Struggling on distance

[T4tomo]

Pace!
To go further, go slower. You'll also use a lot less energy. If you try to tear-around at TT speed, don't be surprised if you crash-and burn.
Also, have a good breakfast.
I did a lazy, lumpy 36 miles, 2,500ft ascending at 10 mph average the other day on a decent brekkie only. No energy issues, no gels etc.
At my cruising 12 to 14mph pace I'd reckon on doing a good 40 to 50 miles or so before needing any food intake other than breakfast.
If I'm planning on riding further than 50 miles, then I'd start eating sooner, maybe every 30 miles or so and then I'd eat real food. Ditch the gel shite.
Start slow, finish strong.

I'm not sure about needing, but if I'm cycling more than 30 miles there is at least a coffee stop included. if cycling with the OH if we haven't stopped by 20 miles I'm getting complaints about poor route planning re lack of cafes.

have a mini tour approaching for the next BH weekend approx 50 mile per day, the other 3 participants have been badgering me to:
a) sort out any dodgy indexing or rubbing brake on their bikes
b) ensure the morning coffee, lunch & afternoon ice-cream stops have been factored into the route planning!

 

[Jameshow]

Belgian bun and crisps are my favourite mid morning stop one for now and the other for afternoon. Decent pub lunch in the middle!

 

[cyberknight]

glycogen or ready energy stores are around 2 hours at full speed then you start feeling as you do as your body starts to switch to using fat which cant keep up with the rate of energy expenditure .
Topping up little and often combined with a meal that has slow release energy rather than an instant hit also helps to prolong the distance before you feel that.
Your body also gets used to the longer rides the more you do it .
Yesterday i did 66 miles
brekkie was granola with sultanas
stop after 38 miles for flapjack , coffee and a tea cake
gel after about 55 miles which i dont normally do but it was a high intensity ride and needed a boost for home .
legs stared feeling it with about 10 miles to go

I couldnt do this pace or intensity when i fist started and needed more food and a slower pace .

 

[Fab Foodie]

I'm not sure about needing, but if I'm cycling more than 30 miles there is at least a coffee stop included. if cycling with the OH if we haven't stopped by 20 miles I'm getting complaints about poor route planning re lack of cafes.

have a mini tour approaching for the next BH weekend approx 50 mile per day, the other 3 participants have been badgering me to:
a) sort out any dodgy indexing or rubbing brake on their bikes
b) ensure the morning coffee, lunch & afternoon ice-cream stops have been factored into the route planning!

I'm in agreement!

But if time is limited and I want to get some distance in my legs then I can happily ride 50 or so miles without taking a break for food.
Outside of that, I soon realised Audax wasn't for me...I liked the routes and the distance, but also (like @Jameshow ) I like a nice stop for a pie and a pint, or a good coffee and cake as the mood takes me. Sportives are of no interest either. But I can happily plug along all day and all night at my comfort pace eating what and when I like.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Terrain is also a factor I didn't mention - there are hills and hills!
Have just accompanied a friend doing a segment of lejog LEJOG from Crediton to Taunton. He's from Wigan way, so used to the nearby hills, BUT they are so completely different to Devon and Cornwall hills which are relentlessly corrugated. He was surprised how tough it was cycling down here.
Our hills may not be long or high but they're steep and come at you relentlessly like waves. Furthermore, there's little opportunity on the twisty high-hedged back-roads to gain any speed from the downhills either, so you're hardish on the brakes (unless familiar with the terrain) and then back into climbing mode again.
Other places have longer higher hills with time to settle-in and develop a nice rhythm and then have better sightlines to gain some time back (and relax) on the downhill.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42896553

In flat parts of the country, the prevailing wind is a big factor in speed and energy usage. You have to adapt speed expectations and riding 'style' to the terrain you're riding and the distance you're planning.

 

[Sharky]

One "trick" you can try when increasing distances.

Whatever your "comfort" distance is (say 25 miles) and wanting to increase to a 35 mile ride.
Ride the "increase" (in this case 10 miles) distance at the beginning, soft pedalling, without raising a sweat.
When you reach the end of the increase distance, you have just 25 miles left which is your comfort distance and you know you will have no problems doing this.

At the half way point, you can judge how it feels and either continue riding softly or put the hammer down.

 

[fattony]

Thanks guys, i seem to be 100% all the time, pace is something I struggle with but in the gym I always do the bike, leg curls, treadmill as a minimum so the muscle should be there.

Yesterday I’ve tweaked the riding position, had neck ache after the ride so YouTube videos, the seat has gone up and forward, interested to give it a try now

 

[lazybloke]

Stronger legs are all very well but energy reserves are still finite. Read about runners hitting the wallb, or cyclists 'bonking' : that's what you're heading towards if you cycle flat out for too long.

 

[Tomm Williams]

I experienced this many times until I learned how much fuel my body needed and it is more than I would have thought. I’m 62 and can do a century without much trouble pretty much anytime I want. I’m not a fast rider but I have my pace and just keep pedaling.
I consume what seems to me to be A LOT of food/snacks to keep going but I’ve found anything else is a sure way to bonk. Plus being type2 makes it important to not let sugar levels drop as recovering isn’t something I can do while riding.

