We’ve all been there, feeling chainless and amazing for the first 60 miles of a century ride. Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, we feel... less amazing. We wonder why we started this stupid ride to begin with and, more importantly, how we are going to make it another 40 miles. As we watch our so-called friends roll off into the distance, our speed fades along with our energy levels—and maybe our will to go on.

Well, guess what? It may feel like the Piano Man fell from the sky and sat on your shoulders out of the clear blue. But that’s actually not the case. Coming undone in the middle of a long ride is your body’s response to what you did—or didn’t do—during the first part of the ride. Read on to learn how to stay strong from beginning to end, and subscribe to Bicycling for more of today's best training tips for cyclists.

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Save your strength for the second half. Starting out too fast in the beginning when you feel fresh can leave you clawing your way home at the end. When you hit it hard right out of the gate, you “burn too many matches.” That is, you tap into your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are the powerful ones that eat up your limited glycogen stores and are not built for endurance. They don’t recover very quickly and won’t be there for you at the end of the ride if you keep burning them up early on. 

Practice pacing on your long rides. Long rides are about endurance. Ideally, you want to maintain a pace that corresponds with about 70 percent of your max heart rate. Wearing a heart rate monitor helps here: That way, you know your aerobic heart rate range, and you can check yourself during big days when you see it spiking or creeping up too often, too early.

But it’s easy to know when you’re going too hard even without a heart rate strap: One good sign is that your breathing becomes too labored for you to speak in complete sentences. Over time, you’ll know how many matches you can burn over the course of a long ride before frying yourself before the end. But in general, keep your heart rate in check for the first half of your long outing no matter how awesome you feel. You can let it rip a little once you can smell the barn. (For long, daunting rides, it can be very helpful to follow a structured plan like TrainingPeaks' survive a Hilly Metric Century program that takes out the guesswork.)

Start nibbling after the first hour. Depending on how many miles lie ahead, you could be looking at a whole day in the saddle. To avoid getting vapory by running too low on fuel, or getting gut rot by shoving down too many ride snacks at once—or worse, bonking—start nibbling within the first hour and continue every 30 minutes or so. (For off-road centuries, I’ll start refueling within the first 15 to 20 minutes!). You don’t need (nor should you try) to replace every calorie you burn. Instead aim to keep your fuel stores topped off by replacing around 150 to 180 calories an hour. 

Loaf a little—or a lot. Ever watch a rider take a flyer off the front of a bike race? How often do they beat the pack to the finish line? Very rarely. It just takes too much energy to be out there with your nose in the wind all day long. You can go faster and conserve up to 40 percent of your energy by sticking with a bunch and working at the front of the pace line only when it’s your turn. By using your fellow riders to conserve energy, you’ll have more in the tank for the end.

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Hit the pits like a NASCAR pro. Stopping too long during bathroom breaks or food stops is a recipe for leaden legs as your blood pools and your muscles cool down. You’ll feel better over the course of the ride if you keep it moving. 

Drain a bottle an hour. Hydration is power. Once you get dehydrated, your blood thickens and everything becomes harder. Like fueling, it’s easy to let your hydration slide until you’re in a hole. Sip a few ounces every 15 minutes and aim to drain a bottle an hour under temperate conditions, more if it’s hot.

“It also helps to start the ride hydrated,” says two-time Olympic coach Gale Bernhardt, co-author of Become a Fat-Burning Machine. “I recommend chugging down a bottle of low-sugar electrolyte drink 15 minutes before beginning the ride.” (Learn how to make your own sports drinks at home.)

Change positions. Sitting in the same position for extended periods of time is fatiguing on your supporting muscles that keep you steady in the saddle and help transfer power to your legs as you pedal down the road or trail. Consciously change your riding position a few times an hour. Move your hands around on the bars; stand occasionally to stretch your legs; and inch a bit forward or back on the saddle as the terrain changes to prevent any one area from getting overly fatigued.

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selene yeager
“The Fit Chick”
Selene Yeager is a top-selling professional health and fitness writer who lives what she writes as a NASM certified personal trainer, USA Cycling certified coach, Pn1 certified nutrition coach, pro licensed off road racer, and All-American Ironman triathlete.