A Test of Endurance

62 mile ride with no food after a 5 mile run and 3 hours of sleep.




After riding 35 miles Saturday afternoon and working Saturday night, I found myself unable to sleep due to being stressed out over basically nothing. I finally went to sleep around 3am and woke up just after 6am (about my usual time). Unable to go back to sleep, I got up and went about my business. I took Lucy for a 5 mile run, then had my usual breakfast - bacon, egg, and cheese burrito, all fried in bacon grease of course. I then prepared for a ~60 mile group road ride at noon.

I didn't have any good snacks to bring along, but there was a gas station stop at the halfway point. The first half was a fun, fast ride, and I was feeling pretty good despite a lack of sleep. At the halfway stop, I was still feeling good and decided to make things interesting by not eating anything. I don't think I've ever ridden 3 hours with no food. I've been trying to train my body to run on stored energy rather than what's in my stomach and wanted to see if I'd made any progress. I fully expected to bonk sometime between 2 and 2.5 hours. Not only did I not bonk, but I stayed near the front on some fast, sprint sections near the end.

Once I got home and showered, I ate enough Chinese food to feed about three people! Fully relieved of all stress, or perhaps just too tired to care, I did sleep pretty well that night. Still, work came too early Monday morning.