As mentioned earlier, the guy who helps with this web site is riding the Sydney To Surfers Bike Tour (approximately 1,000 km) organised by the Rotary Club of Engadine. The ride starts on March 24, 2007 and takes a week.
We thought it might be of some interest to use Brendon Sinclair as our Guinea Pig. So to get started we’ll look at Brendon and his background first.
I asked him the hard questions:
All About Our Guinea Pig!
Name: Brendon Sinclair
Age: 40 (but I look 50)
Height: 6 feet/183 cm
Weight: 86 kg
Occupation: Web developer
Marital status: Married with 3 kids (15 yo, 14 yo & 12 yo)
Bike: A 12 year old (at least) Avanti.
Weighs a ton, has gear levers on the frame and doesn’t go that great. But I love the old girl! That’s her and I on the left during a triathlon in 1996.
Years riding bikes: On and off (mostly off) for 13 years.
Previous endurance experience: I’ve done tons of endurance stuff before – Ironman Triathlons (12 hours+), Marathons (3 hours 15 mins), Marathon swimming, etc.
I’m pretty slow with what I do, but always get there in the end.
After an Ironman Triathlon in 1996 I had a rest. It was about 10 years before I moved off the couch again. I ate lots of donuts.
Last July 2006 I did the Gold Coast Half Marathon (2 hours 11 mins), and did part of the Noosa Tri (I did the 1.5 km swim in 30 minutes, and the bike in 1 hour, 24 mins. My son did the run leg.).
Fitness level: At the moment I’m getting fit. Here’s what I’ve done since Saturday.
Saturday: 40 minute easy run, 2 km swim, 30 km bike ride
Sunday: 42 km run, 2 km swim
Monday: 30 km bike ride, 2 km swim
Tuesday: 2 km swim, 8.5 km run
Wednesday: 2 km swim, 44 km bike ride
Motivation for doing the ride: I need a challenge to keep fit, otherwise I just sit and watch TV and eat stuff. I’m scared I might accidentally eat one of my children.
Bike Riding Skill: On a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being great), I’d rate myself a 2 at best (and that’s downhill with a huge tailwind).
Although I’ve ridden thousands of kms over the years I have never ridden with anyone before and have never had any sort of lesson or advice.
I learnt more from David (Dave’s the guy who distributes the Hammer products) in a 40 km bike ride last Sunday than I have in 12 years.
Training Planned:
I intend to just keep rolling out the kms, with a long ride (100 km) once a week, along with 4-5 rides a week of between 40-60 km. Some on the flat, some with hills.
And apparently there is beer being drunk each evening after the riding. So I suppose I’ll have to keep up with solid beer drinking practice.
I can see it now – “I need to keep drinking beer, my darling wife. It’s part of my training regime.”
Nutritional Knowledge:
For a guy who has done a lot of endurance stuff and has a bit of a medical background (I was a Nursing ‘Sister’ for 12 years) you’d think I would know stuff about sports nutrition.
But I haven’t got a clue about sports nutrition.
I’d take 1 bidon of water on a 2 hour ride and wonder why I’d be exhausted at the end.
I’m not that smart!
Have you used Hammer products before?
Last week I went into a bike shop and bought a couple of Hammer Gels.
I was very impressed when the salesman said “Have you used these before? Don’t take too many or you’ll have too much energy – they work great.”
That was the first nutritional supplement product I’ve ever purchased or used.
Okay, now you’re boring us. Anything relevant to finish off with?
Nope. But I have some questions:
- Do you think my bum looks fat in my bike pants?
- Now that you’ve given me some free HEED can I tell all my mates I’m a “sponsored athlete“?
Answers: Yes, it does. And it’s
not free HEED – I’ll be invoicing you!
What Every Cyclist Must Do – Step 1 For Brendon
Okay, the first step to successful bike riding is ensuring you have adequate hydration during a ride.
Because Brendon is doing 1-2 hour rides at present, he would be best be served by simply adding a couple of scoops of HEED to each 500 mls/bidon of water.
I’d recommend he takes 2 bidons of water with 2 scoops of HEED in each one on his 40-60 km rides.
Brendon has a double bidon cage off the back of his bike seat (and a single on the frame), so he can easily carry 2.2 litres of water with HEED.
Whatever he doesn’t drink during the ride should be drunk at the end to aid recovery.
What’s So Good About HEED?
HEED is a high energy electrolyte drink that provides:
- complex carbohydrates (gives your body energy)
- a complete electrolyte profile (supports optimal cardiac and muscle performance and prevents cramping)
- supplemental nutrients (these buffer lactic acid, stabilise blood glucose and help the efficient use of carbohydrate metabolism)
Drinking water is simply not enough. You need an electrolyte replacement drink because you lose the all important electrolyte in your sweat.
And you need energy to replace the energy you’ve used up during your ride.
Drink 500-750 mls Per Hour of HEED
By drinking 500-750 mls of HEED per hour, Brendon will notice a huge difference in his:
- energy levels,
- hydration level (remember that water doesn’t hydrate as such because it doesn’t have electrolytes) and his
- strength.
Brendon’s Questions
1. I often ride first thing in the morning. What should I eat before going for a 2-hour bike ride and how long should I wait before riding?
2. What should I eat when I finish a 2-hour ride? And how quickly after the ride should I eat it?
That’ll Do
That will do for our first Case Study post. Apologies for the length, but we’ve gotten rid of the (long) background stuff you might like to know.
If you have any questions as we go please shoot them through here.
Cheers
David
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