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Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help!
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I could really use some constructive ideas. I'm training for an ironman and every time i see a 5 hr, 6 hr, or even 6+hr ride on my training schedule, I cringe. I live in a giant suburb and there are some roads I can ride safely, and I've done 100 mile rides using these roads, but these rides are really sub-optimal because I'm stopping every few minutes for a light or a turn, etc. and when I look at my power profile for these rides, it's all over the place due to the stopping/waiting. It's really hard to get some solid even-power riding done. So because of this, sometimes I go for Option B which is to drive 30-60 min out of my congested area to country roads, but then, I have the issue of fueling....where can I stop to get water, snacks, etc? One time I was so dehydrated due to having to go an extra 15 miles till I found a gas station. Not to mention, if I drive out to the rural area and start my long ride and then have a bad mechanical or other problem, it would ruin my day (and one of my friend's or relative's day) to have to be picked up in timbuktu. So that leaves me with Option C which is a 5 or 6 hr trainer ride, which I've done, but it's nasty nasty torture, and I am person who uses my trainer a lot otherwise.

HELP!!! What other options am I missing here? I've looked for the supported century and grand fondo rides, but sometimes they don't match up on the right weekends and they don't have them all the time. I've also tried a couple cycling club rides and, as most of us know, you can get some frowns when you roll roll in with aerobars, even if you never use them.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Can you drive out of town, ride a loop and get off the bike at the end or each loop to grab fuel and fluid.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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How about doing loops ... out out in the boonies where you can ride for a long time. Go 25 miles out, turn around, and go back to your car. That way, you shouldn't have issues with carrying fuel for 50 miles. Refuel when you can back to your car and repeat the loop. Two loops will get you the 100 miles that you seek. The kind of mechanical issues where you have to call a friend is quite rare. Carry a multi-purpose tool with you, a few extra co2 cartridge, and an extra tube or two and your good to go.


__________________________________________________________________________
My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Billyk24] [ In reply to ]
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Billyk24 wrote:
Can you drive out of town, ride a loop and get off the bike at the end or each loop to grab fuel and fluid.

Good suggestion!! I've done this also - on a 15 mile loop. It takes some extra time because the place I go to for this is about an hour away. The downside is that it's a little monotonous and when I'm getting tired or sore, it's easy to stop after x laps around. Yes, I've caved a couple times :(
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [zoom] [ In reply to ]
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zoom wrote:
How about doing loops ... out out in the boonies where you can ride for a long time. Go 25 miles out, turn around, and go back to your car. That way, you shouldn't have issues with carrying fuel for 50 miles. Refuel when you can back to your car and repeat the loop. Two loops will get you the 100 miles that you seek. The kind of mechanical issues where you have to call a friend is quite rare. Carry a multi-purpose tool with you, a few extra co2 cartridge, and an extra tube or two and your good to go.

Yes, this is another good suggestion...similar to the other one. Luckily, I've not had a day-ending mechanical. But every so often, I hear about broken cables or broken chains (i.e. things you really can't fix there). I guess I should just get over this fear, LOL
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Plan a route yourself in advanced knowing where places are to refuel.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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cestmoi wrote:
Billyk24 wrote:
Can you drive out of town, ride a loop and get off the bike at the end or each loop to grab fuel and fluid.


Good suggestion!! I've done this also - on a 15 mile loop. It takes some extra time because the place I go to for this is about an hour away. The downside is that it's a little monotonous and when I'm getting tired or sore, it's easy to stop after x laps around. Yes, I've caved a couple times :(

Doing loops is a good idea, i do that all the time especially if you simply looking for banking uniterrupted mileage
Have you thought about investing in a wahoo kickr as well. That should give you some variety...
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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-Are big climbs an option? That decreases distance required for training by # of hours.
- plan the big weeks around the fondos/centuries instead of trying to find fondos that fit into already planned weeks
- combine trainer ride w road (90min trainer, 2hr mtn bike with family, 90min trainer).
-carry more hydration in training - hydration pack?
- get a road bike / gravel bike so you have more training options (groups/dirt roads/rails to trails)?

