Need some help getting started...

[Biker_gal34]

Hi!
As you may notice, I'm new in this forum. I cycle as much as possible, although not as much as many of the rest of you pros! ) I ride maybe 100 miles per week. I use cycling mainly to get in shape for other sports (such as hockey) without putting stress on my knees (as running does). Anyway, the more I cycle, the more I enjoy it and I would like to start going longer distances, but I have a question. I've been reading about the nutritional requirements for long distance cycling, so just for fun I spot-checked my diet. I am usually consuming under 1500 calories per day! Now I know that at 5'7" and 120lbs at my heaviest, I'm not going to need to eat huge amounts, but this seems low if I want to be an endurance cyclist... actually, it has me thinking about other sports too, but thats a different story. So anyway, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about whether this is okay and if its not, what to do about it. (I am a pretty healthy eater but sometimes forget to eat, I really don't have a big appetite at all most of the time. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated!
(Also any advice on taking the bike and locking it up in areas where bikes often get stolen? I can't ride my bike to school because of this.)

Glassy

 

[DJA]

Hi!
As you may notice, I'm new in this forum. I cycle as much as possible, although not as much as many of the rest of you pros! ) I ride maybe 100 miles per week. I use cycling mainly to get in shape for other sports (such as hockey) without putting stress on my knees (as running does). Anyway, the more I cycle, the more I enjoy it and I would like to start going longer distances, but I have a question. I've been reading about the nutritional requirements for long distance cycling, so just for fun I spot-checked my diet. I am usually consuming under 1500 calories per day! Now I know that at 5'7" and 120lbs at my heaviest, I'm not going to need to eat huge amounts, but this seems low if I want to be an endurance cyclist... actually, it has me thinking about other sports too, but thats a different story. So anyway, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about whether this is okay and if its not, what to do about it. (I am a pretty healthy eater but sometimes forget to eat, I really don't have a big appetite at all most of the time. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated!
(Also any advice on taking the bike and locking it up in areas where bikes often get stolen? I can't ride my bike to school because of this.)

Glassy

welcome to the forum!
Cycling as you have realized is a mid to high energy sport. So your diet will have to reflect this energy requirement with about 70% of your dietary energy coming from carbs and about 15% from fats. I don't count calories myself but I do try to eat alot of cereals, rice, pasta and breads. I do keep a close eye on my weight to see what daily gains or loses I have and drink and eat more or less due to that weight movement.

I had always eaten a bowl of cereal in the morning but found that by eating some toast as well in the morning I have alot more energy for the day.

The other point to remember is that if you eat to few a calories your body goes into conservation mode and tries to hold onto the calories.

As for bike theft good luck I still are very carefull where I leave my bikes.

 

[reflecto]

Hi!
As you may notice, I'm new in this forum. I cycle as much as possible, although not as much as many of the rest of you pros! ) I ride maybe 100 miles per week. I use cycling mainly to get in shape for other sports (such as hockey) without putting stress on my knees (as running does). Anyway, the more I cycle, the more I enjoy it and I would like to start going longer distances, but I have a question. I've been reading about the nutritional requirements for long distance cycling, so just for fun I spot-checked my diet. I am usually consuming under 1500 calories per day! Now I know that at 5'7" and 120lbs at my heaviest, I'm not going to need to eat huge amounts, but this seems low if I want to be an endurance cyclist... actually, it has me thinking about other sports too, but thats a different story. So anyway, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about whether this is okay and if its not, what to do about it. (I am a pretty healthy eater but sometimes forget to eat, I really don't have a big appetite at all most of the time. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated!
(Also any advice on taking the bike and locking it up in areas where bikes often get stolen? I can't ride my bike to school because of this.)

Glassy

Hi Glassy:
100 miles per week is great. You sound like perhaps some day you will bonk which is when you run out of energy. You will know it when it happens. It feels like somewheres between the flu and staying up all night without sleep. I once tried a bottle of mostly water with maybe 1/4 of a drink mix like the drinks you can buy such as grape or some flavour you like, personally, gator ade doesn't agree with me, so I use a regular drink watered down. It seemed at that time I could go for hours on this mix, then again, maybe another day, it might not be enough to keep me going. You just need to try different things until you find something you like. If you are touring long distance, you definately need to eat/drink more than you do. But since your cycling is over a weeks time, it won't be so important for you, although in a week you can use up your reserve stores of energy and one day you will bonk and hit the wall, as they say, unless you increase your caloric intake over the week that you bike.
Have you thought of using an old clunker bike to go to work with, and leave your good bike home? What kind of bike do you have? Some people use a chain lock and remove the front wheel and seatpost, if it has the quick release, and take these with them inside to their workplace.
Good luck in your cycling. keep up the miles.
Check out this msn cycling group for other messages etc.
http://groups.msn.com/CyclingCommunity
......reflecto

 

[Biker_gal34]

Thanks for the advice... I think I will buy a really cheap bike to prevent it from getting stolen.
I'm not sure that I have "hit the wall" yet, because I only ride about 20-25 miles at a time and it takes me about an hour 15 (20 if I;m feeling lazy tee hee hee.) My goal isn't to be the best, or the fastest - it is to go as far as I want to go while enjoying the ride. I know I need to up the calories, I had no Idea that i was eating so little... Its the damned fruits and veggies, they fill me up so much lol. My only concern is that I might end up eating too much sugar if I drink too much juice to make up the calories. oh, by the way, just so I know for the purposes of joing a cycling club, is 25 miles in 1:15 considered beginner or intermediate? I could go longer, just where I live you run out of trail seriously fast...
Thanks for your help and look forward to hearing more!