I have never raced a bicycle, let alone for a long race. I’ve been training as much as I can, and feel confident in my physical condition, at least enough to not be embarassed.
My questions for you tarqueros are more about the mechanics of it all.
What do you recommend for separating from packs? Looking at pics from previous years, it looks like racers tend to pack up around any technical parts which are few, like stream crossings and things.
What about foods and water? How do you carry it, and what do you recommend carrying to eat? I have a box of clif (and the like) bars I brought with me. I’m also a vegan, making a big effort to stay and eat that way here. I have two waterbottle cages on the bike, and a 70oz camelback, thinking I need a bigger one or another as a backup.
What do you recommend for keeping my head and body straight, as this is a long race?
What other rec’s can you offer that I am sure I am forgetting?
Electrolytes are your friend. Sports drink or tablets. Use what worked in training. Race day is not the day to experiment.
I’m a fan of Hammer Gel
On a long race, don’t blow your load early. Let the other guys run out fast then reel them in. At bottlenecks and traffic jams sometimes its better to shoulder the bike and run around the dudes trying to ride.
Like the idea of shouldering the bike, that will definitely come in handy.
As far as sports drinks go, there isn’t much available here that isn’t LOADED with sugar and all around shitty. I was planning on filling a bottle or two with some diluted juice (which was also really hard to find, juice where sugar is not the second ingredient, let alone not on the list).
I’ve read a blog by a vegan cyclist about the possibility of drinking baking soda to make your body more alkaline. Apparently this is a banned substance in some events. Has anyone ever tried this, or even heard of it?
[quote=“vegwerm”]
I’ve read a blog by a vegan cyclist about the possibility of drinking baking soda to make your body more alkaline. Apparently this is a banned substance in some events. Has anyone ever tried this, or even heard of it?[/quote]
It’s called “soda loading”. I only suggest trying it if you like having explosive diarrhea.
[quote=“halbritt”][quote=“vegwerm”]
I’ve read a blog by a vegan cyclist about the possibility of drinking baking soda to make your body more alkaline. Apparently this is a banned substance in some events. Has anyone ever tried this, or even heard of it?[/quote]
It’s called “soda loading”. I only suggest trying it if you like having explosive diarrhea.[/quote]
[quote=“kowloon”][quote=“halbritt”][quote=“vegwerm”]
I’ve read a blog by a vegan cyclist about the possibility of drinking baking soda to make your body more alkaline. Apparently this is a banned substance in some events. Has anyone ever tried this, or even heard of it?[/quote]
It’s called “soda loading”. I only suggest trying it if you like having explosive diarrhea.[/quote]
I haven’t race mtb in about 8 years, but when I did, one strategy I used was to sit right behind wheel. People get nervous when they’re being followed, they try too hard, ride inefficiently and make a bunch of mistakes. Meanwhile, you can relax, evaluate the lines they pick out, concentrate on your riding and think about your game plan. When you’re ready to make your move, do it all of a sudden and try and put as much distance between you and the other rider so you’re no longer chasing each other, leaving you to ride at your own pace.
There’s an old saying that says: train your weakness, race your strength. I wasn’t the fittest rider but I was really good technically, so for me that meant I’d push as hard as I could up hills to hopefully pass other riders before the next descent where I could easily get ahead of them. So, I guess knowing your skills and weaknesses is a pretty good asset too.
i’ve never actually done a mountain bike race, but if it is anything like most, there will be major bottlenecks before any singletrack and technical sections. i recommend that you go out at a pace faster than you can hold the whole race in order to get the best position possible, and hopefully avoid any bottlenecks that will happen behind the leaders. if you have a good position and are in front of the bottleneck, then you can slow down and recover a bit b/c you will have saved much time and energy by avoiding any clusterfucks.
-edit-
i read your post again, and since it is a long race, my advice might not be the best. but if there is a large field and a mass start, i think my advice still holds - try to get a good position and then settle into a pace you can hold.
also, i have put some sea salt and honey in water, which works pretty good for your electrolytes and some diluted carbs. regular salt would work as well, just make sure it is dilute. i think 2 water bottles and a camelbak should be plenty, but that’s a personal thing.
if you are eating clif bars during the race i would chew really well and wash down w/water. also try to eat/drink on flats or downhills.
[quote=“kowloon”][quote=“halbritt”][quote=“vegwerm”]
I’ve read a blog by a vegan cyclist about the possibility of drinking baking soda to make your body more alkaline. Apparently this is a banned substance in some events. Has anyone ever tried this, or even heard of it?[/quote]
It’s called “soda loading”. I only suggest trying it if you like having explosive diarrhea.[/quote]
I have never raced a mountain bike, and I dont pretend to know pack dynamics in mountain bike racing… but I have done crits and track races, and it seams like encouraging this guy who has never raced before to fight for position or to suck wheel might be bad advice… Lets say he is reall fucking fit and he is on or near the front going into his first group turning situation… could be a fucking disaster! I would say hang back and just try not to do anything stupid.
all good advice. I was corrected yesterday, in that there are plenty of sports drinks available, gatorade and powerade and shit like that. which I avoid stateside as well (kind of an overarching theme in this country: general shitty consumer products are everywhere and some even cost more, but specialist things are impossible to find and natural things you just have to make yourself)
from fotos, the start looks huge. I like the idea of fighting for a good position and then settling in to where I’m comfortable. fitting with jaques’ comment: train weakness, race strength.
yes, I am defintely taking all basic tools and at least one extra tube (these are things that I carry virtually everywhere anyway). would anyone recommend more than one tube?
also, from fotos and descriptions, it looks like the route goes up like a dirt road. so the most technical parts look to be some stream crossings, and more probably will be created by just masses of people piling up. check out some of the pics and let me know if that gives any further tips for technique
Ya more tubes. You don’t want to be patching a flat. I don’t know what the terrain is like in your area but depending on the season there could be a lot of briars or something similar. Normally I’d patch a tube but this is a race.