I started structured training a year ago, primarily to handle long bikepacking trips. I’m not a typical biking body type, coming from basketball and powerlifting. After my first year of training I managed to get my ftp from ~230 to 315 at 90 kg of bodyweight and 194 cm height.
I’m used to doing multi day bikepacking trips with about 140 - 180 km per day but am starting to get into longer distances. My last attempt was to do 270 km at an IF of 0.7. The first 200 km were a walk in the park, but I realized that the last 70 were really close to failure despite fueling with 90g of carbs per hour. It also took multiple days to recover and to get back to my normal training schedule. As I’d like to tackle longer distances, maybe also multi day self-supporting races in the future I was wondering how anyone manages to do e.g. 500 km in 24h.
I think sticking to “shorter” training and trying to keep raising my FTP would be ideal, but what could I do besides that? Lower intensity on those really long rides? Was IF 0.7 to high? Loose more weight?
I tried to find some info online of course but have the feeling that there’s not much to find especially for ranges above 300 km. Any insights would be really appreciated
I would suggest an IF below 0.7. It will feel cruelly slow for the first half of the day but you will be a lot fresher at the end. Sounds like you have your carbs sorted, but make sure you’re getting adequate electrolytes as well.
I usually start long rides with HR cap (Z1-Z2), not IF and later go by RPE when HR becomes suppressed (night cold, fatigue, etc).
When looking power after the ride, it typically falls within 55-63% of FTP.
I am mostly riding in flat region, for me cruising speed difference between IF 0.6 vs 0.7 is pretty small (a la 30km/h vs 32km/h). Because I am not racing, I don’t care about this.
Thanks for the input already. I also think the speed difference between 0.7 and 0.6 is probably less than 2kmh, so neglectable at least over the course of a day.
My electrolytes are sodium chloride, potassium chloride and magnesium citrate. 1g of each per hour in addition to 60g sugar and 30g maltodextrin. I use to drink about a liter and hour, which might be a little much, but I prefer to stay on the safe side here.
With a 315-watt FTP, you’re burning almost 800 calories an hour at 70% of your FTP. I’d say that for events where performance is critical and you need to keep your energy up for that long, consuming more than 90g/hour will likely be beneficial.
Of course, you need to train your gut if you haven’t already, but most successful ultra athletes nowadays are fueling with tons of carbohydrates even though they’re mostly pacing below .75.
0.7 for the better part of 300km is a big ride. I’d personally usually be aiming for around 0.6 unless this was an A race or something. And then I’d expect to be dead for a day or two after. The ideal pace for a 300 should feel a bit too slow for the first 100-160km. Like you’re being lazy and not trying quite enough
Dying in the final third can happen for reasons other than going too hard though.
Underfueling can be the cause. Conversely though, your stomach and palate often won’t let you take in huge amounts of hourly carbs as you start to get that type of fatigue. You can train this somewhat, but there is always going to be a point where high hourly carbs intake isn’t possible anymore. For me this is usually after about 16h of 90-100g/h. YMMV.
Relative undertraining is a bigger one. If you have minimal recent experience with being on the bike that long, you are going to die near the end no matter how many carbs you take in. Look at increasing your weekly volume to however long you think your long ride will take you (if you haven’t already), or adding long tempo intervals into your weekly long rides (ex: do 60min of tempo after riding for 3-4h, or ride z2 out then tempo home).
I just completed an 11 hour ride with IF 0.7 . Doable but intense and I still feel the fatigue after 5 days. Looking back I would recommend dropping to IF 0.6-6.5 for anything longer.
You could also work on improving your fat ox both in terms of the amount of fat ox per minute and the range of intensities it stretches across to cover 0.7 IF.
Check your actual kJ produced/kCal on your computer. Shoot for 50-60% replacement. 100cal = 25g of carbs (approximately) jamming more than you need can cause issues one should try to avoid over ultra distances.
Also mix it up. Solid, Block, Gel, real food, liquid. Some savory and occasionally something with fat & protein. Remember you’re also skipping complete meals that cover everything, so just sugars can pull a number on your gut.
Having done a few bikepacking events this year I have learned a few things that work for me. But what works for me won’t necessarily work for you. Taking in large amounts of carbs just causes heartburn nausea etc ,particularly gels and carb drink mix. Eating little and often is best ,rather than stopping for a big lunch, then facing a long steep climb!
You need to build the resilience to be on the bike for so many hours, which is not do-able on the turbo.(for most of us). Something that worked well for me was to drive to somewhere new ,to make it more fun, then ride out for 10 ish hours, bivvy, or stop in a hotel, then ride back ,a different way to my vehicle. I enjoy route planning so these trips are always fun, and often challenging .
You will learn what kit is best, how to avoid the dreaded saddle sores, and that no waterproof is truly waterproof , and how even your favourite food can make you sick
I use what my Garmin tells me for kJ/kCal, It’s yet another good use of the power meter, within the margin of error of your PWM that is, but still more accurate than how hungry you feel.
Except you’re not burning just carbs. Just 0.3g fat per minute is 18g / hour which is ~ 162 calories. In well trained ultra cyclists fat burning can be as high as 1.5g / min or 90g / hour or 810 calories per hour from fat at ultra distance intensities. The highest I’ve seen from the literature is 2g / min.
The longer the event, the more your body will favor fatty acid oxidation for energy, regardless of whether glucose is available. Fat adaptation is one of the many nebulous “endurance adaptations” that comes from long consecutive hours in the saddle. This generally happens over time with long rides. It’s possible you’re not as developed in this area. (Though usually multiday bike packers have this fairly developed, so your case is a little perplexing to me.) Furthermore, prolonged sympathetic tone will divert blood away from your gut, leading to GI dysfunction and potential malabsorption.
Honestly, I’d perhaps do 1-2 high intensity sessions per week then stack all of your Z2 into one really long endurance ride on the weekend. Then throw in some long Z3/sweet spot intervals at the end of those rides. I did this years ago when I was building my endurance base up for Unbound XL.
Something else I’ve been learning is that FTP myopia can be a distraction for ultra distance. The theory goes that if you raise your FTP, then you’ll raise your Z2 (primary zone for multi day stuff). But I’m beginning to question that logic looking at my historical data. I’m not sure it’s automatically proportional. FTP++ is nice, but don’t neglect your TTE, Z3, and occasional super long rides.
