Shake Down ride, confidence shaken

300km brevet on the horizon next weekend, so with Saturday the only break in a rainy weekend, I set off at 7am for a 100 mile ride on my old "hilly hundred" route: 100 miles and 7300 ft of climbing.

I made it to Crockett in 4 hrs, had a light lunch at the very likable Valona market and deli in town. But on the way home, starting at about Inspiration Pt, I really ran out of gas. I could only manage 30 or 45 minutes at a time without an off-the-bike rest. A little worrying, considering next weekend I'd be doing 187 miles. Later that night, I looked back at some of my notes from years past. Turns out I'm not eating enough on my rides! I'm averaging 170 calories per hour, whereas I used to regularly consume 230 or 250/hr on brevets. As my wife reminded me, less-than-sufficient food really doesn't work for me, so I'm optimistic next weekend will work out.