Apart from that done about 60 Miles this week but my Garmin is not uploading to Strava even though it says it is connected. Annoying as I want to post onto the AA club. Will keep fiddling.
When I started cycling I found I was starving and needed to stop to eat a lot- I remember my first long ride Iād eaten most of my food before I got half way 
A good meal the night before can make a significant difference. If Iām going long would always make sure Iāve enough time to have a bowl of granola sort of thing a couple of hours before set off. After that it depends on the ride. On a typical 60 miler, 600ml bottle of energy drink to get on board first followed by one of isotonic. Sounds counter intuitive but works for me. If going hard a gel every 45 mins, if not 1-2 gels over 3-4 hours. Cafe stop is for pleasure rather than necessity! Hydration is underrated, in a competitive event the mantra is think - drink. If you think drink, take a sip, if you see someone else drinking, take a sip and make sure itās on board from the get go. Water tends to go straight through so something with salts is better and energy if riding over 2hrs. Hydrate right and the likelihood of cramping diminishes hugely. Long ride in the heat itās worth swapping in one or two gels with added salt. ps Iām no nutritionist
BTW great ride Allan, hoping to be able to get a few miles in on Arran before seeing you. So far so good on the comeback so fingers crossed.
Clearly
Try this next time and maybe youāll ride faster
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Cake stop deffo pleasure not nutritionš
Doritos seem to be the food du moment at Sportives, salt and carbs? Massive bowls of them at every stop. Fig rolls suit me well at those feed stops too (and any other time quite frankly).
When I do the longer rides like RideLondon I do the whole thing on a couple of bananas, two small bottles of water max and a couple of gels max and feel OK, so I guess I donāt need that much for my metabolism.
I used to eat regularly on rides and drink energy drinks then I stopped and it seemed to make pretty much fuck all difference except having less stuff to plan and carry. Only having water in water bottles stops them getting manky smelling over time as well which is 
Iāve never bonked though so I probably donāt ride hard enough
I seem to be able to eat whatever I want on a ride and feel ok, which I feel is a skill . A manky carpark van burger on my long ride back from the highlands last year or a meatball pizza for e.g
My ass gives out before I get to that point
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Iāve split many a rim, and occasionally a flange will give out spraying nipples all over the road.
My rim is so worn itās about to split
I sometimes have a mini bonk on the commute home from London 
not sure why, maybe combo of work stress and a couple of rides does the old blood sugar.
Stopping for a snickers usually does the trick.
Only had one proper bonk on a long solo ride across Brittany - came to a complete and utter standstill and couldnāt turn a pedal on the flat, but a gel miraculously got me going within 5 minutes.
I suppose a little gel helps with a bonk.
I have had that before, not a full blown bonk though.
People say they often feel a bit weepy or emotional before bonking
I wish I could get more full blown bonks these days.
Feckinā bicyclingismists and their mangling of good old rude words.
You will love it Dan; a lot of the roads have been resurfaced which is great. The downhill off the String Road is smooth and very fast - I hit 37mph and Iām a shitebag descender these days. The South of the island is very lumpy and there is also a big climb below Goatfell at the North heading to Lochranza.
Good news on the comeback Dan.
I had a similar problem a while back Ben. I ended up having to upload the ride to Garmin connect then export the ride as a gpx file and then upload that to Strava.
With regards hydration and food - like Neil I only drink water now but usually stop for a coffee and cake no matter what. If out with my mate we usually stop for a roll and sausage or a sandwich and coffee to get a wee break.
I always have a couple of gels with me just in case I need them and ususally take a couple of energy bars on a long ride (giggidy).
Yesterday was exceptionally hot and had a fair bit of climbing so I went through six bottles worth of water and a couple of cans of juice unheard of 
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Mate dropped his MTB off today for some TLC.
Tomorrow I will bleed and align brakes, fit new gear cables/outers and flush/regreass the hub bearings if I can get into them. Will also sort the headset, and replace if necessary. Hopefully it just needs a service.
Heās paying for the beer/pool tomorrow night. Result.
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