Best Fuel on the go?

Geordie Mick in Wigan

Only just got back into cycling (like this week ), picked up my new Spesh Allez and was out this morning at 7am giving her a maiden voyage. The question I have is which is the best food on the go?

I'm doing the Manchester - Blackpool ride tomorrow and being unfit and 19st i know I'm going to hit 'the wall' at some point. That said I did 16 miles this morning in 55 mins and had to stop about three times to adjust SPD's etc.

I've bought a few SIS GO bars and the gel packs, are they any good or are they like Lucozade sport which wil give you a 5 minutes boost by increasing your bloos sugar levels then can't sleep at night because of all the cafeine in it?

pabloweaver

I swear by these things http://www.eatnatural.co.uk/

tried all sorts over the years ( gels ......nnnnnrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh :? like sugary mucus ! ) and had so so thoughts on them .

these natural bars are good to eat , flavoursome, variety of flavours and 3 for 1.65 in tesco ! ( 80 pence each in holland a barrat )

in fact BR seems to agree with me ! http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... bars-25822

my fave is the macademia and dark choc

sub55

pork pie

NommaG

Soreen!

Corporate Camper

pabloweaver wrote:

my fave is the macademia and dark choc

Same here, I love them!

Coyote

If your ride is tomorrow I would try and stick to as much "normal" grub as you can. I think some of the bars/gels are a bit hard to take if you haven't tried them before...and your 1st big ride isn't the time to expiriment in my opinion.

Bananas can't go wrong, a ham roll, bit of soreen or ceral bars will see you through alright. Remember to drink enough to keep hydrated.

A liitle food & drink often is better than a lot at once.

The bars and gels do work so if you do want to give them a go leave them till later in the ride when they are less likely to make you want to barf!

Good luck!

softlad

sub55 wrote:

pork pie

or pepperami - a bit of savoury is a nice change from all that sugary stuff....

sub55

pepperami, thats a good one, never thought of that.
i`ll give that a try at some time.

another favourite is cherry tomatoes, they just the right size got a bit of a crunch but Josee sweet but not sugarey

fast as fupp

dexedrine

Chip \'oyler

Use High 5 4:1 Carb/Protein drink and take some gels

APIII

Chip \'oyler wrote:

Use High 5 4:1 Carb/Protein drink and take some gels

I tried the High5 yesterday for the first time and it did seem to give me a bit of a boost over a 3 hour ride.

Agree with the previous posters about the eat natural bars - very good.

Chip \'oyler

APIII wrote:

Chip \'oyler wrote:

Use High 5 4:1 Carb/Protein drink and take some gels

I tried the High5 yesterday for the first time and it did seem to give me a bit of a boost over a 3 hour ride.

Agree with the previous posters about the eat natural bars - very good.

Yep - it's the best fuel drink I've used. And it tastes alright too

Gav888

pabloweaver wrote:

I swear by these things http://www.eatnatural.co.uk/

tried all sorts over the years ( gels ......nnnnnrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh :? like sugary mucus ! ) and had so so thoughts on them .

these natural bars are good to eat , flavoursome, variety of flavours and 3 for 1.65 in tesco ! ( 80 pence each in holland a barrat )

in fact BR seems to agree with me ! http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... bars-25822

my fave is the macademia and dark choc

Good to see people using them, ive seen them in Tesco and had them before and they are lovely, but never on the bike as there is no info regarding how much carbs they have... so ive been using Nutra-grain bars and they are ok, bit dry whilst eating on the go though.

Will give the eat natural bars a go now as never seen the review on here before....

pabloweaver

this is my drink of choice


tastes great and works well for me, got a whole bunch of stuff in it and its a big tub for twenty quid !

http://www.reflex-nutrition.com/en/ener ... e-edge.php

ombwiri

Do as Tim Krabbe does, Figs. Lovely high sugar fruit in an edible package.

singlespeedexplosif

Tangfastics.

idreamoftailwinds

pabloweaver

Not badly priced, I work it out at 37 40g servings using a 500ml btl.

