Those things in life that are worth having are those things which are difficult to come by; perseverance is made more rewarding by the volume of messages ignored by the mind as we work towards a goal.
Fatigue comes in many forms and is normally framed in negative connotations; weariness, exhaustion – both things to avoid. For a Cyclist, it can carry a range of meanings. We may become weary of riding in the rain, as I normally am at this time of year; stuffing my shoes with yesterday’s newspaper post-ride in the hope that the dry accounting of our current events will somehow render my shoes less soggy the next day. We may become weary as we approach the big climb of the day when we know what suffering lies around the bend. To push on during an effort despite an overwhelming exhaustion that lays bare our spirit and threatens to stop our legs from turning.
But fatigue can be a beautiful thing. The fatigue that registers as a result of the post-ride status check is the gauge by which we measure satisfaction in our work. Even during the ride, we find that fatigue may not always be the sentinel of the Man with the Hammer; even as the wave of exhaustion washes over us, we learn through practice that we can continue or even lift our effort.
My favorite fatigue is the kind that sets in during a long ride; when the body has acquiesced to the mind and the signals of discomfort and pain have stopped being sent. The legs at this point take on an almost anesthetic quality to them, they don’t hurt but they don’t feel either; they have a thickness that, while they lack the punch they have when fresh, allows us to continue to push on the pedals for hours on end.
This happened to me during my most recent long ride. It was a cold, rainy day – cold enough that snow fell at the tops of the two major climbs of the day. The last big climb came at 160km and, while there is no such thing as a flat route in the Seattle area, the roads home lacked the steep grades that characterize our urban streets. The descent from Cougar Mountain froze me to my core. Starting in the snow and ending in the pouring rain, I arrived at the first of the minor climbs on the way home and pushed the button on my left shifter to slip into the little ring. Instead of making contact, my frozen hand slipped limply along the lever and did little more than jiggle the button.
This presented an unusual problem. At this point I was tired after having a piled a load of kilometers in my legs. I was also becoming just the slightest bit annoyed at how cold I was. I swerved dangerously as I experimented with bashing different parts of my hands and arms against the disappointingly stubborn shifter to try to get it to budge. Inanimate objects and I have an uneasy history, and I soon found myself giving it the customary inputs involving profanity and questioning the pureness of its mother.
Having that unpleasant business out of the way, I resigned myself to riding home in the big ring feeling fortunate that my right hand was still capable of shifting so at least I wasn’t riding a glorified single speed. And then it hit me: it was actually quite easy to carry on this way, riding in the big ring. The legs still managed to turn over and I hardly felt a thing as I pushed harder on them whenever the road pointed up. Even a few of the hills on which I struggle to stay in the big ring during my usual training rides seemed to pass under my wheels without giving undue notice.
That sensation of power combined with the heavy fatigue I carried with me distinguishes itself as one that comes only during my longest rides on those days when my form is good enough that the effort hasn’t cracked me entirely. Wholly unlike the seduction of La Volupte, it does bear a vague similarity in its rarity. Powerful fatigue; vive la Vie Velominatus.
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@frank
No doubt! Now, does that actually count? Do you have to be "on your bike and under control" when you cross the finish, or can you fly/fall/roll across it first and still technically win?
@mcsqueak
Damn, I wish that was me, because he won! I was refering to the crash of fatigue which is a lot more common and a lot less video worthy.
There was a guy that skipped across the line during the bunch sprint on a NRC race a few years ago and he was given the win.
@frank
I wouldn't drink that concoction unless the ride is long (otherwise, plain water) - but in my hot climate, sweating is inevitable along with the resultant loss of salt. When your body needs it, everything tastes better with added salt. I've purposely adopted the habit of sprinkling some Fleur de Sel into everything I eat - and I eat like a pig; two-three full, carb-rich meals a day plus breakfast and grazing.
Basically, my mix is not far from the concept of Gatorade and other isotonic drinks - the diluted OJ is less thick, the sugar adds some energy and the salt replaces what was sweated away. It's delicious on a hot day on the bike - I like it better than powder-mixed iso.
@Club Velo des Moutons Noirs
On the few occasions I did 6-7+ hour rides, I did pretty much that, but more out of necessity than planning - it's hard to replenish the carb-drink out on the road. Did he explain why he stops the fuelling until the final drink?
I tend to keep homemade sachets of HI5 powder in my pockets to refill bottles on any rides over 50km. I found it necessary in Oz, especially over summer, when the temps are regularly in the high 30s and sometimes low to mid 40s. A couple of times I even took the step of adding salt but found the mix to be like sucking cordial through a dirty sock, maybe I should add some coke and spice the mix up a bit.
That said I reckon coke has to be the best thing for warding off the bonk mid-ride. I'm fairly sure it's saved me a number of times from an agonising leg home.
@mcsqueak
Try riding almost anywhere in Australia and no matter how much sunscreen you use you'll end up with some stunning tan lines.
