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5 GOLDEN RULES TO BOOST CYCLING ENDURANCE | RIDER SUPPORT

Name: 5 Golden Rules To Boost Cycling Endurance | Rider Support
Uploaded: 2024-09-23
Duration: 28 min 24 s
Description: Building endurance for long rides like a 100-miler requires smart fueling, pacing, and mental strategies—not just putting in the kilometres.

with Rider Support

28:24·23 September 2024

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Building endurance for long rides like a 100-miler requires smart fueling, pacing, and mental strategies—not just putting in the kilometres. Anthony and Sarah break down the five golden rules that separate riders who suffer from those who thrive, plus they tackle the mystery of salt stains on pro shorts and give you easy aerodynamic wins for your gravel or solo rides.

Key Takeaways

Start fueling before your ride: Increase carbohydrate intake the day before (50% of calories from carbs), then again on the morning of the ride to set yourself up for success
Negative split your long rides: Pace conservatively early and aim to go faster as you progress, just like pros do in ultra-distance events—it's mentally powerful and requires practice
Break long rides into mental chunks: A 200km ride feels manageable if you segment it into 50km sections with stops, making it psychologically easier to sustain effort
Eat and drink early and often: Aim for 50-120g of carbs per hour depending on intensity; set alarms on your device so fatigue doesn't make you forget to fuel
Maintain a steady cadence of 85-95 RPM: Keeping high cadence conserves energy and prevents muscle glycogen depletion, especially critical in the final hours when cadence naturally drops
Don't let ego override your plan: Stick to your pacing strategy and fueling goals rather than getting caught up racing others, which will derail your event performance

Expert Quotes

"If you're thinking about doing a long ride on a Saturday morning the planning for that actually starts on the Friday where you're starting to up your carbohydrate consumption"

"Pacing is so important we we don't think about it enough—if you look at everyone that rode Badlands they were putting out their best efforts really earlier on and it's just not a good way to do it"

"When someone's Cadence starts dropping below 80 RPM and they start turning that gear you know they're in trouble—the inverse extends to long rides where you want to stay in the 85 to 95 RPM range to conserve energy"

KEY QUOTES

“if you're thinking about doing a long ride on a Saturday morning the planning for that actually starts on the Friday where you're starting to up your carbohydrate consumption on the Friday so you're looking to have especially in your last meal you want to be having like at least 50% of those total calories coming from carbohydrates”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“depending on the intensity he's looking to ride at anything I would say from 50 to 110 120 grams of carbohydrates per hour and this doesn't need to be Sports specific like a lot of time when I'm going out training we're close to a shop and they sell those like really cheap squishy jellies they're like a Euro for pack them they're least I love getting those there 80 grams of carbohydrates in one packet of those”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“you want to be staying on top of that CAD staying in the 85 to 95 RPM range because it's going to help you conserve energy and avoid mus muscle fatigue when your Cadence drops too low you're pushing harder on the gears and you start burning through muscle glycogen”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT2 SECTIONS

