Bike Noob

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It Takes More Than Water

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Summer temperatures are here in Texas now. Austin got its first 100-degree day (38C) this week, although thankfully, we’re way behind last year’s ridiculous 90 days of 100 degrees or more.

So I’ve been making sure I have plenty of water while out on my rides. But the advent of the really hot temperatures reminds me that water alone isn’t enough. If I needed a stark reminder of that fact, all I had to do was take note of this news item:

SAN ANTONIO, June 12 (UPI) — A 30-year-old man who fell ill during an endurance boat race in Texas has died, authorities said.

Brad Ellis, who had become ill Sunday during the Texas Water Safari race on the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers, was the first participant to die in the event’s 50-year history, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Ellis died of hyponatremia, or low sodium, said Allen Spelce, president of the Texas Water Safari.

“It goes against logic,” Spelce said. “You think, ‘Drink water, drink water,’ but you’re expelling all of that sodium, through sweat and using the bathroom, and not getting the replacements.”

I plead guilty. I get by just fine with two bottles of water for rides of 30 miles or less. Part of the reason I bonked last weekend is that I was just drinking water and not replenishing my electrolytes on a ride about an hour longer than I’ve been doing lately. It’s time to start carrying some kind of electrolyte replacement again.

I’ve never been picky about what I use. Often, in the middle of a ride, I’ll stop at a convenience store and pick up a bottle of G2 — the low-sugar Gatorade. I have used Nuun in the past, and like it, although I know people who don’t care for the fizzy tablets you add to your water.

Most sports drinks have a variety of electrolytes — sodium, potassium, chloride and more — it appears that sodium is the one to be most concerned about. The Mayo Clinic’s website says sodium is important to the body, because it “helps maintain normal blood pressure, supports the work of your nerves and muscles, and regulates your body’s fluid balance.” If the sodium level drops too much, extra water enters your cells and swells them. It can even cause you brain cells to swell, and since the brain’s ability to enlarge is restricted by the skull, swollen brain cells could trigger more dangerous symptoms.

In lieu of a sports drink, you could munch on something salty. I’ve always liked a Payday candy bar. The peanuts that surround the nougat center of a Payday contain plenty of salt. A small bag of pretzels would work just as well.

The main thing to be aware of, though, is that water isn’t enough. The Mayo Clinic says you should only drink as much fluid as you lose through sweat during exercise. That would be about 34 ounces — or one liter — of water an hour. That’s about two water bottles. Uh oh — I usually drink only one bottle per hour. So hyponatremia wouldn’t seem to be a particular worry for me. I need to boost my fluid intake, and now that it’s really hot outside, make sure I replenish my sodium, too.

Just use the common sense guidelines you’ve been following since starting to cycle, and you’ll be fine.

 

Routine Routes

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I’m on break from academics for another week and a half, and that means I’ve been able to get some rides in on routes that I seldom, if ever, have traveled before. I’ve been out in the Hill Country, over some roads I haven’t seen in a couple of years; I’ve been on the back roads down to my university, and some other spots as well.

There’s nothing like the enjoyment of getting out and seeing new places.

I say this, because once I’m back in my September-May routine at school, my riding becomes rather predictable. I skip Mondays. On Tuesdays, I can get home early enough to do a quick hour ride before dinner. So I go over to the Veloway and knock off three fast laps. That’s a 15-mile ride.

Wednesday and Thursday see me tied up late at work, so I don’t ride. On Friday, I will either come home a little early, or sometimes not go in to campus at all, since none of my classes meets that day. I have dubbed the ride I do on Fridays the “Friday Niter.” It takes me through our suburban-style neighborhood to a turnaround spot about four-and-a-half miles out, then though more residential streets to a nice hill. I fly down the hill, brake hard at the bottom, and turn around the block to climb a hill on an adjoining street. That hill gets repeated twice, and if I’m not warmed up when I’m finished there, I won’t get warmed up. Then, I fly down the hill once more, usually hitting my high speed of the day, and work my way over to the Veloway, where I put in two moderately-paced laps before heading home. It comes out to 19.2 miles.

