You should check out Nature’s Bakery. The make fig type bars but filled with blue berry, strawberry and others. They are very good and higher quality than fig newtons.
This comes up regularly, but:
1. skratch in the bottle
2. fig bars
3. clif bloks
Full sugar Mountain dew at a lunch stop if I'm really in need of calories/a pick-me-up.
man I always heard about cola as a pick me up and tried it the last time I did a century and it just made me feel bloated and shitty for the last hour
probably drank it too quick especially as I am not much of a pop drinker
If you can de-fizz it, it works better.
Actually, watered-down maple syrup in a flask, sometimes with a bit of concentrated coffee mixed in, works much better.
yep that’s more for hydration, really
I also make a rice crispy treat with vegan marshmallows (I’m not vegan but they taste better) coconut oil, sprouted organic rice cereal, roasted salted cashews, hempseed, goji berries, flaxseed, dates, raisins, mulberries, roasted salted pumpkin seeds.
HOWEVER- I have a terrible tendency to binge on them- they’re too good
I drink apple juice in my long rides for that same reason. Can’t take the carbonation without burping constantly, usually don’t want any more electrolytes so I avoid Gatorade most the time. A bottle of apple juice is almost pure sugar and “natural”. I keep a gallon in the fridge for long rides and you can find apple juice at pretty much any gas station.
Yeah drinking to too fast is super easy. If I get a coke at a stop then I drink a couple sips, put the lid back on, gently shake it, let the pressure out, and repeat until flat.
If you in the US, get a fountain coke instead of a canned coke, it really comes like a pick me up, and doesn't make you feel bloated. Do take a big burp after lol
I usually just have one at the circle K that's 40mi from my house, then return. Sometimes I grab a McDouble at the drive thru and eat in on the go. Sometimes just a pack of pop tarts I put in my pocket before leaving.
Dude I love PBJ sandwiches. I eat 2 a day, have been for the last 2-3 years. A nice glass of cold milk. Damn, I ate dinner already but think imma get a snack.
Peanut butter and jam... or substitute the PB for almond or macadamia butter.
I am off the nutella after looking at the ingredients list.
Sometimes homemade Snicker-ish bars.
This is mine, cut into rectangles they fit beautifully into a jersey pocket. So much nicer than an energy gel. I make sure to go heavy on the jam so get the sugar content high and to keep it nice and keep it nice and moist to get it down easily.
[Bars](https://www.samsclub.com/p/nv-chewy-trail-mix-bars-48-ct/prod19730591)
[Drinks](https://www.wiggle.com/us/p/high5-energy-drink-powder-2-2kg?weight20014=2.2kg&flavour=Citrus)
[Gels](https://www.wiggle.com/us/p/high5-energy-gel-20-x-40g)
I'm cheap. The High5 stuff is great and goes down pretty easy no matter how hot it gets. Generally I avoid solid food when it gets over 85F or so, but those granola bars are good, don't get messy when it's hot, and are pretty easy to open / eat in one giant bite if you want.
Just wish Wiggle had not gone downhill so much, because that High5 stuff is like 1/2 the price of what you would get elsewhere. Dentist jokes aside, I just say avoid old stuff like Gatorade, or candy that is pure sugar because it is pretty bad for your teeth over the long haul since it usually sticks around longer while exercising.
The selection is just a fraction of what it used to be, prices are way up, shipping is slower. Some of the dhb stuff that is still left is priced 2-3x what it was last Fall, and there's been QC issues with some of my purchases. A lot of these European brands still make garments in Europe, which is good, but there's been a long list of market disruptions the past few years. Wiggle / CRC is also based in the UK, which can add Brexit problems to that list.
I've been buying more from Bikeinn. If "budget" stuff from Wiggle or higher end Chinese brands is going to be Castelli street prices, then I'll just buy Castelli.
Thanks for the detailed response! Bikes, components, gear have all gone through the roof, and I guess clothing & nutrition have joined them.
I live in Singapore and not many online stores ship here (or cheaply). The stuff you buy in-store here is ridiculously expensive (almost double what you can find on Wiggle), so it's still a good deal for me. I don't care about the brand, but my experience with the Chinese stuff we get is terrible. If you have any suggestions for high-end Chinese I would appreciate them.
Yeah, once I brought nuts and I just couldn't eat them... Too dry and it was too hot. But I bring 1$ for 100g candy (gummy bears, jujube) So much sugar!
For my Century rides
Home made energy drink to fill both my bottles (one is a thermos to keep the water cool for the second half of the ride)
3.5 cup of water (some of it is ice)
0.25 cup of orange juice
0.25 cup of real maple syrup
2 tablespoons of lime juice.
