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Thank you, both for sharing and commenting. I am really pleased that you are finding the videos useful.

I am glad you like the channel and find it useful. Thank you for letting me know. 'Long distance' is different for everyone, one person I coach did a 200km ride in just over 5 hours and it takes most of us at least double that. Set your own goals and enjoy your cycling, please get in touch if we can help further. Remember you can arrange a chat via the link in the description if you think we can help you build up as you get back into things. No pressure though, this isn't a sales pitch!

Yes, but also take things in incremental stages.

You are right, it makes a massive difference and conversely, if you can manage those external factors more effectively you can do more exercise. It is all a balancing act that works best if you stay on the safe side of the line. Thanks for commenting and highlighting this important issue.

Thank you for sharing this. Over doing things physically (and/or mentally) is over doing it however it is done and the principles of over-training certainly hold. It must be quite common in manual labor and probably massively under-reported. I am glad that you have been able to work through things and continued to do some cycling and running. I hope you never end up in that state again, I know it is a very unpleasant experience. Good luck with your future endeavours.

Jenny was great to work with and I am proud and privileged to have her as a friend now... she is an amazing person. Thanks for your comments, as ever.

ps great channel :)

@ds5914 Thank you, I’m glad you like the channel. My observation is that there are a lot of people like you who enjoy long rides but not very long stuff. The trick is to find challenges that are inspiring but not so long to be demotivating. Something that can be quite difficult at times. Thanks again for commenting.

Hi Justin, 52 isn’t particularly old to be struggling with back to back rides. Do you want to send me an email with a bit more detail and maybe I can help? My address is john@endurancebikeandrun.com

It’s a pleasure Frank

Thanks Andy, you can ask questions anywhere and I’ll help where I can. The main thing about tapers for ultra events is to focus on enough recovery so you don’t start tired. A bit too much rest is no problem but too little isn’t helpful. Also get plenty of sleep and mental recovery during your taper. As a rough guide, do your last long ride at least 3 weeks before and start tapering about 2 weeks before cut training volume by 50% in the first taper week and even more in the second week. The aim is to feel fresh and relaxed on the start line. Does this help and answer your question?

Thanks - Yes it does - much appreciated

Great comment, thank you. The best recovery ride physiologically is no ride. You make a great point about easy rides as both low stress aerobic exercise and a big win on mental health.

Great comment, thank you. The best recovery ride physiologically is no ride. You make a great point about easy rides as both low stress aerobic exercise and a big win on mental health.

Thank you. I’m very pleased it helped you.

That’s a very good idea. Thanks for sharing it.

Thanks! I think people can be more, or less distracted by little things as they get more tired. Lucas was obviously in the latter category! Similarly, Alli Holland in winning Pan Celtic last year told me her bike developed a squeak, which she imagined was a voice telling her to keep going forward. I wonder whether the faster riders have a different mindset, or we are all the same. Thanks again for sharing

Truth! This reminds me that one of my plasterers said that when he gets tired, suddenly the monotonous noise of the plaster saw whispers to him "keep going, keep going!"

Perfect! A great tip, thank you.

Thanks! They are all good ideas. I think dried fruits are good but they are quite high fibre so you need to test them to make sure they don’t upset your stomach if you eat a lot of them. It’s a good point about bottle hygiene, it’s definitely something to be cautious of.

@@EnduranceBikeandRun thanks

Thanks - that is a good topic, we had a workshop on the subject so I'll check out the details and see if I can summarise it in a video.

Thank you

Thank you for your comments and also for the vote of confidence... hopefully more viewers will come in time but as long as what I am doing is useful it is worth doing.

Thank you for the comment. Resting heart rate and heart rate when training aren't the same for everyone, so you need to calculate your own training zones. You might like this article that Clare wrote endurancebikeandrun.com/blog/2021/01/26/what-are-my-heart-rate-training-zones If you force yourself to stay in training zone 2 for a lot of your training you will get faster and faster at that lower heart rate but remember to mix in a bit of harder stuff - it is important to have a good mix. Good luck

I don't focus on power, I ride to how I feel with an eye on time, power and heart rate and try not to spend much time above 75% FTP. I'm not too worried about how fast I do the rides as long as they are within the allotted target. If you want to see how fast you can do a 200km and it is hilly, it is better to work a bit harder on climbs (when you are going slower) but it is a bit of a tricky balancing act. I think trying to sustain 70% FTP is a reasonable target but it would be quite individual to you, so give it a try and see what happens!

