Lenkearney

I am a 68 male trying to learn to ride longer (currently do 25-30) - traditional advice was build a base by lots of low intensity riding (long and low heart rate). Now all the advice is better to do high intensity work. I would like to work up to a 60 miler- so back to hours on the stationary bike at HR under 115?? or hit the spin class for an hour around 140-150 HR? suggestions?

Also researching what to eat/drink on longer (and hotter) rides. Don't think the oreos are going to cut it

Len

elcruxio

Well, ideally you should probably do both. Volume through riding lots and lots of slow miles and intensity through HIIT once or twice a week.

However since you're aiming for the 60 miler you should probably concentrate most of your efforts on simply riding longer and longer distances. This'll be good exercise and it'll condition your body to handle staying in the saddle for hours on end.

As to oreos, they'll be fine. They are mostly carbs and if that's what you like, well that's what you should eat. Usually it's a good idea to eat just normal food rather than eating gels as those do not provide a lot of satiety. Sandwiches with salty pickels is one of my favorites on hot rides. BUT, do carry a couple of gels in case of a total bonk. They have fast absorbing carbs so when bonking they'll lift you up from the hole faster than regular food.
Water works well. If your other nutrition has enough salt you do not need to add anything to the water you do have. If not, consider adding a bit of salt, especially if the weathers really hot.

rubiksoval

Do what's fun. Long and slow was never an actual training methodology. Long and steady, okay. But slow riding just makes you slow. There's no reason you can't go out at a good clip at mid to high z2 power/heart rate the whole day once you're in a bit of shape.

And without riding fast you're not going to get very fast. I've done intensity in some form or another year round the last five years and have never been faster.

OBoile

Two general statements:
1. You cause your body to adapt by doing something you're not used to.
2. The adaptation is to make you better at repeating what you did.

Generally, rides are either done at a pace faster than you're used to (for a given duration) or they go further than you're used to (at a given speed). The first will cause your body to be better at going fast. The second will increase your endurance.

If your goal is to be able to ride 60 miles, then I'd suggest doing one longer ride a week, gradually increasing the distance of the ride until you get there. If you want to do it more quickly, I'd also suggest once a week doing a shorter (relatively) but faster ride like an interval workout. A spin class may also work for this if you enjoy them.

For a 60 mile ride, you're probably fine with oreos. It's not a crazy long distance to ride and you don't need to be perfectly optimal in your nutrition. As long as you take in some carbs in the first half, you should be fine.

caloso

First, there's nothing wrong with Oreos.

Second, you should do both. Start with a mix that emphasizes long and steady until you build up to your distance goal. Then, start shifting the mix towards shorter/sharper efforts.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yeah, LSD = Long Steady Distance, not Slow. Pace should be just below when you start to breathe more quickly. Not low HR, rather aerobic HR. You'll be sweating. OK to go harder on hills, have to, but gear down and spin up, try to keep the HR down. HIIT as the spirit moves you, but not so much that you're too tired for the LSD.

Try medjool dates, Clif bars, anything with lots of carbs, small amounts frequently. I could see the Oreos disintegrating in the jersey pocket. If they don't, fine.

joelcool

People used to do long rides before hr monitors came along. Comfortably riding for 60 miles is not unrealistic at all. Surprisingly, all you have to do is ride longer to prepare to ride longer.

I discovered a long time ago that the best way to get faster at climbing hills is to climb hills faster. It's pretty simple.

Of course now that you have a hr monitor, you can use it - there's a lot of science available.

Seattle Forrest

If your goal is to ride 60 miles, then going really hard for 15 seconds and resting for 30 isn't the ideal way to train for that.

downtube42

The main thing is to ride. I absolutely believe HIT works at increasing fitness. My issue with is I pretty much hate it, so I end up skipping sessions. Just Riding Around (JRA) however, I love, so I do it.

Even if you manage to follow a HIT program, you're still going to want to ride longer and longer rides on the road. You learn things when doing long road rides that can't be duplicated in a gym. Bike fit and comfort, navigation when tired, dressing for weather conditions, fixing flats on the road, drinking on the fly, how your mental state is affected by hunger, dealing with wind, how to finish a ride hydrated and fueled, food you can tolerate on the road, and so on.

Any food that is calorie dense and goes down well is good. Oreos sound great to me. I like Rice Krispie Treats myself. I've had good luck with convenience store bean burritos, potato wedges, Pringles, bananas, Subway, pie, apple juice, ham and cheese sandwich, granola bars, etc. Variety is good. I've found peanuts cause me problems when I'm riding, though not at other times.

jpescatore

I agree with OBoile - if you want to enjoy a 60 mile ride, do some longer rides as training. Get your legs and rear end used to longer time in the saddle first, then if you want to do those long rides faster you can add aerobic type training.

Personally, I enjoy the occasional spin class with intervals if I only have an hour at the end of the day. Long term, a mix seems to work for me.

On nutrition, if you look at the nutrition label on Oreos, not tremendously different from Cliff Bars or my personal favorite Fig Newtons. Nutrition is usually pretty personal - just doing what you have found works in the first 30 miles is probably fine for the 2nd 30 miles!

kcjc

Are you referring reverse periodization, ie Carmichael Training Systems? It's just a reverse of the traditional training season starting with the build phase then easing into base. It also assumes one has sufficient fitness. The other, also time-crunched, is to bang away at sweet spot.

If you call any interval at upper endurance/lower tempo pace or thereabouts as HIIT, then go for it. If you really want to do HIIT, for example Tabata 1E1 protocol, get some base miles in and save for a power meter. Your HRM cannot track the intensity need for the effort; each interval will be over before your heart can respond. Tabata is done at 170% of your power at VO2 Max. Getting down to 150% is still within the ballpark but questionable to not applicable for lower intensities. If you are new to cycling shoot for two or three years of base miles. If you are in good shape, aerobically from a different sport for example, maybe start structural training after the first year and incorporate HIIT 8-12 weeks out from you "A" event as part of the build phase. Do not do HIIT just for doing it, it should complement the demand for that event.

You need to increase your saddle time if you want to ride longer. Add 10% per week and just ride. If you want to go faster also, add in some tempo or sweet spot work. Water and some added pink salt is all I drink and one energy bar (a Nature Valley fruit & nuts or a few fig bars) should be enough. I don't normally eat for rides around three hours.