Thanks for that I may just give a bash.

daniel_b

We've been taking out fig rolls for rides, and it makes the world of difference.

can slip them loose into rear jersey pockets, and even I can extract and eat whilst on the move. not too sweet, only takes 2 bites, and seems to have plenty of energy.

IIRC, 50p for a pack containing a dozen or so.

I imagine those more advanced can open a cereal bar and remain in control of the bike, I on the otherhand would end up in a hedge.....

Dan

soveda

Humzinger fruit bars are quite nice and easy to open and eat on the go.

graham1871

Personally I love Clif bars!

Taste like proper food unlike Gels, etc, but seem to give me a good energy boost when I need it:
http://www.v2mal.com/clif/category/58

prawny

Daniel B wrote:

We've been taking out fig rolls for rides, and it makes the world of difference.

can slip them loose into rear jersey pockets, and even I can extract and eat whilst on the move. not too sweet, only takes 2 bites, and seems to have plenty of energy.

IIRC, 50p for a pack containing a dozen or so.

I imagine those more advanced can open a cereal bar and remain in control of the bike, I on the otherhand would end up in a hedge.....

Dan

I always have fig rolls in my pockets on my homeward commute just in case, I usually eat them anyway because they're lovely, can get stuck to the roof of your mouth though, so take a drink.

pabloweaver

idreamoftailwinds wrote:

pabloweaver

Not badly priced, I work it out at 37 40g servings using a 500ml btl.

Thanks for that I may just give a bash.

think thats about right , the tub has 60 servings for a 330 bottle, although to be honest if im just using it as a pep drink on a 2 hour ish ride I tend to only put the one scoop ( 330ml measure ) into a 500ml bottle and it does the job. I Use the full measure for pre/post ride drink or for a particularly tough ride .

have ordered a few times now and the company is very good in its business, good principles and the added bonus of free delivery.

go for the orange flavour ...tastes great ....although my girlfriend thinks it the new wonder hangover cure !

Longwaydown

Used High 5 for the first time yesterday on the London to Bournemouth ride (112 miles) and it seemed to work well - also had a load of gels - first time i'd tried those too.

By the end I was sick of all the sugar but found myself bouncing around like a loon with energy to spare!

Like the OP, have only recently got back into cycling and have done a few 25-30 miles rides & a 60 in preparation as well as a bit of commuting, but felt surprisingly ok on this longer run - didn't find any of the hills too much of a problem either.

keef66

fig rolls in one pocket = energy bars, jelly babies in the other = gels but without the caffeine, and robinsons squash with a bit of salt in the water bottles. Pint of tea and a couple of HobNobs when I get home = recovery drink. I like to think of it as my Prudence in Sport System, no acronym required.

I'm an average recreational cyclist; I've already spent too much on the bike, and even if I could afford all that sports specific muck I don't think I would. The freebie Zipvit gel I tried a few weeks ago was indescribably disgusting.

fungus_the_muffin_man

When I'm on night shifts I have a kellogs crunchy nut bar about 40 mins before I have to set off. It gives me enough energy to get home quicker than the journey to work!

Agent57

Gav888 wrote:

there is no info regarding how much carbs they have...

If you're interested in the nutritional information of EatNatural bars, it's available here on their web site. I agree with other posters; they're yummy as all hell.

delcheung

Torq energy gels are great, recommended by bike radar reviews last year - the forest fruits with guarana is great in giving a quick and long energy boost

marklocke

pabloweaver wrote:

my fave is the macademia and dark choc

+1. feel like you're getting more chocolate than you are, so it serves two purposes for me!

Takis61

Beat me to it on the Eat Natural bar info on their website.
My faves :-
Dried fruit
Geo Bars
Gatorade (also trying out the new Taut Sport)
Bananas (of course)
Fig rolls & soreen (as per others)