Trans 1Malaysia: The Electrifying

I was electrifying again to be part of cycling tours organized by UTM's students. This year we will traversing from the bottom of Malaya to the northernmost part of Malaya this February.

The Trans 1 Malaysia 2012 is a continuity from Trans-Johor 2008 (Kayuhan Amal Anak Merdeka Jelajah Johor) and Trans-Selatan 2009 (Kayuhan Amal Anak Merdeka Jelajah Selatan) programs. This cycling event will be held from 5 February 2012 until 17 February 2012. Trans 1 Malaysia 2012 will start from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai and end at Kuala Perlis, Perlis. For the first time ever, the organizer will be opening the participation to non-UTM riders. Do grab this chance as this will be the worthwhile journey.

Again, my gf & I will be playing our unofficial role as a pacemaker in this tour. The volunteerism attitude inside both of us encourage us to decide we must ride stronger than others in helping the organizer achieve their daily distance within stipulated time given.

Our preparation for this year tour, is not started yet till today. We just did our cardio workout without a bike. We realize we need to start the crank rotating.

Perhaps, this year Trans 1 Malaysia tour, will attract more cyclist from other universities in enhancing the cycling culture among Malaysian.

Trans-Selatan 2010: Nutrition for Bike Touring

The lowest aspect that is always not taking into consideration by Malaysian when attempting an endurance event is nutrition aspect. Nutrition aspect is one of the key that every Malaysian know the basic or the rule of thumb of it. It is all about your own body and the 'fuel' to take and transform to energy. Here I shared some of basic tips for bike touring and for all the Trans Selatan 2010 riders reading & gaining a knowledge.

The following basic nutrition plan for the competitive athlete is based on the nutritional concepts discussed elsewhere. To review, these physiologic principles include:

• high carbohydrate training diet is a must to maximize muscle glycogen stores
• slight increase in daily protein requirements, but replacement needs can be met with 1 gram protein/kg body wt/day
• Caloric expenditures need to be consciously replaced to counteract the appetite suppression that follows from long hours of training
• 3 day carbohydrate loading program gives an edge to muscle glycogen storage
• 4 hour pre event meal should be utilized to top off glycogen stores
• some riders experience intestinal distress or symptoms of hypoglycemia if they eat in the 2 to 4 hours immediately before an event
• Calories must be taken during an event of greater than 2 hours duration - solid foods may offer some advantages in longer events which are done at slower paces minimizing the issue of delayed gastric emptying
• be particularly sensitive to fluid balance (loss vs replacement) as the risks of OVERHYDRATION increase with longer events. Don't forget to weigh yourself regularly during training as well as the event
• salt replacement beyond a normal diet (ie commercially available sports drinks) is important only under extreme conditions or in events lasting 8 to 10 hours or more

Baseline Training Diet

The weeks and days before the event determine your daily caloric needs as outlined in the section on energy requirements of cycling.
calculate your body weight (BW) in kg (Wt in lbs x .455 = BW in kg)
eat a baseline daily diet of:

• protein - 1.5 gm x BW in kg (multiply x 4 to get daily protein Calories)
• fat - 70 gm fat (the avg. American diet); at 9 Cal/gm = 630 Calories
• carbohydrates - the balance of your total daily Calories (total requirements as calculated above minus protein Calories minus fat Calories)as starches, etc.

Later modify that diet for the specific periods noted below:

• Pre-event interval (4 days to the event)
• During the event
• Post event

Pre Event
(4 days to the event) 4 days prior to the event

• 9 gm carbohydrate/kg BW/day (approx. 600 grams/day)
• limit exercise to minimum needed to maintain flexibility

4 hours prior to the event

• eat a 300 gm complex carbohydrate meal (rice, starch, pancakes, etc.)
• a high Caloric density glucose polymer sports drink may be ideal here

**Define your own physiologic limits if you are accustomed to eating in the 4 hours interval before a ride - many riders get a psychological boost from eating a low fat meal or a liquid carbohydrate drink/gel during this interval (and as a bonus can supplement their internal glycogen stores for a ride of more than 1 to 2 hours).

20 minutes prior to the event

• 45 gm carbohydrate (candy bar for example)

During Event

regular carbohydrate replacement - start immediately

• 60 gram of carbohydrate as a minimum per hour
• liquid preferred (i.e. sports drink)
• 10% concentration optimal (equivalent to a cola drink)
• start with half a water bottle (300 ml) in your stomach
• complex carbohydrate drinks permit additional calories
• liquids
• 800 ml/hour (standard water bottle = 590 ml)
• drink at 10 - 15 min. intervals

Post Event

• 3 to 6 gm carbohydrate/ kg BW over the immediate 4 hours post event (100 grams per hour) - start immediately
• a high caloric density glucose polymer sports drink may be ideal here
• protein appears to expedite glycogen replacement
• 600 gm carb/day for 2 days to optimize repletion of muscle/liver glycogen.

As a bottom line, I encourage all the riders try to follow the right technique in consuming your nutrition and stay fresh until you jump off the bike and cheers each others every end of the stages.

Trans-Selatan 2010: Bonk!

Do you ever feel this situation?
"Oh, why they're paddling so fast?"
"What's wrong with my bike? Feel like carrying someone at the back?"
"Why I can follow these guys? The speed is still the same like before.."