Convict Hill

Saturday morning, I try to get going by eight and head up to Convict Hill. With any luck, I’m meet my friend David on the way, and we’ll climb the main road up the hill, then work some side streets with a couple of short, steep bursts of their own before we zoom back down the hill and ride another three miles or so out to the Mopac loop. We usually hit some tough headwinds coming back on that one, but if things work out, we can achieve some decent speeds through there as well. Then it’s one lap at the Veloway for good measure. By the time I reach my driveway, I’ve gone 27.5 miles.

Sundays are club ride days, and most of the time, I make them. We have a rotation of routes at our disposal there, too, from 30-60 miles or so. We mix up the routes, so they’re n0t always the same, but they come around often enough that they become routine, as well.

Now, I’m not knocking routines. Most of these routes provide enough variety close to home that they continue to entertain. Besides, we’re on our bikes, right? But it’s good to break away from routines and explore new areas. And that’s what I’ve tried to do during my break.

But this morning when I threw my leg over the top tube, I had no plan for the day’s ride. And it occurred to me that I had an option right at my fingertips — the Friday Niter! Yes, even though it was Thursday. I set out on the familiar route, did the whole thing at a slightly faster speed than usual, and threw in an extra lap around the Veloway — just for good measure.

At the end, I felt exhilarated and a bit short of breath because of the effort I’d put in. But it’s going to get me prepped for the longer weekend rides, and I think on Sunday I’ll be seeing some more roads I haven’t ridden in a couple of years.

Variety is nice — but your routine routes can be a comfort.

Functional Power Threshold – Part 2

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In part 2 of his account of his FTP test, guest poster Don Blount explains how it works.

 Completing the functional threshold power (FTP) test opened a new world of cycling to me. I used to think of cycling as an endurance activity akin to running a marathon. I had worked at building my endurance through time in the saddle and not through specific effort.

I learned that cycling is a power activity more like running a series of short to long repeat sprints with easy to hard recovery efforts in between.

Instead of focusing on endurance I needed to focus on building power and while building power, I would build endurance.

The FTP test provided me with a base number to work with of 162 beats per minute.

So I went to work on building power through interval training at just below or above FTP. From what I could find that would be an effective way to train.

I rode four to five days a week. Two of those rides would be some type of interval workout. I did efforts as short as 3 minutes with 3 minutes rest and as long as 20 minutes with five to 10 minutes rest. I also did fartlek (random change of speed), hard rides into the wind and high gear, low cadence and low gear, high cadence rides.

I could tell I was making progress as the weeks went by but knew I was making significant inroads when I was capable of doing intervals as part of a 40-mile ride.

These workouts were hard and challenging but the variety kept it interesting and gave me more purpose instead of riding for fitness or to keep up with a group. I was riding against myself. Since most of my riding is alone, that was perfect for focus.

After a few rides I noticed that I was getting stronger. After a few weeks I held my own on a group ride of 45-miles with 2,600 feet of climbing. Four days later, held my own again on a 40-mile group ride with just under 2,800 feet of climbing. I was not the fastest up any hill but I made it up them all without that: “What am I doing out here?” feeling.

The best validation I received was when someone who I ridden with before said to me “You sure are riding strong today.” He remembered my struggles.

And 10 days later on a 57-mile ride with 3,200 feet of climbing a different rider said the same thing to me.

I was obviously more fit and more confident in the hills.

At the end of the six weeks, I did another FTP test. My heart rate was the same, which surprised me as I thought it would be lower, but my speed was much higher. My guess is a power meter would show that I was producing more power at that same effort level.

Next I did a recovery week of moderately-paced rides but no intervals.

My disclaimer is I put my program together through books, talking to a few cycling people and scouring the Internet. I don’t know if it is correct for you but it is working for me and I am having fun. That is good enough for me for now.

And all because I took a test.

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