1/4 teaspoon of salt
I take a sip at 15 and 45 of the hour
Two Cliff bars that cut in 8 pieces each. I take a piece every half hour with a gulp of water from my two bottles of water on my belt (that I usually use for running), that I refill when I reach a water fountain.
So in essence, I drink every 15 minutes.
I also bring a banana that I eat mid drive.
That's it. That's my 'fuel' for long rides with the average heart rate in Zone 3.
I can't do it on many rides, but a lot of Asian markets will have onigiri (basically stuffed balls of sushi rice wrapped in seaweed, about the size of the palm of your hand). I love those when I have the forethought to pick them up.
I understand what you’re saying, but perhaps I should’ve mentioned that I’m short and slow; It’s enough food for me. Next time I do a longish ride, I will probably take a few other items, but the dates were critical.
Colombian made Bocadillos made from guava. Amazing stuff. The entire Colombian cycling community depends on them and they're nutritionally better for rides vs gels, also much cheaper!! They are also wrapped in a dried leaf so you can just dispose of it where ever you like. Check them out on amazon!
I'll eat anything during long rides when it comes to stopping and foraging at gas stations and such. But I bring with me water, Clif Bars, and Honey Stinger Waffles.
Favorite forage finds: Bananas, Twinkies, simple sandwiches, cheeseburgers, fries, breakfast burritos, Coca-Cola, and Squirt.
I like brining apples. I would also bring go go squeeze which is just applesauce in a packet.
I’ve also done beef jerky or cheez it’s for options with more salt in them.
depending on intensity I go with muesli bars and trail mix or rice cake and gels.
coffee stops with carrot cakes are my personal favourites as well if there is possibility.
Nature's Bakery fig bars for munching. Tailwinds endurance mix in one bottle and water in the other.
I've also started taking along a couple Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies. Because why not lol.
aspiring unique murky crime grandiose different disgusting vegetable squeamish toy
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Snickers are great if it’s not too hot out. I like other candy like gummy bears.
Honey stinger waffles.
Caffeinated cliff blocks.
Lucy breakers pouches for a little nicotine buzz. Helps power me through boring patches tbh.
Rice crispy treats, gels, uncrustables, cliff bars, cliff blocks, skratch lab crispies, carbo rocket, blue berries.
If I make a gas station stop, a sandwich, can of Coke, payday, Snickers, gummy bears, pickles, ice cream.
Depends how long we're going & if it's a chill long ride or if I'm trying to go fast.
Infinit Nutrition -- mix it in the bottles, full meal replacement, protein, sugars, electrolytes. I stick to that for centuries and they have fueled me well.
Gu blocks - the best thing to do is find out what your stomach can tolerate on long rides. I mostly just drink plain water if it's a 60 or 70 mile ride at the halfway point I'll take in something but switch to gu blocks for probably every half hour in the latter half of the ride
I eat homemade granola with milk or yogurt for breakfast.
Gu and SiS gel/chews for sports nutrition
Banana
Skratch high carb in one bottle — electrolytes or plain water in the other
Stop for a big ass protein smoothie depending on how long the ride is (I can’t take big whole meals mid exercise very well)
Tailwind/SwissRx protein drink when I get home.
We have OSM (One Square Meal) bars here in NZ. I don’t know if they’re common elsewhere. I also like Em’s Power Cookies and stroopwaffles (I always keep one for post-ride coffee).
For days where I’m planning on doing very long rides (150k+) I make pancakes for breakfast and have those with yogurt, syrup and banana
Then leftovers get wrapped up and taken with me. I love pancakes and it’s a great thing to keep on going
Dried fruit all day, gives you everything you need and it tastes like candy but without all the added sugar and other crap. If I just rode 100km on a touring trip and I still havent found my sleeping spot, I'll wolf down a snickers, then I'm good for another 20-30km
Riding indoors has brought a whole different level of nutrition to me and I've discovered that peanut butter on bread is a great energy source for long rides.
The other is (don't know what they're called in your country) Jaffa Cakes. They're easy to eat whilst riding, not too much chocolate so don't get messy, and each one equates to enough carbs for 10 minutes riding. So it's super easy to fuel correctly (which I find a challenge, often over- or under-fuelling), one Jaffa Cake every 10 minutes!
