Nutrition on a long ride

[TheNissanMan]

For the OP, the ride will be a huge achievement. However, what really matters is that he keeps on riding, because it will get progressively easier and he will get fitter and lose weight without even trying. Riding L2B will be the hardest part.

I didn’t think it got easier, you just got faster

[Mick F]

I was out yesterday.
41.5miles with 4,500ft of climbing.
According to my computer, I'd consumed 1,977cals

I rode the Moulton which is heavy, but comfortable.

Left home at 09:30 after bacon and egg with toast having had four cups of tea since getting up at 06:00.
I took two bottles of water because the day was likely to be hot.
At 12:30 I'd done 28miles and just happened to find a pub. A pint of Dartmoor Jail Ale and a packet of salted peanuts, and I was off riding again.
Home shortly after 14:00 with one water bottle empty, and the other not much used.

Pizza for tea at 18:00.
Bed early as usual.

[Cyril Haearn]

Flapjack
Porridge on a stick. Without the stick

In hot weather it is very very important to drink plenty, I try to drink too much so I am flushed through and have to pee. The body gets a bit disoriented, may draw on its reserves. When it is so hot it is hard to drink enough
If it is really hot I stay home and wait for November, the best cycling month

[TheNissanMan]

Flapjack
Porridge on a stick. Without the stick

[foxyrider]

I was out yesterday.
41.5miles with 4,500ft of climbing.
According to my computer, I'd consumed 1,977cals

I rode the Moulton which is heavy, but comfortable.

Left home at 09:30 after bacon and egg with toast having had four cups of tea since getting up at 06:00.
I took two bottles of water because the day was likely to be hot.
At 12:30 I'd done 28miles and just happened to find a pub. A pint of Dartmoor Jail Ale and a packet of salted peanuts, and I was off riding again.
Home shortly after 14:00 with one water bottle empty, and the other not much used.

Pizza for tea at 18:00.
Bed early as usual.

Is that a long ride? What do people consider a long ride, X miles/km, Y hours? When does a 'quick spin' become a serious ride? I guess we all have our own markers, for me a long ride is something over three hours / 75km.

Today qualifies on both counts, 160km, 6.5hrs all up.
Coffee and porridge bar @ 1hr before departure. Tiny flapjack slice @ 50km, mini malt loaf @ 80km, stop for lunch (ham salad, 2 mugs of tea and slice of carrot cake) not sure on tea yet, been rehydrating with Peach tea and lemonade and polished off a pack of fig rolls!
One water bottle taken, actually only drunk about half of it during the ride. According to the comp I got through about 3500Kcal (well I did average 28.4kmh! But only 4100ft of climbing - well I was out in Nottinghamshire.)
Thing is, it saw me around today but that doesn't mean i'd recommend it to others - I have been riding since I was 13, my body puts up with more abuse than it should get and i've learnt to read it's needs.

I know today's nutrition wasn't ideal but I would have drunk more if it had been warmer and the snacks were enough for what I had planned (something at least an hour / 30km less) but I got a bit carried away down near Newark!

[chris_suffolk]

Is that a long ride? What do people consider a long ride, X miles/km, Y hours? When does a 'quick spin' become a serious ride? I guess we all have our own markers, for me a long ride is something over three hours / 75km.

Based on my average ride length for the year so far, I would put a long ride at somewhere from 65/70 miles and up, or over 4 hours.The time bit is important, as off to the Alps later this year, and 4 hours there will NOT be 65 miles.

Anyone else?

[PH]

What do people consider a long ride, X miles/km, Y hours? When does a 'quick spin' become a serious ride? I guess we all have our own markers, for me a long ride is something over three hours / 75km.

Long ride is at least 25% longer (Or harder) than a normal ride.
Yes I know that's the N+1 answer, and it isn't intended to be facetious. My CTC ride tomorrow is almost ten time longer than the ride I considered super human when I started cycling twenty years ago, I'm not considering it a long ride as it's less than a third of the distance I rode on last weeks ride.
Last weeks ride was a long one, I had some apprehension about my ability to complete it, I had to ensure I was well prepared and booked a day off work to recover (Which I needed). I rode with others who had done similar the week before and are off this weekend doing something 50% longer, it wasn't a long ride for them.
I used to think that a long ride was one others were impressed by, that's no longer the case. Other cyclists all know someone who has ridden 10x further and non cyclists just think you're daft.

[gbnz]

Is that a long ride? What do people consider a long ride, X miles/km, Y hours? When does a 'quick spin' become a serious ride? I guess we all have our own markers, for me a long ride is something over three hours / 75km.

Based on my average ride length for the year so far, I would put a long ride at somewhere from 65/70 miles and up, or over 4 hours.The time bit is important, as off to the Alps later this year, and 4 hours there will NOT be 65 miles.

Anyone else?

I find a quick spin can be anything from 20-35 miles. A hi speed 20 after work on the road bike, or 30 round miles after work to the supermarket last night (Terrain/conditions make a huge difference; the 22 miles I was commuting to the supermarket in 2014 were hard work, all hills, 16% gradients, in contrast my current 30 is a leisure ride, almost flat throughout).

In my view longer rides tend to be over 60-65 miles, 4 hours +; todays 50 miles / 3.5 hours was a decent ride, but certainly didn't feel "long".