A few ideas, maybe not all feasible, but maybe they'll provoke some thought. This may sound harsh apologies if it does..... but Ironman for many is about finding a way to make it work, and not caving in and not bailing out. If you can't ride loops because it's too easy to bail early, you've got some mental / focus training to do. A mechanical is just as likely to happen in a race as it is in training.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Move to San Luis Obispo and ride north on highway 1 and back as far as you want to go.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Look on Strava for ideas. Then find those roads on Google maps. Switch it to cycling mode. Find a good route. Plan the refueling stops ahead of time. And yes you should drive out of the city and then ride. Don't need a bike rack. You can fit a bike with wheels removed inside most cars.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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cestmoi wrote:
zoom wrote:
How about doing loops ... out out in the boonies where you can ride for a long time. Go 25 miles out, turn around, and go back to your car. That way, you shouldn't have issues with carrying fuel for 50 miles. Refuel when you can back to your car and repeat the loop. Two loops will get you the 100 miles that you seek. The kind of mechanical issues where you have to call a friend is quite rare. Carry a multi-purpose tool with you, a few extra co2 cartridge, and an extra tube or two and your good to go.


Yes, this is another good suggestion...similar to the other one. Luckily, I've not had a day-ending mechanical. But every so often, I hear about broken cables or broken chains (i.e. things you really can't fix there). I guess I should just get over this fear, LOL


A broken derailleur cable is not the end of your ride (if you ride mechanical).
You can tie the front end of the cable to the frame/cage, fixing the der. in the middle of the cassette... then you can even shift 'manually' on hills.
Other option is to find a small rock and wedge it into the parallelogram of the derailleur to keep it in the middle of the cassette.

Similarly, you can fix a broken chain on the road.
Just carry a mini chain-breaker, take the broken link out and rejoin the chain.

It is highly recommended to invest the time to learn how to work on your drive train, especially if it is mechanical. Saved me from being stuck in Timbuktu many times.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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I recommend Option B (that's what I do).
And if you can't take all of your water with you, you can indeed take a rucksack, put it somewhere, and ride loops. But You can also mount more cages on your bike, for example two behind the saddle. Food can't be a problem: you shouldn't eat too much on a long ride anyway, to train fatburning. 2 or 3 powerbars should be enough. Or nothing at all.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [LauraM] [ In reply to ]
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LauraM wrote:
-Are big climbs an option? That decreases distance required for training by # of hours.

I'm in the same boat (not easy to find longer flatter roads where I live). My Ironman bike will be 1225m and I've done this and more over 3 hour rides. To get the hours in, I'm now looking at a 2.5km loop 50 times with a few big hills thrown in. It's not much fun!

My race site: https://racesandplaces.wixsite.com/racesandplaces
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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I do loops all the time. I have a 20 and 25 mile loop. Part of my loop has a side road that is almost exactly a mile and has 1 house on it. Perfect for intervals.

I do the loops mostly because the roads are not heavily travelled and lots of cyclists around me use them so the people in the area are used to seeing bikes. I also can rig my bike to carry 4 bottle which can get me thru 100 miles if not too warm. 1 BTA, 1 on the frame and two behind the seat. All nutrition is carried on board, just like I would in a race. I don't like to stop at all during races so I try to carry what I need with me in training to get used to it.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Post an address within a mile of your house and I'll see if I can create a route for you... will create it in ridewithgps so you use audible turn by turn, or if you have a head unit with navigation, download to that. no suburb or city is inescapable on a 5-6 hour ride

wovebike.com | Wove on instagram
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Are there dirt/gravel options where you live? A lot of people say "you have to train on the tri bike", but that is not true. You need with a similarly closed hip angle. I train mainly on a road or gravel bike both for safety and because it gets me immediately into an uninterrupted ride, versus navigating city streets.

