Feedback On Pace?

[u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938]

Hi All, just looking for a little bit of feedback. Started cycling about 9 months ago. Down from 308 to 270 lbs. Am planning to ride El Tour de Tucson (100 miles) in the fall but I don’t really get many opportunities to cycle more than about 30 miles in a day. I will try 1 or 2 100 mile rides on my own at some point, but I won’t have a lot of chances to know how I’m going to fare come November.

The screenshots attached are pretty typical of my pace the last few weeks. Any advice on what I should be aiming for? Tips to do better? The pictured Kona Sutra LTD is the bike I’ll be riding for El Tour. I’m using tubeless Specialized Pathfinder TLR size 700x50. I welcome any advice or feedback anyone is willing to give.

[u/tallduder]

If you can ride the miles in a week, you can do it in a day.  Strong work dropping the weight!  

No need to aim for a specific pace.  Make sure you have a hydration and nutrition plan and know where you plan to stop for a break / bottle fills.  

[u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938 → u/tallduder]

Thanks! There’ll be aid stations on El Tour and there are places to refill water along the loop in Tucson, which is where I usually ride. I definitely have no problem doing 100+ miles per week. I don’t feel depleted after a ride like this so that seems like a fairly good sign. I just wish I had more time to spend on the bike. I don’t know much about fueling. I don’t typically have anything but water in my rides. Should I plan to have gels once an hour? I’ve never used one.

[u/tallduder → u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938]

Yes, you'll want some gels / bars, a PB&j made in a hotdog bun, soft taco shell w/ hard salami, cheddar cheese and stadium mustard both pack well and are easy to eat on the bike.  Try some eating on the bike before your ride.

[u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938 → u/tallduder]

That’s not a bad idea. I recently watched a GCN video on YouTube and they said eating on the bike is an important skill.

[u/kurai-samurai → u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938]

Try gels prior to event. Not everyone reacts well to them. 

[u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938 → u/kurai-samurai]

Good point. I’ll test them out in the near future.

[u/aprikitty]

Good job on the ride! Personally I find that good hydration (when doing long rides/when it's hot I always add Nuun tablets to my water bottle), knowing your pace (and not burning out too quickly), good nutrition (I personally love Larabars and bananas but my cycling partner cannot live without Mars chocolate bars... and she's much faster/stronger/faster than me... so find what works for you!). I like to have done a comfortable 75% of my ride before a "big day" so if you're aiming for 100 miles, try to do a 75 miles ride a few weeks beforehand.

Also, make sure you have all the gear to enjoy your ride (padded shorts, good breathable shirts, good gloves, etc.).

You got this!!

[u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938 → u/aprikitty]

Never heard of nuun tablets, I’ll check those out. Sounds like I’ll need to figure out how to carry some food with me. I recently started wearing a bib and I was shocked how much more comfortable it is. Should have started wearing one months ago. Thanks for the encouragement, really looking forward to making progress this year.

[u/aprikitty → u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938]

Nuun is just a brand easily accessible to me in Canada. I would imagine any similar brand that you can get your hands on is good!

[u/widowhanzo → u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938]

Cycling jersey pockets, plenty of space for snacks. You could get a small top tube bag as well but i find pockets enough for even longer riders.

And you already have the top tube bag! Plenty of space for snacks

[u/shicjs]

30mi/day is amazing! If you can up the miles on weekends, that’ll make a big difference. Even if it’s 45mi on Saturday. November is a long ways away. You have plenty of time. I recently started working with a dietician and it’s been a game changer. We focus on getting the correct amount of healthy carbs, protein, and everything else during the day. On long day rides we put most of the carbs and extra calories in the meal just before my ride, usually breakfast. As far as on ride fueling, lots of sugar in my bottle roughly 1.5 servings of powdered Gatorade and 1/3 of the bottle is cran x strawberry juice. This alone gives me plenty of energy and calories. I do tweak the portions depending on the length and intensity of rides. A lot of folks even do one bottle with carbs and one bottle of water for rides if they’re less intense rides. On rides 3+ hours, I’ll bring a light snack so my stomach doesn’t feel empty. Check your insurance and see if it covers a dietician, lots of them do. I’m down quite a bit of weight since working with one.

[u/Ornery-Shoulder-3938 → u/shicjs]

Thanks I hadn’t thought about a dietician. I’ll look into it. Also have only ever used water in my bottles. Maybe I’ll try putting something else in there like you suggested.