@stacypro because your event is 2 weeks away and the only issue you had with what you tested (with Perpetuem) was taste fatigue, I’d stick to that and not try anything different. Yes, it won’t be pleasant to drink the same stuff for that long, but your energy level was on point and so was your recovery, so I’d stay the course. I’ve done 10-12 hour events and I think it’s almost inevitable that at some point we feel like we are forcing things down… it’s just plain hard on the body.
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That’s sort of my thought at the moment too. 140 miles was a PR for distance for me and it went better than the 120 mile ride that I did where I tried to do it differently. I can get through a century on Vitalyte+food but I have to eat a.lot of food for it to work.
We actually have both strawberry and chocolate Perpetuem. I’ve been drinking straight chocolate but I was wondering if a scoop of strawberry in the chocolate would be a palatable change.
That can be an option, since all you are changing is flavor. Maybe try a bottle of that between now and the event and see how you like the taste?
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@stacypro, I’m curious, where is your 300 mile ride? That’s a big ride! Nice job doing 140 already!
Question for you and @Coach_Theia, how do you feel about carrying plain water to “clean the palate”? Too many liquids with no calories if you do that?
@Marmen21 carrying plain water is an option as long as you are “eating” your electrolytes (for example, electrolyte chews) and food. What some people also do is alternate one over-saturated bottle (with electrolytes and calories) and one with only water so that, on balance, they are where they need to be. It’s a matter of preference and also how the body responds. What I would advise against, however, is to drink only water and no electrolytes or calories on long rides.
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It’s 200 miles. We are doing it with friends and someone’s wife is providing SAG. It isn’t an official event anywhere. If this goes well and I don’t hate it a California Triple Crown is on my bucket list. It’s 3 organized hilly double centuries within a year.
For me, I will sometimes sip plain water during a ride while refilling a bottle but I never have more than a bit. I tend to run short on calories pretty easily on long rides so I don’t want to fill my stomach with anything that doesn’t have calories in it.
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I will switch flavors on long events. The trick it to find a couple you can tolerate. For me it’s usually some kind of fruit flavor. I use NUUN for shorter event and the pre-race. For longer endurance I will admit I mix tailwind and NUUN endurance, usually strawberry lemonade and berry buzz. Tailwind also has a naked product that is flavorless and no caffeine if you just can’t stomach another flavored drink. For some reason if it’s really hot cola flavored, if cold, is delicious but I can’t drink a lot of that flavor.
Gels right now I’m with Endurance Tap out of Canada. Maple syrup, sea salt and ginger. Initially I was skeptical but they go down easy and it’s natural. If I do use on-course I’ll go for the berry or fruit flavors. I try to find out what will be available and see if I can tolerate it in case of emergency and I have to rely on it. If it’s Gatorade I cut it 50/50 -75/25 with water.
Honey stinger products are also good. Again they are sugar in the form of honey but that’s it. I do have friends who mix chia with water and lemon juice and a touch of sugar and use it in a flask. On the bike I do try to use a nut butter pack or two to get some protein. Or epic jerky or some homemade trail mix squares when trail running (our local trail race aid stations are smorgasbords with potatoes, broth, pb filled pretzels, gels, m&m, heed, etc. And sometimes you can find a little sip of shine or whisky 
).
If you haven’t checked out thefeed.com they pretty much have everything available and you can order smaller servings to see if you like it. UCan and infinit are available along with some more obscure companies.
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That’s good to know @vivian.a.workman I’ve been meaning to try Infinit- will check it out at The Feed.
Good to know. 
I’ve tried quite a few of what you list there. I keep thinking about Infinit but I’m not sure what I would want to customize it to. I’ve been interested in trying their women’s endurance formula though so I might think about ordering just one from thefeed website.
I’ve tried the maple syrup gels and Honey Stingers but they were both too sweet. I’ve done homemade chia seed gels before but needing to blend the fruit in made all of the chia gel into sharp edges and I would choke on them. My usual ride food consists of fig newtons, jerky raisins, jelly beans, pretzels, potatoes and similar, it’s just a matter of getting enough of it in.
I actually used Tailwind for a while but no matter how strongly I mixed it I still had to eat and I couldn’t get by with it as an all in one. When I did Gatorade I would mix it full strength AND add a scoop of maltodextrin to up the calorie count and make it burn a little slower. UCan didn’t work for me at all when I tried it. NUUN is a no go for me because I can’t stand the fizzy even if I let it bubble off. I’ve used Skratch in the past and liked it, it just gets expensive.
The super high calorie count of Perpetuem (I had it mixed to be almost 400 calories per bottle so I didn’t have to drink it quite as fast as the first time I tried it) plus food seems to be what I need to make it through a really long ride. According to my calorie burn per the power meter (I know that’s all an estimate, but still), I took in pretty close to as many calories as I burned, which seemed to work well for me. On previous 100+ mile training rides I’ve not managed to stay ahead of my calorie deficit by drinking Vitalyte (my shorter ride drink of choice) and eating regularly. I crash and burn sometime around the 100-120 mile mark, so making it past that point and still feeling good was a major victory for me. I’m feeling much better about my ability to make 200 miles after that training ride since nutrition has historically been a big challenge for me.