2015 USAT Long Course National Champion (M50-54)
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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If you are a member of AAA, your membership may include roadside bicycle service and emergency transport in the event of a mechanical problem during a ride. This is a new offering by AAA and maybe worth looking into.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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You ought to be able to carry 4 bottles and all the nutrition you'll need w/out problems...meaning you'll only need 1 stop to re-liquid.

If you ever get an unrepairable mechanical, you could call an uber.

I find point to point long rides more enjoyable, so find something interesting (relative, friend, beach, etc) ~100 miles away and convince someone to meet you there. For example, my family took a weekend vacation up in Maine, 117 mile trip. They drove, I rode. I leave ~3 hours before they do. I don't have to sit in the car for 2 hours, they could grab me along the way if I had issues, etc. I let strava plot my route which I am then able to download to my GPS. It looks at which roads are most frequently used by cyclists in a given area and mostly routes you on those roads.

Lastly, as someone who loves being outside, I can't imagine living somewhere that would require an hour car ride to roads suitable for riding.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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cestmoi wrote:
I could really use some constructive ideas. I'm training for an ironman and every time i see a 5 hr, 6 hr, or even 6+hr ride on my training schedule, I cringe. I live in a giant suburb and there are some roads I can ride safely, and I've done 100 mile rides using these roads, but these rides are really sub-optimal because I'm stopping every few minutes for a light or a turn, etc. and when I look at my power profile for these rides, it's all over the place due to the stopping/waiting. It's really hard to get some solid even-power riding done. So because of this, sometimes I go for Option B which is to drive 30-60 min out of my congested area to country roads, but then, I have the issue of fueling....where can I stop to get water, snacks, etc? One time I was so dehydrated due to having to go an extra 15 miles till I found a gas station. Not to mention, if I drive out to the rural area and start my long ride and then have a bad mechanical or other problem, it would ruin my day (and one of my friend's or relative's day) to have to be picked up in timbuktu. So that leaves me with Option C which is a 5 or 6 hr trainer ride, which I've done, but it's nasty nasty torture, and I am person who uses my trainer a lot otherwise.

HELP!!! What other options am I missing here? I've looked for the supported century and grand fondo rides, but sometimes they don't match up on the right weekends and they don't have them all the time. I've also tried a couple cycling club rides and, as most of us know, you can get some frowns when you roll roll in with aerobars, even if you never use them.

Where are you specifically located?


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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Thomas Gerlach] [ In reply to ]
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Thomas Gerlach wrote:
cestmoi wrote:
I could really use some constructive ideas. I'm training for an ironman and every time i see a 5 hr, 6 hr, or even 6+hr ride on my training schedule, I cringe. I live in a giant suburb and there are some roads I can ride safely, and I've done 100 mile rides using these roads, but these rides are really sub-optimal because I'm stopping every few minutes for a light or a turn, etc. and when I look at my power profile for these rides, it's all over the place due to the stopping/waiting. It's really hard to get some solid even-power riding done. So because of this, sometimes I go for Option B which is to drive 30-60 min out of my congested area to country roads, but then, I have the issue of fueling....where can I stop to get water, snacks, etc? One time I was so dehydrated due to having to go an extra 15 miles till I found a gas station. Not to mention, if I drive out to the rural area and start my long ride and then have a bad mechanical or other problem, it would ruin my day (and one of my friend's or relative's day) to have to be picked up in timbuktu. So that leaves me with Option C which is a 5 or 6 hr trainer ride, which I've done, but it's nasty nasty torture, and I am person who uses my trainer a lot otherwise.

HELP!!! What other options am I missing here? I've looked for the supported century and grand fondo rides, but sometimes they don't match up on the right weekends and they don't have them all the time. I've also tried a couple cycling club rides and, as most of us know, you can get some frowns when you roll roll in with aerobars, even if you never use them.


Where are you specifically located?

What Thomas said. If we know where you live people on here may be familiar with area and be able to help suggest routes.

