where am i going wrong

west bay

20 years ago could cycle as far as liked with very little trouble, although 90 miles is the most i have done in a day, however that was when i was obviously when i was a lot fitter than i am today add on the fact that i am now some what overweight 200lbs for someone who is only 5'4 tall is a bit much. However this year i decided to try to regain some lost fitness and have come up with the hair brained idea of riding what would be for me a lifetimes best of 100 miles in one day from where i live in swindon to west bay in dorset this ride i intend to do in june of next year so at the moment i have just over 7 months to go to get my fitness up to some kind of peak. I thought at first this would be reasonably easy however as i have found this is not the case and i am really struggling, i started off really slowly just doing about 10 miles about 3 times a week and gradually increased it and all felt fine however about 6 weeks ago i tried to go from where i live to Henley on thames a distance of 53 miles i got as far as about 2 miles outside of Wallingford 8 miles from Henley and basically collapsed my legs just wouldnt go round any more and my knees were killing me i had become very disorientated and felt quite sick luckily my wife was in the car just behind me so i didnt have to wait too long to be picked up. Now at first i felt really pd off at the fact that for the first time in my life i had failed at getting to somewhere, however when i look back now it dont seem to be that bad as i had increased my normal distance by 10 miles and the 45 miles i had travelled took me 3 hours and 45 mins which for someone who aint that fit isnt a bad time. However if i am to do this trip of mine next year i need to find another 55 miles from somewhere, have just come back from the doctors and the pain i get in my knees is he thinks due to the fact that i am not exercisng my quadds and has recommended i do plenty of stretching, if i am to do this trip of mine i am going to need all the help i can get so any advice anyone could give me would be most welcome inparticular advice on what drinks and food i should be taking on trips, as when i failed on the Henley trip i basically got out of bed and straight on my bike no food no drink and i think that had a lot to do with the fact i didnt make my destination

jsirabella

May I ask your age?

While I know we have many people here in this forum in their sixties and still cycling as if they were in their thirties it does make a difference for most and IMHO you need to plan with age in mind. Your body does not recover as quickly.

Otherwise I had a similar challenge to myself several years ago of doing a tour from NY to Boston. I first only worked out on a gym trainer combined with simple exercises like push ups and situps and stretched regularly. I eventually worked my way up to spinning classes. I did these type of workouts for about 6-9 months before the workout.

I gave myself 5 days to do the ride. I did it in 1 1/2 days. This got me into cycling more seriously. I was always of the belief set up yourself for realistic goals as if you fail too often or if it is too easy you will not continue. It is alot like Pavlov (sp?) dog, if you know what I mean. Give him a snack every so often and he will keep coming back for more, give it too often or never and he gives up.

Also key get a good touring bike as they are very comfortable and easy gearing for any hill, I had a Cannondale F400 and still miss it. Last pick a route that is reasonable, I learned the hard way as on my second tour I went from NY to Baltimore and the route I picked was just killer...the hills were insane for me at that time and took me 2 1/2 days.

Good luck with your goal...

-Js

jhuskey

Try and do a lot of rolling mile without speed in mind. Don't worry about the pace right now that will come latter.
Rest when you get tired and then go again but don't over do.
Above all be patient.

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west bay

I am 41, when i did the Henley ride i set off at what i thought was i really steady pace having not rode so far in years i didnt want to set off too quickly although i do like to stay in top gear when as long as conditions are right, i hit a bad spot at around 30 miles but got through it i think then my body was telling me to take a break but im a stubborn guy and felt as if i had to go on, however in the end i was in a right mess and it was game over, but all it has done is made me more determined to get to my goal i am not interested in how long it takes me i have just got to finish but coming to terms with the fact that i am not 18 anymore is going to be my biggest hurdle i guess to some of you people on this forum riding 100 miles in a day is chicken feed but to me its a lifetimes challenge

frenchyge

Stop every 10-15 miles to get off the bike and stretch a little, eat, and refill your bottles. If you build up slowly and take care of your body then it will continue to perform for the 8hrs+ necessary to complete the ride. If you try to ignore your body and push onward through sheer willpower then your body will shut down and leave you in a heap on the side of the road.

10 miles to 53 miles is a big jump. Think about increasing your weekday rides by a couple miles (~10%) each week, and then try to do twice that distance on your weekend rides. When you can do 50-60 miles without issue then you're close to being able to stretch it to 100 with proper rest stops and food/water support. Good luck!

wiredued

Well Yah.... Long rides have alot to do with refueling as you go also and if you want to recover in 24 hours take in a good dose of sugar/carbs in the critical half hour after your ride.... I would up my vitamin C intake if my knees were hurting it's a healer vitamin....If you are short on training time L4 intensity can be just as effective probably more effective training for the time spent. After hitting L4 hard for about 8 months I increased my 90 mile average speed from 12.9 to 15.6mph hauling a trunk bag on the rear rack with all my food and drink for the ride.

