I will have to find time for some more work with gels though. I need to get really good at opening them one handed, rolling them up to get everything out, and then responsibly stowing the wrapper away. This sounds like just the sort of thing I can practice in the comfort of my own home!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 04/27/2008
- Time: 18:20:30
- Total Time: 2:50:00.00
- Distance: 39.4 miles
- Average Speed: 13.91 mph
Gel consumption does take some practice to perfect. One tip is to stash the used wrapper in the leg of your shorts until you reach a feed stop or transition point. I’ve also heard of people stashing full gels there at the start of the race so they’re within easy reach but sportives are at a little more relaxed pace so jersey pockets have suited me fine.
Also, have you tried experimenting with different brands and flavours. I couldn’t believe how different they all were. Some were quite difficult to open one handed while others were almost tasteless or almost made me gag. I can recommend PowerBar’s Blackcurrant with caffeine, but everyone’s taste is different.