Hopefully!

Yup. Always keep moving. I always try to make my average speed and my average moving speed match. When I ride alone, there is usually a 0.1 mph difference between the two. I’ve gotten pretty good at always moving. I can rest when the ride is over.

Thanks, it's nice that your experiences are consistent with the numbers and my observations

Thank you, that’s a very good point. Being flexible with your plan is important.

100% a strong headwind can destroy your time especially on a bike (but even running)

My pleasure! I am glad you like the videos and sorry for missing a few weeks...

Thanks Stephen Wonderful insight and advice as always, based on your own wealth of experience.

@nadeemafzal8984 thank you for your comment. Enjoy the learning curve and the joy of hills.

Hi Ed, Well, like most things in training for sport, it depends on a lot of factors but I'd be inclined to try 1 to 3 sessions every 2 weeks and then have a week with no VO2max intervals. They can be hard to sustain every week, both mentally and physically, so breaking them up into blocks can be good. Try one a week for 2 weeks, have a week off and repeat it, if you improve you're on the right track, if not, have a rethink. Sorry it's not an exact prescription but hopefully it gives you a good start? Good luck and let us know how you get on.

@@EnduranceBikeandRun Thanks for your reply. I think you are suggesting doing 1 -3 VO2 max interval sessions per week for two weeks. And after those two weeks, take a week off from doing those intervals. Is that correct?

Hi Ed, No, 1 to 3 sessions every 2 weeks, so 1 to 2 a week for 2 weeks and then an easier week. Similar if you are doing threshold or tempo workouts … I think 2 ‘hard’ sessions a week is probably enough. It depends on your training history though.

The beauty of intervals is they don’t suck for long. 😅

Both good points… it’s nice to have a discussion. Thanks for commenting. I quite like intervals in a strange masochistic way!! 😬

I do long intervals. Where the work interval is 3-5 hrs and the rest interval is 20 hrs. 😁

A lot of people do that but it isn't the best way to do it if you do all your rides at the same intensity. 20 hours recovery isn't usually enough for most people after a hard effort so it is better to do some of your rides hard and some easy. The protocol of 3 to 5 hours most days is good but it is better to vary the intensity to get the most benefit. I also suspect you work harder on climbs than descents and therefore do shorter efforts in that way as well... Thanks for the comment - it's a good point.

Thank you

I’m glad you like it

That's a good idea... they are designed to be absorbant!

Thank you, I am glad you found it useful and also thank you for an interesting comment. I think that if you are intentional about your training it helps feel for the right load and perhaps that is what he is saying. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a great athlete, so anything he suggests based on his many years of experience is likely to be helpful. This can only help develop a feel for what our bodies can handle.

Hi Adam, You are right, some of the hills around Fife are hard to keep powers down on. I used to do a regular Saturday ride out through Dollar, over to Gleneagles and back up through Dunning Glen before heading round and along the coast through Leven and Methil - some of it would definitely be above tempo as it is hard to avoid going a bit harder unless you have super low gears. The general principle of the session is to be an endurance ride with some intensity, in many respects to mimic an event and also provide an opportunity to do an 'enjoyable' ride of decent duration, without neglecting the need to go harder and stimulate higher intensity zones. Therefore it is no problem to go harder than tempo if you can handle it, as a rule it's probably good to go a bit harder on steeper, shorter climbs and more strategically paced on longer climbs. You're basically going hard enough to just not blow up during the ride if that makes sense? Good luck, John

Thanks for your reply John. That’s great 👍 Dunning common is one of my favourite climbs….especially after a Stephens Bakery steak pie from the shop in Dunning 😉😋

Thanks Paul, You are exactly right.

It does but it's risky to make it the only focus and a static FTP doesn't mean no improvement. Thanks for the comment @andrewmacalister3462

Thanks for the tip, that is a good strategy

Thank you Ian, that's exactly it... thanks for commenting.

Thanks Paul - you can call in to see us for a coffee when you do it and a longer visit before or after if you like.

Oh I googled and see you can do it any time you want, really tempting concept. Looking forward to follow your inspiring journey

Yes, it can be done any time between June and September when the passes are open. We have an attempt pencilled in for June but we will have to see... if not June it will be September I think. I am glad you like it...

Thanks Phil, I think I'll need a following wind!