Fueling starts the day before

Welcome to this week's Rider support this week we're going to talk about what does it mean if you finish your ride and you have salt on your shorts What specifically what does it mean for your hydration did you get your strategy wrong stay tuned till the end where we're going to give you some really easy aerodynamic winds for your groupoid or solar roide to increase your average speed but first I want to talk about the golden rules for a long ride let's dive into it Sarah Anthony we're getting right in we will okay this is a great question question hi I've been working on increasing my endurance and I'm planning my Longest Ride yet a 100 mile event I've had trouble in the past with things like pacing nutrition and fatigue towards the end of long rides could you share your five golden rules for long rides to help me stay strong keep my energy up and avoid hitting the wall I'd love to hear how you approach things like fueling recovery pacing strategies and how to mentally prepare for such a big ride Sam that's a really good question and that's answer has changed a lot through the years for me I've recently had a chance to spend more time and chat more with David Dawn who works doing involved with nutrition for anyos and we're lined up a bunch of amazing nutrition guests between here and the new year but one of the things I really learned is periodizing what you eat specifically your amount of carbohydrate so if you're thinking about doing a long ride on a Saturday morning the planning for that actually starts on the Friday where you're starting to up your carbohydrate consumption on the Friday so you're looking to have especially in your last meal you want to be having like at least 50% of those total calories coming from carbohydrates so you're talking stuff like you know complex carbs Rices pastas potatoes things like that then you're moving to the morning of the rid and again you want to be taking in a good chunk of carbohydrates we have a podcast if you don't want to wait for our upcoming program and With Yuri Carlson which deals with this specifically which is worth digging back into so that'll be my first tip starting to fuel before theid because you're setting yourself up instantly for Success if you don't you know it's not going to start well for you I think pacing as well if it's a long ride pacing really matters if you talk to anyone who's done these Ultra longdistance events now I'm thinking like Rob Britain when he won Badlands last year his average power for like a rider of his level is so shockingly low like his average power is like 210 watts to win Badland now it's already 780 km but that just shows you if you were to look at everyone that rode Badlands I'd say people were starting out at 300 350 Watts their distribution of effort across the totality of the event is totally front heavy it skews are putting out their best efforts really earlier on and it's just not a good way to do it because if you you know take that uh time traling pacing strategy and you J to pause that on to your Saturday Riot you should be looking to negative split it you want to be getting better as you go go on like Dan Bingham talked about the psychology in the world error record of actually finishing faster because mentally you're in a place gone yeah I can pick it up I can pick it up I can pick it up and it's all it's all good vibes that takes a lot of practice though doesn't it I know and confidence and confidence yeah this year I was doing the 16 mile 16 km time tral every week and yeah I was trying to go for those negative splits and it is really really hard to do that's something that doesn't come naturally you know you you your urge is to attack from the beginning go hard from the beginning attack the hill you know pacing is so important we we don't think about it enough because I know you were at a mc4 Ros n man the Irish the female tour of Ireland or women's only International race stage race we watched the highlights last night and the time trial was for me shocking so many people started out like full gas on the time trial I know it's a short time trial like it was only 2 or something like they're starting out at 900 watts th000 Watts now there's a bit of I need to get up to speed but also like pacing pacing pacing are the three rules for time draw and I think that extends to these longer rids as well something else that really helps is segmenting a Long Rod mentally into manageable chunks yeah I learned so much from bike packing but one of those is that that you can break a 200 kilm Rod which sounds massive you say to someone I'm going to go bike packing I'm going to do 200 km every day but if you get up in the morning and you've you know a little bit of a light bre breakfast cuz you've had a big feed the night before I'm breaking one of my own rules there but you go 50 km and then you're stopping and have a bit of a breakfast you're going 50 more kilometers you're stopping having a coffee 50 more kilometers you're stopping for lunch 50 more kilometers you're home you can break it up very easy yeah chunk it yeah yeah it's funny this this listener Sam doesn't really kind of say to us is he racing this is this something he just wants to complete does he want to enjoy it with friends so we don't really know I think it does stand true like if you're raced you're not going to stop for breakfast but I think that advice of mentally you know if it's a long ride a 200 km ride you're not going to be able to carry all the provisions and supplies with you so you have to stop anyway so whether you're stopping for you know a full lunch or you're just stopping to grab stuff in your pocket you can break it up with service station stops and that kind of flows into my next one it's fueling fueling fueling like it's fueling hydration the whole way through this eating early and often and drinking early and often I still see so many people out on I spinning and out on group rides and they're not eating at all like they'll eat at the coffee shop but they're not eating consistently through the ride and they just don't believe do you occasionally do this s i no I always eat no don't worry about that I learned this the hard way I'm pretty good at eating on the bike now the last year but people don't trust you when you say that this is going to