It often takes people a while to transition from “I love riding bikes” to “I am a cyclist.” If you have already made this transition, this post is for you. I wanted to make this post specifically aimed at the Charoti/Chikli 200/400km brevet but since the ride is already over, I’ve made it a general post about a 200km/ 400km ride and you can rely on this for other similar rides as well. Out of abundant caution, I would like to add here that you may do this at your own peril because I’m quite accustomed to having my lungs searing, ash on my breath and my legs on fire. In fact, I genuinely feel that a ride is incomplete without that rush :)
To become a “cyclist”, one needs to be adequately prepared to suffer. Suffering is our currency. If you are new to cycling, you will probably tell yourself that once you get fitter, you will suffer less when you attempt your favorite climb, or that once you buy a better bike your suffering will decrease but these are just things said by people who 'like riding bikes'; a “cyclist” knows that suffering is intrinsic to the sport and even if you get fitter or buy that new bike, all that will happen is that you will suffer at faster speeds now.
Suffering is not unique to cycling alone but in other sports, suffering is usually brief and unplanned, as opposed to the sheer regularity with which a cyclist encounters it. Our suffering is planned, prolonged and very much expected. It is a unique heroism for which the audience is none but your own self because being a “cyclist” exhibits no outward sign of the heroic. The reward for being the best is not that you take less suffering to finish the climb; rather, the reward is that you are now able to absorb greater levels of suffering.
The reward of aiming to be the best is that we learn how far we can push ourselves, and thus reveal to ourselves the true mettle of our character. If you can derive pleasure in this growth, then you've made the transition to being a cyclist, irrespective of whether you are able to hold 40 kmph+ or 20 kmph
During most long rides (above 600 km), the night halt stop or the resting rooms look like a geriatric ward, men and women lying in a state of semi-consciousness with their faces pink from exhaustion. And yet, you see them undertaking a journey to transform agony into fuel- you see them getting up one by one, sometimes in groups of two or three, sometimes alone – breathing, eating, waddling in their uncomfortable cleats, fingers cramping, breathing, racing through agonizing heart rates, racing against themselves, breathing, all with the single-minded focus to get the job done and then breathing again. Naturally, to become a “cyclist”, the physical demands are so enormous and the commitment so demanding that you need to exhibit nothing short of unshakable focus to get there.
I have never signed up for any brevet or race with the thought that this event will be a breeze, because I know that suffering is inevitable and now I've come to a stage where I enjoy forging my willpower in the stables of pain while my body gets viciously tenderized after each hard effort. This is probably the most difficult thing to explain to a non-cyclist- why do we embrace and seek out suffering?
Contrary to popular perception, the answer to this is not that a cyclist thinks that suffering is the only way to get faster, thinner and stronger. The answer is that a cyclist has awoken to the realization that spending time in the pain cave can educate you about yourself in more ways than just how many watts you can generate or what speed you can touch. It is this realization that shows you that “you are all you need.”
I’ll be posting separately later about how the pain cave can be used effectively to meet your targets but for now, lets get back to the topic at hand- tackling a 200km/400km brevet-
The physiological reasons for performance losses due to dehydration are:
- Decreased blood volume
- Decreased sweat rate
- Increased core temperature
- Increased rate of glycogen use
- Decreased digestive function
Here are some tips to deal with the challenges:
1. Mange your resources:
No matter who you are, your energy reserves are not infinite. Endurance cycling revolves around managing your finite and fast depleting energy reserves. Since most of the readers of this post are done with the Charoti 200, or some other 200, the test for yourself is this- if you finished the 200km BRM with some energy to spare it means you rode too conservatively and you could have performed even better; On the other hand, if you were struggling towards the end it shows us that you went out too hard, too soon. You will become a cyclist the day you are able to judge how hard is hard enough- it is a skill gained through experience. Calculate your energy reserves in training so you know what effort you can sustain on race day. Over long rides, lactic acid builds up in the muscle, causing pain.
2.Stress relieving tricks:
After a hard effort, professional cyclists get a massage to dissolve lactic acid and ensure that they are fit for the next day. Amateurs, like us, probably aren't lucky enough to be able to call upon a team masseuse, however. A simple trick to keeping your quads in shape is to use kinesiology tape, which can promote muscle endurance and aid recovery. Another good idea is to alternate between pedalling in and out of the saddle. This will spread the load among other muscles and avoid overloading the quads.
3. Hydration:
One can not over-emphasize the need to hydrate appropriately. If you’re a data cruncher and enjoy some research, head over to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and glance over this study that examines Carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks and their effects on endurance cycling in the heat (http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/48/4/1023.short). Ideally you must calculate your sweat loss rate and replenish about 75% of that amount. I say 75% because it’s a myth that one must drink all the water that one lost in sweat because the body can not absorb water as fast as it loses it. So the extra 25% is only going to cause an imbalance in your system leading to side-stiches and discomfort. Camelbak, the famous bottle company sponsored a study a few years ago that revealed that when athletes are dehydrated to ~2% of their body mass and are asked to perform exercise, performance has been shown to be impaired between 10%- 30%. You can check out their results on this link -
4.Supplements- what you need and what you don’t need:
As endurance athletes we have to be very aware of what we put into our bodies. Make sure you’ve got enough Calcium, Magnesium and Vitamin D at least a week before your ride. Magnesium is a component of more than 300 enzymes involved in energy metabolism and it gets lost through sweat. Munch on almonds, halibut, and quinoa to replenish your reserves. Without enough Vitamin D, the mitochondria in muscle fibers can’t adequately regenerate energy after your muscles contract, making you feel tired more quickly so absorb sufficient amounts of milk and fish at least a week before your ride.
I’ve heard of many cyclists talking about using creatine but this is really one of the things you need to avoid. Creatine is more usually associated with bodybuilders and the use of creatine is also fairly common among track cyclists but for an endurance cyclist, it will only lead to an increased risk of muscle cramps or muscle tears, and damage to kidneys. Instead, using caffeine is better, though personally, I try to stay off coffee as much as possible so that the kick is stronger, even in small doses, when I need it during the night. Lastly, protein is good for you, but you really need just 1 gram per kg of body weight, so you really do not need any protein supplements. They’ll only make you put on weight because the corresponding physical activity is not strenuous enough.
Just have some natural protein for a week before your ride and you’re good to go. The evening before an endurance event, avoid eating too late, or you will not get enough sleep. There is no need for adhering to the outdated concept of “extreme carb loading”. Carbs are good but in moderation- Your body can only store a certain amount of energy in the form of glycogen so extreme carb loading will only end up using energy in breaking down food that can’t be stored. Aim to have your breakfast 2 hours before you start riding and eat a slow digesting food like oats. This will keep you satiated for the next few hours.
In the end, understand that endurance cycling is more of a mental game than just physical and prepare your mind for the event as you prepare your body. It is easy to feel good when you’re fresh and sitting in a comfortable chair but it is not so easy when you’ve been pushing your limits for the last 14-16 hours, in an inhospitable environment, on a really tiny seat.
There will be no external means of emotional support. There will be no people to cheer you along the way. And with each pedal you are embracing the remoteness and vacuity of the world around you. So it is essential to develop a degree of self- sufficiency. “You are all you need.” Keep telling yourself that. Don’t feed your fears or worries or concerns. Shut out that voice that tells you that you’re not ready and amplify the voice that asks you to repose faith in yourself because you are all you need.
Axiom Axiom