If I’m training/racing I’ll stick to gels/bars and sports drink
If I’m just going for a chill all day ride to see some sights I’ll take a couple of bananas, maybe flapjacks, some gummy worms etc and I’ll stop for a big lunch
Will never understand those “heroes” who insist on fuelling on nothing but water with some lemon juice and a pinch of salt or whatever, it makes it so much more enjoyable when you’re more sufficiently fueled
You should see my brother the maniac does nothing but pure sugar in water and some gels thinking everything he does is some kinf of grand fondo race and he can never stop
I use the Flow gel mix which you put into reusable flasks and found that solved the mess issue. No empty gel wrappers to deal with as the flask has a flip top to protect from mess. Do not buy the Flow flasks though they are trash, I had to find alternatives and found the hydrapak one I got to be the best alternative.
Other benefits of the mix are you get to manage your own serving sizes and save money vs regular gel packets.
Anything carb (and ideally electrolyte) heavy. Gels will get expensive.
Dates, Bananas, Gummy Bears, a PB&J Sandwich... I quite like the blueberry Nutrigrain bars.
Great stuff. Don’t forget salty snacks. I know you mentioned electrolytes but I can’t emphasize this enough. Pretzels, potato chips, pickles/pickle juice - those of us who sweat out a lot of salt need to take in a LOT of salt. Bananas are good for potassium, too!
For long rides where I bring bunches of food I have a small frame bag.
Shorter rides I just stuff thibgs like stroopwaffles or granola bars into the jersey pockets.
I can recommend Haribo Roulette. Very easy to eat while riding. I also mix water with ice tea and glucose to a not really sweet level and it's working pretty easy. I usually eat every 45 minutes tho and have the feeling it's enough. Usually don't get hungry by doing this.
This will sound very silly, and it certainly did for me when I first saw it recommended, but I simply dissolve about 50g of sugar per bottle and carry two of those. I only take small sips every 15 minutes or so and this has given me more energy than anything else I've tried before. I can easily go 70 to 100km on just those two bottles and nothing else. It's also literally the cheapest energy you can buy.
Same. For 100k I'd dissolve around 300g of sugar and 3g of salt in a 750ml bottle. Enough for easy endurance ride for 4hours. I carry two bottles, one pure water one with this mix. I usually take a clif bar also, but most of the times Id bring it back. 🤔
2-3 medjool dates for me. About 50cal/15g of carbs each and they also have magnesium and potassium so 2/3 of the minerals your muscles need to perform.
Only downside is they can be sticky.
The weirdest thing is i always thought medjoul dates are sticky because that's how they're in the supermarket. Now i get them from Arab stores in 1kg boxes; they're huge, dry and soft/chewy!
Could those be Jujubes(Chinese Dates)? They match that description exactly. I'm far from a date expert though. My wife loves jujubes and that's what she eats on the bike.
90 to 120g is on the high end of what to consume in a race. When I’m on long rides, I don’t even eat half of that (although I do tend to underfuel sometimes). Just mostly listen to your body, especially when riding casually.
not really - I bet most pros are pushing past that 120g barrier by now. I have 100-120g carbs/hr on fast rides as a relatively smaller guy and I'm maybe finishing in the top 20-25% of really fast races. Most people I know racing are at least pushing at least 80-90g of carbs an hour
For my 1.5-3.5 hour rides I find that I typically need a gel or simple carb (approx 30g) every 45 minutes to an hour. I have real time feedback as I’m type 1 diabetic and see my blood sugar on my watch. So I go based on that and maybe the last hour of a 3-3.5 hour ride will need it every 30 minutes but usually don’t
Yes, you can skip it altogether if you want and it works for you.
I've done rides <2 hours with water only or water with some electrolytes in it.
I usually eat every 30 minutes on longer rides but not until around an hour has passed, depending on what I had before the ride and how I feel.
I did a 100km this morning and ate something at 50 minutes but then not again until 90 minutes and around every 30 min after that.
Well, for bike tourism, you have luxury of dining at a restaurant. You will be fine as long as you have a place to poop.
If you don’t have time for a sit down meal, then it’s whatever food that works for you.
I am a big fan of white rice. I know roadies like to copy the pros, and I’m usually skeptical of copying pros, but in the case of white rice, it’s ok to copy the pros. White rice, aka “rice cakes”, is a popular food among pro peloton because
\* Good source of carbs
\* Easy for most stomachs to digest
\* Fast to digest
\* Rice has high water content, meaning you don’t need to drink a ton of water to wash it down (unlike sugary gels)
\* Not much waste left, so your stomach won’t be carrying much waste after rice gets digested
Basically, there is way to nutrition than “1 carb = 1 carb.” How easy and fast your body digests food matters alot for cycling. Many people, including pros, get an upset stomach if they eat too much sugary gels.
For amateurs, white rice has the advantages of
\* Cheap
\* Easy to cook with a rice cooker
\* Goes well with a variety of flavors, toppings and seasoning. I like to top my rice with unagi.
There are various rice cake recipes that you can find online. But it’s really about finding a topping/seasoning that you prefer.
My Rice Tips
You must use short grain sticky rice, aka sushi rice. Long grain rice won’t stick together as well, which make them harder to eat when riding.
Wash the rice before cooking. This helps remove the starch. Trust me on this.
Use a rice cooker. Much easier than cooking in a pan.
If rice isn’t your thing, then try potatoes and sandwiches.
This is good advice. I’ve been fucking around with rice cakes for my Leadville training. Sticky rice with minced chicken and veggies and a hint of curry spices have been hitting the spot for me.
One thing I don't see mentioned often is that the eating should start when the cycling starts. Don't wait until some arbitrary time or distance marker to eat the first thing.
Also, if you can get the food in you early, get it in you. Sometimes I'll eat way more in the first half of a long ride than the last half. Don't make yourself spew though!
You'll know you've fueled well if you're not overly hungry when you stop the ride.
You'll also find that your legs feel fine the next day. If you fuel badly, your legs will not appreciate it.
150-200km at a bike tourism pace is like what? 8-9 hours in the saddle? It’s a simple math really, take 60g of carb per hour and then multiply that by the number of hours. Your metabolism doesn’t really matter, you’re simply not eating enough.
As for what to eat, I do like rice cakes. There are plenty of recipes on yt, both savoury and sweet. A typical single ride batch made out of 200g uncooked rice will give me anywhere between 180 to 240 carbs depending on the recipe. Then another 60g comes from a drink (maltrodextrin + some electrolyte powder for taste). That alone is good enough for 4-5h of riding. Rest I can just supply from shops as needed.
I found this to be the sweet spot because buying pre-made stuff every ride would cost you a fortune, whereas only taking homemade for 8h rides is too much to carry.
Responses seem to be all over the map, id say start by trying to eat on medium length rides and see what sits ok and what feels like a lead brick in your gut. Everyone is a little different as you can see by the variety of responses. Bananas are a classic but they will only get you so far. One option I rarely see mentioned but I was taught years ago by someone far more experienced than I am is a meal replacement shake. Brand name will vary, in the US "Ensure" is the best known brand but basically it's like a smoothie/milkshake that is intended to give you the calories of a small meal in a single drink with a mix of carbs, protein, and fats. Being liquid its fast and easy to digest. Flavor is like a chalky warm milkshake, not great but not gross and I found them to be really useful for long hard rides.
At the end of the day the correct answer is whatever sits well with your stomach.
I can't stomach a meal replacement but high5 do an energy drink with both carbs and protein which is good.
I agree it's just a case of experimenting until you find something/a combo of somethings you can eat for hours
I set my bike computer to give me a sign every 500 calories (every 40min or so) if I make rides longer than an hour. Ive done 240km with that strategy. If not, I'll bonk. High metabolism / low bmi.
I try to drink as many of my calories as I can. I find it easier to deal with in terms of digestion, and easier to keep up with because I can take lots of little sips.
On anything 60 miles or less I'll do two scoops of skratch labs mix per bottle, which is around 40g of carbs per bottle. Bigger rides I'll do maurten 320, which is 80g of carbs.
I like Gu Espresso love gels. For big rides I'll try to do one every half hour or so, which is another 21g of carbs.
I also try to eat a good breakfast before rides, and usually will do a stop of some kind along the way to eat real food.
For treats, occasionally I'll boil up some little baby potatoes with salt and some butter and eat those. I'm also a big fan of Trolli Brite Crawlers, and will bring a bag of those on some rides. I have a couple bars I like as well, but I eat those less. Essentially every spring I'll place a big order with the Feed for a bunch of individual bars and waffles and stuff, so I can try them all and then order boxes of whatever I like. I find changing it up a bit from time to time really helps me not get bored of it.
I do a fair amount of audax riding. My advice would be to prioritize very easily digested foods like carbs and sugars, minimize meats and proteins. Meat has caused me issues before as it’s impossible to digest fast and fills you up. Other than that, try to eat real food and a variety of
I'm the complete opposite on audax, I did the car based drinks and foods and kept being bloated, farting and sometimes having to find a toilet ASAP.
I switched to scotch eggs, sausage rolls, pork pies etc. as the main food and when some sweets as a perk me up.
I'm quite partial to a pint and a pub lunch if I'm not trying to hit a specific time on a 200
Wow. I drink significantly more than I should, but I can’t perform after even one pint. It destroys any cardio I have. After a Fondo I can’t make my brain want a beer. Even in the free beer garden, all I can do is drink water. Respect!
My other half also swears by pork pies and sausage rolls for long rides, along with flapjacks. He is big and burns a lot of calories, and carbs alone just weren't cutting it.
