My companion sings less and less of the song depending how steep the hill is down to repeating single bars.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure
CCE Top Up Annual Mileage Ride
(129 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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when solo riding for any distance my companion almost always turns to hymns.
'we plough the fields and scatter' and 'all thing bright and beautiful' etc....
No clue why, was dragged to church until I was 15 but rarely been inside one since.
also - sterling effort HC.
Posted 5 years ago # -
You want the Irish blessing one
"May the road rise to greet you
May the wind be ever at your back ..."Posted 5 years ago # -
Quite a lot of carols kept me going yesterday.
I should confess it wasn't all plain sailing yesterday and it did leave me a bit broken last night - so much so that two CCE members were taking bets as to whether I would see the bells or not. I did (just) but my chat was a bit subdued for the latter parts of 2018.
Having just read the excellent book on Griffith Pugh, (the doctor who did lots of physiology experiments on the Everest climbers to help them improve their performance at altitude) I will share the details as it makes no sense to me.
It's a question of lack of bonking...
I didn't sleep well and the 5am alarm meant I was decidedly groggy in the morning and only managed 1 bowl of porridge rather than my usual 2 bowls.
On most rides I have to eat a lot, so I need to eat proper meals regularly but I'll also top it up with gels, malt loaf, flapjacks etc. as I go along. I had my bags filled with goodies all set, but I just couldn't face it - I was struggling to even drink my Electrolyte drink, without nearly throwing up.
My legs felt okay and seemed to be working, so I ploughed on with dreams of a proper breakfast at Crianlarich, but nothing was open. After 50miles I stopped at Lochearnhead, where I had a small soup (& some decent cycling chat with the barman). The next few miles were spent wondering if that would stay down. It did, but I didn't feel like anything else.
Another 30miles later, I've still not touched any of my snacks but I find myself on the pavement next to the A9 and a service station up ahead, so I decide to stop and try to eat. I buy a flapjack and a ribena, which I manage to keep down and set off again.
I then start to wonder why I'm not bonking. Yes, I've indulged in a ample share of mince pies and other festive goodies, but this seems bizarre compared to my usual intake on a similar ride. I carry on, whilst on the look out for the tell tell signs of bonking, but none came.
My legs didn't feel particularly tired and whilst the wind caused some hard work, it wasn't especially worse than the rest of the ride. I even got some PBs going through Dumfermline although that may be due to the adrenaline of dicing with traffic.
So just what does it take to bonk...
Posted 5 years ago # -
@hankchief
Maybe you don't bonk?
All that grub you have been shovelling in over thousands of mikes not necessary?
Did you possibly unknowingly partake of a large amount of amphetamine sulphate?
Unlikely but fausto coppi was. A big fan, Aldo Eddy Merckx
Do you have a virus now?
Posted 5 years ago # -
@HC Looking at your average speed, it isn't your usual endurance speed - to be expected in winter. You may be travelling at 80% of maximum speed and below a carb threshold for you? You can probably keep going at that effort level and burn fat (not that you have much).
I have a lot more blubber than you, and as a rough rule of thumb, provided I have a decent breakfast beforehand, I can do 100km on an electrolyte and an energy bar if I don't push above 20km/h - I'm in a comfort zone and don't seem to need much food. I've managed myself around 200s at 22-23 by following a sensible little and often strategy with one bigger stop, but can't maintain 25 more than a couple of hours and need to eat more during that. Speed is only 20-25% more but the effort is changing from cruising to burst and calorie intake goes up accordingly. For some reason cruising is much more appealing, but maybe to improve I have to put in more hard sessions.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@HC - ah, that explains why it took so long for your ride to appear on Strava. I was beginning to think you'd blocked me.
I think this post from earlier in the year is relevant to your situation.
There's a good GCN video on YouTube that explains that your digestive system is a conveyor belt that slows down when you are working hard. If you put too much in at the top when the system is running slowly, it backs-up and makes you feel ill.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Greenroofer - the upload delay was caused by me accidentally stopping my garmin in Blackford, so it required a little bit of IT first aid to stitch the 2 halves together.
I get what your post is saying - I just didn't think that just a bowl of soup and a flapjack was anywhere near enough carbs going into the system for 8 hours of cycling. It will be interesting to to try out a new lower food option on future rides...
Paddyirish - I was a bit slower than previous long rides, but it was my first long ride in 6 months and I wasn't feeling great so wasn't that surprising. My heart rate was in usual ranges. The interesting point was that neither speed nor heart rate particularly changed towards the end of the ride. Maybe as you say, I was just inside my cruising effort.
Gembo - I have bonked in the past - Not often as I get fairly clear signals that it is coming.
Not aware of having taken any amphetamine sulphate - what does it taste like?Posted 5 years ago # -
@hankchief, mostly I think it tastes like beechams powders, (after the dealers have cut it with whatever they cut it with, your friend might take his cut and replace it with beechams powders, your dancing does not then improve but your headache goes away)
Posted 5 years ago #
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