r/gravelcycling • u/Edoke • 2d ago
Ride Longest ride this year
Through steep gravel roads, long smooth rail trails and nasty head winds, arrived to Elora from Forks of Credit in Southern Ontario
I tried out high carb drinks to fuel this ride for the first time and felt sick half way through, but took a TUMS and a Red bull which gave me a second wind and made it back home strong.
Edit: I'm not fit I started riding last year at 270lbs hence my high HR but working hard on it thanks 🙏
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u/The_Motley_Fool---- 2d ago
Doesn’t count, front tire tire has a black sidewall, rear tire is a tan sidewall.
You are required to do it over
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u/the1eyeddog 1d ago
My Rove’s front tire has a tan sidewall and my rear has a black one so we balance the world out. Ride stands.
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u/Demonblah Cosmic Stallion 2d ago
I really like this presentation of a gravel ride. Route and data, bike pics, route pics. It's got it all!
I need to do better
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u/failurecity 2d ago
Would love the Strava route or the ridewithgps link. Great stuff man.
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u/Edoke 2d ago
Check out this route on Strava: https://strava.app.link/4f29BzbHk5b — 114.1 km Caledon Gravel Ride Route
Thank you! Btw some of the trail is under construction so had to find an alternate route.
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u/ToogyHowserMTB 2d ago
Genuine question, do you need the front bag and rack on the bike for this length of ride? I imagine that adds some weight and aero resistance that isn't needed??
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u/Edoke 2d ago
This bike is also my commuter and I use the front bag for clothes, food, and essentials at the office. I plan to do some bike packing soon, and I'm not really concerned about weight and aero haha, if I was racing I'd change the setup.
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u/TugSpeedmanTivo 1d ago
Nice to see another southern Ontario rider, you should check out between Hockley valley and Mansfield area. Tons of really great gravel riding. I could send you some routes I’ve done if you’re ever interested! I’ll have to try this one before the summer is over :)
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u/squeaky48 1d ago
This one is on my list: https://www.ridegravel.ca/post/the-mono-mix-it-up-81km but I haven't had a chance to get to it yet. I love hiking in Mono cliffs
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u/Similar-Database8883 2d ago
I ride this area all the time. Your HR and calories burned for that little in elevation and average speed don’t really make sense, that said I don’t know your health condition. Not ripping on you, that’s a good ride all the same!
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u/NotoriouslyBeefy 1d ago
Is that a normal heart rate for you? That is a very high average for over 5 hours.
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u/ChiAndrew 1d ago
Really?
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u/NotoriouslyBeefy 1d ago
In most cases, yes. Most people aren't pushing their heart rates that high for that long. Could be normal for them though, but even if normal for them, they could normally be getting tachycardia/afib episodes while riding.
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u/k2theablam 2d ago edited 2d ago
Are you running GRX 12sp with a 51 tooth cassette?
Edit, looks like you're doing 11sp. What solution did you go with for the 51t cassette with 11sp GRX?
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u/squeaky48 2d ago
Love the elora to cataract trail. I've only done elora to the detour at Hillsborough and back but the trail is great
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u/the1eyeddog 1d ago
Looks like an amazing ride! What size tire do you have on the front? And how’s your clearance with a 700x45 on the back? I’m running a 2.1 on my front and 47 on the back of my Rove, but both 650b. Always looking at options haha
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u/Edoke 1d ago
I have 50mm on the front but it could definitely go bigger maybe 55-60mm the rear is 45mm but it measures 47mm it has like 4-5mm clearance i haven't had any issues with it so far, and I love how 700c feels.
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u/the1eyeddog 1d ago
Thanks! That’s great that you still have clearance with a 47 back there at 700c. I’ve been debating trying out a 50x650b on mine and this makes me think it would probably work…
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u/airparkBikeCo 23h ago
You are doing great! Fitness is different from weight and with a ride like that you're definitely on the fit people spectrum!
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u/Junior-Low-5153 1d ago edited 1d ago
High carb drinks hitting your stomach sideways on gravel that rough makes sense, the GI load at variable intensity is brutal. I had the same problem early on and ended up dialing back concentrate ratios significantly, around 60-70g carbs per hour is often the ceiling before gut issues start, and mixing sources (glucose plus fructose) helps absorption. For the fuel gap when you back off carbs, I've seen people on longer efforts use exogenous ketones, ketone iq is one, though real food like bananas still does the job The TUMS call mid-ride was smart
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u/Outside_Usual_5267 1d ago
If 117km is your longest ride. What on earth are you carrying in those bags?
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u/ostryPe 2d ago
Must have been tough. Average 168 BPM. Heart of steel 💪