Originally Posted by
Iride01
I can't see how it's a benefit since I'm not feeling worn out after a ride.
Perhaps you corrected several other things at the time you tried this and are putting too much weight on that one other thing. Might be that since your first long rides your body just got better between those ride at handling them.
Fatigue after any activity for me has always been lack of proper hydration during that activity. I hydrate very well while riding, I don't even lose a ½ pound of weight on long rides, even in the heat. So it's very rare for me to feel tired and fatigued after a ride for much longer than 15 minutes. Then I'm ready to go again.
Working in my yard, I don't hydrate as well as I should.
I actually did made several other improvements like finding which fuel works for me best, training myself to pedal at higher cadence, pacing long rides, and structured training plan.
However, I can really feel the difference carbo-loading makes even against 2hr sessions with structured intervals like I'm able to push harder which is great for building strength and hastens recovery as well.