So one strongest cyclist in my region have always put emphasis about non stop or minimal stop in long ride. He can do 4- 5hours+ non stop ride which maybe what makes him super strong. Thoughts about this? Because I can’t seem to find a post about these anywhere else. What’s the appoximate minimum duration ride before taking a quick stop for water refill or soreness relieve etc for maximum benefit/adaptation?
How much water and food do you want to carry?
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I guess this is the logic around indoor rides, that you don’t have to ever stop so there is more efficient use of time. I do think minimal stops for water/bathroom breaks is a good approach versus ride 2 hours, coffee break 15 minutes, but as KevinKlaes asked, you just have to carry a lot of stuff.
I like also to go as long as possible. Don’t know if no stops in itself makes stronger. For me it is more about least amount of hassle to cover distances/durations I do (8-12h, occasionally 24h)
Main limiter is carrying liquids. 2x750ml (fuel + electrolytes) gives about 4h/120km range. With saddle bottle holder, it extends to 200km because I have to use 2x500ml bottles there, larger ones get ejected easily.
Also tried approach with electrolytes in 1.5L hydration back + fuel in 2x750ml, it allowed to go 9h/260km with no stops. But it was somewhat uncomfortable, I prefer to carry nothing on back. Next summer I’ll experiment instead how much sugar can be dissolved into 1L bottle, leaving other 3 cages for electrolytes.
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I’m able to complete 4 hour rides without stopping but I carry 2 bottles with 320 calories of Gatorade and 2 bottles of water (bottle cages and Jersey pockets) and will carry solid food for the remainder of my calories. This is either cliff bars or sour patch kids/gummy bears… I end up carrying a lot in my jersey pockets and eat without stopping unless I’m struggling with a wrapper or it’s windy.
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what’s the best way to carry powder to put in bottles?
For me 2x750ml would last 2 hours, not 4. Especially if you want to ingest a high amount of carbs and/or it is sunny.
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This was also covered in a quite early fasttalk podcast. There are particular benefits that come from long (for you) slow rides that are hampered by significant interruptions to the ride. i.e. a 4 hour non stop ride is very different from 2 hours / coffee stop / 2 hours
Starting at about 23 minutes in (or at the 23 minute mark on the transcript).
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Certainly, this is very individual and depends on riding conditions. I live in flat area with moderate climate and little humidity. As soon as temperature rises above my usual comfort threshold (~25*C), water consumption increases rapidly. As for carbs, I ride at low Z2 (160-170W), getting by with 20-30g/h. I have tried to increase this and intensity but in long run it doesn’t work well for me, motivation suffers.
FTFY, your acquaintance didn’t start out doing 4-5hr rides on a couple of bottles of water, he can do it now because he has a great aerobic base and he’s doing it at a low enough intensity.
You are looking for marginal gains in the wrong place.
- If you are riding solo you shouldn’t need to stop until you need more water, which will depend on temperature, or more food.
- If you need to stop for comfort breaks more than once every 3 hour you’re probably drinking too much.
- If you are getting sore on the bike, listen, this is your body telling you that you are exceeding your limits. You could be able to ride longer with a better bikefit or by working on strength and mobility to hold position.
The biggest problem I find when stopping on a ride for more than a couple of minutes is that inevitably I do it without doing a recovery spin for a couple of minutes, this leads to cooling off rapidly and stiff tired legs when I set off again.
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If you mean actual white sugar, I can get 400g completely dissolved in a 550mL bottle. Involves using hot water, mixing in the sugar, then cooling it in the fridge.
So for your 1L bottle, probably 700-750g?
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Pre-measured to the desired concentration & stored in snaplock bags in a jersey pocket or top tube bag works for me.
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I always thought it was the no coasting that made it more efficient?
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Okay thanks I will take a look
yeah you’re right there
yes I agree too. But what I want to know/ask is is it that important to put emphasis in minimalize how many time you stop in a long ride (or nonstop at all etc 4-5hours longride) for maximum gains? Or for example 3hours nonstop endurance ride vs 3x stop in 5hours endurance ride gains. Sorry for my bad english I hope I make my points clear
Honestly don’t think that stopping for a few minutes to refill a bottle or have a nature break once in a 4-5 hour rides makes any difference. It doesn’t need to be much longer than stopping at traffic lights.
What might make a bigger difference is the amount of pedalling you do in a ride. If you frequently coast, that’ll impact your fitness more than a couple of minutes stop to get water.
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yeah make sense thanks for the input!Fortunately coasting isn’t my habit as I had accustomed to the constant pedaling of indoor training
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Cycling is an endurance sport and endurance adaptations are primarily driven by volume.
Assuming you ride at the same intensity, as long as you spend less than 2 hrs of the 5hr ride stopped the 5hr ride is better, also assuming you are fit enough to sustain that amount of training load.
The real question is whether the stops in 5hr ride are a good use of your time, What would you rather be doing with your time?
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That’s part of it but also things like dealing with traffic.
ok guys so I think the key takeaway here is I don’t need to stress too much about stopping in long ride for maximum gain as long as it’s not excessive
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I would recommend considering how long it will take you to recover from these rides if you do not fuel well. Don’t ruin your week.
When it’s hot I’ll do 3ish hours before really feeling like I need more liquid and chillier days can easily extend to 4-5.
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