How to pace a 130km ride?

[Volnix]

Hi!

I am planning a 130km ride pretty soon. I have in the past done a 90+km ride with no problems which also included a double 600m climb (once on the way there and once on the way back) totalling a 1200m climb.

I was not exhausted physically on the way back but mentally I was kinda bored of cycling...

The ride I am planning is just 40km more, with much less weight as the previous one was done with a winter jacket etc. It also doesnt contain any difficult climbs.

My main priority is to get there, so thats not racing or training or anything. So basically should I care in trying to maintain a 95rpm cadence and such stuff? Whats the most "economical" way of cycling such a distance? Should I keep in low cadence with a low gear or something like that?

I plan on leaving very early in the morning, like 6am or something like that and I would really like to be there by noon or something...

Thanks.

 

[An old Guy]

130km in 6 hours is about 20km/hr. That is all you need to keep track of.

Take your time and have fun.

 

[jpr95]

Of course, if you want to stop at all (food, restroom, stretch), you may find you need a pace closer to 25 km/h to get done in 6 hours.

I'd say you probably need to ride at a perceived effort close to what you did for your 90 km ride, perhaps a little less. Maybe knock 5 RPM off your typical cadence on shorter rides if that's comfortable for you, or maintain cadence and shift down one gear from your normal cruising gear.

Don't neglect fluids and fuel for your body--pre, during and post-ride. 130 km in 6 hours could be 3000 or more calories, and you'll need to consume about half of that while you're riding.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

Of course, if you want to stop at all (food, restroom, stretch), you may find you need a pace closer to 25 km/h to get done in 6 hours.

I'd say you probably need to ride at a perceived effort close to what you did for your 90 km ride, perhaps a little less. Maybe knock 5 RPM off your typical cadence on shorter rides if that's comfortable for you, or maintain cadence and shift down one gear from your normal cruising gear.

Don't neglect fluids and fuel for your body--pre, during and post-ride. 130 km in 6 hours could be 3000 or more calories, and you'll need to consume about half of that while you're riding.

Thanks for that... I'll attempt it... Hope it all goes well.

 

[limerickman]

Originally Posted by jpr95 .

Of course, if you want to stop at all (food, restroom, stretch), you may find you need a pace closer to 25 km/h to get done in 6 hours.

I'd say you probably need to ride at a perceived effort close to what you did for your 90 km ride, perhaps a little less. Maybe knock 5 RPM off your typical cadence on shorter rides if that's comfortable for you, or maintain cadence and shift down one gear from your normal cruising gear.

Don't neglect fluids and fuel for your body--pre, during and post-ride. 130 km in 6 hours could be 3000 or more calories, and you'll need to consume about half of that while you're riding.

Good advice.

I'll just add that doing any distance should be relatively enjoyable. Setting targets is all well and good but if at some point during the spin you feel that the target time set is not achievable don't try to "wing it" but killing yourself just to finish at a pre-agreed target.
Unless you're training to compete, cycling should be fun and it should be "pressure free"

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by limerickman .


Good advice.

I'll just add that doing any distance should be relatively enjoyable. Setting targets is all well and good but if at some point during the spin you feel that the target time set is not achievable don't try to "wing it" but killing yourself just to finish at a pre-agreed target.
Unless you're training to compete, cycling should be fun and it should be "pressure free"

No worries about that... There will be a village every 20km or so... So no worries at all...

 

[ambal]

130km with a group will probably feel easier both physically and mentally than 50 or 60km by yourself.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by ambal .

130km with a group will probably feel easier both physically and mentally than 50 or 60km by yourself.

Too late...

I've done the ride...

I checked mapmyride.com the previous day and it said that in these 130km there would be a climb of 600meters which seemed to be pretty spread out over 20km or something which was ok. But then at the 110km mark there was a pass from these mountains and there were continious short climbs which were very very very steep.

Mapmyride.com did not mention these small climbs at all on the "graph"

So basically I bailed at 120km....

**** you mapmyride.com... **** you...

 

[Dave Pace]

Yea I could have told you MMR sucks. Its only good for making a map but to use it in the road it is just ****.

 

[alienator]

Yea I could have told you MMR sucks. Its only good for making a map but to use it in the road it is just ****.

I prefer the "make my own map and upload it to my Garmin" method. MapMyRide does seem to understate road grades.

 

[Dave Pace]

I prefer the "make my own map and upload it to my Garmin" method. MapMyRide does seem to understate road grades.

not only grades, but the auto pause sucks, and the actual responsiveness of the sensors is just horrid. Heck i woul d be at a street light and then all of the sudden I would do 107 mph up and down the street. Its just crappy.

 

[Volnix]

Yea I could have told you MMR sucks. Its only good for making a map but to use it in the road it is just ****.

The next day I done a short 20km ride from a similar terrain from the hotel. (Basically the place I went was 10km away from where I stopped and the next day I did 10km further from the place where I was staying). So these 10km and the 10km back looked like this after I recorded them with Strava:

Even though it seems kinda smooth, both the climb and the descent had some very sharp small climbs, which were not only impossible to do with a normal cadence but were actually pretty exhausting. I done a few on the last km before I bailed towards the place but then I run out of water, got exhausted and I actually managed to get to a bar near the place where I was going. So I just stayed there and went the last 10km with a car. :big-smile: