Nutrtion For 50 mile to 100 mile rides

rob777

Hi there,

Are there any nutrition plans/foods/drinks that you'd recommend, either while on the bike or in recovery...

I''ve started to increase distance on my rides from 20 to 30 to 40 and now 50 miles... I run out of energy at the 40 mile mark and just wanted to know the best stuff to eat (or drink) to keep going. I'm hoping to do a 100 miler soon.

Thanks for your help,
Rob

danridesbikes

pub lunch half way

richard205

Rob, you don't mention what you eat before you get on the bike.

Ensure you have some complex carbs before you go out on the bike, slow release foods such as oats will help to stave off 'bonking' As well as natural foods such as bananas and grapes. Both high in natural sugars.
Include plenty of fluids too, i'd personally carry more than i need just in case it gets hot, or i start to suffer and need to cool down.

On the bike I use either SIS or zipvit drinks and bars. There are plenty of others available. Sometimes they don't suit peoples digestive systems so would suggest you try before you find yourself out in the countryside with an urge for the toilet.

Of course theres always cake, beer and other cycling delights but i find it lays too heavy making me feel sick.

Cleat Eastwood

Its good that you know that you run out of energy at 40 miles, this means you need to take food on before that, maybe 30 mile mark. Everyone is different and it can take a while to learn when your body needs little nibbles or something more substantial. On longer rides (50+) I eat little bits every half hour or so after the first hour.

Anyway there are loads of bars/gels etc and a lot are down to personal taste. I like Honey stingers and, as recommended by a forumer caramel wafers from lidl which seem much more nourishing.

These and a banana seem to do me for 50-60 mile rides

For longer I swear by having at least two of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UiuqIWGe_s

home made rice cakes, not only a savoury change but also really nutritious.

Drinkwise I've just started using these

http://www.highfiveonline.co.uk/zero-xt ... i5394.html

simply because you carry 4 tabs easier than a few sachets of powder.

But best of all if you are doing a 100miler.....the pub lunch wins.

Jon8a

I find energy products too expensie to use on every ride. You also become habituated to them and they seem to have less effect (in my personal experience). I ride with guys who will do a century on a banana but that is also daft.

Bananas are good though, cereal bars, flapjack, few haribo or winegums (sugary sweets of any sort really). I usually just use whatever cereal bars are on offer or go to the bakery section and pick up flapjack. Fig rolls are also good. This will get me through a non stop century comfortably. For racing and when I'm pushing myself I usually start off with cereal bars move onto energy bars and finally gels when I can't face eating anymore.

You can store enough energy for about two hours riding. After this you run into problems. Don't wait until you feel hungry. On a three hour ride I'd suggest eating a banana at the one hour point rather than wait till you feel you need it because then it's too late.

Miss Pootle

Totally goes against all the advice I have been given for weight loss, but for a long ride (100 miles) recently I had water to drink (I just can't eat gels or energy drinks) and ate:

- one Nutri-Grain Elevenses bar at 15 miles
- handful of cashew nuts at 33 miles
- cheese roll, another handful of cashew nuts, half a Science in Sport Go bar (the other half fell on the ground and I had to bin it), a handful of jelly babies at 50 miles
-another handful of cashew nuts and a Nutri-Grain Elevenses bar at 75 miles
- jelly babies out of the back of my jersey throughout the later half of the ride.

I must have had about 100g of cashews and 100g of jelly babies in total. I am sure that this is a terrible way to fuel a ride, but I think there are some good things about it (not having too much pure sugar until the later half of the ride to avoid a dip, some protein etc.). The main thing for me was to eat food I could stomach (and I didn't stop for long, so everything tasted like dust) and not allow the dreaded bonk to set in. The only thing I wouldn't recommend was the cheese roll, it was a bit dry even with spread, maybe better with pickle! I saw lots of people eating malt loaf but a bit dry for me.

Miss Pootle

Another tip I would say is to start eating before you think you might need to - as others have said, knowing when you have to eat comes down to experience, as you might start to feel wobbly before you feel hungry. Nothing wrong with elevenses, pub lunch, afternoon tea etc. either if you have the opportunity!

Miss Pootle

Another thing I forgot to mention. Your body needs water to be able to absorb sugar, so you need to make sure that any sugar you eat is balanced by adequate fluid intake.

Warwickshire Whizzer

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

Its good that you know that you run out of energy at 40 miles, this means you need to take food on before that, maybe 30 mile mark. Everyone is different and it can take a while to learn when your body needs little nibbles or something more substantial. On longer rides (50+) I eat little bits every half hour or so after the first hour.

Anyway there are loads of bars/gels etc and a lot are down to personal taste. I like Honey stingers and, as recommended by a forumer caramel wafers from lidl which seem much more nourishing.

These and a banana seem to do me for 50-60 mile rides

For longer I swear by having at least two of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UiuqIWGe_s

home made rice cakes, not only a savoury change but also really nutritious.

Drinkwise I've just started using these

http://www.highfiveonline.co.uk/zero-xt ... i5394.html

simply because you carry 4 tabs easier than a few sachets of powder.

But best of all if you are doing a 100miler.....the pub lunch wins.

+1

Knowing what you're body limits are a big plus as we're all different. Like you, After 40 miles I start to get weak, so I have a gel at 30 if I'm going over 40. I know there are cheaper,easier easier ways of getting energy in (banans, fig rolls, malt loaf etc..) but it works for me.

I also swear by the high 5 zero tabs to keep hydrated. Good stuff.

rob777

Thank you all for the very useful advice.

Best,
Rob

freehub

1 bottle of orange juice and a mars bar.

Thelittlesthobo

Did a 50miles ride on a banana and one 500ml bottle including a Nuun tablet yesterday. Think this was fine for me tbh.

Having ridden mtb rides of 6hrs plus i am used to fuelling my body and in the past have shunned the expensive gels etc in favour of basic flap jack and nut/dried fruit combos.

The one thing i did find usefull was jelly babies. These seem to give quite a steady sugar supply rather than the bonking type rush you get with other sweets. They are also very easy to eat on the go and easy to digest.

Nice snack before you set of of nuts/flapjack based food. Put a bag of jelly babies in your back pocket and dip in every 10mins or so for a constant supply. Top it up with a non carb based energy drink and a banana and you should be good for more than 50mls without weighing yourself down

nferrar

50 miles you can usually just get away with energy drink and a backup bar/gel in case you start feeling ropey IME. For 100 miles though you want to start off eating/drinking after 30 minutes max and keep taking it steadily on-board, if you leave it too late you'll be in trouble. I'd want at least 2 x 750ml bottles of energy drink and 3 or 4 bars/gel for a 100...

dboden

A handful of cooked new potatoes in your back pocket... just pop one in now and again... suprisingly tasty when on a ride, go down well, and instant carbs.