transform your enjoyment of the bike and how you how you perform if you come in from the road and you're hungry you haven't eaten enough on the road and you know we can use these rules the time like depending on the intensity he's looking to ride at anything I would say from 50 to 110 120 grams of carbohydrates per hour and this doesn't need to be Sports specific like a lot of time when I'm going out training we're close to a shop and they sell those like really cheap squishy jellies they're like a Euro for pack them they're least I love getting those there 80 grams of carbohydrates in one packet of those so then you start figuring out and going okay if my ride is hard I need to have one pocket in errow if my ride is easy you know half packet in errow will do me and that nutrition isn't hard to plan no I agree I think um one what I would add to this is It's kind of along the same pacing lines is don't let your ego take over on the day and you see guys you know going out hard from the start or work to your own plan not somebody else's plan that you get caught up in it's it's your 100 mile event that you've trained for and you want to control it and do it exactly how you planned it to do it so don't let all of that go to the way side and just think oh your man's you know he's tensor Stone heavier than me I'm going to go with him and show him that I can beat him that would be my number one rule I think and I have to agree with you all about eating so the two the wickler 200 that I did last year I had an alarm on my garment and every half an hour I had something to eat a lot to eat lot of people use that yeah yeah it's so good because you will forget you'll get caught up in the moment you'll you'll be tired fatigue sets in you'll forget to eat and drink so I think definitely do send alarm on your phone or on your garment the last one for me is often overlooked especially by more Elite Riders and it's proper Cadence but if you're in a break and you're trying to weigh up who's strong and who's weak there's no easier way to figure out who's coming apart than looking at someone's Cadence when someone's Cadence starts dropping I would say sou of 80 or PM and they start turning that gear you know they're in trouble and I think the inverse of that extends to these long rids you want to be staying on top of that CAD staying in the 85 to 95 RPM range because it's going to help you conserve energy and avoid mus muscle fatigue when your Cadence drops too low you're pushing harder on the gears and you start burning through muscle glycogen so if you can keep that Cadence smooth and steady your legs are definitely going to tank you longer further into the ride yeah this is something I really struggle with even on my ride today I think I average 79 uh or PMs and that was a real struggle for me to even get it that it's very very low it's something I really need to work on the problem is that it's something that yeah you should definitely be aware of I remember going out on a ride with you Anthony and my B computer hooked up to your parameter and your heart rate monitor so I was flying along and I was thinking oh my God my heart rate's so low my power is so high and my Cadence is 95 your Cadence on a on a a training spin is about 95 and I was thinking wow I've come a long way here at my uh with my Cadence drils but I'm firmly stuck down in the high 70s at the moment but over the past 18 months that's risen from low7 70s and something that you just have to continually work on it's not something that you can just change overnight I don't don't think but definitely want to work out watch out for okay so there are five golden rules for the long ride so what's up question two okay Anthony what is the white chalky stuff on the pros shorts I saw Tad Pacha riding a in Canada last week and towards the end it looked like his shorts were caked in a white chalk you do see this this is quite common we would occasionally get I mean I would get it occasionally on very very hard spins where I haven't maybe gotten a few few things right on the spin I don't think it's a sign you've got something wrong on the spin like I think that's no I think that's like something right what is it first it's salt it's sodium chloride That's essential for regulating hydration nerve function and load of other functions in the body so the more we sweat the more salt the body is going to expel so if you're on a long ride if you're on a hard ride your bodies need to cool down obviously increases which leads to more sweating and as a result more salt is going to be deposited on your shorts now some shorts are going to display that more if you're wearing black shorts it's going to display it more but just because you're sweating a lot doesn't mean you've got your hydration plan wrong like you could come home from a ride absolutely caked in salt but you could have still hydrated and had you know a prior sweat analysis done and have that balance of electrolytes to hydration to water perfect and you're replacing it well which I suspect is the case with paga like he was taking bottles like right up until 20K to go so his hydration and fueling he would have been acutely aware of it we're talking about Montreal here because that was in the run into Worlds you would have been very very aware of not going into the hole so I don't anticipate that that's hydration got away from in the race I think it's just it was a long hard race it was over 200 km we are so excited to announce that we are partnering with whoop whoop are changing the game when it comes to wearable technology and health monitoring whoop is a wearable health and fitness coach that provides you with feedback and actionable insights into your sleep your recovery your training your stress and your overall health Sarah and I have been using whoop for years and we love the insights it provides into our body's inner workings it really gives us a look under the hood and you're going to see Matthew Vander paaul Richard carass and other Elite level cyclist wearing whoop but it isn't just for those Superstars all the data is personalized to your unique physiology and fitness levels if you're interested in taking control of your health and your Fitness so that you can excel in all aspects of your life you have to go and check out whoop go to the URL now which is join.

Salty shorts and electrolyte balance

Whoop.com roadman I'm going to pop that in the description below and you're going to get a fre month's access to whoop membership on me I promise you won't regret it yeah very very warm as well it I I think that electrolyte management is really important for this though as well just kind of keeping the so as you said you if you're dehydrated you your body won't actually expel as much water but it will try and expel a lot of salt to try and get the the balance in your body correct so it's not just about hydration it's about we're always talking about it getting that Electro comp than you think isn't it yeah it really is some people are more prone to this as well some people have way higher sweat rates and so was I wrong then if you are having too much salt is that your body potentially expelling more salt yeah it could be like there is an instance where you will just generally be a high salt sweater but if you know yourself and you're finding that this is actually very unusual if you get in the Saturday one week and then the following Saturday do roughly the same Spin and you're caked and salt and the temperature has been roughly the same then it is time to have a little look at your hydration strategy so we had Alan Lim on the podcast and he was talking about that and it open my eyes to sweat salt rate hydration and I think the easiest way to figure it out which I've never had done is to get ass salt test sweat test done which I think you can do home sweat test as well looking to get one pretty yeah I'm pretty sure you can do that as well and there's loads of other things that you know as I said some people does have high sweat rates it's genetic and then electrolyte management really does come into it I'm obsessed with electrolytes at the moment because I've always been obsessed best with drinking water and it never seemed to ever satiate my thirst I always felt thirstier I needed more and more water and that's because I didn't have the balance correct I also find that the electrolytes sounds like we're plugging lement here which we're not but there is a link in the description for lement cuz I been banging one of them in like straight away in the morning because I'm just waking up feeling like super dehydrated yeah and like that that's it it really helps my Hunger management as well so look check those out but yeah those white Sal stains are not you know a defect in or not too much residue from washing powder that the pro white kiss that does happen as well though it does happen when you don't wash off like and it rains and then this weird swod starts coming out your Shamy in the rain that's more so when you're away you don't have a wash machine so you're washing your Shamy in the sink stage races a lot you're not getting it all R State okay next question I'm NE to cycling thanks to Netflix I'm hooked I was hooked on the tur of France and Laval and what do I watch now that the cycling racing season is over Ro man podcast back episodes we have 1,57 of them so her up we have had a couple of people that said like I've started I'm on episode seven and you're like wow I'm I'm also like please don't because it was so bad back then H what to watch I think yeah Cy cross obvious that's a winter winter cycling cyc cross it's great fun to watch track is another obvious one like you again six days stuff like that which is brilliant uh also like there's no Gap anymore like the tour down under starts in January so there's very little cycling Gap but this is a little bit of a curve ball but I actually think don't watch the cyc cross don't watch the track go back and watch old races if you've just got into cycling now you've actually like you've missed a hundred years of the best entertainment you've ever seen go back it's like if someone hadn't seen sha Shank Redemption you're like oh my God you need to watch Sha Redemption you'll never believe what happened in the end of Pop fiction like Jurassic Parks a classic you need to go back and watch all these the first one's good but you need to go back and watch the wet Rubes you need to watch you know Kelly's first win and Party N you need to watch Mer's first world title win Steven roach in Llana in 87 the triple crown that year from roach there's so many amazing races to watch I would say go back and start typing wet par Ru into YouTube and watch the one I think d armor freets are quite prominent in it I won't give a spoiler in it and George Ina's there and they're racing wet cobbles with no helmets and it looks like it's from 1840 looks like it's a Victorian era we did watch that quite recently and it just looked like absolute car it's crazy that's such a brilliant recommendation to go back and look if you don't know you know any of the older races particularly the classics because okay this writer in Luke he just has watched the tour in aalta you you are in for treat my friend good for as well you haven't watched for an indoor trainer this year cuz I know you fight the indoor a bit so that could be on your programing for the winter okay we'll move on I'm I'm about to get a lecture about not liking the indoor trainer here okay I've been riding a lot of solo distance routes and want to reduce wind resistance how can I optimize my bike fish and position to be more aerodynamic without sacrificing Comfort that's like The $64,000 Question isn't it it's like more Arrow without sacrificing comfort and I also like that he said here that he's doing solo long distance RS because we know when you're riding in in a group it's a lot easier to keep your nose out of the wind this is effectively want to do the same spin but get home earlier and that's what people are seeing as Arrow now I want to do the same route as I always do but can I get home 15 minutes earlier I think baggy clothes is a super easy win stop wearing baggy clothes stop wearing really poorly fitted rain capes cuz they make a huge huge difference or having a new G open and swinging and yeah it's it's just a really obvious easy one as yeah like the podcast I put out with Dan Bingham a few days ago or last week that's really Geeks out on aerodynamics but for something like this it probably Geeks out too far but a lot of the recommendation stand true like he talks about AOS socks are probably the easiest win you can make changing from normal socks to AOS socks this is obviously assume it's not a winter ride where you're covered up anyway and wearing overshoes but if you're out in traditional jersey shorts we it's high fitting Jersey Jersey throw on a set of Arrow socks go from your ventilated helmet to something that has some closed off vents you know that can be a little bit of a challenge for heat dissipation if you're in a warmer climate clean bike like your drive chain all that kind of stuff that makes a huge difference doesn't it yeah clean bike I think Chang to and which I'm a huge advocate of anyway a good set of tires I'm not an advocate of these puncture resistant tires like I said the gator skins puncture resistant for me means no grip so you go into a corner I care about grip I don't care about getting a puncture I'll puncture twice a season I actually punctured last weekend and it's the first puncture I've had all year like I've had one gravel puncture and then this is my first ever Road puncture disas people are terrified of puncturing aren't they they have a fear and I I totally get it it's it's really fiddly it's awkward Tu matter so little now CU your tubist normally catches it yeah so save your teeth and don't you know save the crashes going around corners and your collar bone and go for something is it the gator skin Gator Skins are horrible loads like that as well armadillo and all this category of winter tires but I'd say get a nice like I'm using GP 5000s tubless ready and I love them they're not brilliantly puncture proof but as I say one this year but they're going to reduce rolling resistance quite significantly and that's going to speed you up as well hand position matters a lot I'm starting to play around with a tool and we have a podcast coming out soon with the founder of it gibli and gibl shows you realtime co- frish the front the drag so like there's a big difference between being in the drops and being on the hoodes you can save 10 12 what's by being in a better position on the holds than the drops at least for me but you can play around with these type things yourself if you have a power meter like what happens to your speed if you're stay at 200 watts and you go from the holds down to the drops does your speed go up or down and you can use this as your own little monitor yeah I think that's amazing yeah I think the arrow getting into an arrow position is can be quite uncomfortable like this this Rider says he doesn't want to sacrifice comfort and I find that as well when I'm at riding now trying to get more comfortable riding in my drops and I'm just doing drills where I'm doing five minutes in the drops five minutes in the hoods because you're you're doing an you're using different muscle groups you're engaging your core in a different way in your glutes it's completely foreign so that's what I would say with regards to comfort you also need to probably work a little bit on your core you know your core strength back strength if you're going to be down in the drops and in these error positions so get yourself to the gym yeah anything else no okay next question I'm interested in trying my first gravel race but I live in an urban area with no access to gravel Trails what's the best way to prepare for a gravel event if I'm mostly riding on tarmac it's a good question I actually used to mck around on my recovery days a lot when I lived in Toronto with just goofing around on the bike doing stuff like I used to do when I was a kid I'd be like well can I ride up on the edge of the sidewalk in between you know the elevated part in between the road where it falls off on your right and and the grass Verge on the left and try and keep your balance or can I ride across the top of this narrow little wall which is two foot high but it has a little fall off on each side and I play around with stuff like that and I really think that stud me then when I moved across to gravel because you understand balance and Center gravity more but I think you can build on that you can be kind of finding mixed Terrain in your local park in your local in your back Garden can you set up like a little board that you can ride across can you you know put a bottle down and you pick it up if put in cyclocross trills on YouTube you find loads of stuff you can even do in your back Garden but I think construction zones industrial areas you know there's always stuff you can do around there that's not traditional road which is going to give you a little bit of a taste of what alternate surfaces are going to be like a couple of other bits I think a lot of people want to go from being on your road bike to doing a gravel race get on your gravel bike do your rides on your gravel bike the geometry is slightly different hand are slightly different and ride your gravel tires I was going to say and the pressure yeah the pressure specifically cuz you're going to ride I don't know like 20 to 25 pressure PSI depending on your weight I don't know what your weight is put stick it in there's loads of good pressure calculator Sila has a good pressure calculator online stick in your tire pressure for the type of terrain and the tire brand you're using and it'll spit out pressure but it's not going to be like 90 like you're riding on the road it's going to be a lot lower the bike handles different when it's at lower tire pressure as well also using gravel specific tires don't just drop down the pressure on your road tires and start riding much lower pressure on your GP 5000s like I'm using Pathfinder 47 pretty much all year I have a set they're 47s I have a set of 35 Renee harrist which I brought bike packing which are a Slicker but they handle differently and they Corner differently so just get used to riding them as well and Today's Show sponsor is lmnt I've spoken with most of the world's top coaches and nutritionists on the podcast and they all agree that getting the right balance of electrolytes it's key to Performance hydration is not just about drinking water it's about maintaining the right balance of electrolytes and that's where element comes in because it's packed with essential electrolytes like sodium magnesium and potassium lement it helps sustain steady energy levels throughout the day it sharpens your cognitive function and it keeps your muscles cramp free during tough workouts so whether you're planning a super intense indoor training session or you're hydrating for a long endurance ride element's precise formula ensures your body performs at its absolute Peak now here's an amazing special offer for you guys this is just for our listeners you're going to get this free sample pack that I have right here with any purchase by visiting drink el.com for/ roadman cycling this sample pack has eight amazing flavors in it it's perfect for finding which your favorite flavor is I'm addicted to the watermelon flavor you can also share this with a friend if you don't like some of the flavors this offer is exclusively available through our link and it's available for both new and returning customers so head on over to drink element.com roadman cycling to claim your free sample pack today I'm going to put that link in the description down below I think for me um it depends on where you are in the world and this listener doesn't say because gravel riding in let's say the US for instance is quite different to gravel riding in Europe like we did um the Santa Val three-day race over in Jona and there was a lot of single track really really technical stuff and fast as sense with massive big ridges you know out of the bottom honestly probably beyond my skill level and only for I had gotten up the mountains and done a good bit of mountain biking before that race I think I probably wouldn't have been able to you know handle everything that was thrown at me there I actually don't know if it's a good idea to go from road to gravel racing people think it's particularly as I said in Europe maybe this this listen is in the US I don't think it's that much different in the US how come you think it's so different I think it's just a lot more Trails there's not as many you know technical descents like we were doing single track mountain m have a lot of that as well like it depends on the race I think so then my advice honestly would be don't do it until you start to get experience on on gravel uh gravel roads or it's not that much of a transition you can just go and take it easy we' had we we've had people who come out on from the road spin up into gravel Spin and come off over and over again like it does happen so it's definitely yeah no you're right it's definitely a lot more dangerous and the transition you're not wrong is easier if you're coming from mountain bike to gravel because it's closer than from road to gravel but like don't not do it because you think it's going to be dangerous like just don't rail it into corners I honestly think that this person should go like a a couple of days before the event maybe ride the course go with some of more experience because it I feel that it can get like quite tricky and the other problem is when you're riding gravel I find the pitches are so high so it's not like Road you'll have a ascent and it's you know five F you know five up and it's kind of five kilom up no five degrees up yeah so it's not like nice and easy the you will come across pitches and really Rocky terrain that are like 20% 25% eating and fueling is really difficult when you're gravel riding as well because you're concentrating so much on keeping the bike upright so these are all things that do make gravel it's not just like oh you know what I'm going to get myself gravel but I and go and enter a big gravel race and everything will be fine you do need more skills technical handling skills on the gravel bike then the road bike yeah I think you need graded exposure is what we're saying you know it's not a good idea to dive into it but I wouldn't be put off by the fact that you don't have gravel in your locality you can definitely use some of those tips and tricks we're saying to familiarize yourself to and get across into the gravel then and you know ease your way into it you know plan if you've a Target event that's the middle of the Season can you plan four or five build up races where you're going to get exposure and time on the door because the bike does handle differently and like you said it it's going to be different to eat it's going to be different to drink some events it's actually quite difficult to get your hands off the bars you're going to have to use stuff like hydration packs and even getting used to that plasticy taste out a hydration pack is a different skill in itself but now I'm always an advocate of jump in and try stuff because you know there's nothing that dangerous I I don't to put this CH and go easy I don't want to put this listener off doing it I just think don't take this with a pinch of salt and think it's going to be you know very easy you're going to rock up there and be an amazing bike Handler and be able to handle abs everything that's thrown at you so I'm just a little bit cautious of that I think that's it for this week ran thank you very much for tuning in to another edition of rer support there's another video up here which I know you're going to love in the comments we have also left links to some of the podcasts we talked about Dan Bingham Yuri Carlson we have some amazing podcasts coming up over the next quarter so please click down here so you don't miss any else see you next day

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many carbs should I eat per hour on a 100 mile bike ride?+

Rider Support recommends consuming between 50 and 120 grams of carbohydrates per hour during a century ride. The exact amount depends on your body's tolerance and training, but staying within that range prevents the energy deficits that cause late-ride collapse.

How do I pace myself for my first 100 mile cycling event?+

Use a negative-split strategy, starting conservatively and building effort as the ride progresses. Rider Support cites Rob Britton averaging 210 watts across the 780-kilometre Badlands race as evidence that holding back early is what wins long-distance events, not attacking from the front.

How should I fuel the day before a long bike ride?+

Carbohydrate loading should begin the day before your event, not on the morning itself. Rider Support emphasises that your muscles need time to store glycogen, so a carb-rich dinner and breakfast before the ride are both essential parts of the fuelling plan.

How do I mentally get through a very long cycling ride?+

Break the total distance into 50-kilometre segments and focus only on completing the current chunk rather than the full distance. Rider Support recommends this approach to prevent the psychological weight of a large total mileage from affecting your effort and decision-making early on.

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HOW TO STAY SAFE ON THE ROAD & TIPS FOR URBAN CYCLING | RIDER SUPPORT

Anthony & Sarah return for another episode of rider support.

with Rider Support

Episode#2396

Coaching33:39

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

Are you struggling to lose weight? This week on Rider Support we give you 5 tips to lose weight by cycling which all nutritionists i've had on the podcast agree on.

with Rider Support

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Key Takeaways

Start fueling before your ride: Increase carbohydrate intake the day before (50% of calories from carbs), then again on the morning of the ride to set yourself up for success

Negative split your long rides: Pace conservatively early and aim to go faster as you progress, just like pros do in ultra-distance events—it's mentally powerful and requires practice

Break long rides into mental chunks: A 200km ride feels manageable if you segment it into 50km sections with stops, making it psychologically easier to sustain effort

Eat and drink early and often: Aim for 50-120g of carbs per hour depending on intensity; set alarms on your device so fatigue doesn't make you forget to fuel

Maintain a steady cadence of 85-95 RPM: Keeping high cadence conserves energy and prevents muscle glycogen depletion, especially critical in the final hours when cadence naturally drops

Don't let ego override your plan: Stick to your pacing strategy and fueling goals rather than getting caught up racing others, which will derail your event performance

Expert Quotes

"If you're thinking about doing a long ride on a Saturday morning the planning for that actually starts on the Friday where you're starting to up your carbohydrate consumption"

"Pacing is so important we we don't think about it enough—if you look at everyone that rode Badlands they were putting out their best efforts really earlier on and it's just not a good way to do it"

"When someone's Cadence starts dropping below 80 RPM and they start turning that gear you know they're in trouble—the inverse extends to long rides where you want to stay in the 85 to 95 RPM range to conserve energy"

KEY QUOTES

“if you're thinking about doing a long ride on a Saturday morning the planning for that actually starts on the Friday where you're starting to up your carbohydrate consumption on the Friday so you're looking to have especially in your last meal you want to be having like at least 50% of those total calories coming from carbohydrates”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“depending on the intensity he's looking to ride at anything I would say from 50 to 110 120 grams of carbohydrates per hour and this doesn't need to be Sports specific like a lot of time when I'm going out training we're close to a shop and they sell those like really cheap squishy jellies they're like a Euro for pack them they're least I love getting those there 80 grams of carbohydrates in one packet of those”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“you want to be staying on top of that CAD staying in the 85 to 95 RPM range because it's going to help you conserve energy and avoid mus muscle fatigue when your Cadence drops too low you're pushing harder on the gears and you start burning through muscle glycogen”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many carbs should I eat per hour on a 100 mile bike ride?+

How do I pace myself for my first 100 mile cycling event?+

How should I fuel the day before a long bike ride?+

How do I mentally get through a very long cycling ride?+

5 GOLDEN RULES TO BOOST CYCLING ENDURANCE | RIDER SUPPORT

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

Fueling starts the day before

Salty shorts and electrolyte balance

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW TO STAY SAFE ON THE ROAD & TIPS FOR URBAN CYCLING | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

RELATED CONTENT

10 YEARS OF CYCLING KNOWLEDGE IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

WANT THIS APPLIED TO YOUR TRAINING?

5 GOLDEN RULES TO BOOST CYCLING ENDURANCE | RIDER SUPPORT

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

Fueling starts the day before

Salty shorts and electrolyte balance

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW TO STAY SAFE ON THE ROAD & TIPS FOR URBAN CYCLING | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

RELATED CONTENT

10 YEARS OF CYCLING KNOWLEDGE IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

WANT THIS APPLIED TO YOUR TRAINING?

5 GOLDEN RULES TO BOOST CYCLING ENDURANCE | RIDER SUPPORT

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

1.Fueling starts the day before

2.Salty shorts and electrolyte balance

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW TO STAY SAFE ON THE ROAD & TIPS FOR URBAN CYCLING | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

RELATED CONTENT

10 YEARS OF CYCLING KNOWLEDGE IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

WANT THIS APPLIED TO YOUR TRAINING?

5 GOLDEN RULES TO BOOST CYCLING ENDURANCE | RIDER SUPPORT

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

1.Fueling starts the day before

2.Salty shorts and electrolyte balance

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW TO STAY SAFE ON THE ROAD & TIPS FOR URBAN CYCLING | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

RELATED CONTENT

10 YEARS OF CYCLING KNOWLEDGE IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

WHY CYCLING FAST MAKES YOU SLOW | RIDER SUPPORT

HOW CHAMPIONS EAT TO WIN | RIDER SUPPORT

WANT THIS APPLIED TO YOUR TRAINING?

Fueling starts the day before

Salty shorts and electrolyte balance

Fueling starts the day before

Salty shorts and electrolyte balance