I completed my first 50-mile ride yesterday and I'm looking for tips on how to build up to longer distances and improve my pace. I hadn't biked for about 9 months but started again a few weeks ago. Right now, I ride 15-20 miles about 4 times a week and try to do a longer ride on Sundays. I also work out during the week. I’m not built for cycling (im 5’11” and weight about 215LBS) and mainly ride for cardio and to enjoy being outside. I'm not training for races, but I’d like to start participating in organized rides — for example, there’s a 100-mile ride in NYC I’m eyeing in the next few months.
This weekend I pushed myself and managed 50 miles. Before starting, I had a banana and some coconut water. During the ride, I drank a bottle of coconut water, a bottle of Gatorade, a bottle of water, and ate three dates for energy. I was definitely running out of steam toward the end but kept my pace steady.
I’m looking for advice on:
How to safely and effectively increase my Sunday long rides
Improving endurance
Hydration and fueling strategies for longer distances
TL;DR: Completed my first 50-mile ride this weekend. It was tough but I got through it. Looking for advice on gradually increasing distance, boosting endurance, and optimizing nutrition/hydration.
by Rachidk001
11 Comments
Congrats. IMO 50 miles is about the limit without a thoughtful food plan.
There are many strategies for getting nutrition on the ride. They all have the same goal. From pbj sandwiches to gels or burritos, find what works for you.
I’m here for the comments and tips! I’m in the same boat as you—I’m 6’0″ and weigh 195 lbs. I’ve mainly focused on weightlifting for years, but I recently started running and cycling as well. I’m looking for ways to improve. I recently completed a 65-mile ride and felt great throughout, maintaining a steady pace of 15-17 mph. I made sure to carb up and stay hydrated throughout the week. During the ride, I only consumed 2 pouches of Sour Patch Kids and went through 3 bottles of electrolytes. I felt fine the entire time. I believe my performance came down to proper fueling, but I’m also interested in hearing about other tips and strategies!
Congratulations 😯 I’m up to 18 miles in a single ride before I have to tap out from exhaustion and pain. 🙁 My distance increases by a couple of miles per week, but it’s hard work. I’m 57 so I’m guessing try hat has a lot to do with it. Did you just climb on and get off 50 miles later or did you have to work up to that distance? Congratulations 🎊🍾🎈
That’s awesome! Congratulations on your first 50 mile ride.
I would suggest eating significantly more. A bigger breakfast and at least 500 calories, if not more while you’re riding, try to pick something high in carbs. Off brand pop tarts are great. That seems like a reasonable amount of liquid, but you may want to consider more of it’s hot out.
Riding a 3-4 times during the week at a lower heart rate (zone 2 ish) will also help you. Maybe pick a day or 2 to try to ramp it up a little bit to more zone 4-5 and this will help to increase speed as long as there’s good periods of recovery between. (Active recovery, like doing a low hr ride is also helpful).
Not a pro so won’t get in depth but generic 10 calorie Gatorade packets in the water aisle hit.
Be very careful riding through the Bronx!
A 20 oz bottle of Gatorade has about 30g of sugar, I believe, and 3 dates should be about 15g of carbs. You took about 3.5 hours. You probably should actually try to get 30-60g of carbs *per hour* on long rides like these.
You may be thinking that this is a lethal dose of sugar. And for a sedentary person, you’d be right, chronically ingesting 90g of sugar is bad. When I do a 3-3.5hr ride, I burn about 1,500 calories (estimated from my power meter, but there’s still probably at least a 10% margin of error around that, and I’m 145 lbs). At that energy expenditure, 60g of carbs or 240 calories per hour would still leave me in an energy deficit. You are in fact burning a lot of energy. You may or may not have burnt 2,400 calories as your Apple Watch (I presume) estimated, but you definitely burnt a lot of energy.
If you fuel during the ride, you’ll be less hungry afterward. It will balance out.
You could just start with taking more carbs and seeing how you feel.
Some good advice in the thread about fueling.
My additional recommendation is to get a heart rate monitor and learn about [training zones](https://www.highnorth.co.uk/articles/cycling-training-zones).
Heart rate is a reaosnably good starting proxy to figure out how hard you’re riding. Like all things it’s not perfect, but it’s a good place to start.
Just ride more. You’re already off to a great start. Somebody on here the other day recommended the [Saturday app](https://saturdaymorning.fit/download) for hydration & fuel. It asks a few questions & comes up with a plan for you.
We’ll need your Venmo to give you a tip lol
Seriously, though, nice ride.
…go the other way.
JK. Hey are those roads all bike friendly? I’ve heard that NYC can be quite tricky. My advice in all seriousness is to be careful., defensive Don’t assume anything wrt other drivers, especially NYers.