_________________________________
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Do you track workouts on training peaks? I would consider shorter trainer rides with more intervals. Like 2-3 hours versus 5-6 but with IM pace/tempo/sweet spot for like 15-30 min your amount of work should be equel to riding steady outside with stops, downhills, etc...I did a few 4-5 hour outdoor rides but a lot of 2-3 hour indoor hard rides. Found I was more than prepared for the long outdoor rides, saved a lot of time, and no additional bike maintenance. Also, the training stress is the same or better than outdoors.
Last edited by: tri@thlete: Aug 13, 17 10:51
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Cut the ride by 50% and do it on the trainer.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Rest] [ In reply to ]
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Rest wrote:
Cut the ride by 50% and do it on the trainer.

I suppose the key question is how long do your longer rides really need to be.

My foray into time trialling at the age of 60
https://sixtyplustimetrialling.wordpress.com/
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [kdw] [ In reply to ]
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How do you let strava plot your course? I pay for the premium and I haven't seen where I could do this, I'd like to use that feature!
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [DrunkIrishman] [ In reply to ]
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- Join strava and look at where other people ride
- plan a 30 to 50 mile loop to either loop past your house, your car or someplace with water and bathrooms
- join zwift and do your long rides on the trainer


I have done all three. IMHO, get in your time on the saddle at something close to IM HR/pace/watts and call it done.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Johnnybike] [ In reply to ]
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Johnnybike wrote:
Rest wrote:
Cut the ride by 50% and do it on the trainer.


I suppose the key question is how long do your longer rides really need to be.

THANKS everyone for the suggestions! I'm feeling a little better about my logistics/planning since I see the loop ride is popular and I've done this, so I'm going to go back to this strategy. I seem to need more nutrition than the average person, or maybe since my area is really hot (90 degrees, almost 100% humidity), I am not skimpy with drinks and will do a 24 oz bottle of water and a 24 oz bottle of gatorade/electrolyte drink in hot conditions, so I HAVE to stop every 20 miles to rehydrate (I carry three bottles on my bike). I thought about a camelback or other thing, but a backpack always make my right shoulder so sore.

Yeah, I've wondering how long a trainer ride needs to be to simulate an outdoor ride. I don't think it's a 50% time cut....maybe like 75%? I edge more and more to doing all my rides on the trainer since I see so many people texting and driving. Then there's the plain a$$hats who've thrown things out car windows at me or swerved purposely to cut me off.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [jimatbeyond] [ In reply to ]
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jimatbeyond wrote:
Move to San Luis Obispo and ride north on highway 1 and back as far as you want to go.

LOL - I like this one! Or maybe Huntinton Beach where there's a 60 mile bike trail!
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Iron Dukie] [ In reply to ]
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Iron Dukie wrote:
If you are a member of AAA, your membership may include roadside bicycle service and emergency transport in the event of a mechanical problem during a ride. This is a new offering by AAA and maybe worth looking into.

I did not know this - great tip!
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Rest] [ In reply to ]
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Rest wrote:
Cut the ride by 50% and do it on the trainer.

+1. I do 99% of my IM training on a trainer with Trainer road app. Safe, effective and time saving. No sun burns, No chance of getting stranded. Consider it as your plan A!

Yes, IM bike is 112 miles, but there is no need to do 100+ mile every weekend. Instead, you should focus on raising FTP with interval trainings.

For the same token, marathon runners are not doing 26 mile run every weekend!
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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You should be able to carry more hydration than that.

1 bottle between the arms
2 bottles on the frame
2 bottles behind the seat (There are setups that will also include space for your flat kit)

Personally, I find this a tad excessive, but it's doable if you're truly stuck in the boonies. Unless it's in the middle of a heatwave that should get you most of the way, so you only need at most to find one has station/convenience store.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Combining indoor and outdoor might work. I was visiting Long Beach recently and had a computrainer and did 1.5 hours of intervals then headed out through Long Beach (LA river) to PCH up towards Huntington Beach. Outdoors for about 3 hours. With the quality indoor session plus crushing it with the tons of pack riders, I got in a good 4-5 hour session. Doing the quality intervals indoors takes the pressure off the outdoor stuff if there are a lot of stops.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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Not the most learned/experienced guy here but:

1. Loops or "spoked" rides (out-and-backs to your car where your car is the hub and you ride out on a different spoke each time you reach your car) are good for not getting far from your support vehicle. And if quitting because of the ease of your nearby vehicle is a problem then use that time to FOCUS on your mental aspects that you will need to apply during your race.