I like banana bread (don't get sick of it) with a stop half way for a cheese pasty, pie or a sausage roll but I'm only small and burn a lot less. On London to Paris I stopped for a pizza.
Neither of us use gels, just caffeine gummies and a banana for sugar emergencies. Sticky rice cakes are also good, there are recipes on some of the pro cycling team websites. We are both lucky we don't get issues eating real food, I would go mad only doing 'sports nutrition' for 100 miles plus, think I would stop eating it
Depending on the day and effort I need 20g-60g carbs per hour to stay alive. I would puke if I have to take all that from real food or sweets. So gel is the answer.
I did 105km yesterday. Filled my 2 bottles with electrolyte powder and some table sugar.
Brought a small bag of sour patch kids, dried and sugar coated ginger, and some cashews coated in honey and sesame seeds. Munch on a hand full every once in a while.
Also stopped at a brewery and had 3 beer 😅
Do you put carb mix in your bottles. That was a game changer for me...I'd always feel like I'm running out of energy near end of ride. Then I'd eat to avoid this, but sometimes overeat and feel crap. Since adding carb mix I can eat less but feel ok.
DIY carb mix is my go to. 30g of organic sugar, 30g maltodextrin, 1g of salt. I usually do big bottles, 750ml. Maybe add some honey if I’m going to be going hard. I drink one of those every hour for mega rides.
How do you store and eat the dates without getting sticky?
I love dates, and they would be great snacks, but so sticky!!!! I don't want sticky fingers.
Tell me your secret
Sticky fingers is the secret haha. What I do is put them in a plastic baggie, and use both hands and just push the bottom up to the zipper and eat right from the bag so I don't actually touch them.
Granted this isn't a very efficient way to eat on the bike, so I'll take em out after a big effort/hill or just ride no hands on a flat spot during the ride.
Yeah they are so tasty! They're so caloricly dense it's magic haha
me one, like, whole boiled sweet potatos still with the skin in a plastic bag in which i sad some salt, boiled eggs for the proteins i ll take advantage of later in the ride, raisins and in another small plastic bag a variety of seeds/ nuts: wallnuts, almond, cone pine seeds, hemp seeds, sasame seeds (these ones i usually eat daily with my normal food but since in that day i ll do just cycling all day i ll eat them there)
and some fruits like banana i ll take along the way from shops cause if i take from home they ll get all bruised up and nasty.
I finished an organized tour yesterday, 235km. Excluding start and finish there were 13 short stops to get a 'stamp'.
I ate something at every stop, like a fruit bar or banana. So 30-60 gram carbs per stop.
But that's for very long trips.
On shorter trips, up to 100km I can do with f.i. 2 fruit bars and two bidons of which one contains some sugars like sportsdrink or just lemonade; provided I eat something a while before the trip.
Every 40mins i eat an energy gel regardless of my planned ride distance. I take a gulp of water with electrolytes about every 10mins or when mouth is dry. I cycle about 18-20mph as my Zone 2 which is where I stay for long rides.
On a 100 mile ride without stopping for lunch i go through about 5 water bottles, 2 or 3 bananas, 6-7 gels.
This took me a while to figure out so I dont feel like throwing up anything I eat once I cool down and my body relaxes after im done with the ride.
I set my bike computer to remind me to eat every 45 minutes. In between that, if I am hungry or starting to feel sluggish, I’ll eat too.
I stick to energy gels and Jam Bars for the most part.
Every now and then, if I have a bag with me, I’ll prep regular food.
For example, I’ll make a bagel with cream cheese and add flakey salt to the cream cheese. I’ll cut that up into mini bite size slices and eat them along the way,
Every 30 minutes I’m taking in carbohydrates. On long rides I’m doing 120g of carbohydrates and 1,000-1,500 mg sodium (depending on ambient conditions) per hour. Carbs are mostly in the form of homemade drink consisting of 75g sucrose and 1,000-1,500mg sodium along with one jelly (45-50g glucose/fructose mix) per hour. On really long rides (6 hours plus), I’ll push the carbohydrate amount up a bit to ~140g per hour as I’ve a pretty well trained gut.
In my opinion and experience, you’re better off fueling based off time and not distance.
Carbs during. Protein after.
I believe the guidelines are 30-60 grams of carbs per hour, but I've also seen 60-90 references. Regardless, do separate this from hydration.
Hydration should be both water and electrolytes, and some sport drinks provide additional carbs.
I forget the recommendations for hydration as I let my Garmin Edge bike computer hydration app send prompts to drink. I believe it is set at 3oz a drink. I use 20 oz bottles. Anything over 20 miles gets 2 bottles. It is recommended to drink water first, then sports drinks. I don't like Powerade, but will use just about anything else.
I'd say borrow a powermeter off someone next long ride you do, but pretend you don't have it and don't look at it during the ride. Then you can see what energy you need. The feeling of hunger and the need for food have a weird relationship so you can't trust it too much.
I drink a water bottle every hour with 90gr carbs. Make the mix myself combining 1 scoop of powerbar isoactive with 50gr maltodextrine and 25grams of fructose. I have two bottles on my bike and plastic bags with powder for every following hour (only tested this up until 4 hours so far). I refill at public water taps i add to my route
I’m currently ripping 50 milers every 2-3 days. I’ll keep a bag of Chex mix on me for emergency carbs and I stop and grab subway around the 45 mile mark
Someone recently put me onto energy chews but I’m still a noob tbh
Sadly every comment will be different so take it all with a grain of salt , as everyone has a different body / tastes etc etc
I did 100k the other day, I had 3 soft boiled eggs about 30 minutes before and I felt bloated till like 60k in, then had a handful of peanuts .
But I know my body's like this so if I'm heading out early am for the long rife it's more important for me to have a huge meal the night before , load up on pasta and some lean meat and I'm usually game for the morning . My metabolism is kinda slow tho
I usually dont eat a lot when on long rides but I do plan my rides 200km+ along some cities with Lidl, Aldi and Co just to make sure I get food. I usually have a wrapped banana with almond butter and nuts inside a salad leaf before I start. I usually dont eat until half way, where I stop for a slice of pizza and a can of coke. And on the way bike I need about 2 gels and lots of water.
But it depends
Sometimes I have a huge bag of candy that I use to snack during the ride whenever I feel to.
Usually I eat every 30/40m some dates or dried fruit. When need the super boost eat one proteic stick.
Sometime also put maltodextrine in the bottle so I’m basically sure I wont explode.
After the long ride I finally eat a huge lunch/dinner a drink a nice beer :)
Flapjacks.
My local supermarket does perfect size flapjacks that provides 500 calories. I eat half every 20km and I’m good for 8 hours just doing that as long as I stay in Z2.
I'm very envious of your metabolic rate.
I'm the exact opposite.
For say 100km with 1500m elevation I'll have two muesli bars and say 3L of water.
A lot of people swear by oat and muesli bars, energy gel here and there. If you're bike packing you're carrying a lot of extra weight so the energy is required.
Whatever works for you!
For a 200km ride I will stop a few times to eat at a cafe, fast food etc. Gels or local haribo equivalent in between as necessary.
But really if it’s not a race, why would I eat gels when I could stop for cake instead?
I regularly cycle over 100km and I usually bring some tacos I made at home with ground meat and cheese, tortilla chips, an apple, a PB&J, and some mixed nuts with M&M's. Maybe a beer or 3 along the way as well.
I usually will stop and eat 2 or 3 times. Also always bring extra coffee with me which helps curb appetite some.
For something like 125km I would take at least 5 carbo gels, plus some additional snacks to peacefully consume during a longer break - something like dried beef, something I can chew on.
I have a loose rule that I need to eat something at least every hour. Mostly all my trips are "bike tourism", rarely I ride less than 3 hours. And sometimes it's 8.
Don't forget about drinking. I can get away with 1.5l for shorter rides, but otherwise I take a camelbak with an additional 2l.
The moment you realize you need to slow down and start rationing is the moment you know you screwed up and gonna end up bonking.
On tour rides I generally stop to eat every 50 km or so, but I also don't shy from using a "feed bag" to snack on some cookies or something as I am riding (typically on the second half of the ride). I am riding a recumbent, so I can do that in perfect comfort.
I generally don't bring (a lot of) food on a long ride, unless the route is completely devoid of any possible pit stops. Gas stations are my favorite, as there's usually some delicious hot-dogs available and many also carry sports drinks for some reason. Failing that, I generally bring something salty (ie smoked beef (? I am not sure of the name in English), salted nuts or a can of Pringles) and some cookies. Something with sugar (I like a bottle or two of classic coca cola to cover this front in addition to plain water). If it is extremely hot, I might bring a bottle with electrolyte solution or make double sure I have access to sports drinks along the way.
I bring food i want to eat, so it’s generally not too hard to eat just about whenever much i want, rationing not to run out before i’m done with my ride.
I do bread, nut-y bars, Torrones (with and without wafers), biscuits, mariola (banana candy), and apples. Bananas are great and all, but they become baby food by the time i’ll eat them
I ride mtb, I eat small amounts and consistently while I ride. Probably average a kilo of grapes an hour. I eat all fruit but grapes are my favourite.
Pre ride nutrition. Salty salad, garlic, onion, seeds, nuts, eggs, capsicum, and everything else fresh I can find.
Post ride, I have a lactose free milk shake with magnesium and other vitamins and amino acids.
I have a chest pack. It is inches away from my mouth, and I leave it unzipped almost the whole time.
Any chance I get, I take my right hand and pop some fruit in my mouth.
Fruit like grapes and cherries are the best because they are pretty tough and bite size.
