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A feel-good ride

04.13.2008 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

Went out today eager to try some new stuff, based on the helpful comments regarding my bonk last week. I rode 22.4 miles from my house to Southwest Parkway and back, including a loop through Travis Country for good measure. (For those readers unfamiliar with Austin, Southwest Parkway is a 4-lane road, sometimes divided, with reasonably good shoulders and lots of hills. Travis Country is a neighborhood at the east end of Southwest Parkway, with a loop road that also has a couple of decent hills.)

I’m going to be trying different kinds of foods to keep nourished during rides. On a trip to the bike store yesterday, I got some Accelerade, some Clif Bars, and some Clif Shot Bloks. Filled one water bottle with Accelerade and the other with water. I made it a point to start drinking the Accelerade even before the ride, and about every 15 minutes during it. At about the 12 mile mark, I took a brief rest, ate a Clif Bar, and drank water.

It surprised me how quickly the fuel worked. Pulling up hills, I could feel that my thighs had plenty of energy. I suppose I’ve always taken this for granted before, but since last weekend’s misadventure, I’m a lot more attuned to the way I feel when I’m on the bike. Felt great at the end of the ride, and two hours later, my wife and I went out and played nine holes of golf. I took a drink of water on every hole, but was not in the least fatigued.

I’ll be trying different food and/or drink combinations on my rides, but for now, I’m confident that my bonking days are over.

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Categories // Rides, training

Fueling a ride

04.08.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

I’ve now had a couple of days to think about what went wrong in the ride Sunday. How could I have finished 50 and 62 mile rides last fall, and not make it past 37 now?

The answer was obvious. Those long rides were organized, with adequate rest stops. And I took full advantage of the rest stops. I ate bananas, energy bars, pretzels and goldfish, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — and I always refilled my bottle with a sports drink. Sometimes, I drank half the bottle before getting back on the bike, and refilled it again before leaving the rest stop.

The ride Sunday was put together well by a group of volunteers, but it wasn’t big enough to warrant rest stops. The riders were on their own. I just didn’t come well enough prepared.

So the next time I decide to rack up some big miles, I’ll know what to do. Find an effective sports drink (not one loaded with sugar), bring along two — or three — energy bars (I’ll have to find one that I like), and maybe even experiment with gels.

I’d never even heard of gels until I’d been biking for two months last summer. Seems convenient, but I wonder. What the heck, I’ll buy some for my next long training ride.

I’ll even remember that five dollar bill to spend at a convenient convenience store. And breakfast will be more than a pair of frozen waffles.

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Categories // Rides, training

I bonked

04.06.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

Pat’s training ride for the upcoming Hill Country Ride for AIDS had a great route today, so I decided to tag along.  It was to run from Dripping Springs to Johnson City and back, a total of 52.2 miles.  The first nine miles are along my favorite ride in the area, Creek Road.

Quite a few riders — I would guess about 50 — turned up for the ride.  It was well organized, with several ride leaders and SAG support.  Pat’s goal was to ride somewhere around 27-30 miles.  I figured I’d try to complete the whole ride.

We were sent off in groups, to avoid a traffic bottleneck at the beginning of the ride, where we had to cross a busy four-lane highway.  Creek Road runs past small ranches, including several with longhorn cattle.  It parallels Onion Creek for much of its length, and is only 8.8 miles to its end, so it makes an easy out-and-back.  But today, we were continuing on, and hit the first set of big hills just a couple of miles after leaving Creek Road.

I hit a top speed of 36.6 mph on one of the downhills, and the others were just as exhilarating, if not quite that fast.  Going uphill, I was in the largest cog and the small chainring more often than not.  But I felt great, and determined to keep an easy pace.

A turn to the west, and we passed a sign that said, “Johnson City 8 miles.”  The rollers got steeper — and longer — and slower.  I pulled over to suck down some water (flavored with Emergen-C).  When I got going again, a passing rider shouted, “Just one more bigass hill and we’re there.”  I took heart.

But there were more like three bigass hills. I was glad to see the other riders pulled up at a convenience store at the town’s (pop. 1200) main intersection.  I rested, wrung out my bandana, ate a Kashi bar, drank more water.  I had forgotten to stick a five-dollar bill in my pocket, and had nothing to buy more food and drink with.

Pat called.  She had turned around at the 14-mile mark, and was now only five miles from the starting point.  I had the car key.  She was bummed.  I told her I’d hurry back, but knew it would take two hours to get there.

Eastbound, we were into the wind.  The hills that had been tough on the way out were a lot tougher.  I could tell things were not going well.  I coasted all the downhills, and spun easily — and very slowly — on the uphills.  I pulled off for an impromtu rest stop only about six miles out of town.

The hills got harder.  When I reached the road that turned south, I pulled off for a long rest.  I knew there was no way I would get back to Dripping Springs under my own power.  As luck would have it, one of the sag trucks came by.  I called it quits, tossed my bike into the pickup’s bed, and squeezed in with two other worn out riders.

I completed 37.2 miles, at an average speed of 14.3.  Clearly, I need more time in the saddle, and I need to raise my caloric intake on these rides.  Losing 20-30 pounds would help, too.  On the plus side, it was my longest ride in three months, over terrain I don’t ride often enough.  Going to ride more hills, and investigate just what would be the best way to fuel up for longer rides in the future.

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Categories // Rides, training

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