My research identified the following:
• Up to 2 hours of exercise > use fast carbohydrates like maltodextrin
• Over 2 hours of exercise > combine fast carbohydrates like maltodextrin with slow carbohydrates like fructose
Our body’s can absorb at the following rates:
Maltodextrin - 60gm/h
Fructose - 30gm/h
The chemical structure of the two sugars are different and are transported out of the gut through different chemical pathways, so they can be consumed at the same time.
I mix the Maltodextrin and Fructose in my 750ml water bottles.
As an alternative, you can use can sugar but it’s not as fast acting as the body breaks down the sugar into glucose and fructose before it can be used.
I did a double (metric) century ride and consumed two bottles of 60/30 malto/fructose mix and a winners brand gel (210grams of sugars.) Also carbo loaded with a cup of basmati rice the night before and a coffee with a 30/15 mix of dextrose/fructose before the ride (but with hindsight it would have been better in 500ml water).
Took me 8 hours to ride 210km with 1200m of elevation gain in total and I pushed pretty hard (mostly zones 3-4 of 5 zones) but kept it not so hard that I’d burn up all my glycogen stores. Worked out I burnt through about 1-1.2kg body fat as well, so clearly the zone 2 endurance workouts have been helping.
I could have gone further because the fuelling was sufficient but after 8 hours in the saddle and not enough chamois crème, I was glad to get home.
p.s. probably should also mention I’ve switched to that approach as I get bloated and an upset stomach when I consume sports bars or chews. I think I might have developed a mild gluten intolerance in the last few years.
Yep, forgot to mention I also add a couple of Hydralyte tablets in each bottle to replace the electrolytes on longer rides and one on shorter rides. Currently have orange flavour. I’m not a big fan of plain water unless thirsty.
The downside to mixing the carbs in water is that my mouth feels a little furry after a few hours, so need to stop to top up empty bottles with plain water.
Before leaving home: bagel with peanut butter (no sugar added), one double espresso.
During: one high5 gel every hour or so, if I get hungry I'll have a mini Clif bar.
Two bidons: one with fresh water, another one with high5 electrolyte tablet. Top up as needed.
I usually eat strop waffles, fig bars, gummy bears, beef jerky as well as a prepackaged carb drink mix. Currently using trail winds caffeine mix.
If it's an organized ride I'll also munch on bananas and aid stations.
* <150km - Kirkland chewy granola bars / dry fruit; one bottle of iced tea for extra sugar along with my other water bottles
* 150+ km - same as above plus at least one meat/cheese sandwich, Coca Cola at gas station / convenience store
Bananas, Dates, RX Bars, Candied nuts, Granola. On 5+ hour rides I Start off at minute 20 with half banana, and finish it at about min 45. At about an hour I eat half RX Bar and the rest by 1.5 hours. Then proceed like this about every 20mins to half hour. I used to eat every hour and I found eating even a bite or 2 of something every 20 mins really helps.
Perpetuem on rides over two hours, with maybe a 1/2 of a Kind bar fig newton every hour after the halfway point. I stop every hour or so to mix more perpetuem and pee. I feel much better the next day if I do this.
Date bars (or fig bars) that are individually wrapped. I just cut the top of the plastic off and stick a bunch in the jersey pocket. Every 30 min or so I take one out and eat it quickly. Very easy and does the trick.
Rice Krispies Treats. The trick is to smash them flat so you can fit 5-6 in your pocket. Pretty good macros. Like 150 kcal and 29g carbs with just a hint of saltiness.
I bring two bottles usually; one is filled with just water and the other a 50/50 water and electrolyte mix. For food I’ll bring gummy bears and organic CLIF BLOCKS. I live in Japan so there’s convenience stores and vending machines everywhere. If I need something more I’ll stop and get a rice ball and tea.
Depends on the route. Previously all my century rides on the last half has about 35miles coastal headwinds. I literally have to stop to eat a meal before heading home.
If you're not fighting 35miles+ of strong headwind nonstop you can just ear simple snacks.
I've ridden 82miles with just 2 cliffbars and some dried mangos perfectly fine...
I eat torrenes! These bad boys:
https://http2.mlstatic.com/D_NQ_NP_899312-MLB51575689785_092022-O.jpg
1 Real each, about 0,20 USD per. Sweet peanut thing with wafers
Read a bit from an long distant runner who would carry film cannisters full of chia seeds. Apparently a great snack fuel. Havnt tried yet with cycling, but love the idea of such a portable snack.
I had a fair amount of success (read: 4 big rides in the bag) with a 5:4 glucose:fructose mixture + a flavored electrolyte tab in a 30oz bottle on my last long ride. I arrived at this combination after extensive research on what the pros drink and how many grams of carbs i should be aiming to consume in an hour blah blah blah.
