I decided I needed to ride at a higher cadence. On the stationary bike, I’ve slowly ramped up to 70 rpm, which is not very fast at all. At that rate, I float around 150-160 bps, which is roughly 80-85% VO2.
I got on the bike this morning. I did bump up my cadence, as near as I could tell without a cyclocomputer. I know I covered 25 miles of flatland in 90 minutes, which is much better that my usual rate. Unfortunately, the higher cadence burned through my stored energy and I hit the wall going up a short hill. The other 10 miles also took 90 minutes. This is not good.
I blame a lack of adequate nutrition. I should have eaten a bigger breakfast, earlier. This morning, I ate a bowl of cereal and took off, which was not enough.
Tentatively, next week’s ride is a 50-miler through Del Dios and San Marcos. I know what I need to do to get ready: maintain aerobic capacity, and increase VO2 max.
I’m still behind where I should be. I may add a 10-mile segment before the official ride if I can get up early enough. I hope so. I need to eat more if I’m going to survive the long ride.
whybiketraining 