 

[PaulSB]

I am someone who definitely works on the basis of fueling the ride but I can't agree with the view the OP needs to eat more. On a two hour ride it makes little difference.

He's putting in a very respectable pace but arriving home shattered, he's simply riding too hard for his current stamina levels. I've just got home from a 94 mile ride, 65% into a 17mph headwind, and an average of 14mph for the ride.

The important figures are Z1 25%, Z2 69%, Z3 5%. Average HR 108. Chat was easy. This is endurance riding and what the OP wants is distance so he needs to slow down.

Breakfast was an avocado, slice of toast and two Weetabix. The ride was 3 litres water, 2 coffees, sausage roll, Bakewell slice, millionaire shortbread.

 

[cyberknight]

Thanks guys, i seem to be 100% all the time, pace is something I struggle with but in the gym I always do the bike, leg curls, treadmill as a minimum so the muscle should be there.

Yesterday I’ve tweaked the riding position, had neck ache after the ride so YouTube videos, the seat has gone up and forward, interested to give it a try now

Be careful putting the saddle up and forward can add more weight to the arms causing numb hands if your not careful.best to get your saddle height and setback sorted then adjust reach.without knowing what your bike set up looks like I can't comment although when I had sore neck I reduced the reach with a shorter stem rather than altering saddle height and setback

 

[Deleted member 121159]

I agree pace and fuelling are the main things to work on, but what tyres have you got on your bike? I switched from Schwalbe Marathon to Vittoria Corsa Next and from butyl tubes to TPU tubes. Even though the average speed went up by 2 mph over 45miles, I felt like I was less tired after the ride. And Corsa Next isn't even one of the fastest tyres. Rolling resistance definitely matters. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ is the best authority on this in case you don't know already.

According to that website, the watt savings I gained by switching from Marathon to Corsa is nearly 20 watts, plus the bike lost about a kilo so that must have helped a little bit on climbs.

 

[Deleted member 121159]

Also the difference between the fastest TPU inner tubes and a regular butyl tube is >2.5 watts per tyre, so that's 5 watts and add that to the 20 watts savings I've already made, you're looking at huge gain in efficiency over 40-50 miles of riding.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/tpu-inner-tubes

 

[Jon in Sweden]

Thanks guys, i seem to be 100% all the time, pace is something I struggle with but in the gym I always do the bike, leg curls, treadmill as a minimum so the muscle should be there.

Yesterday I’ve tweaked the riding position, had neck ache after the ride so YouTube videos, the seat has gone up and forward, interested to give it a try now

Specificity is something to consider.

For elite athletes, supplemental training from other disciplines can be beneficial, and indeed a triathlete will run as well as cycle. For us mere mortals, I feel that if you want to cycle further and faster, the best thing to do is just cycle further and faster. I've personally never been able to combine running and cycling. It's one or the other for me.

To echo what the others have said, fueling is so important. I'm cycling 300km a week at the moment (and it'll increase as I start to commute to work from next week) and at a decent pace (usually 25-28kph on gravel, 30-35kph on road when riding solo). On rides over 2hrs of any pace, fueling is vital. If I'm wanting to go fast, any ride over 1hr will involve one bottle with 100g dextrose and cordial.

I was out on Sunday for 158km. Reasonably hilly, stupidly hot (25c) and at a steady pace (29.8kph) but with efforts on some of the hills (3 KOMs on Strava - woohoo!). Fueling was 1 litre of low fat fruit yoghurt at 30km in (when I met with my riding buddies), 1.25l of dextrose drink and a snickers. A total of 1800kcal of almost entirely sugar, and a good breakfast beforehand too.

When I got home, I wasn't immediately hungry and felt good. Considering the calorie burn when cycling at a steady pace, it's hard to overfuel (provided it's carbohydrate based, rather than something heavy or fatty) but it's extremely easy to underfuel.

The weekend prior, I did a 163km gravel event and somehow missed the third cafe stop. So I went from 98km to the finish with only dextrose water and didn't feel anywhere near as good when I finished. It was also a considerably higher intensity, and longer in the saddle too. I cocked up the fueling somewhat on that ride, and the difference was huge.

 

[steveindenmark]

I ride long distances. I also struggled at the start.

What really helped me was a challenge set by an ex collegue. He had early stages of terminal cancer at the time and he knew it. He challenged me to do 20 push ups a day for 30 days. I had a shoulder problem at the time and decided to ride 20km a day for 30 days. 20km for me was a long way at the time. I remember the first day of the challenge. It was pouring down. Under normal circumstances, I would have scratched on the first day. But my colleague was posting his press ups on the internet. So off I went. We both stuck to the challenge and after 30 days in all weather, 20kms was easy. In fact 30 and 40kms were not difficult. I find once you get over the first 20km your body and mind get used to it. You just need to find things to occupy your mind.