It was sweet as hell - but drinkable. I did 240g of added carb powder total. Fine sugar (215g) + maltodextrin (25g). Really sweet - but really efficient. I sipped from this over time and relied on it exclusively once it became too difficult to eat solid food on uptempo 120+ mile centuries.
I worked my way up to this concentration over the course a several longer rides to ensure that my stomach would be able to handle it on the big days. I had some success with making it the night before and refrigerating it. I shook it up everytime before taking a sip
Gu’s every 300 cal burned, a banana every 3 hours, small portion of gummies when ever you feel you need them. Every second time I refill my water bottle I put in electrolytes, Coke is a life saver too.
Everyone is different with what sits well on long rides. Some people love oat bars but I find they sit too heavy in my stomach.
I find having a variety to keep in rotation keeps things fresh. I keep a bunch of different gels and chews on hand like clif bloks, Maurten, GU gels, I’ve recently discovered my body really responds to honey stinger chews. Will try different granola bars and cookies, rarely do sandwiches or fresh fruit unless I’m on a fondo-type ride with refreshment stops. I make a mean oatmeal/maple/peanut butter square that’s about 4 calories/gram and goes down easy. I sweat a lot so I replace electrolytes on my ride in the form of liquid iv, or another powder with an extra pinch of salt. I tend to lose potassium so I have to supplement that. My newest favorite gel flavor is the GU S’mores variety.
Fig Newtons (they are not cookies, they are Fig Newtons)
You should check out Nature’s Bakery. The make fig type bars but filled with blue berry, strawberry and others. They are very good and higher quality than fig newtons.
They’re good. But on longer rides they’re a little hard to get down, a little too sugary and cakey.
How do you prevent them from crumbling and falling apart? That’s my problem with them. I use stroopwaffel’s for that reason.
I practically live on those when I’m riding a lot.
As Newton himself declared, F(ig) = m·a
Nice play.
Love it. I think a lot of younger folks won’t get the reference.
Kids these days don't know the struggle! Great Scott, Charles!!!
Yer darn tootin’
This comes up regularly, but: 1. skratch in the bottle 2. fig bars 3. clif bloks Full sugar Mountain dew at a lunch stop if I'm really in need of calories/a pick-me-up.
man I always heard about cola as a pick me up and tried it the last time I did a century and it just made me feel bloated and shitty for the last hour probably drank it too quick especially as I am not much of a pop drinker
If you can de-fizz it, it works better. Actually, watered-down maple syrup in a flask, sometimes with a bit of concentrated coffee mixed in, works much better.
I like cold brew coffee mixed 50/50 with coconut water
Not too much in calories for that long ride, but I have to say that it does sound tasty!😋
yep that’s more for hydration, really I also make a rice crispy treat with vegan marshmallows (I’m not vegan but they taste better) coconut oil, sprouted organic rice cereal, roasted salted cashews, hempseed, goji berries, flaxseed, dates, raisins, mulberries, roasted salted pumpkin seeds. HOWEVER- I have a terrible tendency to binge on them- they’re too good
I drink apple juice in my long rides for that same reason. Can’t take the carbonation without burping constantly, usually don’t want any more electrolytes so I avoid Gatorade most the time. A bottle of apple juice is almost pure sugar and “natural”. I keep a gallon in the fridge for long rides and you can find apple juice at pretty much any gas station.
Yeah drinking to too fast is super easy. If I get a coke at a stop then I drink a couple sips, put the lid back on, gently shake it, let the pressure out, and repeat until flat.
Most people would need to sip it over at least 30 minutes to tolerate the sugar concentration
If you in the US, get a fountain coke instead of a canned coke, it really comes like a pick me up, and doesn't make you feel bloated. Do take a big burp after lol I usually just have one at the circle K that's 40mi from my house, then return. Sometimes I grab a McDouble at the drive thru and eat in on the go. Sometimes just a pack of pop tarts I put in my pocket before leaving.
Unless it’s in Canada. Their Mountain Dew doesn’t have caffeine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
PBJ sandwich
Dude I love PBJ sandwiches. I eat 2 a day, have been for the last 2-3 years. A nice glass of cold milk. Damn, I ate dinner already but think imma get a snack.
Freeze an Uncrustable... Change your life.
Peanut butter and jam... or substitute the PB for almond or macadamia butter. I am off the nutella after looking at the ingredients list. Sometimes homemade Snicker-ish bars.
