My legs felt sluggish this morning when I started out. They weren’t 100% even though I had taken two rest days from my weekend rides. I rolled at 5:08. I arrived at the meet 7 minutes early (5:53 am). I didn’t want to wait for the group so I rolled on. I rode steady and spent most of the time in the aero-bars. I thought the group would catch me but they didn’t. I rode the entire “group ride” alone. I arrived back at the shop at 8:30am and realized I still had time to get more miles in. I then did the Warner Loop for an additional 20 miles. I ended the day with 84 miles and Normalized Power of 210 or 3.13 w/kg.
George's Epic Adventures 
Hiya George,
I’m curious to know what you’re packing on your long’ish trips – if you don’t mind me asking. Don’t bother going over the saddle bag, I know you’re taking one or two tubes, some inflation tool(s), a multi-tool, etc.
For example, do you pack a light jacket or vest – what brand? I remember reading you used a Showers Pass vest. anything else as for clothing? arm warmers? Clothing is of interest to me here in the bay area; a recent ride started at 80 degrees, plummeted to 50 on highway 35 (around misty redwoods with a persistent marine layer drizzle, pretty cool), and rose again to 80 on my descent.
How about food? Just the powder?
I’ve noticed that I take less and less as my rides get longer and longer. But lately when riding 50 to 60 miles I get very hungry and my carb powder just doesn’t cut it to quell the roaring gut.
Thanks for any input
Ben
Ben,
Thank you for reading my blog!
SoCal is pretty predictable this time of year. I don’t take a jacket or vest or anything like that. I do have a Showers Pass Pro Tech jacket it is awesome and I think every cyclist should own one. It really depends where I’m going to ride whether I take all that other gear you are talking about. If you are really having a tough time deciding what to wear because the weather conditions are so varied then you might want to buy and wear wool. YES WOOL! It is the best material to wear if you are going to encounter 40 degree swings in temperature, mist or even a downpour. And get 100% Merino wool. Blends are just that blends and not worth it. Get wool everything for that matter. I have wool arm warmers, wool base layers, wool gloves, wool knee warmers, jerseys and wool trainers for the winter.
Food– I don’t like to carry food on long rides. I use Infinit Nutrition powder. On today’s ride(84 miles) I rode the whole ride on two bottles that’s it. I don’t like to stop to refuel and I don’t like to stop pee. 😉 On last Saturday’s ride I drank 9.5 bottles (some fuel some plain water). But the heat of Palomar Mountain needs to be respected. Hydration is very important in 95F heat.
What are you using for fuel now? Have you looked at Infinit Nutrition? You can dial in a little more protein to keep you satiated while you ride. Take some gels with you. You can take a gel every time you summit a climb and maybe another one on the descent IN ADDITION to the ones you are taking every half hour. There is no reason you should be getting hungry on a 50 or 60 miler. I can do those rides with no breakfast and just plain water in my bottles. I only weigh 150 so I don’t have a lot of fat on me to fuel me.
Notice on my SRM download that this morning’s ride was 2749 kjs that’s akin to saying 2749 calories. I wasn’t hungry on the ride. I bet if you ride harder you won’t be hungry 😉 The more pain you feel in other parts of your body the less you will feel your hunger pangs.
Feel free to ask any other questions as they come mind.
Thank you again for reading my blog. Please pass my blog on to other riders!
George, thanks for the time you take to respond. Your blog often gets me all fired up.
a gel every 30 minutes? Well that explains one problem, I’m not doing anything like that. I have 25 to 50 grams of carbs in 1 water bottle and that’s it for the entire ride.
Showers pass. Check. Wool. Check. Power Meter.. after I win the lottery then… Check!
(Actually I’m waiting for this: http://www.metrigear.com/products/
I would prefer it in a shimano pedal.. but I’ll take in any pedal it ends up in)
I would like to carry my leg and arm warmers on my bike. Do you have any suggestions on how I can put them in one of my bottle cage holders? Also, my bike frame is so small that I have a medium size pump and I can not find a safe and logical area to store it and it is to long to stick out of the back of my jersey.
How do you get so fast, I mean I could train hard, recover well and still not get to your quickness. I can hold my own but I was never a racer on the road bike, I did race on my Mountain Bike and still to this day I feel the need to be quicker.
I really enjoy your blogging, so please do not stop. You have so much interesting information. Very educational.
Tiger,
Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you are getting something out of it.
If you want to carry your arm warmers on the bike you might want one of these. Leg warmers is going to be a challenge. I recommend you wear wool arm warmers and wool KNEE warmers (not leg warmers) . Do you really need your ankles to be warm? If you are riding in weather where they are required you will be happy with the warmth they provide. But when the weather heats up the beauty of wearing wool is you don’t have to take it off. Leave it on and you will be fine.
Next — get rid of the pump YOU REALLY DON’T NEED IT!! Carry CO2! If you are flatting that much then issue is not the necessity to carry a pump and where to stow it but rather that you are not riding good tires. I weigh more than you (just a guess) and I hardly ever flat. I ride hundreds sometimes thousands of miles without flats. If you feel safer carrying a pump then carry an mini pump that DOES fit in your jersey. Pay attention where you are riding 90% of flats are avoidable.
How do I get so fast? Umm…I’m not fast. Trust me there are people out there that destroy me. But I do train hard. I make myself suffer when I train or race. I have an extremely high tolerance for pain.
One reason may be you are not training the right way. For example, if you don’t use a power meter I hardly think you can train properly and get the most gains in the shortest time frame. How much do you suffer? Do you train with a purpose? Does each training session have a goal, an objective? How often do you go out with the intention to make yourself hurt? How often do you go out with the goal of thrashing your legs? How often do you do intervals? How often do you do hill repeats? How often do you ride with people that are way stronger than you? And not just a little I mean really strong. When was the last time you did motor pacing? If you can’t answer these questions or don’t know what some of them mean then you are not training hard enough and with intensity. Anyone can go long but where you really stand out is going long and fast! Otherwise you are just another person doing doubles- pack fodder. Look at the results at some of the California Triple Crown series. There are the top 10 riders and just everybody else. The disparity in the times between the top 5 and the 30th or 40th rider is HOURS! So who do you want to be?
go Vireo!!