Do you stop on rides?
- Thread starter magnatom
- Start date
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MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
yep we stopped at one place on Saturday evening where everything had thatched roofs, even the bus stop!!!
cannondale boy
Über Member
- Location
- somewhere in fife
It just depends on what the terrain is like, hilly or not. If i am going out for a 50+ miles then i will take a break around the 30 mark. I guess your body will know best for when to stop.
If i am going far i watch my cadence, don't want to push myself to hard or i will get tired. You could do fast bursts of speed for say a km just to build strength, then go at a steady pace for the rest of the journey. I would do these leisurely bursts every so often in your ride say 3 times every 10 miles (16km).
If i am going far i watch my cadence, don't want to push myself to hard or i will get tired. You could do fast bursts of speed for say a km just to build strength, then go at a steady pace for the rest of the journey. I would do these leisurely bursts every so often in your ride say 3 times every 10 miles (16km).
Having come from a marathon running background I have to say that keeping going is the natural instinct, since it's always harder to get going after a stop. However, long cycle runs like the Trossachs Ton are not competitive for most of us and do have planned meal breaks, so it may even be a good idea to build some short breaks into your training runs. As pointed out above, it is mentally easier to work through your training runs in shorter chunks, too, even if you don't actually stop at the end of each 'chunk'. I find this a useful strategy when it comes to the actual event as it stops you mentally getting too far ahead of yourself.
I manage to drink on the go but usually stop every hour/2 hours for a wee(,) bite and a stretch. Don't much like stopping for longer than 5-10 mins though; but I did have a 20 min coffee break on Sunday after 85km of 111km total. I was on a regular route by now, so knew how long it would take me to get home.
The clubruns I do always have a stop just after halfway (usually about 40miles) for half an hourish of tea, cake and chat. There usually follows 20 minutes on the bike of everyone complaing how heavy their legs feel and how the cake is weighing them down!
On my own I only stop for traffic lights etc. I don't find eating/ drinking on the bike difficult. If I'm doing a 'sportive' style event, I don't bother with feed stops, carry enough food and drink for the day and rest at the end. I love that feeling I get after a hard ride when I'm having a lovely brew, feet up reading the paper/comic/watching telly.
On my own I only stop for traffic lights etc. I don't find eating/ drinking on the bike difficult. If I'm doing a 'sportive' style event, I don't bother with feed stops, carry enough food and drink for the day and rest at the end. I love that feeling I get after a hard ride when I'm having a lovely brew, feet up reading the paper/comic/watching telly.
The type of riding I do requires stops. They are to acquire 'proofs' for my Brevet card.
Receipts from local shops usually suffice.
I arrive at a control early, take a few minutes rest waiting for the average to decrease; and then when my Garmin shows 12.4 mph 'lap average', I start a new lap and buy a can of diet coke to get the receipt.
The 'lap average' stays at 0.0 while I'm drinking for a further 5 minutes. When I get started again, it will be 8 – 10 miles or so until the 'lap average' is up to 12.5 mph. Another 8 miles to the next control gets the 'lap average to about 13.5 mph, and the control routine is repeated.
Three control stops and then finish makes 110km.
Receipts from local shops usually suffice.
I arrive at a control early, take a few minutes rest waiting for the average to decrease; and then when my Garmin shows 12.4 mph 'lap average', I start a new lap and buy a can of diet coke to get the receipt.
The 'lap average' stays at 0.0 while I'm drinking for a further 5 minutes. When I get started again, it will be 8 – 10 miles or so until the 'lap average' is up to 12.5 mph. Another 8 miles to the next control gets the 'lap average to about 13.5 mph, and the control routine is repeated.
Three control stops and then finish makes 110km.
On my Century a Month rides I have one sit-down stop because I don't take any food with me. For my usual half day outings, up to say 60 miles, I don't stop at all. If I was a racing snake like jimboalee I would need constant fuel, but at 15-16 mph average on the flat I'm hardly pushing the envelope. (I don't do audaxes, so I don't need to wait for my average to drop down to what the marshalls will accept)
Top Tip for stopping - never stick a couple of beers down your neck, because you will find that you may have got back on the bike but your legs haven't.
Top Tip for stopping - never stick a couple of beers down your neck, because you will find that you may have got back on the bike but your legs haven't.
Steve Austin
The Marmalade Kid
- Location
- Mlehworld
I try not to stop at all, but then i'm not racing so there is no pressure and no problem if i do. I try to never stop n hills or the top of them, as some bizarre masochistic desire pops into my head and i have this longheld belief that riding through the pain is good for me.
Randochap
Senior hunter
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada
dodgy said:
This is usually the default on new computers. Many also have a "manual" setting, which keeps running during stops, giving true average, including stops. This is the setting I use on brevets up to 200kms.
Un fortunately, I can't ride 300s and above in less than 10 hours -- the amount of time most computers will gather data.
A friend has been working on manufacturers to produce a computer useful to randonneurs, but none seem interested in a model that runs for 100 hours.
Oh, and yes, I stop.
Randochap said:
On randos over 10 hrs, I segmentise them and reset the computer to zero moments before acquiring proof at the control.
Overall time is on my wristwatch and as long as I reach the next control within 15 - 30 kmh average, I know I'm OK. 5 seperate rides
!!The routesheet states the opening and closing times of each control, so if I'm held up for any reason, I can do a mental sum of how fast I should be riding to avoid being late.
Trouble is, after 14 hours riding, mental arithmetic gets a little slow and I have to stop to do a division equation