I'll probably find out in the next 2-3 weeks whether I'll be spending the summer cycling over to the Alps during July/August

[Sweep]

javoid energy drinks like red bull and monster.

Out of interest dave, why do you say this? In extremis, on very tough rides, I have found Aldi's alarmingly named Red Thunder useful.

[Cyril Haearn]

What do people consider a long ride, X miles/km, Y hours? When does a 'quick spin' become a serious ride? I guess we all have our own markers, for me a long ride is something over three hours / 75km.

Long ride is at least 25% longer (Or harder) than a normal ride.
Yes I know that's the N+1 answer, and it isn't intended to be facetious. My CTC ride tomorrow is almost ten time longer than the ride I considered super human when I started cycling twenty years ago, I'm not considering it a long ride as it's less than a third of the distance I rode on last weeks ride.
Last weeks ride was a long one, I had some apprehension about my ability to complete it, I had to ensure I was well prepared and booked a day off work to recover (Which I needed). I rode with others who had done similar the week before and are off this weekend doing something 50% longer, it wasn't a long ride for them.
I used to think that a long ride was one others were impressed by, that's no longer the case. Other cyclists all know someone who has ridden 10x further and non cyclists just think you're daft.

Is this a mathematical puzzle to keep our brains alive?
How long was the super-human ride? Tell us that and we can calculate the rest

People are flabbergasted when I say I cycled 100 km, perhaps I should not tell them, the shock!
I am flabbergasted that they drive 2 km to work

[foxyrider]

What do people consider a long ride, X miles/km, Y hours? When does a 'quick spin' become a serious ride? I guess we all have our own markers, for me a long ride is something over three hours / 75km.

Long ride is at least 25% longer (Or harder) than a normal ride.
Yes I know that's the N+1 answer, and it isn't intended to be facetious. My CTC ride tomorrow is almost ten time longer than the ride I considered super human when I started cycling twenty years ago, I'm not considering it a long ride as it's less than a third of the distance I rode on last weeks ride.
Last weeks ride was a long one, I had some apprehension about my ability to complete it, I had to ensure I was well prepared and booked a day off work to recover (Which I needed). I rode with others who had done similar the week before and are off this weekend doing something 50% longer, it wasn't a long ride for them.
I used to think that a long ride was one others were impressed by, that's no longer the case. Other cyclists all know someone who has ridden 10x further and non cyclists just think you're daft.

Is this a mathematical puzzle to keep our brains alive?
How long was the super-human ride? Tell us that and we can calculate the rest

People are flabbergasted when I say I cycled 100 km, perhaps I should not tell them, the shock!
I am flabbergasted that they drive 2 km to work

And how long is a 'normal' ride?

[TheNissanMan]

It’s a learning exercise for me and after as many opinions as poss. This morning went out on the new tyres (other thread) for a quick 11miles, normally would have finished a water bottle or there about but this morning hardly touched it although being much cooler than my normal rides, 14 degrees vs 23 probably had a major part of it....

[Mick F]

108ft of ascent per mile over 42miles on a heavy bike is long enough for me to count it a "long". Average moving speed was 10mph.

Put me on the main roads on Mercian, and I would eat the miles up. 75+ miles would be a long ride then.

[PH]

Long ride is at least 25% longer (Or harder) than a normal ride.
Yes I know that's the N+1 answer, and it isn't intended to be facetious. My CTC ride tomorrow is almost ten time longer than the ride I considered super human when I started cycling twenty years ago, I'm not considering it a long ride as it's less than a third of the distance I rode on last weeks ride.
Last weeks ride was a long one, I had some apprehension about my ability to complete it, I had to ensure I was well prepared and booked a day off work to recover (Which I needed). I rode with others who had done similar the week before and are off this weekend doing something 50% longer, it wasn't a long ride for them.
I used to think that a long ride was one others were impressed by, that's no longer the case. Other cyclists all know someone who has ridden 10x further and non cyclists just think you're daft.

Is this a mathematical puzzle to keep our brains alive?
How long was the super-human ride? Tell us that and we can calculate the rest

People are flabbergasted when I say I cycled 100 km, perhaps I should not tell them, the shock!
I am flabbergasted that they drive 2 km to work

And how long is a 'normal' ride?

That's somewhat against the point I was trying to make- Who's normal ride?
My normal ride is anything up to 200 km, going much over that feels like a long ride...
The OP's long ride is L2B
It isn't a question of what is and isn't long, it's only relevant when measured against what for the individual is the norm.
I didn't own a bike from the age of 16 to 39. When I bought one at 39, I used to ride 6 miles along the river to the country park , I hoped one day to be fit enough to ride there and back without needing a break or feeling exhausted at the end. That was my long ride, someone coming along and telling me they rode 100 miles or 400 miles wouldn't have made it less so.

[thirdcrank]

IMO the big point here is that across several threads, the OP has sought advice about a ride which is a long ride for him and has now reached a point where he feels its doable. Excellent. There's a risk that having come to terms with the length of the ride, other things like nutrition will get out of proportion. IMO it's a matter of avoiding hunger knock/bonk and dehydration but not losing sleep worrying about it.

And if I didn't mention it before, don't set off too fast.