How to prepare for my first 60 mile ride at weekend

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Darren grimwood

Regular
Location
West row
Hi guys, just wanted to know what people do to prepare for a 60 mile ride, as in what to eat the night before, in the morning of the ride, and during the ride,
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
A Metric Century requires some carbohydrate loading, probably for a week before the event. I prefer pasta the night before, but others have other choices. I do not like bananas, but advise them the morning before a ride. I personally prefer nutella on toast, because I loathe either bananas or eggs. During the ride, keep your hydration up, and eat beans on toast to keep the other riders respectfully away from your wheel. As you have today, tomorrow, and Friday for loading carbs, eat lots of pastries, breads and pasta, and hydrate well each day. Enjoy your ride!
 
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Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
http://www.mos100.com/rideinfo.htm
Advice I get here says a couple of days before the ride, as well as hydrate, but this is for Central Illinois in the summer, rather like riding a bicycle in a teapot. I've ridden this ride before, and always start carbs less so, but early in the week, as I don't respond well to eating too much
 

solidthegreat

Active Member
Don't try anything new on the day or day before, it's a sure way to a disaster. Use the time before to try different things. Carb loading is good but don't go crazy for a 60 miler. Perhaps a normal size pasta dish the night before but you really don't need to eat loads. It will sit on your stomach and will cause cramps or upset your tum during the ride. Drink plenty water in the week leading up to the ride so you are hydrated fully. (Urine should be clear not coloured, any colour is a sign of dehydration)
For me, the day of the ride usually consists of a average size bowl of porridge with honey and a handful of raisins, a banana and a coffee about 2 hrs pre ride. Continue to drink regularly throughout the ride and eat at regular intervals. Maybe a few gels, but again make sure you try the gels well before as they too can upset the tum.
Same wii the bike, change nothing on the day, it should be set up right beforehand.
Just as important is refuelling after the ride. Get those lost electrolytes back in and some food to build back up.

Oh and the most important bit of advice anyone can give you is to make sure you enjoy the ride!
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
Porridge for breakfast and some poached eggs on toast too. On the road, I eat a fig roll every 90 minutes or so and drink a little blackcurrent squash every hour. As others have said, I think you are supposed to load up with the carbohydrates for a few days beforehand but I don't usually. Maybe a few beers.....
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
Very important to take some energy for the ride. Energy bars, Flapjack (my favourite), Malt Loaf, and so on, and possibly some high energy drink, for example Lucozade. There's nothing worse than 'The Bonk' while you're out riding. (OK there is, but it's bad!)

Also, energy drinks apart, take enough fluid, I always carry plain tap water. Getting dehydrated is very unpleasant and also reduces physical performance and endurance. You should know your body well enough to know how much you'll need, and also check your route for refill availability. (Over 60 miles I usually get through about 2 litres).
 
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This advice is from an overweight, 61 year old, fairly regular cyclist (600 miles so far this year). I might decide to do a 60 miler on waking up to discover it's a nice day so, porridge and coffee for breakfast (I have it everyday regardless), put 2 x 750ml bottles of weak Tesco Lemon squash on the bike and half a packet of Tesco fig rolls in my jersey and off I go. Most my routes have a coffee shop/cafe around half way and I stop for a skinny latte and some cake.

So no carb loading. no gels, no energy drinks just fig rolls and get on with it :thumbsup:
 

coffeejo

Ælfrēd
Location
West Somerset
I think it mainly depends on how fit you are, how used you are to doing long rides (it may be your first metric century but are you used to doing rides of 50miles, etc?), how hilly it will be and how fast you intend to ride. I did 63 hilly miles yesterday and had a normal sized bowl of pasta and veggies the night before, and stopped a couple of times during the ride. I guess I drank a bottle and a half of water though probably negated that with coffee...
 

Newman8

Senior Member
Porridge, bananas & coffee - lots of coffee! But I do the same every day ride or not.
Careful with carb loading too much as more doughy wheat products than normal can give you stomach cramps & stop you riding completely!
Sugary jelly sweets or biscuits during the ride help me. Anything that's quick & easy to digest.

I don't find the ride itself too tough usually but I'm not that good at replenishing with the right things afterwards - I often feel drained for a couple of days or more after a long one!
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Don't over-think it. We may be riding "racers" but we aren't going at race speeds.

I did 54 miles yesterday, had a good pasta meal the night before and made sure I drank enough water. On the morning I had a bowl of museli (not my most favorite food it has to be said) and a couple of slices of toast, then set off about 2.5 hours later with 2 750ml bottles of water with some fruit juice in, along with a couple of flapjack bars.

I aimed to drink one bottle during each half and stopped twice to eat a bar. I tried to pace myself so I wasn't riding hard for the first half and found I still had energy for the longer climbs on the second. Got back feeling pretty good.
 

DWiggy

Über Member
Location
Cobham
Pasta the night before, big bowl of porridge with banana and sugar, remember to drink plenty before and on the ride, take some bananas and a jam sandwich and you should be good to go, take it easy and have fun :biggrin:
 

TeeQue

Active Member
I'm planning my first fifty miler for Saturday. Up to now the furthest I've gone is 21 miles and I've only done 95 miles in total! (and I'll be on a beat up old mountain bike).

I'm not too worried nutrition wise; I'll have breakfast before I leave, lunch around half way (which happens to coincide with my mother's house so will pop in there for a sandwich) and will have banana's, flapjacks and energy gels with me for along the way. I'll probably aim to get through two 750ml bottles of energy drink.

I am going to make sure I've got some cash with me this time though, I did twenty miles a few weeks ago and was starving at around the half way point. I was in a town and there were plenty of cafes and newsagents etc... but I didn't have any money on me! Seriously suffered when I got home managed to neck a protein/carb shake and eat a pie and some crisps along with some chocolate but then promptly fell asleep and felt really rough when I woke up.

I think the key is 'little and often', during my 21 miles trip last week I made sure I kept nibbling at flapjacks and sipping on energy drinks on the way round as well as the occasional gel and I felt absolutely fine both during and afterwards.
 
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