If you had faced these situation, you are already in BIG TROUBLE and the trouble called "BONK".

What is Bonk?
In endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that glycogen levels are high when the exercise begins, maintaining glycogen levels during exercise by eating or drinking carbohydrate-rich substances, or by reducing exercise intensity.

How it's Work?
Athletes engaged in exercise over a long period of time produce energy via two mechanisms, both facilitated by oxygen:

• via fat metabolism and
• via breakdown of glycogen into glucose, followed by glycolysis.

How much energy comes from either source depends on the intensity of the exercise. During intense exercise that approaches one's VO2 max, most of the energy comes from glycogen.

A typical untrained individual on an average diet is able to store about 380 grams of glycogen, or 1500 kcal, in the body, though much of that amount is spread throughout the muscular system and may not be available for any specific type of exercise. Intense cycling or running can easily consume 600-800 or more kcal per hour. Unless glycogen stores are replenished during exercise, glycogen stores in such an individual will be depleted after less than 2 hours of continuous cycling or 22-24 km of running. Training and carbohydrate loading can raise these reserves as high as 880 g (3600 kcal), correspondingly raising the potential for uninterrupted exercise.

What is the Effect?
Such fatigue can become seriously debilitating; in cycling, exhaustion can reach the point where the cyclist is unable to stand without the support provided by the bicycle. Symptoms of depletion include general weakness, fatigue, and manifestations of hypoglycemia, such as dizziness and even hallucinations. This dangerous condition will not be relieved by brief periods of rest.

How to Avoid Bonk?
There are several approaches to prevent glycogen depletion:

• Carbohydrate loading is used to ensure that the initial glycogen levels are maximized, thus prolonging the exercise. This technique amounts to increasing complex carbohydrate intake during the last few days before the event.
• Consuming food or drinks containing carbohydrates during the exercise. This is an absolute must for very long distances; it is estimated that Tour de France competitors receive up to 50% of their daily caloric intake from on-the-bike supplements.
• Lowering the intensity of the exercise to the so-called 'fat loss' level (heart rate of 130 bpm for a 30-year-old athlete) will lower both the energy requirements per unit of distance and the fraction of the energy that comes from glycogen.

The Training
"Bonk training" is an exercise program designed for weight loss. It suggests the following strategy on an empty stomach the first thing in the morning, when glycogen store levels are low: consume coffee or caffeine equivalent to 2 or 3 cups of coffee, run or cycle at a casual pace (60% of max heart rate) for 20–90 minutes, have a normal breakfast right after exercising. Proponents claim this will force the body to "bonk" shortly into the exercise, and subsequently burn more fat to generate the energy. It is not clear how medically sound this idea is; exerting too much energy and "bonking hard," or experiencing severe hypoglycemia, can be dangerous.

So, get prepare your nutrition precisely to avoid this situation happen to you, especially in the tour like Trans Selatan. You need to be fresh each morning and why not you can put an extra effort in nutritional aspect to staying fresh until the convoy reach the end point every day.

Trans-Selatan 2010: The Ice was Breaked!

Wow..I was surprised when I was told that there were still had a room for me (and Jiha actually) to ride for Tans-Selatan 2010 cycling expedition. Last Saturday for the first time we joined other Trans-Selatan 2010 members training. Another milestone achieve by them after our ride from UTM-Pendas-UTM, it was over 70km, and first time rode by most of them in the morning.

Trans-Selatan 2010 is the continunity of the previous program named Trans-Johor in 2008. This cycling expedition organized by Kolej Perdana UTM, Office of Students Affairs UTM and collaboration with four state goverments (Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor).

"Program Trans-Selatan’10 adalah program kayuhan amal anak merdeka 1 malaysia jelajah selatan yang dilakukan untuk mengumpul dana yang akan disumbangkan kepada Palestin melalui kerjasama Viva Palestin Malaysia (VPM) disamping mendokong kempen Sustainable Campus oleh Naib Canselor UTM, Prof. Dato’ Ir. Dr. Zaini Bin Ujang. Progam ini dapat mendedahkan mahasiswa kepada cabaran dan aktiviti lasak selaras bagi memantapkan mahasiswa menghadapi cabaran berkerjaya. Program ini dijalankan selama 10 hari dan dirancang, dianjur serta dilaksana sepenuhnya oleh para pelajar UTM dengan kerjasama Pejabat Hal Ehwal Pelajar, UTM. Proses pengurusan ini akan mampu mengukuhkan kemahiran generik dengan pengalaman yang diperoleh untuk memantapkan kualiti dan nilai kepemimpinan serta kerjasama sebagai suatu persediaan sebelum melangkah ke bidang pekerjaan."

The are four stages will be held in this expedition:
Day 1 (19 Dec): UTM KL to Port Dickson
Day 2 (20 Dec): Port Dickson to Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
Day 3 (21 Dec): Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka to Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Batu Pahat
Day 4 (22 Dec): Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Batu Pahat to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Skudai

As the bottom line, I was fire-up to make another adventure for this year on the two wheels human powered machine called bicycle!

more info:
http://utmtrans-selatan10.weebly.com/
http://utmtrans-selatan10.blogspot.com/