I've been gravel biking for a little while now, but a mountain biker for several years. Never raced MTB but have done plenty of rides that were big for me. Anywhere from 16 miles with 3700ft of elevation to 36+ miles with 3500~ft of elevation. Gravel I haven't been able to do many long rides, but haven't gone much over 30 miles.
There's a race I want to do called Grassroots and was set on the smaller, 40 mile ride. Some of my friends have talked me into trying the 75 mile ride that has 3800ft elevation with it. The elevation doesn't worry me, but endurance of 75 miles has me wanting to seek some advice from those more experienced than me.
There are 3 aid stations I'll be able to hit, the last one seems a good distance from the finish line. My bike setup has room for 3 water bottles, and I could either squeeze a fourth behind me on my jersey, or ride with a backpack/hip pack for an extra 1.5-3L of water. To people that do long rides like this, what kind of nutrition and hydration would you recommend? I was thinking of having 1 bottle with Skratch, 1 with just water, and 1 with Skratch super high carb drink mix. Is it overkill to have the high carb mix? I know I need to get on the bike and start hitting longer training rides, 40-60+ miles, but curious what more experienced riders do. I'm not trying to get first place or anything, just want to finish and not cramp or bonk.
I've never tried those Gu's before. Also wondering if that's something I should try taking early to make sure they don't give me the squirts or anything 💩
Thanks in advance.
by veri3n