![\"Lotto](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lotto_Soudal_Gel_drawer.jpg\")
<\/a>Aside from cakes and sandwiches, there is also a drawer full of energy gels for the riders to choose from.\nAll aboard the pain train<\/p>\n
I expected the searing legs. The shortness of breath. The general, full-body fatigue. And I would not be disappointed. That pain train was rumbling along the tracks, slowly building momentum. I could feel that presence, and I was prepared to deal with it. It\u2019s a familiar pain, and one that usually arrives on schedule. Before it could, though, an unexpected challenge nearly derailed my race.<\/p>\n
100 mile races are long. That means eating consistently is more important than in, say, a 90 minute XCO event. Eating, usually something I love to do, was nearly my downfall.<\/p>\n
Out of gels? Heinz Ketchup packets can be your new alternative<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n I won\u2019t tempt fate by claiming I have an iron stomach, but I\u2019ve generally been able to rely on my tummy to take any weird foods I throw at it in stride. Other than a few times that KFC took out our entire family growing up (don\u2019t ask why we went back, there\u2019s no good answer), and some, uh, \u201cliquid learning experiences\u201d in college, I\u2019ve generally been able to keep down whatever I\u2019ve put down into my stomach without much complaint.<\/p>\n As the hours wore on, and the gel packs started to fill my jersey pockets, my tummy started to grumble. The first four or so hours were fine. I\u2019d spent that much time on the bike in training and my belly could bear that kind of calorie consumption without caving. After that, though, eating became a massive, and perilous chore.<\/p>\n Organizers had set out wonderful tables with a fantastic spread of snacks, gels, bars and foods. My body wanted none of it. At one point I tried to choke down a brownie, only to bight into it and find it rock-hard. The very kind person who\u2019d baked them and brought them to the race informed me, with a beaming smile, they were 100 per cent vegan. While I have nothing against vegan foods, I couldn\u2019t get this down my gullet. I had to ride out of sight before I could yak it back up into the bushes.<\/p>\n The cyclist\u2019s guide to mid-ride gas station snacks<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n By the end of the race, the only thing I could keep down to keep moving was orange slices and a tiny handful of peanut M&Ms. On the final climb, my stomach was twisting into knots. Any time to tried to breathe in too deeply, which was every gasping breath at that point in the race, it would send off a wave of nausea. The silver lining, if you can call it that, was that I could barely notice the searing in my legs over the griping from my gut. The lack of oxygen from my forced shallow breathing was starting to cause cramps, though.<\/p>\n I rolled into the last aid station and, at the suggestion of the amazing volunteers there, downed a restorative shot of pickle juice. This calmed the legs a little and, while I still wasn\u2019t feeling amazing, I continued on.\u00a0After traveling all the way to Oregon just for this race, there was no way I wasn\u2019t going to finish. I also had no idea how to get out of the woods if I had decided to pull out, so following the course markings seemed the easiest way to ease the suffering.<\/p>\n<\/a>Even the pros love M&Ms
\nA gutsy effort<\/p>\n