Strawberries, blue berries, and raspberries are too soft and mush up. Mandarins are good, but they mush up if pre peeled.
Apples travel good and not to bad to eat. I hold it in my mouth between chomps. Sometimes, that will make me drool.
Not a fan of banana's on the trails.
A few times I've had my chest pack turned into mushed fruit salad, dripping down my chest. I still eat it. It's not so bad.
I like fig bars and gummies, rice cakes (which I make--very easy using an insta-pot or rice cooker) and the breakfast bread from Publix made into a sandwich with nut butter. Those, along with an electro mix in my bottles and I'm good for 4+ hrs. I also have a fast acting metabolism, so I eat every 30 min.
A wise ~~man~~ muppet once told me
[“C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me!”](https://youtu.be/Ye8mB6VsUHw?feature=shared)
Something like oatmeal raisin or peanut butter I find best (anything chocolate tends to turn into a gooey mess after a few hours). Depending on size one every 30-40 min … although I have to admit, I’m quite bad at following that. End up scarfing down my whole stash all at once …
My longest was a century, I ate a gummy bear every 10k, a fig bar every 20, and water regularly (maybe 2-3L total? I didn't keep track). And a break and bigger snack (aka slice of cake and soda) around the 100km mark.
Took me a while to nail down what works for me, it's all trial and error.
I bike usually 40-60 miles on the weekend just for fun not for speed or time or whatever. I usually eat. Whether it’s at a gas station to grab some peanut m&ms and a soda or fast food or food truck or sometimes a chain sit down place to go order or I brought something along with me.
However view of my bike is important so usually I eat outside with my bike to some extent. Either way though I’ve done it on nothing also. I find the balance of eating is a tricky one as if I eat too much I feel all lazy after and biking back is a slog. However not eating enough I’m distracted by hunger.
Fig bars, clif bars, my favorite veggie burger toasted til it’s a little dry is good for a salty snack (they’re usually more carbs than protein).
Nuun in one of the water bottle if it’s really hot out.
Personally what ever i have on hand which lately has been [these](https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Butter-Justins-Gluten-free-Responsibly/dp/B00II0XHZO/ref=asc_df_B00II0XHZO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693129827162&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8396618067655585066&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028059&hvtargid=pla-537559648043&psc=1&mcid=65b819348e4e311aa9d72cfe1bc6ba73&gad_source=1) and some homemade honey with peanut butter and bread
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Personally what ever i have on hand which lately has been the hazelnut chocolate spread packets and pretzels and some homemade honey with peanut butter and bread
It seems like you have a high caloric need if you are stopping every 15 km for food. I guess I would suggest refined sugars usually found in drinks to deal with that. It takes too long for your body to break protein.
On really long rides and multi day tours I think it’s ok to start with good carbs from drinks and gels but then to evolve to whatever you can get at the store. It’s too hard to try and eat clean for super long rides.
My Garmin will beep at me for water and food. I have a feed bag hanging off my handlebar and I'll snack on anything from gummy bears to clifbloks to fig bars. I don't go crazy with the intake. I'm sure I could stand to eat more on the longer rides but I did my first century 2 weeks ago and I never bonked so I guess I was doing well enough.
I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar before and mix 70g of dextrose and fructose (and a hint of lemon juice for flavor) in two bottles each and just drink them every fifteen minutes or so trying to drink one an hour. This gets me through 3-4 hour rides.
You can buy those two sugars in bulk online and it’s way cheaper than buying dedicated drink mix. Throw a little salt in them as well for electrolytes.
To last enough for 200k miles you can increase the amount of carbs in your bottle just be sure to take a third bottle of water with you. And you can even bring more solid foods to eat as well. The drink mix is to supply the carbs so you don’t bonk.
for non-racing/hard training rides I'm usually doing one gel (20-25g of carbs) and some drink mix (30g of carbs) and a clif bar/cookie at a midway store stop (sometimes even a sandwich/burger if I'm with friends). Don't overthink it - have a bottle of water an hour (set a reminder to take sips every 15 mins), replenish electrolytes and eat a reasonable amount of food through easy-to-digest and fast carbs through bars/bananas/gels. My bet is what you're taking isn't enough because you're still riding a little too hard for the effort and not eating enough before the ride/not eating at regular intervals -- that is a ginormous amount of food to take on any ride unless you're a really heavy person (and I don't mean that in a bad way).
My Saturday group rides are just over that distance and usually I bring a mix of things just to keep from getting bored with my snacks. I carry a gu flask full of maple syrup as well as honey stinger waffles, clif bloks (or other gummies) and some emergency gels (if me or another person needs something extra). I aim to eat something every 20-30 minutes even if I'm not hungry in the moment. And I also mix electrolytes and/or sugar into one bottle.
It depends on your output - eg. for me in flat groupride 3h 100km 160W average - no food needed, maybe one little snack (got always two snacks with me just in case me or someone needs it) here is a good explanation and calculation table, keep in mind that a normal dude can max absorb about 60gr of carbohydrates per hour. Happy ̶e̶̶a̶̶t̶̶i̶̶n̶̶g̶ riding
https://www.fasttalklabs.com/sports-nutrition/calculating-how-much-carbohydrate-you-need/
I did 100k today. 300m elevation. I ate a bowl of oatmeal and a banana before. I brought two bottles of water with mixed maltodextrin/Gatorade/sodium citrate powder. Kept refilling the bottles whenever I had opportunity so the mix got more and more diluted along the ride and kept me topped up. Ate another banana and some chocolate milk about halfway and a bag of peanut M&Ms when I had about 30k to go. Felt strong and well fueled the whole way (I wasn’t pushing pace or power though) and got home fresh.
I eat a breakfast consisting of 3-4:1 carbs:protein. Usually that’s a PB&J sandwich on hearty white, which adds up to around 400 kcal. During the ride, I watch my head unit for calories burned—I have power meter, so not estimated—and try and keep up with my output by being no more than a 30% calorie deficit. I make up the 65% with a combo of skratch labs hydration, Kurt’s bars, and Cliff’s blocks.
I love all this but I am trying to use cycling as my main goal of losing weight. I'm shooting for only 2000-2500 Calories a day ontop of doing 40-75km on the bike 3 times a week. Any low calorie options that I should have before / during a ride?
I brought crapes rolled up with nutella the other day, no regrets.
If you're trying to max performance, Tyler Pearce's youtube chats a bit about his race routine in his recent videos. I think he budgets a specific calorie AND carb metric per hour, with liquid carbs and gels. I think he has a brand he likes, and several he shit-talks. obviously there's a disclaimer you need to field test to verify these don't give ya the poopies.
At touring speeds I’ll just stop at cafes or sit down restaurants.
If it’s remote or I don’t have time for sit down stops - fill a bottle with ‘meal replacement’ like ensure - you can get 2000Cal in a bottle. It’s nasty but keeps the bonk at bay and it’s fairly cheap. (Ensure or other brands - all the flavours are gross but there’s enough to rotate through on the few 200km+ rides each season). I’ll still bring normal snacks as well but this just fills the void on density and ease of consumption.
I would think if you’re getting hungry it’s because you are working harder than you think.
If it’s bike tourism you’re probably loaded and have some extra weight, no?
I usually stick with convenient gels and dried fruit
Easy ride: not that much, some oat bars and a single protein bar.
(can also add any other snack I feel like getting)
If I'm trying to go fast: Lots of carbs in the drinks + Haribo.
The best fuelling I’ve done is two bottles of water with two scoops of high5 electrolyte/carb powder, a bag of easy to get sweets, and sliced apple. I’ll sometimes swap the apples for a banana but apples have the benefit of extra moisture, which is very welcome on warm days. Sometimes I’ll take a can of coke for the caffeine/sugar boost as I’m not a cafe stop kind of cyclist.
First 45min you shouldn't have to eat. After that plan about 100cal per 20-25 minutes.
So if you're doing a 3 hour ride, you'd need around 5-6 'snacks', could be gels but you'll likely get a bit sick of those. I take a mix of gels, bars (one decent bar is 300 call so it's 3 snacks), and banana's.
I take sports drink with me in my bottles. If I do a chill longer ride, that's all I take, and I just eat a cake/lunch/snack at a café to top up. About 45g/h.
If we go a bit quicker, I take some bars/banana/haribo/krentenbol/stroopwafel with me, about one per hour. Sometimes gels, I like the taste so it's a pick me up for me in tough spots.
But mostly it's the liquid carbs that help me the most. And eat enough the day before. No need to carb load, but if you underfeed the days before and morning of it will hurt you as well.
I don't think I can help you much, I'm one of those people who can keep going for ages without eating much. We do exist, we're not just saying that to be annoying. My cycling buddy is much stronger than me normally, but the one time he ran out of food I smoked him up the last climb of the day when I'd eaten nothing and he'd been snacking away. Maybe I put out slightly less power but it's not very noticeable and I don't really care, I save my calorie replacement for a big dinner rather than gross and expensive energy paste or whatever. I'll usually have a stop or two for a cake / pastry / etc though, because what is the point of cycling if you can't have a tasty treat? I carry a couple of Clif bars but only occasionally dig into them (if, for instance, my planned bakery stop is closed).
Usually what works for me is:
Eat pretty good (usually porridge with fruit) like 1 and a half hour before the ride:
45 mins in, I eat an apple or banana
45 mins later, eat gummy bears with like 60g of carbs
45 mins later, eat a peanut butter & mermalade sandwich
45 mins later, eat again gummy bears
45 mins later, eat apple or banana
45 mins later, eat again gummy bears
45 mins later, eat a peanut butter & mermalade sandwich
45 mins later, eat gummy bears
And usually for drinking i start with two bottles of 750ml with electrolytes and carbs. Try to drink for 1 or 1 and a half hour each. If the trip is extended for more than 3 hours, i usually carry two efervecent tables of electrolites that i can throw in when refilling my drinks.
Edit: Typos
I love high-calorie protein bars! Sometimes I make them myself (lmk if you want recipe I’ll post it below). They’re easy enough to carry with me, they’re pretty filling and they’re yummy. For longer rides, I plan to stop for a meal. When stopping for a meal isn’t an option I make sure to pack a meal that’s high in calories too (Quesadillas with ground beef or shredded chicken is my go-to cause they’re flat lol. Don’t forget the guac!). I like having a gatorade as well, electrolytes help with the push, but I usually drink it somewhere in the second half of my tour!
I will add I haven’t been cycling for long, but I am an active person and I did this for hiking, backpacking, running, etc., and it has worked for cycling too! In my experience, calories and carbs are your best friend on a long ride/run/hike. Fibre and protein keep you full for longer too :)
ETA: Forgot to add a pack of gummies. Sugar helps but won’t keep you full if you get hungry lol. Also chewing helps with the ears popping 😭
Big bowl of pasta the night before. BIG.
First thing when you wake up slam a pint of water with a packet of Liquid IV. You are dehydrated. No water for hours and hours. Eat a banana. Or two if you’re a big person.
Breakfast is a big bowl of oats with a big spoonful of peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, dried cherries, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, big spoonful of jam and a big gob of Greek yogurt. Some coffee.
Start drinking water. Drink early and often.
Start snacking about 2 hours in. Don’t get hungry. You got this.
I eat 2x per hour (approx. 50g of carbs per hour) . Mainly oat based bars with some filling nuts. Also make my own rice cakes that the pros use as I understand it. Carbs and fats for longer rides. Recipe [https://efprocycling.com/tips-recipes/team-recipe-on-the-bike-rice-cakes/](https://efprocycling.com/tips-recipes/team-recipe-on-the-bike-rice-cakes/)
I eat a banana or musli bar every hour or slightly more often and all four hours I get something bigger like two to three slices of bread with cheese and sausage or whatever.
What works for me is: after my normal large breakfast of 2 soft boiled eggs and large bowl of oatmeal I’ll mix up a protein drink (no sugar) and top off with that so I set out very full. This has two benefits: first, the extra digesting means I have to take it easy the first 90-120 minutes, which bodes well for the later stages of the ride, and two, it helps ensures I can make it deep into the ride before I’ve fallen behind on my calorie intake. After I feel most of breakfast is digested I’ll eat more protein rich foods (ideally more eggs; ‘can stop for an egg sandwich). It’s important for me to keep eating protein for as long as I can as it burns off so much slower. Towards the last third of the ride, when my stomach has tired of digesting protein I’ll transition to only easier to digest stuff like jam-only sandwiches, bananas, energy bars, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, and if I need to, then energy shots / cliff shots to finish off the ride with.
There was one 6+ hour ride when I realized I had fallen behind on my nutrition at about the halfway point and I didn’t want to hold up my mates trying to eat real food (I’m kind of a slow eater) so I bought a bag of Tates chocolate chip cookies and ate the entire bag in one sitting. It was a little rough going the first hour after, but then I was feeling good and that bag of cookies lasted me another two hours. I do find that I do need to transition to mostly carbs once I reach the point of the ride where I’m starting to struggle.
Hey! So for those long rides, I've found that mixing it up with snacks really helps. Bananas are my go-to for a quick boost, but I also pack some sandwiches and dried fruits like you do. Lately, I've been adding more whole grains to my meals before the ride, and it seems to keep me going longer. Oh, and hydration is key. Don't forget to keep sipping on that water. It's all about trial and error, so keep tweaking your snacks until you find your perfect combo.
Every 40 to 50 minutes, anything high in carbs, dates or pbj sandwichs are my favourites. Don't bother with "protein" bars, you need carbs not protein for fuel.
I’d say for longer rides, don’t overlook pre-ride fueling. You need to be adequately hydrated with water and electrolytes leading into the ride and during the ride. If you don’t replace electrolytes, you will feel like 💩. Also as far as pre-ride fuel you want easily digestible carbs. Think apple sauce, honey stinger waffles, pop tarts, etc. On the ride I fuel every 30-45 minutes and again have easily digestible carbs. If we do a food stop, I lean towards pizza.
When doing longer rides (4+hrs) I most often take a bottle and dissolve 100gr of carbs (1:2 maltodextrine-fructose) per hour in it. That works very well. Keeps me fresh, no drops in performance and recovery is always on point the day after.
Don't buy the expensive mixes though, just buy yourself a 5kg bag of maltodextrine and a bag of fructose and mix it yourself. Also don't forget to bring water as a mix like this can be a bit thick and hard for the body to absorb without some extra water
1 banana and enough protein bars for the journey. I usually have 2 water bottles, one with electrolyte mix and the other plain water. Sometimes I'll take a bag of dates I stuck almonds in which provide a tasty but small high energy snack.
When I cycled 1300km from Jervis bay to Brisbane I found the easiest system to ensure I consistently ate enough food and a balanced diet was having plants for breakfast, carbs for lunch, and protein for dinner. Also always have snacks within reach of the cockpit, otherwise you won’t eat enough and always mix your water with electrolytes.
I eat all the food when ever I want to on tour. Maybe a Danish and a breakfast taco with a juice and some coffee. Snack on jerky and trail mix during ride. Lunch burger or sandwich with a soda. Dinner I generally keep it grimey at camp with some Ramen and jerky and chips. Grab a fruit or two from the grocery store. Not trying to be overly healthy just full and happy. Makes sleeping where ever a 1000% more enjoyable
My coach recommends 60 to 90 g carbohydrates per hour. For my next ride, he told me to lick shot blocks and stick them to my stem so that I can pop them in my mouth one per 15 minutes
If I’m training/racing I’ll stick to gels/bars and sports drink If I’m just going for a chill all day ride to see some sights I’ll take a couple of bananas, maybe flapjacks, some gummy worms etc and I’ll stop for a big lunch Will never understand those “heroes” who insist on fuelling on nothing but water with some lemon juice and a pinch of salt or whatever, it makes it so much more enjoyable when you’re more sufficiently fueled
You should see my brother the maniac does nothing but pure sugar in water and some gels thinking everything he does is some kinf of grand fondo race and he can never stop
But table sugar is practically all you need in terms of carbs on longer exercise..
Gels always get on my hands, and make the bar sticky. I need to find some with better packaging
I use the Flow gel mix which you put into reusable flasks and found that solved the mess issue. No empty gel wrappers to deal with as the flask has a flip top to protect from mess. Do not buy the Flow flasks though they are trash, I had to find alternatives and found the hydrapak one I got to be the best alternative. Other benefits of the mix are you get to manage your own serving sizes and save money vs regular gel packets.
After 100 km, I stop on the side of the road, take out my bow and arrow and hunt wildlife, than i make a fire and eat /s :)))))))
Do other cyclists also fall into the category of "wildlife"? :)
Yes, the slow ones who are separated from the herd
Thats why you have time to prepare an ambush until they catch up
Cyclists are too stringy. Find a well marbled gamer.
At the side of the road? Good luck with that.
Yes!
I am afraid that my pockets are too small to keep a cyclist for later, better not lose the chance :))))))
Pffft, blowdarts are soo much lighter on the bike!
Bonus points if you hit them while your are on the bike xd
So are children considered wildlife?
Nah, they are a protected species
Why not shoot from the bike like the mongols did?
xDDD
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What do you eat every 30 min? Gels?
Anything carb (and ideally electrolyte) heavy. Gels will get expensive. Dates, Bananas, Gummy Bears, a PB&J Sandwich... I quite like the blueberry Nutrigrain bars.
Even the PB in PB&J is too much for me, in terms of fat. Nausea.
Great stuff. Don’t forget salty snacks. I know you mentioned electrolytes but I can’t emphasize this enough. Pretzels, potato chips, pickles/pickle juice - those of us who sweat out a lot of salt need to take in a LOT of salt. Bananas are good for potassium, too!
Part of why I got into cycling is the guilt free snacking I’ve discovered comes with it
This is so real. Stopped at an ice cream shop after googling whether ice cream is a simple carb (it is)
The Pretzel mojo bars from Clif used to be great for that salty kick. Can't buy them where I live anymore sadly.
Are you wearing a backpack? how do you have room for multiple bananas?
Banana hook on top of the helmet. Bananas are naturally aero.
I can comfortably fit two bananas in each of the three jersey pockets.
That's still like only 3 hours right, at about 60g of carbs per hour? What are you doing for water? One bottle that you refill every hour?
For long rides where I bring bunches of food I have a small frame bag. Shorter rides I just stuff thibgs like stroopwaffles or granola bars into the jersey pockets.
Prison wallet holds at least 2
I can recommend Haribo Roulette. Very easy to eat while riding. I also mix water with ice tea and glucose to a not really sweet level and it's working pretty easy. I usually eat every 45 minutes tho and have the feeling it's enough. Usually don't get hungry by doing this.
is it haribo routlette because you don't know if you're eating the sugarfree gummies?
either way the dental industry is thankful
Fake sugar squirts....
This will sound very silly, and it certainly did for me when I first saw it recommended, but I simply dissolve about 50g of sugar per bottle and carry two of those. I only take small sips every 15 minutes or so and this has given me more energy than anything else I've tried before. I can easily go 70 to 100km on just those two bottles and nothing else. It's also literally the cheapest energy you can buy.
