cycling at 1200M

[lazyfatgit]

I'm now living at about 1100M above sea level.

Apart from having to slap on more sunscreen, are there any other things to consider differently. eg more/less water and food?

 

[ASC1951]

Depends where you are and what you are doing. 1100m at the coast is going to be much more humid than 500k inland, for instance.

This isn't meant to be dismissive, but why don't you just listen to your body? Eat when you are hungry and drink when you are thirsty. It has numerous sophisticated indicators, if you are used to taking notice of them.

 

[Scoosh]

I'm now living at about 1100M above sea level.

Apart from having to slap on more sunscreen, are there any other things to consider differently. eg more/less water and food?

Beware of too long a downhill and, knowing you, less food wouldn't go amiss either

More seriously, I believe you will need to drink more, as dehydration will be accelerated. Breathing might become more laboured (less O2 up there), so don't overdo the riding until you are well acclimatised.

Ask local riders.

 

[gaz]

why don't you just listen to your body? Eat when you are hungry and drink when you are thirsty.

you should eat before your hungry and drink before your thirsty, thus i believe that is pretty useless.

 

[jimboalee]

1200m is not as high up as Yosimite National Park ( 5000 - 10000 ft ). The coastal dwellers and I had no problems at all.
Air was a bit thin, but lungs managed with it.

Mt Teide on Tenerife was higher. Slowed down considerably up at the cable car station.
"Big breaths" she shouted.
"Yeh, [gasp] I've been looking at them all morning".

 

[lazyfatgit]

Beware of too long a downhill and, knowing you, less food wouldn't go amiss either .

eating less wont be a problem, there's not too many pie shops

did notice was breathing a bit harder on yesterdays ride (but i was keeping pace with HLaB clone), but managed to keep up unintelegent mumblings as usual. Took two bottles, but didn't drink too much as it was perishing.

thanks all for the responses.

Jimbo, you mean the girl had "nice eyes"?

 

[Banjo]

i did a fair bit of crosscountry skiing at a similar altitude years ago and never really noticed any difference.If your living there you will quickly become acclimatized.

 

[ASC1951]

you should eat before your hungry and drink before your thirsty, thus i believe that is pretty useless.

He's a recreational cyclist, not a competition athlete, FFS; all he needs to do is apply a little commonsense. Since we don't know anything about the relative humidity, terrain or what he will actually be doing, it's all rather academic.

My point was that by far the best guide to what he needs is how he himself feels. It's his body and he should learn to monitor it.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

ASC -

Do you think listening to your body has stood you in good stead?
If so, what the f**! did it tell you?

 

[lazyfatgit]

I'm in NSW on the new england tablelands. 1000m drop one one side, 400m climb on the other.If i stay in the middle its rolling hills, longer than at home and not as sharp. RH shouldn't be a problem, maxt temp probably 30C in summer.

the reason i was looking for some basic advice is i'm pretty pish at the whole eating/drinking thing and haven't quite found a balance. I've shed 10kg in the last 4 months and don't want to start piling on by shovelling in too much, but a huge concern would be bonking in the middle of nowhere. I dont want to turn my bike into a tourer and carry a fridge on the back - i can do that in the rain at home.

 

[Scoosh]

When riding, I drink a couple of mouthfuls of water every 15-20mins - and need to watch my clock to get it done. If doing a longer ride (100km+), I have a bar or equivalent every hour, with eloctrolyte drink for that hour.

I try to work to:
Hour 1 - water every 15 mins, bar at end
Hour 2 - electrolyte every 15 mins, bar at end
Hour 3 - water .... roll at end
Hour 4 - recovery drink every 15 mins, bar at end
etc etc

I do find that I lose my concentration after a couple of hours and often find I haven't drunk anything for about 30-40 mins - and usually I can feel it .

I guess your only 'extra' thing will be to ensure you take eloctrolyte-type drinks, to replace lost salts, prevent cramp etc .

HTH
[what will be your new login name ? SlimFella ? ]

 

[lazyfatgit]

Thanks Scoosh, thats the knid of regime i think i need to stick to. unfortunately i tend to daydream with the drinking. They should put alarms on a cycle computer to beep to remind spuds like me!

 

[Telemark]

Thanks Scoosh, thats the knid of regime i think i need to stick to. unfortunately i tend to daydream with the drinking. They should put alarms on a cycle computer to beep to remind spuds like me!

Hi LFG,

1200m shouldn't have too much of an effect on your breathing. You'd probably start noticing the air getting a bit thinner from 1800-2000 upwards, but only really if you are not acclimatised (which you should be after a week or 2).

I spent my first 25 years living at ~700m in the Alps, walking and cycling in the surrounding mountains up to 2800m, but haven't noticed any thinner air effects when going back to visit every so often (have been living at <100m sea level in Edinburgh for more than 15 years now)

Of course there is the usual disclaimer that every body is different (and I may have some sort of long-term altitude adaptation )

But, as Scoosh says, the sun will definitely be a bit stronger where you are, especially bearing in mind that the ozone layer is thinner ... + I suspect it's a LOT less cloudy than at home

+1 on drinking/eating small amounts regularly, but that's a good idea wherever you are cycling ... Some of the energy drinks are very sickly when you drink a lot of it on long rides and are working hard (even worse when running, which joggles your stomach around). You may have to experiment until you find one that makes you WANT to drink more, especially in the heat, to keep hydrated.

Have a great time - and post some photos!

T

 

[lazyfatgit]

Cheers Telemark, I'm going to have to drink lots more than i'm used to, i think, as it turns out the RH is very low here because of prevailing wind from the west. Got a couple of different drinks from the bike shop to try as I've found some a bit yucky at home.

 

[Scoosh]

I find Nuun tablets to be a good electrolyte replacement thing. They come in assorted flavours , are not too sickly , don't make your bottle/hands all sticky and come in a tube which you can carry with you if on a long ride.