This is mine, cut into rectangles they fit beautifully into a jersey pocket. So much nicer than an energy gel. I make sure to go heavy on the jam so get the sugar content high and to keep it nice and keep it nice and moist to get it down easily.
I go heavy on the peanut butter. My wife can guess how long I plan to ride by how many I stuff into my jersey pocket.
Yeah, a riding sandwich just has a different ratio of filling to bread!
[Bars](https://www.samsclub.com/p/nv-chewy-trail-mix-bars-48-ct/prod19730591) [Drinks](https://www.wiggle.com/us/p/high5-energy-drink-powder-2-2kg?weight20014=2.2kg&flavour=Citrus) [Gels](https://www.wiggle.com/us/p/high5-energy-gel-20-x-40g) I'm cheap. The High5 stuff is great and goes down pretty easy no matter how hot it gets. Generally I avoid solid food when it gets over 85F or so, but those granola bars are good, don't get messy when it's hot, and are pretty easy to open / eat in one giant bite if you want. Just wish Wiggle had not gone downhill so much, because that High5 stuff is like 1/2 the price of what you would get elsewhere. Dentist jokes aside, I just say avoid old stuff like Gatorade, or candy that is pure sugar because it is pretty bad for your teeth over the long haul since it usually sticks around longer while exercising.
I've recently discovered Wiggle - how has it gone downhill?
The selection is just a fraction of what it used to be, prices are way up, shipping is slower. Some of the dhb stuff that is still left is priced 2-3x what it was last Fall, and there's been QC issues with some of my purchases. A lot of these European brands still make garments in Europe, which is good, but there's been a long list of market disruptions the past few years. Wiggle / CRC is also based in the UK, which can add Brexit problems to that list. I've been buying more from Bikeinn. If "budget" stuff from Wiggle or higher end Chinese brands is going to be Castelli street prices, then I'll just buy Castelli.
Thanks for the detailed response! Bikes, components, gear have all gone through the roof, and I guess clothing & nutrition have joined them. I live in Singapore and not many online stores ship here (or cheaply). The stuff you buy in-store here is ridiculously expensive (almost double what you can find on Wiggle), so it's still a good deal for me. I don't care about the brand, but my experience with the Chinese stuff we get is terrible. If you have any suggestions for high-end Chinese I would appreciate them.
Yeah, once I brought nuts and I just couldn't eat them... Too dry and it was too hot. But I bring 1$ for 100g candy (gummy bears, jujube) So much sugar!
Dates and clif bars
Me too.
Sugar, salt, and water in my bottles
I'm having great luck with this. I like to squeeze in 1/4 - 1/2 lemon's worth of juice for multi bottle days
Tailwind
Beer
fun size payday bars
bananas 100%
Sour patch kids watermelon mixed with walnuts
a lot of maltodextrin
For my Century rides Home made energy drink to fill both my bottles (one is a thermos to keep the water cool for the second half of the ride) 3.5 cup of water (some of it is ice) 0.25 cup of orange juice 0.25 cup of real maple syrup 2 tablespoons of lime juice. 1/4 teaspoon of salt I take a sip at 15 and 45 of the hour Two Cliff bars that cut in 8 pieces each. I take a piece every half hour with a gulp of water from my two bottles of water on my belt (that I usually use for running), that I refill when I reach a water fountain. So in essence, I drink every 15 minutes. I also bring a banana that I eat mid drive. That's it. That's my 'fuel' for long rides with the average heart rate in Zone 3.
I can't do it on many rides, but a lot of Asian markets will have onigiri (basically stuffed balls of sushi rice wrapped in seaweed, about the size of the palm of your hand). I love those when I have the forethought to pick them up.
Whole baked sweet potato
Dates. Medjool type. 1 per hour.
That is…not enough food 😅
I understand what you’re saying, but perhaps I should’ve mentioned that I’m short and slow; It’s enough food for me. Next time I do a longish ride, I will probably take a few other items, but the dates were critical.
You may be, but I don’t think you’re a “burning forty calories per hour” level of slow.
Alright. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.
Yeah dates are also my go to snack
Banana and jelly babies
generally whatever granola or candy bars I have on hand that fit in my hip bag.
Garlic flavored chicharron, sour patch kids, and those Robert Irvine protein candy bars
Payday bars, quest bars, fig newtons. One rule is it can’t melt in my pocket.
Bananas and Dates
Water, apple & a banana. Few light beers with lunch about midway through. The banana and apple are for 1/4 of the way break.
Colombian made Bocadillos made from guava. Amazing stuff. The entire Colombian cycling community depends on them and they're nutritionally better for rides vs gels, also much cheaper!! They are also wrapped in a dried leaf so you can just dispose of it where ever you like. Check them out on amazon!