The whole topic of fatigue, and going until the tank gets empty and beyond has always been interesting and attractive for me. On uncountable occasions in my 20's I emptied the tank completely either on a bike or nordic skiing. It was an enjoyable part of my life.
In recent years (I am now 47) I have come to see the effects of this. I sought medical help for some metabolic stuff that was going on, and ran a series of very complete blood tests. From this, my endocrinologist diagnosed that I have relevant, irreversible damage to my pancreas resulting directly from 'emptying the tank' too completely, too many times. I am managing this carefully to not progress into diabetes.
Now I still go for hard 6-hour rides, but never without a ton of food, drinks, water stops,...
Expand your limits, enjoy the glory of suffering, but be smart about it.
Hmm, well the main thing is to do what works for you but that said...
You only have to look at the triathletes who can't seem to go around the block without six gels taped to their top tube to there's a lot of money directed at making people use more prepared drinks etc.
There are some interesting articles on it (and on lots of other sports science stuff) here:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/featured-series-on-science-of-sport.html
Essentially if I recall several of their pieces correctly they suggest that:
1. You should drink to thirst, not to some prescribed amount, and generally water.
2. If you drink sports drinks to the recommended amounts, your body's electrolyte levels may fall, because the concentration is not high enough in sports drinks but you are adding more liquids.
3. On the other hand if you increase your sodium levels you will only feel thirstier.
3. Studies have shown better performance with slight dehydration. 2-3% is normal and in fact optimal.
I certainly agree there is more cause to use energy supplements in extreme heat but I have radically cut down my use, and will now do a 130-140km ride with just water (and a short food/coffee break).
In summer I will use more, but generally one water bottle to one energy drink bottle is as high as I would go. And gels are just for emergency use.
@Fredrik
I have never enjoyed the feeling of emptying the tank. Last time it happened was on a 4 hour ride with @scaler911 a few months back, where I only had water in the bidons and a single granola bar in my pocket as a snack. About 3/4 of the way through I just felt like I hit a wall, and I wound up "limping" home. Was not a good feeling, and it's interesting to think that you can actually harm yourself by doing that too often.
@ChrisO
It's not a shocker that the sports drink companies want you to consume as much of their product as possible.
I don't know if they have these same commercials in the sand pit and back in the UK, but here in America Gatorade has launched a line of "pre", "during" and "post" workout energy drinks and gels, targeted specifically at people going to the gym and playing basketball (from what I can tell from the commercials, any ways).
That just seems silly to me, and a major overkill. If you can't make it through a 1-2 hour gym session or a pickup basketball game without energy supplements, you're doing something wrong!
I've found more recently (like over the past half year or so) I seem to get hungry on my rides towards the end. Energy drinks seem to hold the edge off of that, but I'm also thinking I should eat closer to riding (my strategy until now was to give myself a good hour or two between eating and riding in order to let everything get out of my stomach and not cause cramps while riding).
For rides of less than two hours, water seems to work just fine. Over that and I like HEED, but I use only a single scoop in each bottle, and drink when thirsty, not at specific intervals to try and replace energy. I think the "formula" on the bag for someone of my weight is supposed to be like 2-3 scoops, which seems crazy. As it stands now, a single bag will last me almost 6 months.
@mcsqueak
I started using HEED last year, and I have noticed a benefit in my performance. I consume it about the same way you do, which is to say that if I'm on the bike more than two hours, I'll bring a bottle of it with me. If you ride more than two hours, Hammer Nutrition recommends Perpetuem, which I haven't tried. One of my riding buddies swears by it, though, for his really long rides.
There may be a marginal performance benefit in one over the other for extended duration events, but I think it is likely just one more way to separate me from my ducats.
Fatigue? Back in my younger days (the 80s) I knew nothing and would go 3 hour rides with one bottle and little or nothing to eat. The last 10 miles were usually done very slowly as I hit the wall hard. Years and knowledge have since improved and I drink and eat enough. Never tried Coke as I generally avoid soft drinks, but might give it a try sometime.
When I do organized rides, I usually stop at each rest stop, but just long enough to refill bottles and grab a very quick bite. I don't hang around. At the end of the ride it's fitness, not fatigue, that's the enemy.
For me, prep is key. In my case a big bowl of raisins, yogurt and oats mixed together. Nice, slow release energy for the day.
@ChrisO
Two of my riding partners are Ironman triathletes sponsored by Gu, and I sometimes wonder what the hell they'd do without that endless supply of gels and Chomps they appear to consume. I pack light - a gel for emergencies only, otherwise I stick to granola bars and a banana. Gels are too expensive for me to consume on when training, or just-riding - I save the gels for raceday. Pre-ride food is as simple as it gets - white bread or pasta, with jam and Napolitana respectively - so it doesn't "get stuck" in your stomach.
On drinks, however, I don't skimp. Summer here gets to a brutal 35-37c heat with high moisture, and tends to go over 40c in the desert regions. If it's a short pop up and down the mountains (sub-50km), I'll take a single bottle since I can rest and drink at the end. However, if I intend to be on the bike for more than three hours, I'll make sure to I have something to drink until there's an hour to go.