what to eat before/during/after long consecutive rides

chris_bass

Hi

I am soon to be embarking on a 4 day charity bike ride (http://www.justgiving.com/chris-holton/ more details up there!) and i have a couple of questions:

firstly food:

what should i eat before, during and after each days ride?
i have done a few long training rides and tend to eat a bannana or two before i set off then jam sandwiches every hour or two on the way round with the odd cereal bar or chocolate bar thrown in if i feel the need! then about a pint of milk straight after and then lunch and dinner pretty much as normal!

this usually does me pretty well but i dont want to get to day three and suddenly queel over or something!!

any advice on good foods to eat and when to eat, that kind of thing?

the second question is fundraising:
does anyone know any good ways to drum up support?

think thats it for now :-)

pompy

Nice big brekkie but not too much fat, go for, scrambles eggs on toast and porridge on the side

Keep eating little and often through the day. Stop for lunch but don't stuff yourself or you'll be lethargic and don't stop for more than 30 mins or you will find it hard to get going again!

Put a poster up at work, FB people and keep reminding them by mentioning how your training is coming on!

noidea123

I'm doing london to paris for the Alzeimers Society in September. Me and a mate had to raise £2600 between us, and have gone past £3k now. Biggest success was holding a do at a local curry house. They agreed to put on an all you can eat 3 course buffet for £10 a head, £5 for under 11's.

Did it on a sunday afternoon, played some live acoustic music with a mate from my band, and raised over £900. Sold the adult tickets at £20 a head, kids at cost, and had a small auction with tickets for theme parks etc.

Also went round our village with our kids into all the shops, and got the kids to approach the shop keepers. In half an hour we had another £200!

Good luck. Sure you'll get there.

GyatsoLa

Milk is a great recovery drink, and its not bad during the day either (in any of its forms, such as yoghurt drinks). But do read the ingredients if buying yoghurt drinks, some of the don't actually have any milk in them.

As above, the best breakfast is always oatmeal. Little and often with food is always best, keep it light, nothing too fatty or bulky. I love Clif Bars if you can get them, a great snack. Lots of pasta or rice in the evening, don't go overboard with meat or cheese, its harder for the body to digest.

priory

oatmeal is great but you can overdo the fibre when you are really stocking up on calories, as I discovered when I ate all of my muesli emergency rations on the last day

I am glad to see you have not fallen for the tubs of magic chemical powder nonsense.

ps egg sandwiches and milkshakes from petrol stations are a good thing, and the till operator might possibly fill your water bottle .

Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth often with water with all these sugary things getting on your teeth.

MichaelW

The modern buzzword is Low GI, ie food that takes time to digest and wont result in a sudden sugar spike. Porridge, wholemeal toast, light cooked breakfast etc are all good.

Bananas can be tuned to give the desired GI by leaving them to go blacker. Yellow ones are high in starch, blacker ones are higher in sugars. I leave mine until they are a bit speckled.

For snacks you can use fig rolls, museli bars, fruit and nut mix.
sandwiches are good but jam is a bit of a sugar rush and gets messy. Peanut butter, cheese or other savoury stuff works for me. On my long tours I get a craving for pies and pasties.
Basically if you are hungry any food is good. You should eat before you get hungry.

Big evening meals are needed, high in carbs so pasta, rice, potatoes etc.
My favourite energy drink to go with dinner is a rich stout.

DTH

I've done a couple of Long Alpine and Pyranean trips. I have found that you have to use a energy drink in one bottle and water in the other. Large breakfast, oats, bread ect. quick lunch. But most important as soon as you stop get a recovery drink into you. made a mistake a couple of years ago, missed the recovery drink. Went for a shower, meal 2 hours later...... Paid for it big time then next day...

alwaystoohot

He's only going away for 4 days, not 6 months!

Here's an interesting link: http://www.cptips.com/recvry.htm

Personally in your position I'd havinga whacking great big traditional breakfast, snack on bananas, mars bars and choclatre milk, then have a normal lunchand a good evening meal. I'd also take carb supplements during the day and a protein supplement at night.

If that doesn't get you through it, nowt will!