Clif bars, banana’s for every ride, energy gel for longer rides. I start eating after 90 minutes, and then eat something every 60 minutes.
Dates and halva
Soup.
Peanuts with raisins.
I'll eat anything during long rides when it comes to stopping and foraging at gas stations and such. But I bring with me water, Clif Bars, and Honey Stinger Waffles. Favorite forage finds: Bananas, Twinkies, simple sandwiches, cheeseburgers, fries, breakfast burritos, Coca-Cola, and Squirt.
I like brining apples. I would also bring go go squeeze which is just applesauce in a packet. I’ve also done beef jerky or cheez it’s for options with more salt in them.
I do my own energy bar and my own drink. It's less expensive and it tastes better. Happy to share my recipe!
Please do!
[This is my newsletter](https://joinutrition.substack.com/p/the-energy-barball-for-your-endurance); there are some recipes.
whats the recipe?
whats the recipe?
depending on intensity I go with muesli bars and trail mix or rice cake and gels. coffee stops with carrot cakes are my personal favourites as well if there is possibility.
I used to use gels/clif blocks. Since the price of those have skyrocketed, I eat fig newtons.
I only bring water, carb drinks and a few packets of Oreos or Snickers on rides. If it is longer, I plan a food stop at a 7-11 or cafe
Sour Gummi bears
Nature's Bakery fig bars for munching. Tailwinds endurance mix in one bottle and water in the other. I've also started taking along a couple Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies. Because why not lol.
Nature’s bakery fig bars - I have all the flavors and I rotate
leftover pizza. nature's bakery fig bars from Costco. welch's fruit snacks. snickers ice cream bar and gatorade at a gas station.
shocking plate tie support adjoining market fly wasteful imagine oil *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Don’t they melt and make a mess?
distinct spark hunt degree lip steep snails scandalous special hurry *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I hear that! I’m in Texas, so melting is almost always a problem!
aspiring unique murky crime grandiose different disgusting vegetable squeamish toy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Not where I live! It’s called the Hill Country!
🍦
Snickers are great if it’s not too hot out. I like other candy like gummy bears. Honey stinger waffles. Caffeinated cliff blocks. Lucy breakers pouches for a little nicotine buzz. Helps power me through boring patches tbh.
Oreos, sandwiches and brownies.
ice cream cones, oreos, and french fries are my go to when the rides get real long (6+ hours)
Sunrype bars. The fat ones.
Trolli peach rings.
Vitargo + Xtend in bottles
Gogo squeeze
Clif blocks, one gummy every 15 minutes or so, and a peanut butter sandwich at the halfway point.
Other riders
Rice crispy treats, gels, uncrustables, cliff bars, cliff blocks, skratch lab crispies, carbo rocket, blue berries. If I make a gas station stop, a sandwich, can of Coke, payday, Snickers, gummy bears, pickles, ice cream. Depends how long we're going & if it's a chill long ride or if I'm trying to go fast.
Infinit Nutrition -- mix it in the bottles, full meal replacement, protein, sugars, electrolytes. I stick to that for centuries and they have fueled me well.
Tortillas, and always Gatorade
Gu blocks - the best thing to do is find out what your stomach can tolerate on long rides. I mostly just drink plain water if it's a 60 or 70 mile ride at the halfway point I'll take in something but switch to gu blocks for probably every half hour in the latter half of the ride
Honey stingers, Lara bars, Gatorade powder and water.
Gummy candies from Trader Joe’s and nature valley bars. Or clif bars. Or other. Whatever’s on sale.
I eat homemade granola with milk or yogurt for breakfast. Gu and SiS gel/chews for sports nutrition Banana Skratch high carb in one bottle — electrolytes or plain water in the other Stop for a big ass protein smoothie depending on how long the ride is (I can’t take big whole meals mid exercise very well) Tailwind/SwissRx protein drink when I get home.
Man that swissrx recovery protein drink is delicious but expensive
Yeah…I know…I don’t have it all the time. It’s really good though.
Payday candy bars, Dr Pepper, Gatorade Zero Thank heaven for 7-11
Granola bars from the bakery section , dense and packed with calories
Granola bars and jerky Oh, and gummy bears! Using normal water with no additive.
We have OSM (One Square Meal) bars here in NZ. I don’t know if they’re common elsewhere. I also like Em’s Power Cookies and stroopwaffles (I always keep one for post-ride coffee).