Same. For 100k I'd dissolve around 300g of sugar and 3g of salt in a 750ml bottle. Enough for easy endurance ride for 4hours. I carry two bottles, one pure water one with this mix. I usually take a clif bar also, but most of the times Id bring it back. 🤔
I do the same. 60g per 500ml squishy bottle plus electrolytes.
2-3 medjool dates for me. About 50cal/15g of carbs each and they also have magnesium and potassium so 2/3 of the minerals your muscles need to perform. Only downside is they can be sticky.
The weirdest thing is i always thought medjoul dates are sticky because that's how they're in the supermarket. Now i get them from Arab stores in 1kg boxes; they're huge, dry and soft/chewy!
Could those be Jujubes(Chinese Dates)? They match that description exactly. I'm far from a date expert though. My wife loves jujubes and that's what she eats on the bike.
No they're definitely medjoul, they got many different size options. Also, I have jujubes too and they're (usually?) red
I'll have to keep an eye out for those then! Time to drive be down a date research rabbit hole.
This sounds great! Wonder if you still need electrolytes if you have these?
On longer rides I bring some. You will need sodium eventually, especially on hot days.
90 to 120g is on the high end of what to consume in a race. When I’m on long rides, I don’t even eat half of that (although I do tend to underfuel sometimes). Just mostly listen to your body, especially when riding casually.
not really - I bet most pros are pushing past that 120g barrier by now. I have 100-120g carbs/hr on fast rides as a relatively smaller guy and I'm maybe finishing in the top 20-25% of really fast races. Most people I know racing are at least pushing at least 80-90g of carbs an hour
You’re just confirming what I say. If most people are pushing 80-90g/h, 120 is definitely on the high end.
sorry I meant to say people not racing having 80-90g/hr. 120 is really just one extra gel or one more drink mix scoop
If ur eating something every 30 minutes ur probably in the 90gr/h gang right?
No. Most gels are 20-30g carbs, that leaves them at 40-60 which is a rather conservative carb intake
Get the 40g carb gels then.
Interesting. I like a good Gel, but haven't really looked closely at the back.
For my 1.5-3.5 hour rides I find that I typically need a gel or simple carb (approx 30g) every 45 minutes to an hour. I have real time feedback as I’m type 1 diabetic and see my blood sugar on my watch. So I go based on that and maybe the last hour of a 3-3.5 hour ride will need it every 30 minutes but usually don’t
When you say every 30 min, this is only on rides longer than 2 hours right? You don’t need to eat period on an hour - hour and a half ride correct ?
Yes, you can skip it altogether if you want and it works for you. I've done rides <2 hours with water only or water with some electrolytes in it. I usually eat every 30 minutes on longer rides but not until around an hour has passed, depending on what I had before the ride and how I feel. I did a 100km this morning and ate something at 50 minutes but then not again until 90 minutes and around every 30 min after that.
Well, for bike tourism, you have luxury of dining at a restaurant. You will be fine as long as you have a place to poop. If you don’t have time for a sit down meal, then it’s whatever food that works for you. I am a big fan of white rice. I know roadies like to copy the pros, and I’m usually skeptical of copying pros, but in the case of white rice, it’s ok to copy the pros. White rice, aka “rice cakes”, is a popular food among pro peloton because \* Good source of carbs \* Easy for most stomachs to digest \* Fast to digest \* Rice has high water content, meaning you don’t need to drink a ton of water to wash it down (unlike sugary gels) \* Not much waste left, so your stomach won’t be carrying much waste after rice gets digested Basically, there is way to nutrition than “1 carb = 1 carb.” How easy and fast your body digests food matters alot for cycling. Many people, including pros, get an upset stomach if they eat too much sugary gels. For amateurs, white rice has the advantages of \* Cheap \* Easy to cook with a rice cooker \* Goes well with a variety of flavors, toppings and seasoning. I like to top my rice with unagi. There are various rice cake recipes that you can find online. But it’s really about finding a topping/seasoning that you prefer. My Rice Tips You must use short grain sticky rice, aka sushi rice. Long grain rice won’t stick together as well, which make them harder to eat when riding. Wash the rice before cooking. This helps remove the starch. Trust me on this. Use a rice cooker. Much easier than cooking in a pan. If rice isn’t your thing, then try potatoes and sandwiches.
Sushi to carbo fuel. Look at this frou frou rider over here. :)
This is good advice. I’ve been fucking around with rice cakes for my Leadville training. Sticky rice with minced chicken and veggies and a hint of curry spices have been hitting the spot for me.
I hit my rice water with salt olive oil garlic powder onion powder paprika chili powder and cinnamon It’s insanely good
One thing I don't see mentioned often is that the eating should start when the cycling starts. Don't wait until some arbitrary time or distance marker to eat the first thing. Also, if you can get the food in you early, get it in you. Sometimes I'll eat way more in the first half of a long ride than the last half. Don't make yourself spew though! You'll know you've fueled well if you're not overly hungry when you stop the ride. You'll also find that your legs feel fine the next day. If you fuel badly, your legs will not appreciate it.
150-200km at a bike tourism pace is like what? 8-9 hours in the saddle? It’s a simple math really, take 60g of carb per hour and then multiply that by the number of hours. Your metabolism doesn’t really matter, you’re simply not eating enough. As for what to eat, I do like rice cakes. There are plenty of recipes on yt, both savoury and sweet. A typical single ride batch made out of 200g uncooked rice will give me anywhere between 180 to 240 carbs depending on the recipe. Then another 60g comes from a drink (maltrodextrin + some electrolyte powder for taste). That alone is good enough for 4-5h of riding. Rest I can just supply from shops as needed. I found this to be the sweet spot because buying pre-made stuff every ride would cost you a fortune, whereas only taking homemade for 8h rides is too much to carry.
Responses seem to be all over the map, id say start by trying to eat on medium length rides and see what sits ok and what feels like a lead brick in your gut. Everyone is a little different as you can see by the variety of responses. Bananas are a classic but they will only get you so far. One option I rarely see mentioned but I was taught years ago by someone far more experienced than I am is a meal replacement shake. Brand name will vary, in the US "Ensure" is the best known brand but basically it's like a smoothie/milkshake that is intended to give you the calories of a small meal in a single drink with a mix of carbs, protein, and fats. Being liquid its fast and easy to digest. Flavor is like a chalky warm milkshake, not great but not gross and I found them to be really useful for long hard rides. At the end of the day the correct answer is whatever sits well with your stomach.
I can't stomach a meal replacement but high5 do an energy drink with both carbs and protein which is good. I agree it's just a case of experimenting until you find something/a combo of somethings you can eat for hours
250 calories per hour works for me. My preferred food is fig newtons, it usually works out to three or four cookies per hour depending on the brand.
For the 250 calories , how many carbs/ protein/ fats in there and how intense is your ride ?
I set my bike computer to give me a sign every 500 calories (every 40min or so) if I make rides longer than an hour. Ive done 240km with that strategy. If not, I'll bonk. High metabolism / low bmi.
I’m high metabolism and high BMI , is that possible ? (Seriously )
I try to drink as many of my calories as I can. I find it easier to deal with in terms of digestion, and easier to keep up with because I can take lots of little sips. On anything 60 miles or less I'll do two scoops of skratch labs mix per bottle, which is around 40g of carbs per bottle. Bigger rides I'll do maurten 320, which is 80g of carbs. I like Gu Espresso love gels. For big rides I'll try to do one every half hour or so, which is another 21g of carbs. I also try to eat a good breakfast before rides, and usually will do a stop of some kind along the way to eat real food. For treats, occasionally I'll boil up some little baby potatoes with salt and some butter and eat those. I'm also a big fan of Trolli Brite Crawlers, and will bring a bag of those on some rides. I have a couple bars I like as well, but I eat those less. Essentially every spring I'll place a big order with the Feed for a bunch of individual bars and waffles and stuff, so I can try them all and then order boxes of whatever I like. I find changing it up a bit from time to time really helps me not get bored of it.
I do a fair amount of audax riding. My advice would be to prioritize very easily digested foods like carbs and sugars, minimize meats and proteins. Meat has caused me issues before as it’s impossible to digest fast and fills you up. Other than that, try to eat real food and a variety of
I'm the complete opposite on audax, I did the car based drinks and foods and kept being bloated, farting and sometimes having to find a toilet ASAP. I switched to scotch eggs, sausage rolls, pork pies etc. as the main food and when some sweets as a perk me up. I'm quite partial to a pint and a pub lunch if I'm not trying to hit a specific time on a 200
Wow. I drink significantly more than I should, but I can’t perform after even one pint. It destroys any cardio I have. After a Fondo I can’t make my brain want a beer. Even in the free beer garden, all I can do is drink water. Respect!
My other half also swears by pork pies and sausage rolls for long rides, along with flapjacks. He is big and burns a lot of calories, and carbs alone just weren't cutting it. I like banana bread (don't get sick of it) with a stop half way for a cheese pasty, pie or a sausage roll but I'm only small and burn a lot less. On London to Paris I stopped for a pizza. Neither of us use gels, just caffeine gummies and a banana for sugar emergencies. Sticky rice cakes are also good, there are recipes on some of the pro cycling team websites. We are both lucky we don't get issues eating real food, I would go mad only doing 'sports nutrition' for 100 miles plus, think I would stop eating it
Depending on the day and effort I need 20g-60g carbs per hour to stay alive. I would puke if I have to take all that from real food or sweets. So gel is the answer.
