"An eating contest disguised as a bike race."
OK, so Fat Cyclist's friend, Kenny, was referring to Leadville.
But hey. It's true of our little, low altitude, 8 Hours of Labor as well. Actually it's probably true of any long'ish bike race. If you want to do well you better get the food right. If I look back at anything I've ever written about the 8 Hours of Labor, it pretty much centers on food. Even the fastest riders can be laid low by poor food choices. For those of us at bare-survival level, it's crucial.
Having a disorganized mind can make your life interesting. Like every day - a surprise! Of some sort, anyway.
One of my surprises last week was the realization that the 8 Hour is not in September at all this year, but rather in August. August 31st to be exact. Like, in a week.
Kind of a relaxing notion in it's own way. It is certainly way too late now to worry about building distance or speed.
Which really only leaves logistics and food. Popeye is pretty good with the logistics, so that leaves me with just one category to prep - the food. Cake, right?
(Only not cake. I wish.)
The old rule is the best rule. Never try anything for race day that you have never tried before. This goes for equipment too, but especially food.
So, I have a pretty short list.
Stock up : V-8 and green olives. Gatorade and Perpetuum. Gu and Endurolyte capsules. Gallons of water for mixing. Coke (for the end lap).
Make ahead: Sushi rice bars. Sandwiches, in case of a craving for "real food". (Skipping the protein balls - we never used them last year.)
That's about it. Then just show up.
Find a pace you can live with. Keep going til they tell you to stop.
Eat. Drink. Ride. Repeat.
How easy is that?
http://bikeeatsleeprepeat.blogspot.com/search/label/sushi%20rice%20bars
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