Update - nearly 4 years since starting the journey.

awesome!  I love cycling too, sadly the sport is a bit too expensive for me to do other than some solitary fun rides.  300 miles.  wowzers.

Hello thanks for the update and the great pics! I came to the site today to specifically ask the OH family advice on food when cycling. I've been riding a bike for years but just got my first road bike last year. Longest ride to date 45 miles. Had a big crash, caught my tire on a driveway that wasn't even. Was doing about 15 mph at the time. Broke my helmet in two places and separated my shoulder. Had to ride 12 miles back to my car and had a grapefruit sized hematoma on my hip when I got off my bike. All is well and I'm just waiting for the rain to let up a bit to start riding. My husband and I have signed up for the STP (Seattle to Portland-two days) in July. I'm concerned about how to each enough not to bonk. What do you use for snacks, electrolyte replacements when you ride long distance?

Michelle

Hi Michelle - sorry to year about your crash - i had a similar incident during my first race - broken collarbone, separated shoulder and lung contusions... but never really hurt badly, strangely enough.  Had a crash last Saturday, just road rash.  Was moving along at 25mph in a pace line and hit a weird crack in the road.  Had to toss the helmet - it did it's job!  They say you break bones when going slowly and lose skin if you're moving fast - I guess I've proven the point!

For food... I do struggle to force myself to eat on the bike.

I'd say if you're riding at the 15mph level, consuming 200-300 cals an hour would be sufficient.  If you're working hard, you can't process much more than that.  Anything really easy to digest works best - gels, mixes, etc.  If you're going to eat real food keep it simple as well - probably low fat, high carb... for easy digestion.  It would be a mistake to try to replace all calories burned while cycling... Last race I took in about 2000 but burned 5000 - never close to the bonk.  You don't need to match 1-1 to avoid bonking - keep a steady stream coming in over time and you'll be fine.

Usually I use Skratch Labs or Osmo electrolyte stuff in my water bottles.  Gu Gels (I think they're all pretty much the same) in my jersey pockets.

Old-time cyclists (and many today) swear by bananas, fig-newtons and regular coke.  You can still see racers in the big pro races getting passed Cokes from the team car near the end of a race.  

I usually make up a batch of small pb&j sandwiches - for some reason that seems tasty when I'm sick of the sugary crap.  Anything dairy makes me miserable - but only on the bike when working hard.  'Everyone is different.

Best to test things out on your training rides.  

On a two day ride you're going to be taking breaks and eating real food.  

Training will be pretty important too - this is a pretty big jump over your previous long ride.  There are training strategies out there, but nothing replaces "butt time" in the saddle to get used to a couple of long days.

That's my initial thought - let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to help.  I've logged 6-7000 miles per year over the past couple of years and have ridden some 200+ mile days.

Tom

Wow, the miles you log in is amazing to me. I luv riding too but the problems I'm running into now is finding new places to ride for a long stretch of time that isn't packed with cars/people. I can't really work on time too much since the roads for bikes by me either is pretty windy/hilly/ dominated by runners walkers etc in the path.

Even with bike lanes in the street often times cars/trucks are double parked in them, or cars are swerving into them to avoid the double parked/turning cars in the other lane, not to mention the cars that block the intersection forcing me to slow down/stop to get around them.

Next year I hope to ride in the 5 borough bike tour, now that I know about it.lol I'm still too chicken to ride in a real race. Wind & hills continue to kick my ass. LOL  R U going to the bike expo in Manhattan?

I do a lot of indoor trainer work... and I ride with the Gran Fondo New York group - we ride every Sunday out of Fort Lee... 

When is the bike expo? 

Tom

It's April 29 & 30, pier 36 @ 299 South st. They have a website, I think its bike.nyc. If I had registered in time for the 5 borough bike tour, this is where I'd pick up my packet. Maybe next year. 

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this.  I find your journey so inspirational.  I've come to find my inner athlete on this journey as well -- but you took it to a whole new level.  Your courage, passion, and focus will motivate me to push my limits a bit more this week.  Thank yoU!!!