All the Planning Information

Let me say a little about food on the ride.

See the map at http://bluedrinks.com/whit_map.jpg

We'll stop for real breakfast and lunch in Panamint Springs and Lone Pine respectively, but that won't be enough calories to keep you going on this ride. However, you are probably not going to feel like eating while you are in the middle of riding. But you should anyway, and that means a couple of things for you to do while training for the next nine weeks. You should try some various foods to find out what you can manage to eat during a long ride.

In addition to the food stops in Panamint Springs and Lone Pine, the support vehicle will have food and drink. Here is what we expect to have, based on what has worked in the past: water, gatorade, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bagels and cream cheese, bananas, apples. I usually recommend eating something at least every hour, and we'll try to plan the support vehicle stops for about once per hour.

If you have particular food that you like, such as Power Bars, you should plan to bring some, in the flavors you like. If there is something that several people want, we can add it to the list, so let me know, but in general, it is easier if you bring your own if you have a particular preference.

Here are some *approximate* numbers

300-600	Calories burned per hour of cycling
4	Hours from start of ride to sleep spot
2	Hours from sleep spot to breakfast
5	Hours from breakfast to lunch
3	Hours from lunch to end of ride
14	Total hours of cycling
4-8000	Total calories burned on ride
200	Calories in a quart of Gatorade
500-600	Calories in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
500-600	Calories in a bagel with cream cheese
100	Calories in a banana
100	Calories in an apple
240	Calories in a Power Bar

I hope this helps you make plans.

Next installment, support vehicle logistics.

Mark Maki adds...

Getting the calories are important, but I've been told that once you get to Panamint Springs all you have to do is "Just have a cup of crank and blast up the hill". How many caffeine induced miles can one expect with a good cup of Panamint Springs crank?

Actually, in all seriousness, I feel that hydration is even more important than eating. For 48 hours before the ride, everyone should be drinking so much that they can't sleep more than 3 hours without taking a leak. And during the ride, take a least a big sip of water every 5 minutes while riding - even if you're not thirsty. If you stop peeing during the bike ride, you'll probably stop riding soon thereafter.

Enough about drinking and peeing. Time for more miles in the saddle. Oh boy, I can't wait. It's so much fun!!!