re: tOfficial Cycling Thread

2x2 on Zwift

4 intervals of 2:00/1/1 at 155/265/315. Failed in the third interval in the 315.

Since we’re posting group ride pics…. This is from the A+ ride (we do 2 A rides, A and A+) this past Saturday. I’m somewhere in there, not my pic stole from strava

All good man! I know it's tough to break routines. Once you start getting stronger and faster on the bike you'll probably want to skip those gym days more often. Remember, there is absolutely a time and a place for gym work in cycling. You just don't typically hit both hard at the same time, like you said.

Not feeling the group ride this morning. Probably about to go knock out 3hrs on the gravel bike

Not bad, had good legs though so wish i would have done the group ride lol.

Did 2hrs on the mtb yesterday. Going to Roanoke Thursday to preride the marathon mtb nats course

Went to Roanoke Thursday. Underestimated how hard that course was going to be. Should have brought more food. Was happy to be back at the truck lol.

Was nice to be back on the road bike this morning after that 4.5hr death march

12 hour MTB race done. 94 degree highs and it felt every bit of that mid race. Had the pace to do 100 miles on the single speed but spent too much time helping other riders (1 flat and 3 people without enough water/hydration) and was very inefficient between laps. I was banging out laps at a pretty consistent 70 minute pace if you don't count my time stopped on the trail assisting other riders. I have a tendency to socialize and talk to other racers and people between laps I had the pace to hit mt 100 mile goal in 12 hours (9 laps) if I could keep my stopped time to below about 1.5 hours.

I fell behind my hydration a little on laps 3-4 aiding other riders who ran out of water. I used a 880ml bottle in my frame and supplemented it with a single 250ml soft flask in my jersey pocket with LMNT to help get me to my electrolyte goals.

Biggest change from years past was moving 100% to gummies for my fuel. After 5-6 hours in the heat I get to where gels and heavy sugar drinks are wholly unappetizing. The same with anything with a lot of artificial sweeteners. I get to where only plain water is really tolerable. I experimented with different gummies (sports focused and just grocery store bought) and settled on Fruit Slices as my favorite. They have less gelatin and aren't as "chewy" as all the other gummies and they have a very convenient size/carb count which makes metering my carbs easy on the bike. 2 fruit slices are 23g of carbs and 90 calories. Pop in a fruit slice every 10 minutes or so and get a nice 70g of carbs and hour. I just keep a bunch in my top tube bag. With plain water and mostly gummies for fuel I was left with a pretty big hole in my electrolyte needs. It's easy to get hyponatremia trying to replace my 1.3L of water I sweat per hour at these temps.

My solution? Add electrolytes to my fruit slices. I laid the fruit slices out on a cutting board and lightly misted them with water. I then sprinkled them with a mix of 50% low sodium salt (50% sodium chloride and 50% potassium chloride) and 50% regular table salt to give me a 3:1 sodium to potassium ratio. tossed them in the oven on dehydrate for a few minutes to dry out the water and I made electrolyte gummies.

Pros: Electrolytes and fuel in a small very convenient easy to eat and regulate package leaving me to only needed plain water in my bottle. No stupid gu packets to keep track of. Cheap. $8 for two large bags and $4 for a shaker of low sodium salt was more than enough fuel for the 12 hour race. Throw a top tube bag on my bike and I can hold several hours worth. Easy to reach in pop one on your mouth even on technical MTB terrain. The slight hint of salt with the sugar was actually pleasant even late into the day.

Cons: Electrolytes were not precisely measured so I don't know exactly how much electrolytes I have consumed. A problem I could probably solve with a more precise application of my salt mixture to the gummies.

Race day went great. I raced for 9 hours and had zero GI or hydration/electrolyte related issues with a high temperature hitting 94F with a heat index in the low 100's . My energy levels were pretty consistent even after 9 hours and I still had a lot of gas in the tank when I had to bow out because of lighting issues on the upcoming night laps. I did supplement with a few SIS gels with caffeine for a boost every 2-3 laps. I had a cup of noodles at lunch which was an amazing boost in energy levels at the time. I also had some salty nuts or peanut butter filled pretzels between laps. I might incorporate more salty broth between laps next race as the saltiness was extremely satisfying after eating nothing but sweet stuff for most of the day.

nice! was this a road event or gravel?

hell yea! i havent gotten over to the mountains in a little while. well with the exception of roanoke 2 weeks ago. that was 5000ft over 38mi

I put everyone to sleep with my novel.

Is anyone doing any big rides in the near future?