__________________
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. http://www.earnharts.com/html/reala...ecific.asp?id=3

daveryanwyoming

+1 on this post.

Ya, you bonked. That happens when you ride without eating. And it happens if you don't have a solid training base. Don't despair, just train regularly and be sure to fuel yourself. Check out the first 30 or so pages of Tyson's ongoing saga if you want some ideas on how to train effectively without necessarily spending all day on your bike: http://www.cyclingforums.com/t314849.html

-Dave
P.S. Nice job wiredued...

Eden

Sounds like a classic case of the bonk. Even very fit people need to 1. fuel up properly before they ride and 2. keep up at least some intake of food, and especially water while they ride.

Your knee troubles are another problem all together. I would suggest that you look carefully at your bike fit. If you are riding a bike that is too big for you - and a 5'4" it is very possible you are, it can very easily make your knees hurt. Is the bike you are riding a new one, or the old one you had from when you were younger? If its an old one and you can afford to replace it, you might seriously think about it. Bikes are lighter these days and there's a greater selection of bikes for smaller folks now. Having been there (I am 5' even) I understand how uncomfortable, and how much slower! a person can be on a bike that is too big. (for me too stretched out = quads not engaged = knee/hamstring pain) Even if the frame is the correct size you may need to make some fit adjustments. Saddle position can have a lot of bearing on how comfortable your knees are. If you get your bike fit properly there is no reason why cycling shouldn't be comfortable - people with knee problems are encouraged to do it!

west bay

Thankyou very much for all your tips and advice, the bike i am riding at the moment is a new one and to tell you the truth i have got the saddle too high, but this is only because i find my knees dont hurt so much on a trip. It took me about 3 months to go from 10 to trying 53 miles, but i dont find it too much of a strain to do 30 miles. I do have a problem where i can only go out on a ride at the weekend as i am a house husband during the week and cant do too much apart from spending a couple of hours on the excercise bike which i find is not much of a substiute to actually riding. I live in a great area for riding its very flat to the north and really hilly to the south so i have got everything i need to reach my goal just could do with a new pair of legs and a fitter body.

doctorSpoc

eat and drink, eat and drink!!

if you had ate and drank you would have made it... you might have been really slow because of your fitness level, but you would have made it. for a 53mile ride you'll need two large water bottles and at least a couple energy bars or maybe 4 regular granola bars... remeber the energy to pedal has to come from somewhere and your body only holds enough for about 1.5hrs of hard excersise so you WILL die like this every time if you don't eat and drink.. as others have said even if you are very fit this will happen... you just can't get around the laws of thermodynamics.

as for your knees it looks like you cranked it up to fast. you need to give your connective tissue time to toughen up before you do longer workouts like this.. maybe going to the bike shop where you got your bike and asking them about your position might help too.

wiredued

Good point about bike fit I don't even think about bike fit since I got my saddle hieght just right I leave it alone now and the thought of changing it never crosses my mind after I have a painless 90 miler.

__________________
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. http://www.earnharts.com/html/reala...ecific.asp?id=3

Yojimbo_

Not much to add to the other responders - I agree that it sounds like you bonked. Next time, eat a big breakfast, bring some food with you, and eat and drink before you feel hungry / thirsty. After a few longer rides, you'll start to get a feel for how much you need to eat and drink.

Re the knee pain, check your fit as the others have said. I had knee pain for a long time on longer rides and it took me ages to sort it out. A good rule of thumb for your seat height is to put your heels on the pedals. You should be able to turn the cranks with your legs going straight at their maximum extension without rocking from side to side. This will get saddle height close, following which you can fine tune as you like. Also check the fore / aft position - lots of stuff on this if you do a web search on bike fit.

My first really long ride was about 75 miles. I wasn't in very good shape, and I knew nothing about eating and drinking while riding. I almost collapsed when I got off the bike at the half way point for a rest, and despaired about getting back. After a long break to recover, I managed to limp back to my car having learned a very valuable lesson. Sounds like you might just have learned the same lesson.

west bay

Yeah i have learned a very valuable lessons i am not as young as i used to be or fit and too fat, up to about 6 years ago i used to weigh about 126 pound and i used to ride 70 miles a week just to work and back, however i then met my now wife who had a car at which point the bike riding went out the window and the weight just poured on probably put on 70lbs in about 2 years and i just cant keep it off, i can only ride bike at the weekends, but its not as if i eat a lot of junk food or drink a lot of beer. My doctor has told me i need to lose about 42lbs to get within my ideal weight and once crimbo is out the way i will make an attempt to diet as i am sure i would be able to ride further comfortably if i wasnt carrying the extra baggage, going to go on a decent ride this weekend passing through little villages just on the outskirts of where i live, but as i am just going to be doing a big circle round swindon at no point am i going to be more than 7 miles from home just in case i suffer another major burn out, which if i do after all the help i have been given will be my own fault, think i might tow a fridge on the back just to make sure i dont run out of supplies. Thanks again one and all