Cycling
secrets: Get more miles out of your energy
By
Simon Lambourn, with advice from Janice, Mark and Neil
Does
your cycling sag in the afternoons? Do
you ever wish you could do more miles without feeling drained? Do you feel too drained to go out riding the
day after a big ride? Me too. I’ve been wondering – and investigating - why
my imperfect body can’t keep up with
that person ahead of me who makes it look so easy.
I’m
never going to be a racer, but this article is about making the most of what
you’ve got: how to ride a bit further,
or a bit faster, without more effort. You will already
know some (maybe most) of this but I hope there are a few new things you can
try out.
There
is a basic problem: it’s difficult to absorb enough
calories on the day to match your energy output. (That’s why some people refer to longer Audax rides as an eating
contest.) There are three ways to tackle this: eat
the right food at the right time (inputs); use less
effort to propel the bike (outputs);
and improve how
you convert your stored fuel into effort applied to the pedals (efficiency).
Inputs: Eat the right
food at the right time: For
the full scoop see the article by Paul James and Louise Gagnon in July/Aug 2019’s
Sou’Wester.
To summarise:
• The day before: eat slow-release carbohydrate
(brown rice/pasta) and lighter
proteins (chicken, fish). Ensure you are fully hydrated.
• Before the ride: Ensure you are fully hydrated. Eat low-protein, low sugar carbohydrate such
as bananas, whole wheat bread/bagel with peanut butter
• On the ride: Graze on sugary carbohydrate and
water, and a bit of salt – keep hydrated.
Jelly Babies, dried fruits, energy bars/gels.
• Lunch: sugar and hydration: Coca-cola,
lemonade, caffeine; jam, banana, nutella, rice pudding, Soreen
cake – but no fats (no butter)
• Just after the ride: in the first 30 mins
after the ride your body will rapidly store energy if you give
it
sugary things: Jelly Babies, sweet biscuits, jam, banana. Keep hydrating too!
• Later: higher protein and slower-release
carbs will help your recovery ready for tomorrow
Outputs: Use less effort
to propel your bike: I wrote about this
on the Wayfarers blog
in July 2017. Briefly:
• Air resistance is the real killer, especially
at higher wind speeds: follow another rider (taking turns to lead, of course),
keep low on the bike when the wind is high; keep your bike and your body/clothing as skinny as possible. Or just cycle slower: it uses less energy to
get the same distance.
• Carrying extra weight up a hill takes work:
do you need all those tools in your pannier?
Or all those pairs of shoes for your tour?
• Smaller effects from tyre rolling resistance
(wider tyres are good, and
stick to the smooth part of the road!) and transmission resistance (look after
your chain).
Efficiency:
Each of these takes practice, and might
be expanded in a future article:
• Don’t “go into the red”: anaerobic
respiration, where you don’t have enough oxygen and
produce lactic acid, uses 18x more energy to do
the same work (yes, really!). If your
legs hurt, it’s probably due to lactic acid.
Cycle a bit slower, or breathe more deeply, especially breathing out all
the stale air.
• Use the right muscles: big muscles have big
energy stores. “Recruit
your Glutes”, especially the biggest muscle in your body, your gluteus maximus,
near your backside, which often isn’t used much in
cycling. To use it, stick your tummy out
forwards and consciously try to use it.
• Pedal efficiently: pedal in circles, not just
up & down. Lead
with the ankles and imagine the pedal stroke is egg-shaped, with the point of
the egg at the lower front. Lift the weight off the pedal slightly as it
comes up, and pull back when the pedal goes back (easier with cleats).
• Burn fat: Fat won’t give you massive bursts
of energy but every little extra helps your endurance. The body prefers
carbohydrate, so you have to train your metabolism to burn fat by fasting,
perhaps riding occasionally with no breakfast and even no lunch.
No comments:
Post a Comment