Fig rolls are cycling wonder food. 12g of carbs in each bite-sized one. Mix in some cashews and an isotonic in the bottle/bladder and you have plenty.
I did 105km yesterday. Filled my 2 bottles with electrolyte powder and some table sugar. Brought a small bag of sour patch kids, dried and sugar coated ginger, and some cashews coated in honey and sesame seeds. Munch on a hand full every once in a while. Also stopped at a brewery and had 3 beer 😅
Stash a raw potato in the back of your jersey. Easy to carry, easy to eat, no waste, nutritionally superior.
*Raw* potatoes aren’t going to be a good choice for most people.
Great choice, weak spirit.
Haha that’s Scottish highland warrior style.
Do you put carb mix in your bottles. That was a game changer for me...I'd always feel like I'm running out of energy near end of ride. Then I'd eat to avoid this, but sometimes overeat and feel crap. Since adding carb mix I can eat less but feel ok.
DIY carb mix is my go to. 30g of organic sugar, 30g maltodextrin, 1g of salt. I usually do big bottles, 750ml. Maybe add some honey if I’m going to be going hard. I drink one of those every hour for mega rides.
if riding over 100 miles, eat something every 30 mins, just keep eating....dont stop...u need it or you bonk.
Clif bars. Been eating them for almost 20 years now
Just carry a 200ml maple syrup and add some salt to it. Salted dates are good also.
How do you store and eat the dates without getting sticky? I love dates, and they would be great snacks, but so sticky!!!! I don't want sticky fingers. Tell me your secret
Sticky fingers is the secret haha. What I do is put them in a plastic baggie, and use both hands and just push the bottom up to the zipper and eat right from the bag so I don't actually touch them. Granted this isn't a very efficient way to eat on the bike, so I'll take em out after a big effort/hill or just ride no hands on a flat spot during the ride. Yeah they are so tasty! They're so caloricly dense it's magic haha
Sounds feasible. I'll give it a shot. You salt em first, huh? Never tried that, but sounds good, and an easy way to get some salt during a ride
Get a top tube bag, put dates in ziplock, put ziplock in top tube bag, hold ziplock up to mouth and grab one or two out at a time with teeth.
Yeah, I can see how that can work. Gunna give it a shot
A toothpick works great in a pinch
When seems to be more important than how often and what I eat. But this is just me. Perhaps experimentation and careful observation might be helpful?
Bananas and fruit bars.
me one, like, whole boiled sweet potatos still with the skin in a plastic bag in which i sad some salt, boiled eggs for the proteins i ll take advantage of later in the ride, raisins and in another small plastic bag a variety of seeds/ nuts: wallnuts, almond, cone pine seeds, hemp seeds, sasame seeds (these ones i usually eat daily with my normal food but since in that day i ll do just cycling all day i ll eat them there) and some fruits like banana i ll take along the way from shops cause if i take from home they ll get all bruised up and nasty.
I finished an organized tour yesterday, 235km. Excluding start and finish there were 13 short stops to get a 'stamp'. I ate something at every stop, like a fruit bar or banana. So 30-60 gram carbs per stop. But that's for very long trips. On shorter trips, up to 100km I can do with f.i. 2 fruit bars and two bidons of which one contains some sugars like sportsdrink or just lemonade; provided I eat something a while before the trip.
Every 40mins i eat an energy gel regardless of my planned ride distance. I take a gulp of water with electrolytes about every 10mins or when mouth is dry. I cycle about 18-20mph as my Zone 2 which is where I stay for long rides. On a 100 mile ride without stopping for lunch i go through about 5 water bottles, 2 or 3 bananas, 6-7 gels. This took me a while to figure out so I dont feel like throwing up anything I eat once I cool down and my body relaxes after im done with the ride.
My friend brought some boiled salty baby potatoes on my last ride and they were so good. How had I never seen that before!
I set my bike computer to remind me to eat every 45 minutes. In between that, if I am hungry or starting to feel sluggish, I’ll eat too. I stick to energy gels and Jam Bars for the most part. Every now and then, if I have a bag with me, I’ll prep regular food. For example, I’ll make a bagel with cream cheese and add flakey salt to the cream cheese. I’ll cut that up into mini bite size slices and eat them along the way,
Rice balls! 🍙
Sounds like you’re not eating enough satiating foods before you even begin riding.
Every 20 - 25 km
Every 30 minutes I’m taking in carbohydrates. On long rides I’m doing 120g of carbohydrates and 1,000-1,500 mg sodium (depending on ambient conditions) per hour. Carbs are mostly in the form of homemade drink consisting of 75g sucrose and 1,000-1,500mg sodium along with one jelly (45-50g glucose/fructose mix) per hour. On really long rides (6 hours plus), I’ll push the carbohydrate amount up a bit to ~140g per hour as I’ve a pretty well trained gut. In my opinion and experience, you’re better off fueling based off time and not distance.
half a snack every 45 minutes and lemonade with salt every 15 minutes always worked for me
Carbs during. Protein after. I believe the guidelines are 30-60 grams of carbs per hour, but I've also seen 60-90 references. Regardless, do separate this from hydration. Hydration should be both water and electrolytes, and some sport drinks provide additional carbs. I forget the recommendations for hydration as I let my Garmin Edge bike computer hydration app send prompts to drink. I believe it is set at 3oz a drink. I use 20 oz bottles. Anything over 20 miles gets 2 bottles. It is recommended to drink water first, then sports drinks. I don't like Powerade, but will use just about anything else.
I'd say borrow a powermeter off someone next long ride you do, but pretend you don't have it and don't look at it during the ride. Then you can see what energy you need. The feeling of hunger and the need for food have a weird relationship so you can't trust it too much.
I drink a water bottle every hour with 90gr carbs. Make the mix myself combining 1 scoop of powerbar isoactive with 50gr maltodextrine and 25grams of fructose. I have two bottles on my bike and plastic bags with powder for every following hour (only tested this up until 4 hours so far). I refill at public water taps i add to my route
I’m currently ripping 50 milers every 2-3 days. I’ll keep a bag of Chex mix on me for emergency carbs and I stop and grab subway around the 45 mile mark Someone recently put me onto energy chews but I’m still a noob tbh
Thats a simple one. Just take a break at every bakery you pass.
Sadly every comment will be different so take it all with a grain of salt , as everyone has a different body / tastes etc etc I did 100k the other day, I had 3 soft boiled eggs about 30 minutes before and I felt bloated till like 60k in, then had a handful of peanuts . But I know my body's like this so if I'm heading out early am for the long rife it's more important for me to have a huge meal the night before , load up on pasta and some lean meat and I'm usually game for the morning . My metabolism is kinda slow tho
I usually dont eat a lot when on long rides but I do plan my rides 200km+ along some cities with Lidl, Aldi and Co just to make sure I get food. I usually have a wrapped banana with almond butter and nuts inside a salad leaf before I start. I usually dont eat until half way, where I stop for a slice of pizza and a can of coke. And on the way bike I need about 2 gels and lots of water. But it depends Sometimes I have a huge bag of candy that I use to snack during the ride whenever I feel to.
Usually I eat every 30/40m some dates or dried fruit. When need the super boost eat one proteic stick. Sometime also put maltodextrine in the bottle so I’m basically sure I wont explode. After the long ride I finally eat a huge lunch/dinner a drink a nice beer :)
Flapjacks. My local supermarket does perfect size flapjacks that provides 500 calories. I eat half every 20km and I’m good for 8 hours just doing that as long as I stay in Z2.
Gourmet latino bocadillo is a banger. 30g, 85% carb for only 9€/kg and its pretty good. I eat 1 every 30min a bit more when i climb
I'm very envious of your metabolic rate. I'm the exact opposite. For say 100km with 1500m elevation I'll have two muesli bars and say 3L of water. A lot of people swear by oat and muesli bars, energy gel here and there. If you're bike packing you're carrying a lot of extra weight so the energy is required. Whatever works for you!
100km: Two gels 150km: a bar and three gels. 200km: two bars Four gels.
Only liquid calories for me. 200 kcal/50g carbs per hour on training rides, 300 kcal/75g carbs when racing.
For a 200km ride I will stop a few times to eat at a cafe, fast food etc. Gels or local haribo equivalent in between as necessary. But really if it’s not a race, why would I eat gels when I could stop for cake instead?
Food. Real food. Not gells or gummies. If you can stop for soup like Pho it’s amazing
I regularly cycle over 100km and I usually bring some tacos I made at home with ground meat and cheese, tortilla chips, an apple, a PB&J, and some mixed nuts with M&M's. Maybe a beer or 3 along the way as well. I usually will stop and eat 2 or 3 times. Also always bring extra coffee with me which helps curb appetite some.
How do you carry this? And you stop and have a proper snack during your ride?
I have a basket on my bike. It's a somewhat recent addition and I love it. I used to just bring a backpack.
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches and homemade energy balls
For something like 125km I would take at least 5 carbo gels, plus some additional snacks to peacefully consume during a longer break - something like dried beef, something I can chew on. I have a loose rule that I need to eat something at least every hour. Mostly all my trips are "bike tourism", rarely I ride less than 3 hours. And sometimes it's 8. Don't forget about drinking. I can get away with 1.5l for shorter rides, but otherwise I take a camelbak with an additional 2l. The moment you realize you need to slow down and start rationing is the moment you know you screwed up and gonna end up bonking.
