Agree. And even in shorter races the ability to skip an aid station is an advantage. Any speed is faster than 0.
I don’t think this is worth aspiring to as you will likely not drink enough and might not eat enough. For me 2–3 bottles over 4–5 hours are not enough.
I think you should aim to reinforce good habits instead:
- Fuel and hydrate optimally. It should become second nature. I don’t think it is worthwhile to ration your water, unless you have to.
- Stop as little as possible if your main goal are physical adaptations. Still, take care of your bodily needs.
- Coffee stops can be food for your soul. That in itself might make them worthwhile. We are not machines.
- If you want zero breaks, it is easiest to do that on an indoor trainer.
Tried it today, 3x80g Maurten 320 dissolved easily in 950ml bottle, water wasn’t even warm, just cool but not cold. Did 4h/130km mid-tempo ride, sip every 10min, usual frequency just smaller and returned with 1/3 bottle still filled. No GI issues.
This opens up new approach – squeeze 6x80g into 950ml bottle, sufficient for 360km ride and have stops only to refill water for electrolytes (950+500+500ml). This is so much less hassle than trying to mess with sugar sachets when sweaty, etc. Around 10min per stop, every ~4-6h, depending on temperature and humidity.
Cool, now need to wait for next summer to try to take it to extreme 
I used to stop for water on long rides but this summer I got a hydration pack. I don’t actually use the bladder but just store extra bottle(s) there.
For a 4hr ride I have 3x950ml bottles on my bike. The third bottle in a sks anywhere mount. 4th bottle in the pack.
For 5hrs I just have 2 bottles in the pack.
Halfway through the ride I have a bathroom break + some coffee, takes no more than 5min.
I don’t like to count how much carbs I’ve eaten or should eat. I just drink 1 bottle per hour and usually have 90g per bottle.
And agreed concentrating on not coasting is more important than avoiding short breaks. I avoid stopping mostly to save time.
I think you are overthinking this. There is no minimum. It’s not like stopping for 10 minutes is going to kill your adaptations.
If there were a study, and I bet there isn’t, there wouldn’t be any measurable difference in adaptations between four hours of riding with four 10 minute water stops and four hours of continuous riding.
So avoid 45 minute coffee and pastry stops. Don’t even worry about short stops.
I love Fasttalk but honestly this was just a bit of coaching wisdom with no data. They even say that Dr Seiler’s research just indicated that it was about collecting minutes. If one stops for 30 minutes after 2 hours in to a 4 hour ride, are the muscles really going to recover to the point, that the next 2 hours is going to be significantly different?
So maybe best practice is to not to do coffee/lunch rides. Maybe what you really lose is that 10-20 minutes that it takes to warm up again.
I wouldn’t stop for more than a minute to pee on the side of the road during a 3-4hr endurance ride. If you’re exploring on an adventure, then take a coffee stop or for a sandwich. If you’re doing training, don’t stop
thanks everyone! Nice discussion there.
Yeah makes lots of sense! I think me and especially my strong friend are overthinking the stopping things haha as long as it’s not excessive
Stopping could even be a benefit depending on the rider. Like maybe one cannot do a 4 hour continuous ride but could do 2x2hr with a 30 minute lunch stop in the middle. Then you have a net gain of extra time in the saddle because of the recovery lunch.
my reason to take a short break is usually to relieve soreness and boredom 
You need audio books, podcasts, a bike fit, maybe new bibs, and/or a new saddle.
Honestly, I don’t love the super long ride. I like a fast 2-3 hours. After 4 hours I just start feeling like I want the ride to be done.
That’s called a double day. 
Less stops is better… but when you gotta go you gotta go. Stop lights happen. In cycling you coast downhills, etc. Mini breaks are nbd, it part of the sport. As said above, avoid long stops if you can… but also as @AJS914 said if you have to split it up, do it… more is better.
I think that makes sense? 
I often ride around 4hrs non stop and it’s not even a comparison to a 4hr ride with a 15-30 min coffee break after 2hrs. I won’t say it makes you stronger but I know my buddies (that typically do coffee stop rides) with great fitness will really struggle around hour 3+ if they don’t stop.
I typically only do this style of riding to be efficient with my time.
roger that… Long stop is not my style though so I’m good 
The solubility of table sugar (sugar) at 20 celsius is about 2:1 sugar:water by mass. It starts turning into a syrupy substance and is extremely gross to consume, but I’ve put 250g sugar into a 400mL flask once.
Different tastes hey. Yes it does get very syrupy at that concentration. As someone mentioned on another thread it’s like having a really big gel, like 12× bigger. I can tolerate extremely sweet. Conversely, I don’t enjoy it below about 150g/L. I find it just tastes like water-with-something-weird-in-it. One of the reasons I keep the fuelling & hydration separate. Sip of carbs, sip of water to rinse & keep the gut happy.
Haha yeah to an enormous gel. It did the trick for getting most of my carbs for a long-ish ride into a small, easily accessible, and rapidly consumable medium.