healthy food whilst cycling?

woozor

Soo guys im in a bit of a dilema on the food situation when cycling. I eat a hell of ALOT being a gym fanatic and being 14 stone ripped Im constantly thinking about food. Im also a health freak and dont eat any sugary products which has caused me a problem when I was reading up on what cyclists eat on there 60-100 mile rides.

I don't ride my bike to lose weight, just to boost my cardio in an enjoyable way and the sense of achievement for riding such distances.

Any suggestions on food to bring out for those long rides?

merak

Energy bars, cereal bars, bananas, energy drink, raisins and other dried fruit, carrot cake. The aim of eating on rides is to provide calories, and the way to do that is with a mixture of quick and slow release carbs. All of these are perfectly healthy and the sort of food appropriate to cardio work. A little protein is ok, maybe even beneficial, but high fat or high protein food is harder to digest and doesn't provide easily available calories. I don't see the dilemma.

Mad Roadie

figs and dates - I love them. good energy release, chewy, and dry not stick to rummage for in your back pocket - also an incentive to get home faster before any after effects kick in

SBezza

If you don't want overly sugary bars, tried Nakd bars, 100% fruit and nut with no sugars added, good ratio of carbs and protein.

Carbs DO NOT have to be sugar, or refined sugar, though whilst riding these are the easily absorbed by the body which is always a massive help.

You don't need much on a 60 mile ride, but if you are doing higher mileages near the 100 mile mark, think about eating regularly from about 30 mins in.

simon_e

What people eat and drink during a long ride varies with personal preference and the level of intake people feel they require. Some will go for hours on a bottle of water and a flapjack, others carry gels, bottles of energy drink and a couple of energy bars to keep them going.

+1 for Nakd bars, the apple ones are quite dry and not really sweet. 9bar are yummy too. Tropical wholefoods and Torq bars are pressed fruit with oats but do have a small amount of sugar. You might like to look at Bikefood's raw bars. Or try a banana, some raisins, dates, malt loaf, cake bars or whatever you like that sits well in your stomach.

Other ideas - DIY flapjacks, recipes from a forum regular at http://jibbering.com/sports/ and Nutrition articles: http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/

sumosprintstar

Soreen

Paul057

I take Soreen, flapjacks and energy gels as a backup. I also bought a big bag of Maltodextrin from MyProtein that i put in a couple of water bottles with a little splash of cordial.

There's a recipe for some home made energy bars in Septembers Cycling Plus that i keep meaning to try, i can post it if anyone is interested; it's a lot cheaper than energy gels.