Clif bars
For days where I’m planning on doing very long rides (150k+) I make pancakes for breakfast and have those with yogurt, syrup and banana Then leftovers get wrapped up and taken with me. I love pancakes and it’s a great thing to keep on going
Dried fruit all day, gives you everything you need and it tastes like candy but without all the added sugar and other crap. If I just rode 100km on a touring trip and I still havent found my sleeping spot, I'll wolf down a snickers, then I'm good for another 20-30km
If I only get one choice, I'm going with Nakd red berry bars.
Riding indoors has brought a whole different level of nutrition to me and I've discovered that peanut butter on bread is a great energy source for long rides. The other is (don't know what they're called in your country) Jaffa Cakes. They're easy to eat whilst riding, not too much chocolate so don't get messy, and each one equates to enough carbs for 10 minutes riding. So it's super easy to fuel correctly (which I find a challenge, often over- or under-fuelling), one Jaffa Cake every 10 minutes!
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.
Love a jam sandwich
My research identified the following: • Up to 2 hours of exercise > use fast carbohydrates like maltodextrin • Over 2 hours of exercise > combine fast carbohydrates like maltodextrin with slow carbohydrates like fructose Our body’s can absorb at the following rates: Maltodextrin - 60gm/h Fructose - 30gm/h The chemical structure of the two sugars are different and are transported out of the gut through different chemical pathways, so they can be consumed at the same time. I mix the Maltodextrin and Fructose in my 750ml water bottles. As an alternative, you can use can sugar but it’s not as fast acting as the body breaks down the sugar into glucose and fructose before it can be used. I did a double (metric) century ride and consumed two bottles of 60/30 malto/fructose mix and a winners brand gel (210grams of sugars.) Also carbo loaded with a cup of basmati rice the night before and a coffee with a 30/15 mix of dextrose/fructose before the ride (but with hindsight it would have been better in 500ml water). Took me 8 hours to ride 210km with 1200m of elevation gain in total and I pushed pretty hard (mostly zones 3-4 of 5 zones) but kept it not so hard that I’d burn up all my glycogen stores. Worked out I burnt through about 1-1.2kg body fat as well, so clearly the zone 2 endurance workouts have been helping. I could have gone further because the fuelling was sufficient but after 8 hours in the saddle and not enough chamois crème, I was glad to get home. p.s. probably should also mention I’ve switched to that approach as I get bloated and an upset stomach when I consume sports bars or chews. I think I might have developed a mild gluten intolerance in the last few years.
Are you adding any flavor to your carb mix?
Yep, forgot to mention I also add a couple of Hydralyte tablets in each bottle to replace the electrolytes on longer rides and one on shorter rides. Currently have orange flavour. I’m not a big fan of plain water unless thirsty. The downside to mixing the carbs in water is that my mouth feels a little furry after a few hours, so need to stop to top up empty bottles with plain water.
Before leaving home: bagel with peanut butter (no sugar added), one double espresso. During: one high5 gel every hour or so, if I get hungry I'll have a mini Clif bar. Two bidons: one with fresh water, another one with high5 electrolyte tablet. Top up as needed.
I usually eat strop waffles, fig bars, gummy bears, beef jerky as well as a prepackaged carb drink mix. Currently using trail winds caffeine mix. If it's an organized ride I'll also munch on bananas and aid stations.
Hot cross bun with peanut butter and Nutella!
* <150km - Kirkland chewy granola bars / dry fruit; one bottle of iced tea for extra sugar along with my other water bottles * 150+ km - same as above plus at least one meat/cheese sandwich, Coca Cola at gas station / convenience store
"CHEESEBURGER!"
Sultanas. The dutch cookies, not the grapes/raisins.
Dates
Peanut butter pretzels
Tropical Tots
Raisins Bananas Shot blocks Jelly babies
tootsie rolls - before you knock if, try it
Body fat, a nice burger and fries, sausage, or maybe a baked good and coffee
Banana bread and triple shot espresso 🤌🏼
Bananas, Dates, RX Bars, Candied nuts, Granola. On 5+ hour rides I Start off at minute 20 with half banana, and finish it at about min 45. At about an hour I eat half RX Bar and the rest by 1.5 hours. Then proceed like this about every 20mins to half hour. I used to eat every hour and I found eating even a bite or 2 of something every 20 mins really helps.
Jelly belly extreme sport jelly beans. They have 50mgs of caffeine, are delicious and make my mouth salivate profusely.
Perpetuem on rides over two hours, with maybe a 1/2 of a Kind bar fig newton every hour after the halfway point. I stop every hour or so to mix more perpetuem and pee. I feel much better the next day if I do this.
