ISSN 1536-4143                                
 
Produced every other Thursday by RBR Publishing Company. E-mailed without cost or obligation to more than 63,000 roadies around the world.
 
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1.  NOTES & NEWS     
 
"Never go anaerobic."
 
This maxim, courtesy of Race Across America record holder Pete Penseyres, has stuck with me like a thorn on an unbrushed clincher. I heard Pete say it 15 years ago. I still hear him during every long event I ride.
 
Anaerobic efforts have their place in cycling, of course. Intensity can be a very good thing. But Pete's words of wisdom are for those of us doing tours, centuries, brevets -- and even long-distance races, including RAAM.
 
On Oct. 23-24 I was in North Florida for the consecutive 100-milers of the annual Gainesville Cycling Festival. The terrain can generously be described as "rolling." There are no hills tough enough to force riders into anaerobic efforts, except, perhaps, for the fast guys up front who treat these centuries like road races. Pete didn't have them in mind.
 
Back home in Pennsylvania it's different. Some of my roads tilt up for 2 miles and every long ride has its share of 15%+ grades. In terrain like this I hear Pete all day.
 
I don't pussyfoot on climbs but I don't go anaerobic either, and that's key to riding well for the distance. I stay under the red line so my energy lasts. I want to finish long rides feeling tired but mellow, not hammered.
 
Hammered, however, could be the fate for anyone who rides across what for decades was called the "anaerobic threshold." Nowadays, the preferred term is lactate threshold (LT).
 
To simplify the physiology, as you increase intensity your body produces lactate. At relatively low workloads, the lactate is cleared readily. No problem. But at higher intensities it builds up and you slow down rather dramatically.
 
The lactate threshold is the intensity at which your body can just barely clear the lactate accumulation. Fit cyclists can sustain a threshold heart rate (about 90% of their maximum) for an hour. On longer rides you need to keep your average heart rate considerably below that figure to last the distance.
 
You could govern yourself with a heart monitor but there's a simpler way: Just ride at a pace that keeps your breathing deep and regular.
 
If your breathing becomes shallow and ragged with gasping and panting, it's a sure sign you've "gone anaerobic" and are producing excess lactate. You're also gobbling muscle fuel (glycogen) and you'll almost certainly go slower for the rest of the ride. You'll have less strength, energy and reserves -- and probably a lot less fun.
 
The school of hard knocks has taught most of us the consequences of pushing too hard during a long ride. That's one way to learn the limit.
 
Or we can just heed Pete.
 
Ed Pavelka
Editor, Publisher, Lactate Evader
      
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With the above in mind, here's a long-ride strategy to try:  You can gain significant time during a hilly event if you carefully elevate your pace on climbs to just below your lactate threshold.
 
Keep your breathing deep, steady and in control. Then recover on descents by tucking and coasting at speeds of 28 mph (45 kph) or more.
 
Be very careful because crossing the threshold even a time or 2 can cost you dearly, whether it be on climbs, into a headwind or on the front of a paceline. Before you're panting, power down.
 
Experience is a great teacher. Learning your optimum pace is one of the educational benefits of doing half centuries and metric centuries before riding 100-milers. In a brevet series, with progressive distances of 200, 300, 400 and 600 km (124, 186, 248, 372 miles), riders learn plenty about pacing and the proper effort on climbs.
 
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RBR Poll
 
True tale from Ed:  At the midway rest stop during a century ride at the recent Gainesville Cycling Festival, the line for the porta-potties was long and barely moving. I decided to continue and look for a side road on the rural course. No luck, so I did what I usually do on long rides -- check that no one is around, pull to the edge of the road, stop with one foot unclipped, and water the grass.
 
Being a senior cyclist, sometimes this takes a few extra seconds. Before I could finish, a dozen riders appeared in my rearview mirror. I had my back to them but they knew what I was up to.
 
"I'm going to tell your mother!" yelled a guy as the group rolled past.
 
"How disgusting!" exclaimed a woman.
 
Sorry to offend, lady, but I've seen females do it beside the road, too. So let's get really disgusting with this question:
 
What do you do when you need to urinate during a ride? 

We give you 6 ways to answer at http://www.roadbikerider.com/poll, where you can also find an archive of previous poll results. Please click, vote and come back to finish reading.
 
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