Hi Mike, Yes, RRtY is a big challenge and is perfect for me in many respects but now I've found that I can do 200km in the time limit there isn't an incentive to improve. It is a case of maintaining the status quo, which will be a challenge in coming years but hopefully not at the moment. Many people do RRtY and other challenges like SR, LEL, PBP, etc but I'm not as inspired by them and also feel that they are beyond my ability at the moment. This isn't to say that I find the 200s easy - I don't, I find them hard but unless something goes seriously wrong I now know I can get to the end if I keep pedalling and I know I can keep pedalling for that long... Hopefully this makes sense? Thanks again for the comment and for keeping me thinking.

Thank you @samueldavidson7956, I am glad you like the videos. The gel you describe with sugar and hydration tablet would be only single source carbohydrate so limited to 60g CHO per hour intake but it should work up to that. Someone I know tried using sugar and it didn't work for him as he struggled to digest it. One of the people in our EBR Club makes his own gel using maltodextrin using a recipe he got from a British Cycling post and he says that works well. He makes it quite concentrated and carries in a water bottle. There's no reason why homemade versions can't work as well as off the shelf. The drawback with having it in a large bottle is that it is hard to know how much you are taking, which isn't necessarily bad but I like to have a routine of 30g CHO every half hour and with some gels, like Never Second, they have a modular system whereby bars, drink mix and gels all have 30g CHO so you can mix an match. As per the video - there is a limit to using gels as the events get longer.... Thanks again for your comments - let me know if you experiment with homemade products. John

@@EnduranceBikeandRun thanks! Those gels you use sound interesting. I'm aware of the maltodextrin solution and it sounds a good one to use in the 2:1 ratio a la certain brands. I'm sure you can buy that in bulk cheap too. I'm not sure as an amateur whether I would be burning much more than 60g CHO/hr so might not be necessary. I usually aim for that if I mix sugar into my bidons anyway. Thanks for the advice and I'll let you know how I get on with this month's 200km

Thank you

Hi Julia, thank you for the comment. I am glad you are finding the videos informative. For protein, I think the main thing is to aim for a healthy intake that is a bit higher than normal recommendations for sedentary people but not over the top. I like Anita Bean's books on nutrition and she has a women's specific book I think. I find her books are well explained and give clear guidelines. As a rule of thumb, somewhere between 1.2 and 1.6 g/kg of bodyweight is a reasonable guide for daily protein intake. Also, because it isn't stored, you need to take it frequently, so having some protein with every meal is a good plan and if you aren't eating meat you need to aim to make sure you get the right mix to give a complete range of amino acids. In terms of timing, as long as you refuel reasonably quickly after exercise I don't think it is worth getting hung up on the details other than to bear in mind to take protein with all or most meals and frequently. In shorter events up to a day you can focus on carbs and worry about protein later and in longer events, as suggested in the video - if you are eating enough you probably have enough protein in your intake. I hope that makes sense and helps but feel free to ask further questions if not. John

@@EnduranceBikeandRun super helpful, thanks so much!

Hi Chris, Thanks for the comment, that is interesting. Short term high fat/low carb diets before events are generally to improve fat metabolism with the goal of using a higher proportion of fats at any given exercise intensity. For longer events, fat reserves would be boosted by just eating more and any excess would be stored as fat. If you feel that replacing all the calories you burn during the event is going to be a problem, putting some weight on beforehand might help. It is something that one quite good endurance cyclist I coached did before long events. On balance, though, I think it is best to try and fuel enough to balance expenditure if possible. Thanks again for the comment, i hope my response makes sense. John

That is quite a lot of elevation per day but if it's on the road and over say 300km/day it might not be super steep and therefore weight might not be as big an issue as you might think. What is the event? Having said that, if you are overweight and can lose weight in a sustainable way whilst maintaining or improving fitness it is probably a good idea. Rather than trying to build FTP and lose weight at the same time I would try to do it at different times, so either aim to lose weight whilst building endurance with longer rides and just aim to maintain FTP for a couple of months and then focus on building FTP whilst maintaining a stable weight, or the other way round if that is more convenient for weather/lifestyle, etc... Does that make sense and help?

Thanks - the cold was just one of the challenges and relevant to the ride. In May, June and July I suspect the heat will be a challenge that has to be dealt with and I imagine we will go on about that too. The fact is was cold is just part of the experience. If you don't like it you don't have to watch and as you rightly point out, if I don't want to ride in the cold I don't have to. We all have a choice but it doesn't make us knob heads if we choose to talk about our experiences on a forum that isn't forced on anyone. I hope you feel less angry soon and find some people that say what you like.