Do Tour de France riders ever feel like they\’ve been thrown for a loop? Maybe not; but I might feel that way if I rode even one étape.

Riding 100 miles in one day is tough piece of work for me, and Tour de France stages are often longer than that; roughly 225 kilometers. That\’s almost 140 miles!

If I do such a ride, it will be amazing, all right. Every time I finished a 100-mile day, part of me couldn\’t quite believe that I did it!

After spending seven or eight hours pedaling, even if I don\’t do it non-stop, I\’m rather dazed. Fatigue really does get to me after a day-long ride; and I\’m rather spacey at the end. But the feeling of accomplishment is marvelous!

Speaking of spacey, lightheadedness and orthostatic hypotension often set in four or five hours after a Sunday long ride. I\’m not sure why. I don\’t do a Sunday ride the way I do force intervals, after all! If I did, the ride would be quite short.

For that matter, I did force intervals this morning; and several hours later noticed that pesky \”OS\”. If it was a reaction to those hard efforts, it doesn\’t take that much to trigger OS. I didn\’t even get into my maximum heart rate range, let alone stay there!

Maybe I should carry salt tablets with me on those Sunday rides; and take one halfway through. I think I better try taking a salt tablet before a weekday morning ride first; because if salt tablets and riding don\’t mix well, I don\’t want to find out when I\’m 25 miles from home. In addition, taking salt might increase my need for hydration; and if I get dehydrated, I\’ll really be thrown for a loop!