Are there any general principles to pacing a long cycle?

silverharp

Basically in my case talking about longer Wicklow cycles say 125-150km ~1300-1500mtr climbing , most climbing over in first 2/3 of the cycle. Not interested in time, just having enough juice in the tank so Im not temped to dump the bike in a cab near the end! :pac: . Worth looking into heartrate ranges? Treat all climbs the same whether early or later in the ride? Always pedal or freewheel whenever you can?
Then day before if it’s a commuting day (25km) take it off? or doesn’t matter, avoid gym or upper body ok?

TGD

silverharp wrote: »

Basically in my case talking about longer Wicklow cycles say 125-150km ~1300-1500mtr climbing , most climbing over in first 2/3 of the cycle. Not interested in time, just having enough juice in the tank so Im not temped to dump the bike in a cab near the end! :pac: . Worth looking into heartrate ranges? Treat all climbs the same whether early or later in the ride? Always pedal or freewheel whenever you can?
Then day before if it’s a commuting day (25km) take it off? or doesn’t matter, avoid gym or upper body ok?

It depends how ‘fit’ you are. The fitter you are, and how the elements of that fitness are to endurance, the higher the pace you can maintain.

So, ‘it depends’.

smacl

If I'm going on anything >100k in the hills I'll have porridge for breakfast which keeps me going for about 2 hours, hi-5 4:1 in both bottles and a couple of energy bars or bananas. On a long and hilly day I'll usually feel a bit shattered at some point in the middle but invariably get a second wind about half an hour later, so if you feel you want to chuck it and get a cab, try slowing down and holding off for half an hour. Also on any long spin in the hills expect crap weather at some point so bring a wind/water proof jacket and maybe light arm and leg warmers. Also check your mini-pump works, your spare tubes are in good nick and you're happy to change a tyre roadside. Personally I also carry a spare quick-link and a few other emergency bits and bobs. Outside of that, a comfortable steady pace and a smile.

TheBlaaMan

Three things are important. Pace, pace and pace.
Dont go too hard on the early climbs. A HRM can help, but not much point unless you are used to one and what your 'nominal' readings would be. I feel (rightly or not) that every minute the red zone (90% of maximum HR) takes 10 minutes off my ultimate endurance, so I avoid doing so wherever possible on a long spin, or one where I'm not familiar with the effort required.

07Lapierre

On long cycles you should always be able to hold a conversation with your travelling companion.(if your travelling on your own..talk to yourself ) If you have to breath so hard you can't talk...your "in the red".

smacl

07Lapierre wrote: »

(if your travelling on your own..talk to yourself )

Or in my case, curse to myself going up hills. :pac:

CramCycle

No need to take the day off the commute, in fact I would say the opposite, make sure you don't.

As everyone else said, it is all about the pace. No need for a HRM, if your HR is too high, you will know about it. I pedal on downhills, most audaxers don't, does it make a difference, only if your pushing it hard on the down hills, if your just spinning to keep the legs moving it is fine.

Decent breakfast and plan a route that has a few nice cafes if this is your first time close to that distance. Your doing 25km a day commuting, then this is more than doable. Bring food and water with you, and again, plan the route so you can top up the water at cafes. You will probably have down points from over thinking it, just drop a few gears and spin through it. You will forget that you were down in no time.

gippo77

Having a good bowl of porridge an hour or so before you set off is a great tip, also do not go too hard on the earlier hills to avoid fatigue in your leg muscles.

tuxy

Ideally you could work to power but power meters are still far too expensive.
Heart rate is the next best thing, work out your zones something like 70% of max heart rate should be good for long distance but it might take some experimenting to see what works best for you.

Tenzor07

There's a guy on the MTB forum who can cycle for 150km fasted and without taking on any more food, worth checking out! :pac:

saccades

Before I started to use a heart rate monitor I would constantly think 65% to myself which worked well for things like the Wicklow 200 and bontrager twentyfour12.

There will be times when you need to burn more energy but it should only be for a climb (if you are heavy) or getting to a bit of single-track first for example.

CramCycle

I would avoid the porridge unless you eat it regularly, a common complaint I have heard from people who don't normally eat it. It is heavy, sits in your stomach and can make you feel bloated. Eat your normal breakfast, a slightly larger portion and bring or get food en route.

efwren

I recently started heart rate based training for triathlons, and am doing 3-4 hours spins each week.

Working out your heart rate zones and using that to control your pace really helps.

It has made a huge difference. It and remembering to eat something every hour. I bring some nut bars and have 1 every hour.

I now can go 4 hours + with the majority of the spin in Zone2/3 and as long as I eat something every hour I can keep a constant pace the whole time and finish strong.

It has really forced me to hold back on climbs which means it takes longer to get up them,but leaves me able to keep a similar pace up a climb 3 hours in.

silverharp

Thanks for the comments, basically my current limit is a Dublin to Glendalough and around, my target for a Wicklow cycle is down to Aughavannagh and around hopefully in Aug, fitness is a work in progress, I want to do a couple of longer flat ones but they should be straightforward.

Not taking the "Friday" off is a good tip so ill not worry about that then

There's a guy on the MTB forum who can cycle for 150km fasted and without taking on any more food, worth checking out!

Ive been doing that, it depends on your diet though, I assume he eats a low carb or keto diet?

It has really forced me to hold back on climbs which means it takes longer to get up them,but leaves me able to keep a similar pace up a climb 3 hours in.

I had misplaced my monitor but found it this week , Ill take it next time

The Noble Nudge

Without asking you 1 million personal questions about the nitty gritty (weight etc)

Miles in legs...hills, hills and more hills...
Fuel..Fluid based mixed in bottles (High 5, 4:1 cant stomach it myself but there are other alternatives),
If you are of the skinnier variety you will need to eat/take on more imo,
Hydration..A little lots even if you feel you dont want it (not on cold spins though cant seem to drink it in as much),
Gearing front and back...Maybe an obvious one but the difference a few teeth make over the course of a long spin.
Tried HRM last year for a while but not convinced I dont even look at the rolling data these days only when I finish.

ridelikeaturtle

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

...
Gearing front and back...Maybe an obvious one but the difference a few teeth make over the course of a long spin.
...

Agreed, this makes a big difference, I've been doing this a long time, some of my buddies called me a wimp (and the nickname 'ridelikeaturtle') for throwing on a 28t mtb cassette on my road bike wheels "back in the day", but they always regretted it on big hills... and now everyone's got 30t+ cassettes and compact gearing.

Get the gearing right, and you'll be happy.