Posted by Daniel Schneider
Last week I realized that my big early season goal, a 180 mile gravel march across West-Central Nebraska, was less than 2 months away. I also realized that my longest ride of the year so far, 40ish miles, was not going to cut it for training and I better start putting some miles in the saddle.
Early in Coal Creek Canyon
I started my ride with an intentionally high blood sugar, around 200mg/dl. But that only lasted for the first 45 minutes before falling to a normal range. I had approximately 150g of carbohydrates with me, but knew I’d have to stop and refuel at least once. I rode from Denver to Golden and North to Coal Creek Canyon, a long jaunt from 5500 feet up to 8500, before dropping down to the Peak to Peak Highway and riding South to Golden Gate Canyon and coming back down into Golden. I had my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t get rained on, but the picture above didn’t offer any consolation. As often happens, everything took longer than I remembered it taking. I’ve only done this complete ride a few times before.
I stopped in Wondervu, a small town at the top of CC Canyon and grabbed a some more carbohydrates and a sports drink before continuing on. That part about the ride taking longer than I remembered really set in after Wondervu. It took me far longer to get to the top of Golden Gate than I recalled, and by the time I reached it, I was 85mg/dl and had to eat my last gel as I began the descent. And I was really feeling the distance after a morning of climbing high mountains.
After the descent I was able to get some AWESOME snacks at the Windy Saddle in Golden
I got back into Golden as my blood glucose hit 70mg/dl, cutting it a little close. Thankfully I was able to avoid typical rectangular food by stopping at a coffee shop. After the long descent, the slight downhill ride from Golden to Denver felt wonderful in spite of the heavy rain that had started.
Couldn’t have planned it better.
As far as blood sugars go, I couldn’t have asked for better on a 6 hour ride. I started a bit high, but after 45 minutes of riding, I spent 6 hours between 70 and 110mg/dl. I never had to force down food, but did run a bit low on food before making it back to Golden. Post-ride, I had my typical spike as I refueled on rice, veggies, and cheese, but insulin sensitivity was back by the evening and I went to bed with a full stomach.
I should have built up to this longer distance a bit more slowly. But after all was said and done, I felt pretty good. I looked into some of the past times I’ve ridden this route, and I am not too far off of my past fitness. But, the longest ride I’ve ever done was around 120 miles, so this gravel 180 miler is going to be a mental and physical challenge. I hope to get a few 100+ mile rides in before that, and already have 1 scheduled with the Chicagoland Tour de Cure in June.