Endurance Training for Cyclists: Mastering Long Rides
Bonking on a long ride is the terrible feeling that you’ve suddenly started pedaling in mashed potatoes, your head has detached itself and is now floating in the stars, and your body feels tingly - not in a good way.
Yes, that’s a personal experience, and yes, that is the dark edge of under-fueling.
But even mild under-fueling on a long ride or race can mean a dramatic loss in performance.
Essentially and literally, your body has run out of gas.
This is not a post about daily fueling or fueling specifically for workouts and training.
I’ll assume you come to the race fully hydrated and topped off with carbohydrates.
Long rides are times to practice fueling
Many Simple Endurance Coaching clients, including myself, are undertaking long adventures on the bike this year,
Several riders are undertaking the Ride Across Wisconsin in one day, others are doing long mountain bike races, and several are doing long gravel races.
Since one client struggled this winter in a three-hour fat bike race, we need to dig a little deeper into what kind of fueling we need for long events.
Start eating right away on long rides
First, if you’re riding for less than an hour, you typically don’t need extra carbohydrates.
I saw former cyclocross world champion Lucinda Brand take a gel mid-race this winter, so maybe that recommendation will change if she knows something we don’t.
There are general recommendations for on-the-bike nutrition for longer events, including:
- start consuming carbohydrates after about 45 minutes of the event
- try to consume 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates (mix of fructose and glucose) per hour during the ride.
- drink at least one bottle of water with some electrolytes per hour (16-24 ounces)
- always practice fueling during long training sessions so you’ve tried out your race-day fuel prior to race day!
Try out a variety of fuels for your rides
The rest of the story gets a little complicated and generally comes down to individual preferences.
For example, mountain bikers often have a more challenging time getting real food down since removing your hands to unwrap something can be difficult.
Plus, real food takes a little longer to digest and it’s not always tolerated by some people.
And likewise, relying solely on gels and gummies might also give you gut rot or cause significant intestinal distress!
So if you haven’t already dialed in your nutrition for long events, try something different each time and see how it works.
The Feed, for example, offers single servings of many different products so you can try them and see how they work for your body.
Carbohydrates in your bottle can be effective
For mountain bikers doing long races, adding your carbohydrates to water bottles might be a good way to make sure you’re getting enough into your system.
And for 12 and 24-hour events, mountain bikers tend to create a collection of snacks and food after laps when they can stop and eat.
There’s some evidence that a low concentration of carbohydrates and electrolytes in your bottles may be effective
As an example, I’ve been experimenting with keeping plain water in my hydration back and
electrolytes in water bottles for long gravel races.
I typically consume hourly packets of Embark Coffee Maple with electrolyte water and a bar or two along the way.
However, I’m going to try some of the electrolyte/ carbohydrate product in my bottles and use fewer Embarks.
Rice cakes, oat balls can work for you
Many people try a homemade peanut butter ball and oat concoction that provides carbohydrates and some protein.
I provide balls like this from Oatballs to my Boot Camp class participants, and I’ve taken some on long rides as well.
There are thousands of no-bike recipes for energy balls that might work for you.
Rice cakes, popularized by Allen Lim and Biju Thomas’ book Feed Zone cookbook, are also real food that people seem to like.
In a pinch, gas stations can provide Rice Krispie bars or Clif Bars, or other solid food as well.
Generally, start with your solid foods early in the long ride because, after several hours of pedaling, it may be tough to get bars and such down.
You'll know what works when it doesn't
How will you know that your product is working?
First, you’ll be able to keep your energy high throughout the event. You won’t start getting tired and sleepy.
Second, your gut won’t hurt or you won’t need to run off into the bushes for an emergency “bathroom” break! Make sure you try the product on a miserably hot day to make sure it works in all conditions.
Third, you’ll still like the taste of the product after several hours of using it!
Here are three things to consider about endurance training for Cyclists: Mastering Long Ridesduring your long bike rides and races:
- Try lots of different options during training rides to see what works for you. Get what works dialed in before race day.
- Consume a large bottle of fluids with electrolytes per hour.
- Consume 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates an hour and start after about 45 minutes into a long ride.
Want to know more about endurance training for cyclists:
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Do you have questions? Email me at paulw at SimpleEnduranceCoaching.com
I support a limited number of cyclists and runners achieve their goals with more strength, endurance, and mobility.
Contact me or sign up for Virtual Coffee so we can discuss your goals, ask questions, and talk about making your endurance training more effective, fun, and Simple.
You can also opt-in to receive my weekly blog posts about what works in endurance sports.
Paul Warloski is a:
- USA Cycling Level 3 Coach
- RRCA Running Coach
- Training Peaks Level 2 Coach
- RYT-200 Yoga Instructor
- Certified Personal Trainer
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