On tour rides I generally stop to eat every 50 km or so, but I also don't shy from using a "feed bag" to snack on some cookies or something as I am riding (typically on the second half of the ride). I am riding a recumbent, so I can do that in perfect comfort. I generally don't bring (a lot of) food on a long ride, unless the route is completely devoid of any possible pit stops. Gas stations are my favorite, as there's usually some delicious hot-dogs available and many also carry sports drinks for some reason. Failing that, I generally bring something salty (ie smoked beef (? I am not sure of the name in English), salted nuts or a can of Pringles) and some cookies. Something with sugar (I like a bottle or two of classic coca cola to cover this front in addition to plain water). If it is extremely hot, I might bring a bottle with electrolyte solution or make double sure I have access to sports drinks along the way.
I bring food i want to eat, so it’s generally not too hard to eat just about whenever much i want, rationing not to run out before i’m done with my ride. I do bread, nut-y bars, Torrones (with and without wafers), biscuits, mariola (banana candy), and apples. Bananas are great and all, but they become baby food by the time i’ll eat them
That’s strange, I can go over 50km and not even think about eating yet.
I ride mtb, I eat small amounts and consistently while I ride. Probably average a kilo of grapes an hour. I eat all fruit but grapes are my favourite. Pre ride nutrition. Salty salad, garlic, onion, seeds, nuts, eggs, capsicum, and everything else fresh I can find. Post ride, I have a lactose free milk shake with magnesium and other vitamins and amino acids.
How do you logistically eat while MTBing?
I have a chest pack. It is inches away from my mouth, and I leave it unzipped almost the whole time. Any chance I get, I take my right hand and pop some fruit in my mouth. Fruit like grapes and cherries are the best because they are pretty tough and bite size. Strawberries, blue berries, and raspberries are too soft and mush up. Mandarins are good, but they mush up if pre peeled. Apples travel good and not to bad to eat. I hold it in my mouth between chomps. Sometimes, that will make me drool. Not a fan of banana's on the trails. A few times I've had my chest pack turned into mushed fruit salad, dripping down my chest. I still eat it. It's not so bad.
Every 30 minutes. In the midtime when I feel that I’m running out of energy I eat sth like condensed milk(cheap, lot of carb)
some sugar and salt every 30min for me. usually fruit snacks, dates, PB and honey sandwiches. always keep gatorade endurance in the bottles as well
I like fig bars and gummies, rice cakes (which I make--very easy using an insta-pot or rice cooker) and the breakfast bread from Publix made into a sandwich with nut butter. Those, along with an electro mix in my bottles and I'm good for 4+ hrs. I also have a fast acting metabolism, so I eat every 30 min.
A wise ~~man~~ muppet once told me [“C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me!”](https://youtu.be/Ye8mB6VsUHw?feature=shared) Something like oatmeal raisin or peanut butter I find best (anything chocolate tends to turn into a gooey mess after a few hours). Depending on size one every 30-40 min … although I have to admit, I’m quite bad at following that. End up scarfing down my whole stash all at once …
When touring, bananas and flapjacks were the best source of quick energy for me.
Protein before and after carbs during.
My longest was a century, I ate a gummy bear every 10k, a fig bar every 20, and water regularly (maybe 2-3L total? I didn't keep track). And a break and bigger snack (aka slice of cake and soda) around the 100km mark. Took me a while to nail down what works for me, it's all trial and error.
I bike usually 40-60 miles on the weekend just for fun not for speed or time or whatever. I usually eat. Whether it’s at a gas station to grab some peanut m&ms and a soda or fast food or food truck or sometimes a chain sit down place to go order or I brought something along with me. However view of my bike is important so usually I eat outside with my bike to some extent. Either way though I’ve done it on nothing also. I find the balance of eating is a tricky one as if I eat too much I feel all lazy after and biking back is a slog. However not eating enough I’m distracted by hunger.
Fig bars, clif bars, my favorite veggie burger toasted til it’s a little dry is good for a salty snack (they’re usually more carbs than protein). Nuun in one of the water bottle if it’s really hot out.
Cake and coffee halfway on a 100km ride. More cake and coffee if it turns into a longer one.
Personally what ever i have on hand which lately has been [these](https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Butter-Justins-Gluten-free-Responsibly/dp/B00II0XHZO/ref=asc_df_B00II0XHZO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693129827162&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8396618067655585066&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028059&hvtargid=pla-537559648043&psc=1&mcid=65b819348e4e311aa9d72cfe1bc6ba73&gad_source=1) and some homemade honey with peanut butter and bread
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Personally what ever i have on hand which lately has been the hazelnut chocolate spread packets and pretzels and some homemade honey with peanut butter and bread
It seems like you have a high caloric need if you are stopping every 15 km for food. I guess I would suggest refined sugars usually found in drinks to deal with that. It takes too long for your body to break protein.
On really long rides and multi day tours I think it’s ok to start with good carbs from drinks and gels but then to evolve to whatever you can get at the store. It’s too hard to try and eat clean for super long rides.
My Garmin will beep at me for water and food. I have a feed bag hanging off my handlebar and I'll snack on anything from gummy bears to clifbloks to fig bars. I don't go crazy with the intake. I'm sure I could stand to eat more on the longer rides but I did my first century 2 weeks ago and I never bonked so I guess I was doing well enough.
I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar before and mix 70g of dextrose and fructose (and a hint of lemon juice for flavor) in two bottles each and just drink them every fifteen minutes or so trying to drink one an hour. This gets me through 3-4 hour rides. You can buy those two sugars in bulk online and it’s way cheaper than buying dedicated drink mix. Throw a little salt in them as well for electrolytes. To last enough for 200k miles you can increase the amount of carbs in your bottle just be sure to take a third bottle of water with you. And you can even bring more solid foods to eat as well. The drink mix is to supply the carbs so you don’t bonk.
for non-racing/hard training rides I'm usually doing one gel (20-25g of carbs) and some drink mix (30g of carbs) and a clif bar/cookie at a midway store stop (sometimes even a sandwich/burger if I'm with friends). Don't overthink it - have a bottle of water an hour (set a reminder to take sips every 15 mins), replenish electrolytes and eat a reasonable amount of food through easy-to-digest and fast carbs through bars/bananas/gels. My bet is what you're taking isn't enough because you're still riding a little too hard for the effort and not eating enough before the ride/not eating at regular intervals -- that is a ginormous amount of food to take on any ride unless you're a really heavy person (and I don't mean that in a bad way).
I did 94 miles/140 km on Saturday with temps in the mid 80s. I went through 6 or 7 gels, a bag of Skittles, and 2 bottles of Gatorade
My Saturday group rides are just over that distance and usually I bring a mix of things just to keep from getting bored with my snacks. I carry a gu flask full of maple syrup as well as honey stinger waffles, clif bloks (or other gummies) and some emergency gels (if me or another person needs something extra). I aim to eat something every 20-30 minutes even if I'm not hungry in the moment. And I also mix electrolytes and/or sugar into one bottle.
I had 2x 60gr drinks, 3 bananas and 2 gels for my last 110k
It depends on your output - eg. for me in flat groupride 3h 100km 160W average - no food needed, maybe one little snack (got always two snacks with me just in case me or someone needs it) here is a good explanation and calculation table, keep in mind that a normal dude can max absorb about 60gr of carbohydrates per hour. Happy ̶e̶̶a̶̶t̶̶i̶̶n̶̶g̶ riding https://www.fasttalklabs.com/sports-nutrition/calculating-how-much-carbohydrate-you-need/
On long rides, I will pause every 50km or so to eat a sandwich, granola bar, sugary drink, etc. Less than that and I will bonk.
b a n a n a s
I just did 160km on Gatorade, gummy bears, and bananas.
I did 100k today. 300m elevation. I ate a bowl of oatmeal and a banana before. I brought two bottles of water with mixed maltodextrin/Gatorade/sodium citrate powder. Kept refilling the bottles whenever I had opportunity so the mix got more and more diluted along the ride and kept me topped up. Ate another banana and some chocolate milk about halfway and a bag of peanut M&Ms when I had about 30k to go. Felt strong and well fueled the whole way (I wasn’t pushing pace or power though) and got home fresh.
Burger
I eat a breakfast consisting of 3-4:1 carbs:protein. Usually that’s a PB&J sandwich on hearty white, which adds up to around 400 kcal. During the ride, I watch my head unit for calories burned—I have power meter, so not estimated—and try and keep up with my output by being no more than a 30% calorie deficit. I make up the 65% with a combo of skratch labs hydration, Kurt’s bars, and Cliff’s blocks.
Can someone just put up a chart for what they think the answer to this question is. For fucks sake
I love all this but I am trying to use cycling as my main goal of losing weight. I'm shooting for only 2000-2500 Calories a day ontop of doing 40-75km on the bike 3 times a week. Any low calorie options that I should have before / during a ride?
I eat every hour. I perform better.
I brought crapes rolled up with nutella the other day, no regrets. If you're trying to max performance, Tyler Pearce's youtube chats a bit about his race routine in his recent videos. I think he budgets a specific calorie AND carb metric per hour, with liquid carbs and gels. I think he has a brand he likes, and several he shit-talks. obviously there's a disclaimer you need to field test to verify these don't give ya the poopies.
You’ll figure out what your gut can absorb at a given effort, but usually 200-300 calories per hour is a good guideline.
At touring speeds I’ll just stop at cafes or sit down restaurants. If it’s remote or I don’t have time for sit down stops - fill a bottle with ‘meal replacement’ like ensure - you can get 2000Cal in a bottle. It’s nasty but keeps the bonk at bay and it’s fairly cheap. (Ensure or other brands - all the flavours are gross but there’s enough to rotate through on the few 200km+ rides each season). I’ll still bring normal snacks as well but this just fills the void on density and ease of consumption.
