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Rubbish legs or not enough Fuel?

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  • March 14, 2015 at 8:24 pm #23503
    sergius

    I’ve been building back up the miles after a fairly lax Christmas period where I didn’t do more than one 30 mile ride a week for a couple of months.

    I’m finding that once I hit ~40-45 miles or so, my legs just don’t seem to have much left in the tank. I’ll manage another 20 miles or so, but it’s not what I’d call fun.

    I’ve just been blaming my fitness and have been slowly increasing distances again. I’m doing about 60 miles a week at the moment, last summer I was regularly doing 80 or so (knee problems aside).

    I was looking at some of the data on my new Garmin, and I started paying attention to the “calories burned” number. Today for example it read 2450 or so, considering my “normal” daily intake is 2500, that’s a fairly high number and it got me thinking.

    Generally, when fuelling for a ride like today’s (4 hours), I’ll have a big bowl of porridge & protein powder (~400 calories) along with 4-5 slices of malt loaf while I’m out (~130 calories each).

    There’s obviously a bit of a deficit there – is that a problem though? I’m not trying to lose any weight (5’9″ and 10 stone), there’s little left to lose.

    It doesn’t feel like “proper” bonking – before I started cycling more seriously I spent a summer commuting to work on my MTB without increasing my food intake – I used to feel like hell for the last 5 miles or so of the journey home – but on the plus side I lost three stone in three months đŸ™‚

    So, is the consensus to eat enough to match what you burn? Or are my legs just a bit rubbish at the moment and I need to step up the training.

    Cheers,

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  • March 16, 2015 at 1:12 pm #836997
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    Edgeley

    I find refuelling with beer
    I find refuelling with beer half way though a ride is very effective. And planning a ride with a good pub in the middle is fun.

    March 16, 2015 at 12:54 pm #836995
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    Anonymous

    The calorie calculation
    The calorie calculation (let’s call it that!) on the Garmin is woeful, and over estimates by close to double!

    I ride with a power meter on one bike and not on the other, and the total power over a ride with PM is as close as damn it to the same as the calories consumed on the ride due to the body’s efficiency at processing calories to make kilojoules. This is reflected in the calorie figure being the same on my 810 as the Kj figure when on the PM equipped bike.
    I did the same ride yesterday on the bike without PM (which is incidentally, lighter and has better wheels etc), and the calorie estimation that is just based on time, weight and distance instead of any actual measurement of consequence, was just under double the figure previously measured.

    March 16, 2015 at 12:42 pm #836993
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    dajoby

    thought this would be a
    thought this would be a decent place to make a first post. hello all.

    i too did barely any miles over christmas. a chest infection killed november so i’d been off the bike until middle of feb. i’m a really average rider but here’s my experience of fueling for a ride.

    this does not assume you’ve had breakfast as i will often ride without it unless it’s going to be a biggie (70 miles plus)…it does assume a decent coffee before you leave. natch đŸ˜‰

    out for an hour or so? take a water bottle. with water in it.

    out for 2? take a gel (high 5, citrus…taste like melted icepop) and a bottle, with robinsons in it.

    out for 3, 4, 5, 6+? porridge an hour before leaving. double espresso before heading out the door. a gel for every hour expected on the bike (and bits of flapjack) – two bottles – both with high 5 electrolyte mix in them).

    i don’t ride at all hard for the first 10 miles as it ruins me if i do. i generally ride to where i’m working but not destroying myself.

    for me, it’s all about the miles in your legs. turn your legs over for longer distances more often and the easier it gets.

    March 14, 2015 at 11:27 pm #836991
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    livestrongnick

    Don’t forget that what you
    Don’t forget that what you eat the night before will be fueling your body. I always carb up the night before a ride and then breakfast tops me up. :B

    March 14, 2015 at 11:16 pm #836989
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    gnarlyrider

    I think you need more fuel.
    I think you need more fuel. I can ride for 2 to 2.5 hours unfuelled (even no breakfast) but beyond that it gets slow and painful. Using High 5 energy drink, malt loaf, bananas and even gels seem to fix this – the drink alone is surprisingly effective. Eat little and often on longer rides. Recently the same (70 mile) ride with and without fuel were leagues apart in terms of ability to maintain pace – with fuel I could significantly press on for the last hour.

    Years ago on properly long rides 100 to 150 on successive days I found I wound wind down to a slow pace as I ran out of fuel – I am guessing this was my fat burning level then add a Mars bar every 20 minutes and I was back up to normal pace.

    Eat more get more

    March 14, 2015 at 10:09 pm #836987
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    unistriker

    If I ride hard, I am done
    If I ride hard, I am done after 70 mins. I need to eat or my legs feel dead.

    If I ride slow it can be two hours before i feel hungry and slow.

    If you are saying your pacing is fine and your food is fine. then its your fitness. otherwise just eat more

    March 14, 2015 at 9:17 pm #836985
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    Stratman

    I’m not sure that I’d trust
    I’m not sure that I’d trust the calorie readings on the Garmin. I got widely different values on my 20-odd mile commute with and without a heart rate strap. (With was substantially lower) even though the time was very similar. I’d just aim for more miles, and eating a bit before you get hungry – I’m a cereal bar man myself.

    March 14, 2015 at 9:12 pm #836983
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    ianrobo

    sergius wrote:On the drinking

    sergius wrote:
    On the drinking front, I tend to make do with two bottles, as you say little and often. I generally use the electrolyte tabs from High-5/SIS as I used to get cramp in my calfs + I like the taste!

    after taking advice off here, I simply take water on days like these and when hotter will do diluted orange juice with sugar and maybe half an electrolyte tab

    March 14, 2015 at 8:50 pm #836981
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    sergius

    On the drinking front, I tend
    On the drinking front, I tend to make do with two bottles, as you say little and often. I generally use the electrolyte tabs from High-5/SIS as I used to get cramp in my calfs + I like the taste!

    March 14, 2015 at 8:49 pm #836979
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    ianrobo

    It is about endurance, simply
    It is about endurance, simply sounds like you do not have enough miles under the bonnet, try doing some short interval training, esp if there is a good 5 min hill near you.

    March 14, 2015 at 8:47 pm #836977
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    sergius

    The everyone is different
    The everyone is different point is a good one.

    I’ll tend to have a couple of five minute breaks over a four hour ride, I don’t ride crazily hard when out for a longish run – I certainly pace myself.

    The more I think about it, I’m starting to convince myself I may be starting to “bonk” after ~45 miles or so. When doing a few Sportives last year I ended up eating a lot more than normal (mmm flapjacks) on 80ish mile rides – I never felt particularly drained – at that point it was more some persistent knee pain that I’ve now sorted.

    An experiment is in order, next weekend I’ll try eating more when I’m out – see if it makes much difference đŸ™‚

    March 14, 2015 at 8:41 pm #836975
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    Daveyraveygravey

    Hard to tell from what you’ve
    Hard to tell from what you’ve said. I rode 2.5 hrs this morning then had a bacon sarnie and did another 2 hours; we’re all different. For me, I get a pick up just by stopping around the 2, 2.5 hrs mark, even without eating. Are you just riding too hard and/or too long?
    I believe your body can only process something like 60 cals an hour so no point pigging out. What do you drink on a ride? I got through two bottles on my ride today, one of water one of SIS diluted stuff, I find sipping constantly really helps me, a little and often.

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