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If you know you can tolerate a few different flavors of electrolyte mix, a trick on long rides is to make individual serving bags to mix with water during the ride, but dont label the flavor. It will at least cut down on the flavor burnout.
I do a combination of eating and drinking during long rides. If you know you will have trouble eating the last third, plan to eat during first half and increase your calories with drink mix for second half.
I am a salty sweater- I have white outlines on my clothing from sweat. I add extra salt to my drink mixes during hot events.
Well I did it. double century done and dusted. 12h30m moving time, 16h15m elapsed time. Ended up doing primarily Perpetuem, mixed to 400 calories per bottle. I think I went through 8 full bottles, maybe plus a little because I was re-mixing it. My only food ended up being one fig bar, a few pretzels and some nuggets, fries, and pop at lunch. Judging from the power meter my calorie intake was just about even with my burn, and my energy levels were nice and stable so that was good. Only real hitch was that even with electrolyte drops I had to pee way more than usual, so I may have to see what else I can do about electrolytes because that was kind of annoying. But overall I’m happy with that and Perpetuem is definitely going to be my go to for long rides from here on out.
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Woo hoo @stacypro! Well done! 
Did you have fun? Will you do it again? Are you thinking, I bet I could go longer? Will you give us a ride report?
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@stacypro Wow and congrats on the ride! Loved reading about the ride and what worked for fuel.
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Um, ride report. I honestly thought I was a goner about 93 miles in after fighting a stiff headwind for about 25 miles. I swear as a small rider I struggle more in the wind. At one of our stops I went to the restroom and cried. I nearly always break down at least once on long rides. I’ve learned to sort of expect it and be prepared to just get it out of my system. Fortunately, it was an out and back ride so it was a tailwind all the way back and then it was more fun. Miles about 120-165 went by more easily than I expected, and after that I just gutted out the rest. Both of the guys I was riding with were bigger than me so I pretty much sat on a wheel for most of the ride, which was ok by me.
I don’t know if I could have gone longer but I’m now thinking hilly. Some of my bucket list rides are “shorter” but with lots of climbing- Triple Bypass, RAMROD, etc. This ride only had 2500 feet of climbing over the entire distance, which was intentional since it was a first double for 2/3 of us. I’ve also thought about something like a 24 hour TT. I don’t do well with sleep deprivation so at least now I don’t think I would want to do anything longer than that. At the moment it’s only just sinking in that I actually did this after training and planning for it for so long.
The Perpetuem really was wild- I ALWAYS struggle with my energy levels after 100 miles no matter how much I try to eat and drink. Although my legs were definitely fatigued and sore I never felt like I totally emptied the tank, at least until we stopped riding and I sat down and couldn’t get up again. Even one of the guys who has done long rides with me before commented that he had never seen me ride that strong, especially for so long. My Bontrager bib was amazing and I was as comfortable in the saddle as I could reasonably expect to be after that long.
Recovery wise I’m doing ok. I had a recovery drink right after we finished but actually puked about an hour after we stopped riding, which was after a shower and soak. That’s never happened to me before so I assume it was just stress and overload. I preplanned and took yesterday off of work but I did work today. Lots of walking and epsom salt baths are helping- sitting still seems to let everything tighten up. I’m basically eating whatever sounds good at the moment.
As for what’s next, the rest of the season is for my husband. He’s been working on his nerves since crashing 2 years ago and has been waiting and supporting me through finishing this. Since we’re in Phoenix we’re about 3/4 through the nice weather right now and the majority of our outdoor riding will be done by mid to late May. Next season, we’ll see. Does anyone have any recommendations for a “what’s next?” Halfway through I was saying “never again” but I’m feeling pretty invincible right now. 
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Wow, @stacypro what an amazing accomplishment. Riding flat rides is not always easy as it sounds. Sometimes with the climbs it’s nice to stand. 
Hope you and the husband enjoy the rest of the season!
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@stacypro so proud for you for your accomplishment!!! Here’s to the rest of your IRL riding season!!
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Thanks for the report @stacypro! You did fantastic! Wind definitely affects us smaller people more! Love your smile in the photos!
I had very similar feelings when I did my first double. After 165 miles is was willpower that got me to the end. And I thought this is horrible I will never do it again. Then about an hour after I finished I was already planning for the next one 
As for a 24 hour TT, sleep is not something you will worry about. I used to think the same thing too, I’m in bed every night by 9:30. But then I tried a 24 hour race and yeah, you are tired, but there is so much going on and you are constantly moving, so feeling sleepy doesn’t even enter the equation. So if you are tempted, give it a try!
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