Cycling Training: Riding Inside versus Outside, Part 4

Here’s the next part of the riding inside versus outside series.  The series started here.

Inside: It’s easy to eat and drink.  I’ve covered the importance of eating and drinking while riding before, noting that it’s especially important to eat and drink properly when doing an endurance event.  Inside, this is no problem.  The food and drink sit right next to the bike – on a stand at hand level.

Outside: It’s a nightmare.  First of all, you’re breathing a lot harder since riding outside is a lot tougher.  Do you know how hard it is to eat while you’re gasping for breath?  It’s pretty hard.  Try it.  I almost chocked myself as I ate the other day – accidentally sucking some food down my windpipe.

Then there’s drinking.  You have to be coordinated enough to reach down where your bottles are (near your pedals), pull the bottle out of the holder, open it, drink (again while gasping for breath), close it, and put it back in the holder without wiping out.  For someone as uncoordinated as I am, it’s a pretty difficult set of maneuvers.

Now to Part 5.