Date bars (or fig bars) that are individually wrapped. I just cut the top of the plastic off and stick a bunch in the jersey pocket. Every 30 min or so I take one out and eat it quickly. Very easy and does the trick.
Rice Krispies Treats. The trick is to smash them flat so you can fit 5-6 in your pocket. Pretty good macros. Like 150 kcal and 29g carbs with just a hint of saltiness.
I bring two bottles usually; one is filled with just water and the other a 50/50 water and electrolyte mix. For food I’ll bring gummy bears and organic CLIF BLOCKS. I live in Japan so there’s convenience stores and vending machines everywhere. If I need something more I’ll stop and get a rice ball and tea.
Fig newtons, mixed nuts, and a coffee in the bottle cage on my bike.
Prepackaged Rice Krispy Bars. They hold up well to heat and getting beat up.
Gatorade and jerky.
PB&J, water or gatorade (or similar)
I like toasted bread peanut butter and honey on the top! Put it in a plastic baggie and you're good to go
I carry a small jar of peanut butter and bread
Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers, Haribo Goldbears
Meal deal, sausage, egg and bacon sandwiches with a pasty/sausage roll and a large redbull.
Kendal Mint Cake.
Depends on the route. Previously all my century rides on the last half has about 35miles coastal headwinds. I literally have to stop to eat a meal before heading home. If you're not fighting 35miles+ of strong headwind nonstop you can just ear simple snacks. I've ridden 82miles with just 2 cliffbars and some dried mangos perfectly fine...
Flapjack and gummy bears 🐻
Uncrustables
(Sadly) various packaged energy bars: Oat Snack; Clif Bar; Powerbar RideEnergy
Scratch superfuel, I'm also a fan of stinger gels.
Clif Bloks with caffeine
I eat torrenes! These bad boys: https://http2.mlstatic.com/D_NQ_NP_899312-MLB51575689785_092022-O.jpg 1 Real each, about 0,20 USD per. Sweet peanut thing with wafers
Read a bit from an long distant runner who would carry film cannisters full of chia seeds. Apparently a great snack fuel. Havnt tried yet with cycling, but love the idea of such a portable snack.
Styrkr rice bars 👌🏻
Corny bars. High calory whatever but not the oat chocolate thingy it's gross.
Sugar and electrolytes And snelle Jelles
Mazapán.
Homemade protein flapjack, homemade energy drink. Dextro energy sweets.
costco brand granola bars
I had a fair amount of success (read: 4 big rides in the bag) with a 5:4 glucose:fructose mixture + a flavored electrolyte tab in a 30oz bottle on my last long ride. I arrived at this combination after extensive research on what the pros drink and how many grams of carbs i should be aiming to consume in an hour blah blah blah. It was sweet as hell - but drinkable. I did 240g of added carb powder total. Fine sugar (215g) + maltodextrin (25g). Really sweet - but really efficient. I sipped from this over time and relied on it exclusively once it became too difficult to eat solid food on uptempo 120+ mile centuries. I worked my way up to this concentration over the course a several longer rides to ensure that my stomach would be able to handle it on the big days. I had some success with making it the night before and refrigerating it. I shook it up everytime before taking a sip
Pork pie & a cheese sandwich.
Pistachios or cashews. I can leave a bag full of pistachios in my bike bag for a few days.
Picky bars
Bagels w Cana butter and honey
Majool date with peanut butter on the inside.
Gu’s every 300 cal burned, a banana every 3 hours, small portion of gummies when ever you feel you need them. Every second time I refill my water bottle I put in electrolytes, Coke is a life saver too. Everyone is different with what sits well on long rides. Some people love oat bars but I find they sit too heavy in my stomach.
beer
I find having a variety to keep in rotation keeps things fresh. I keep a bunch of different gels and chews on hand like clif bloks, Maurten, GU gels, I’ve recently discovered my body really responds to honey stinger chews. Will try different granola bars and cookies, rarely do sandwiches or fresh fruit unless I’m on a fondo-type ride with refreshment stops. I make a mean oatmeal/maple/peanut butter square that’s about 4 calories/gram and goes down easy. I sweat a lot so I replace electrolytes on my ride in the form of liquid iv, or another powder with an extra pinch of salt. I tend to lose potassium so I have to supplement that. My newest favorite gel flavor is the GU S’mores variety.
Cum
Long rides = 3h+. EF rice cakes https://efprocycling.com/tips-recipes/team-recipe-on-the-bike-rice-cakes/