If you go 100+ miles a day on a bike?

Question

when or at miles would be good to eat and refuel and what is a nice average speed over 100+ a day to maintain

Answer 1

I cycled 92 miles a few weeks ago, averaging 9.40mph on my mountain bike, including stops of about 2 hours (I cycled to the north of Worcestershire from Cheltenham and climbed over Abberley Hill). Not including stops average moving speed was 12mph.

Answer 2

Wow!  If you are a normal person on a good touring or road bike and with relatively flat terrain I would say you could probably average anywhere from 8-12 mph easily.  That's what I've typically done on riding centuries, but then again I don't train for centuries I just sign up, load up and ride them.

Make sure to drink water at least every 1/2 hour, more often if it is hot.  I say eat when you're hungry - eat the three square and just snack throughout the day.

Better more specific information is available  - check out the local library they have books on training for long rides and tours written by the pros - or online.

Hey good luck!!

Answer 3

I did 101 last saturday(85degrees/8WNW wind) and heres my usual formula:  

I eat a good carb breakfast about 2-3 hrs before a long ride like this.  It also helps to eat some pasta the day before to get your muscles packed with the fuel they'll need.   I had a Diet Dew about an hour into the ride, then I had a Powerbar about 2 hrs into the ride.   Water for the next 2 hrs, then a chicken wrap and a beef s/shell taco w/water at about the midpoint of the ride(I was starvin; usually I just do the wrap).  A 15 min rest after eating, then some easy pedalling thru town for about an hour to the park and back (12 mi).   More water for the next 2 hrs, then some Gatorade at about the 6 hr mark ( I like to add a can of pop to my gatorade to give it some 'pizazz').  Another powerbar about an hour after that and water on the last leg home.  

My route takes me thru several towns: I dont ever make record time as I stopped to check out the parade, softball game and beach in one small town that was having a 'celebration'.   Even w/o anything special going on, I still wander a bit on this route as it goes by several lakes and such.  I was gone 9 hrs total; my GPS told me I was moving for 7.5 hrs, which is about typical for me.   Most of the time I was going about 17 mph or so when on uninterrupted sections as it was a beauuuutiful day for a ride here in MN.

Answer 4

Whenever I'm on rides of more than two hours' duration, I eat something every hour, and I drink frequently (I'll easily go through a 28 or 32oz (roughly 0.8L-1.0L) bottle every hour in warm weather (faster in really hot weather).  I tend to eat Clif Bars, because they give a nice 250 calorie lump of energy per, they have a nice 4:1 carb:protein balance, and I can easily fit 6 into my jersey pockets.  They can lead to "tummy music," however, so watch that.  You can also typically enjoy bananas and PB&Js at rest stops, if riding in an event.

On a flat century, it might not be as important to stay on top of fueling, but on a hilly or mountainous one, it is critical (I bonked at 77 miles in my first mountain century, and it was not fun).

Between the Clif Bars and the (half strength) Gatorade in my bottles, I'm typically getting in about 350 calories per hour.  Were I racing (a bit far for me to race), I'd want to get more than that, but for a laid-back century, it's plenty--there's plenty of fat to burn for fuel.

Speed:  depends upon terrain and your experience level.  Unless you have a lot of experience, you're going to want to stay aerobic the entire time (save maybe for the last 20 miles), and pedal freely in an easy gear, at an exertion level that lets you carry on a conversation.  That could be 8mph, 12mph, or 16mph depending upon your fitness level.  I've personally averaged anywhere between 12mph and 15mph on centuries in mildly rolling to mountain to rolling terrain, for reference, and I've been riding for four years.

Answer 5

Most of the time when I do a 100+ ride I stop three to four times. I carry three large bottles and you need to down one of those suckers every hour. If you don't drink enough you're going to bonk and get sick and lose touch with reality. It happened to me one time at 74 because I didn't follow my own routine.

At two of those four stops I douse myself with water. Maybe it's a mental thing because studies show that the water does not help, but for me the cooling effect you get from wet clothing  as you ride is awesome and serves to reduce my core temperature.

My nutrition formula is three bottles every time I get on the bike. 1st bottle is watered-down gatorade, second bottle is three quarter strength, last bottle is full-strength. The next bottles are purchased and sometimes you can't be picky! The G2 serves a good sub for a watered down version. The endurance formula that is hard to find now is good for full strength. The Tiger version is a good medium version. At every stop I eat a bag of peanuts for the salt and the protein. I also drink a fancy iced coffee by St. Arbucks. Towards the end of the 100 I go for a liter of diet coke. The caffeine is a kick in the pants that you need towards the end. Oddly enough the fizz doesn't bother me. I used to be an ultra runner and we always did defizzed coke.

On a seven hour 100 you can cruise anywhere from 12 to 14 - taking it easy. You'll need that if it's a first. I ended up with 14.5 average due to the nice hills on that route.

On a six and half hour I averaged 16.5. I think the way to do it is to go at your own pace and do what you can! On this particular sixer and a half I averaged seventeen five for the first 20 plus. I was able to so I did.

Part of what you gotta do is figure out for yourself what your routine is and what nutrition is necessary for you to continue at the level you want.