2. Consider getting a two-bottle holder behind your seat (even if only for training). That plus two on the frame and one bta will give you five which should be more than enough nutrition (maybe you'll need to stop somewhere to get more water--if so make one or two bottles double concentrated and then dilute).

3. Take a mini-vacation? Go somewhere new fri night. Do a nice long ride sat. Then enjoy the local sights/beers and come home Sunday am. Maybe can't afford it every weekend. But it could help.

4. Do half your ride on the road then half on the trainer. If the trainer comes second then be prepared to bear down mentally.

5. Find a local tri club that does long rides. If they don't go far enough then ride on your own then meet them (the more aggressive option as long as you're not dogging it before you get there). Tri clubs shouldn't judge your aero bars. Failing that, set up some rides with other local triathletes.

Good luck!
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [DrunkIrishman] [ In reply to ]
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"How do you let strava plot your course? I pay for the premium and I haven't seen where I could do this, I'd like to use that feature! "

You do not need premium. From the main page, go to Dashboard -> My Routes -> Create New Route. Click on your starting point and your end point. You can tweak it by dragging points along the route it creates. You can then export it to a gpx or tcx file depending on what your gps unit needs. It's not perfect, but it's shown me some routes I probably wouldn't have found on my own.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [kdw] [ In reply to ]
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Keep in mind its training.... for times when I have huge rides and im not sure where I can refuel I will just load the bike and a camelback etc who cares what I look like or if im not aero im training....
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Jonathan22] [ In reply to ]
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I have a 12 mile loop ( wish it was a bit bigger) and I park my truck with a cooler full of stuff. Any mechanical I cant fix on site....well, Im never more than 6 miles away so , within walking distance. The other thing I do is more intense 3-3.5 hour trainer rides. 3-3.5 hours on the trainer is relentless and if you do not stop even once.....no back pedaling, it can be as or more effective than a longer ride outdoors with all the soft pedaling cornering etc....
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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As mentioned, definitely learn how to break your chain, and be sure to carry the tool with you.
It's the one real mechanical that can keep you from getting back home...
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [Ken66] [ In reply to ]
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Ken66 wrote:
I have a 12 mile loop ( wish it was a bit bigger) and I park my truck with a cooler full of stuff. Any mechanical I cant fix on site....well, Im never more than 6 miles away so , within walking distance. The other thing I do is more intense 3-3.5 hour trainer rides. 3-3.5 hours on the trainer is relentless and if you do not stop even once.....no back pedaling, it can be as or more effective than a longer ride outdoors with all the soft pedaling cornering etc....

yes - 6 miles is walkable and packing a cooler is definitely key. I do 3-and 3.5 hr trainer rides and at a pretty tough effort, but it seems like the 4 hr mark it's ALL downhill for me on the trainer mentally and physically. it's interesting how the trainer breaks you at that point vs. an outdoor ride of the same time.
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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a option that is viable is multiple ride on the same day.

outside endurance ride...... and get back on the trainer later for a interval session. i have use this strategy in the past with athletes and it will yield good results if the training load is the similar to a long ride

Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
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Re: Struggling with long 140.6 training rides - Help! [cestmoi] [ In reply to ]
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cestmoi wrote:
jimatbeyond wrote:
Move to San Luis Obispo and ride north on highway 1 and back as far as you want to go.


LOL - I like this one! Or maybe Huntinton Beach where there's a 60 mile bike trail!

Well, at least as far north as the road goes before it falls off into the ocean... You can only get 60 miles north before Cal Trans turns you around. I've never pedaled past Ragged Point. I usually turn around at Piedras Blancas. Which is funky now because of the highway realignment.

Definitely don't want to "own the road" on that route.....

Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

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