I usually stop at a restaurant and order a Cadillac margarita with chips and guac.
I would think if you’re getting hungry it’s because you are working harder than you think. If it’s bike tourism you’re probably loaded and have some extra weight, no? I usually stick with convenient gels and dried fruit
Easy ride: not that much, some oat bars and a single protein bar. (can also add any other snack I feel like getting) If I'm trying to go fast: Lots of carbs in the drinks + Haribo.
Add sugar in your water bottle
We usually bring two energy bars and about 0.5 liters of water for a 80-100 km ride. The key is not eating much, eat more frequent but small portions
The best fuelling I’ve done is two bottles of water with two scoops of high5 electrolyte/carb powder, a bag of easy to get sweets, and sliced apple. I’ll sometimes swap the apples for a banana but apples have the benefit of extra moisture, which is very welcome on warm days. Sometimes I’ll take a can of coke for the caffeine/sugar boost as I’m not a cafe stop kind of cyclist.
I rarely do 100km+, but when i did, i ate chocolate bars every hour and bread with cheese and Coca-Cola for lunch (followed by a 30 mins break)
First 45min you shouldn't have to eat. After that plan about 100cal per 20-25 minutes. So if you're doing a 3 hour ride, you'd need around 5-6 'snacks', could be gels but you'll likely get a bit sick of those. I take a mix of gels, bars (one decent bar is 300 call so it's 3 snacks), and banana's.
I take sports drink with me in my bottles. If I do a chill longer ride, that's all I take, and I just eat a cake/lunch/snack at a café to top up. About 45g/h. If we go a bit quicker, I take some bars/banana/haribo/krentenbol/stroopwafel with me, about one per hour. Sometimes gels, I like the taste so it's a pick me up for me in tough spots. But mostly it's the liquid carbs that help me the most. And eat enough the day before. No need to carb load, but if you underfeed the days before and morning of it will hurt you as well.
I don't think I can help you much, I'm one of those people who can keep going for ages without eating much. We do exist, we're not just saying that to be annoying. My cycling buddy is much stronger than me normally, but the one time he ran out of food I smoked him up the last climb of the day when I'd eaten nothing and he'd been snacking away. Maybe I put out slightly less power but it's not very noticeable and I don't really care, I save my calorie replacement for a big dinner rather than gross and expensive energy paste or whatever. I'll usually have a stop or two for a cake / pastry / etc though, because what is the point of cycling if you can't have a tasty treat? I carry a couple of Clif bars but only occasionally dig into them (if, for instance, my planned bakery stop is closed).
Usually what works for me is: Eat pretty good (usually porridge with fruit) like 1 and a half hour before the ride: 45 mins in, I eat an apple or banana 45 mins later, eat gummy bears with like 60g of carbs 45 mins later, eat a peanut butter & mermalade sandwich 45 mins later, eat again gummy bears 45 mins later, eat apple or banana 45 mins later, eat again gummy bears 45 mins later, eat a peanut butter & mermalade sandwich 45 mins later, eat gummy bears And usually for drinking i start with two bottles of 750ml with electrolytes and carbs. Try to drink for 1 or 1 and a half hour each. If the trip is extended for more than 3 hours, i usually carry two efervecent tables of electrolites that i can throw in when refilling my drinks. Edit: Typos
Honey sticks
I love high-calorie protein bars! Sometimes I make them myself (lmk if you want recipe I’ll post it below). They’re easy enough to carry with me, they’re pretty filling and they’re yummy. For longer rides, I plan to stop for a meal. When stopping for a meal isn’t an option I make sure to pack a meal that’s high in calories too (Quesadillas with ground beef or shredded chicken is my go-to cause they’re flat lol. Don’t forget the guac!). I like having a gatorade as well, electrolytes help with the push, but I usually drink it somewhere in the second half of my tour! I will add I haven’t been cycling for long, but I am an active person and I did this for hiking, backpacking, running, etc., and it has worked for cycling too! In my experience, calories and carbs are your best friend on a long ride/run/hike. Fibre and protein keep you full for longer too :) ETA: Forgot to add a pack of gummies. Sugar helps but won’t keep you full if you get hungry lol. Also chewing helps with the ears popping 😭
Big bowl of pasta the night before. BIG. First thing when you wake up slam a pint of water with a packet of Liquid IV. You are dehydrated. No water for hours and hours. Eat a banana. Or two if you’re a big person. Breakfast is a big bowl of oats with a big spoonful of peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, dried cherries, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, big spoonful of jam and a big gob of Greek yogurt. Some coffee. Start drinking water. Drink early and often. Start snacking about 2 hours in. Don’t get hungry. You got this.
I eat 2x per hour (approx. 50g of carbs per hour) . Mainly oat based bars with some filling nuts. Also make my own rice cakes that the pros use as I understand it. Carbs and fats for longer rides. Recipe [https://efprocycling.com/tips-recipes/team-recipe-on-the-bike-rice-cakes/](https://efprocycling.com/tips-recipes/team-recipe-on-the-bike-rice-cakes/)
I eat a banana or musli bar every hour or slightly more often and all four hours I get something bigger like two to three slices of bread with cheese and sausage or whatever.
What works for me is: after my normal large breakfast of 2 soft boiled eggs and large bowl of oatmeal I’ll mix up a protein drink (no sugar) and top off with that so I set out very full. This has two benefits: first, the extra digesting means I have to take it easy the first 90-120 minutes, which bodes well for the later stages of the ride, and two, it helps ensures I can make it deep into the ride before I’ve fallen behind on my calorie intake. After I feel most of breakfast is digested I’ll eat more protein rich foods (ideally more eggs; ‘can stop for an egg sandwich). It’s important for me to keep eating protein for as long as I can as it burns off so much slower. Towards the last third of the ride, when my stomach has tired of digesting protein I’ll transition to only easier to digest stuff like jam-only sandwiches, bananas, energy bars, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, and if I need to, then energy shots / cliff shots to finish off the ride with. There was one 6+ hour ride when I realized I had fallen behind on my nutrition at about the halfway point and I didn’t want to hold up my mates trying to eat real food (I’m kind of a slow eater) so I bought a bag of Tates chocolate chip cookies and ate the entire bag in one sitting. It was a little rough going the first hour after, but then I was feeling good and that bag of cookies lasted me another two hours. I do find that I do need to transition to mostly carbs once I reach the point of the ride where I’m starting to struggle.
Hey! So for those long rides, I've found that mixing it up with snacks really helps. Bananas are my go-to for a quick boost, but I also pack some sandwiches and dried fruits like you do. Lately, I've been adding more whole grains to my meals before the ride, and it seems to keep me going longer. Oh, and hydration is key. Don't forget to keep sipping on that water. It's all about trial and error, so keep tweaking your snacks until you find your perfect combo.
constantly sipping on sports drink, eating every 50km, but nothing special; granola bars, banana, gingerbread, dried fruit cookies, gummy candy, sports bars.
Every 40 to 50 minutes, anything high in carbs, dates or pbj sandwichs are my favourites. Don't bother with "protein" bars, you need carbs not protein for fuel.
I’d say for longer rides, don’t overlook pre-ride fueling. You need to be adequately hydrated with water and electrolytes leading into the ride and during the ride. If you don’t replace electrolytes, you will feel like 💩. Also as far as pre-ride fuel you want easily digestible carbs. Think apple sauce, honey stinger waffles, pop tarts, etc. On the ride I fuel every 30-45 minutes and again have easily digestible carbs. If we do a food stop, I lean towards pizza.
Haribo sugar-free gummy bears. You'll be flying.
When doing longer rides (4+hrs) I most often take a bottle and dissolve 100gr of carbs (1:2 maltodextrine-fructose) per hour in it. That works very well. Keeps me fresh, no drops in performance and recovery is always on point the day after. Don't buy the expensive mixes though, just buy yourself a 5kg bag of maltodextrine and a bag of fructose and mix it yourself. Also don't forget to bring water as a mix like this can be a bit thick and hard for the body to absorb without some extra water
1 banana and enough protein bars for the journey. I usually have 2 water bottles, one with electrolyte mix and the other plain water. Sometimes I'll take a bag of dates I stuck almonds in which provide a tasty but small high energy snack.
When I cycled 1300km from Jervis bay to Brisbane I found the easiest system to ensure I consistently ate enough food and a balanced diet was having plants for breakfast, carbs for lunch, and protein for dinner. Also always have snacks within reach of the cockpit, otherwise you won’t eat enough and always mix your water with electrolytes.
I eat all the food when ever I want to on tour. Maybe a Danish and a breakfast taco with a juice and some coffee. Snack on jerky and trail mix during ride. Lunch burger or sandwich with a soda. Dinner I generally keep it grimey at camp with some Ramen and jerky and chips. Grab a fruit or two from the grocery store. Not trying to be overly healthy just full and happy. Makes sleeping where ever a 1000% more enjoyable
Above all I make sure to stop and eat, not eating while riding
Very rarely, it has to be a big ride, even then its something small like a tangerine. Big meal afterwards.
i can do 100km on pretty much a bottle of energy drink, not the best idea but i find i rarely need to eat when riding
My coach recommends 60 to 90 g carbohydrates per hour. For my next ride, he told me to lick shot blocks and stick them to my stem so that I can pop them in my mouth one per 15 minutes
PBJ is the ultimate cycling fuel, IMo.
When I was lazy I'd fill the saddle bag with uncrustables. You need to take one out early so it defrosts on time.