60-65 miles then I'm shattered

[Rebel Ian]

Went out for a lovely ride today in the sunshine with the intention of doing 80 miles. Actually ended up doing 78 so a good day.

Up to 60 miles or so I was finding it a piece of cake. A few nasty hills but it was good. After we stopped, appropriately for a piece of cake, I really struggled from there. The energy just disappeared and the legs were heavy. I found it a real chore to do the last 15 miles.

Any tips on how to cope? It's the same with every ride I do over that distance.

 

[amaferanga]

How often have you ridden that far and did you eat and drink enough?

 

[phil_hg_uk]

I used to find 60 was my limit but the more I ride the higher my limit gets. The first few times I did 100 miles it destroyed me even though it was on the flat most of the way now I can do a hilly 100 miles and feel fine after, in fact I have done 2 100 miles rides this month so it is just practise, the more you do it the easier it get so just keep at it oh and make sure you have a break and get some food and a quick rest at some point during the ride that made a lot of difference for me, remember it is suposed to be fun.

 

[Rebel Ian]

How often have you ridden that far and did you eat and drink enough?

60 miles reasonably often but 80 or so only 4 or 5 times before. After 30 miles we had lunch then after 55 had a coffee/cake stop. It was after that I felt shattered. When training it's easy enough to get out and do 30 or 40 miles but 80 or so takes a dedicated effort in terms of time.

 

[HLaB]

When I want to go for a longer distance and I'm out of shape, I do shorter rides at a high tempo and then drop the pace for the longer ride. I feel like I could cover most distances that way.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Slow down = go further (for a given level of fitness) For example I can ride a metric century more or less non stop at my own pace with no ill effects or challenges but I get dropped over 40 miles if I ride with a faster group in my local club.