When I was a nipper, bonking was what we dreamed of. Now, I dread the bonk. I have bonked twice. Once on the bike about three weeks ago. Once during the Mersey Marathon in 1983.
One of the major problems which I anticipate with this Etape thing, is how do I get enough food on-board during the ride?
I'm anticipating 8 or 9 hours in the saddle. How many calories will I be burning per hour? I don't know, but there is no doubt that I will exhaust my liver and muscle glycogen stores. Therefore I will need to eat plenty of energy rich food on the go. My plan is to start experimenting with homemade flapjacks and commercially available cereal bars. I'm worried that these will make me feel nauseous. I've seen those powdery energy things in a bike shop. They look horrendous, but are presumably tried and tested? We'll have to try some.
The other worry is I believe we have a ridiculously early wake-up call in order to be in on the start line in time for the big off. I'm assuming that I'm not going to be able to have my usual cornflakes , toast and three mugs of tea, relaxing over the newspaper. I know I'm not going to feel hungry at 5am, and yet a good breakfast must be one of the most important factors for an endurance event like the Etape. Perhaps I can take some porridge with me and get the hotel to cook it.
One final worry. Will the gastro-colic reflex work at 5am? In my experience it doesn't. I suppose the best plan is to acclimatise myself to early morning training as July gets nearer, and simply get used to climbing on that hard unforgiving saddle at 7am.
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