felt like i got my nutrition right for my ride today!!

ianbar

i have tended to go out with plenty of liquid with that zero stuff in it, but maybe from been a runner have never really got into eating. i have been making some banana flapjack the thing which i today eat as i set off and i also too a gel with me. admitidly i was out for less than hour and half but about 40 mins in i had my gel and could sooo feel the benefit! i finished really strong and powered up some short bumps where at end of a ride i may normally struggle. feels like been a bit of a breakthrough today so my box full of gels etc i got off groupon are now going to be used a lot!

ShutUpLegs

SAve the expense and buy a loaf of soreen for short rides

Dancing Bear

Zero is great - I dont take any foods for a ride under 90 minutes - and avoid gels unless you know you are heading toward a flat spot output-wise

Dancing Bear

I also find dates, figs and dried apricots very good.

nferrar

Using gels on a 90 minute training ride is a bit OTT. Just use an energy drink instead of the Zero or as above take a bit of normal food, you shouldn't need it on a 90 minute ride though really if you've eaten properly beforehand.

amaferanga

For a ride of an hour and a half you definitely shouldn't need to eat anything unless you didn't eat for a long time before the ride. Energy drinks would also be a bit unnecessary.

Placebo effect I think.

ddraver

Hang on guys, let's not totally pan him.

You got it right in terms of not running out of energy. However, you may have eaten more caloires than is needed.

cje

amaferanga wrote:

For a ride of an hour and a half you definitely shouldn't need to eat anything unless you didn't eat for a long time before the ride. Energy drinks would also be a bit unnecessary.

Placebo effect I think.

How much should you eat, if anything at all, on a three hour ride?

hulla the hulla

Seeing as we are asking, do people find the need to eat before cycling to work ? I need to leave home at 6.30ish to get to work in time to shower and change so I am at my desk by 8 ish - ride is 18 miles so about 1 and a bit hrs but I really don't fancy eating before I leave. I usually feel better / faster on the way home and that could be because I've eaten during the day - what do others do ?

team47b

amaferanga wrote:

For a ride of an hour and a half you definitely shouldn't need to eat anything unless you didn't eat for a long time before the ride. Energy drinks would also be a bit unnecessary.

Placebo effect I think.

It takes about 90 minutes to use up your entire store of glycogen at about 17mph, if there is a head wind or hills or you put a decent amount of effort into the ride you can deplete glycogen in about 20 minutes. So there is a need for carbs to be replaced to avoid the bonk.

Yesterday on a 80k ride I stopped midway to eat an indian meal, rode after eating for one hour then bonked, used my glucose meter and the reading was 64mg\dl (70mg\dl is a bonk\hypo) it was 180 when I set off, so in one hour it is possible to use up all the carbs in an entire meal*.

*Conclusive proof of the need to eat the right amount whilst exercising, done with a scientific test group of one, so must be true there!

nferrar

Depends a bit on the effort and how well fuelled you are before the ride but generally you should have 90 minutes or so glycogen stored in your liver/blood/muscles and then need to be taking on about 60-90g carbs per hour, you want to start eating well before 90 minutes though on a 3 hour ride

cje

nferrar wrote:

Depends a bit on the effort and how well fuelled you are before the ride but generally you should have 90 minutes or so glycogen stored in your liver/blood/muscles and then need to be taking on about 60-90g carbs per hour, you want to start eating well before 90 minutes though on a 3 hour ride

Thanks.

I normally have a banana at the halfway point. I might try eating after 1hr and 2hr and see if that helps. I've never bonked, but I'm terrified of doing so.

simon_e

Water should be adequate for a 90min ride.

hulla the hulla wrote:

Seeing as we are asking, do people find the need to eat before cycling to work ?

No.

viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12839014
viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12838140

hulla the hulla

Simon E wrote:

Water should be adequate for a 90min ride.

hulla the hulla wrote:

Seeing as we are asking, do people find the need to eat before cycling to work ?

No.

viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12839014
viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12838140

short and to the point but thanks for the info / links

amaferanga

team47b wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

For a ride of an hour and a half you definitely shouldn't need to eat anything unless you didn't eat for a long time before the ride. Energy drinks would also be a bit unnecessary.

Placebo effect I think.

It takes about 90 minutes to use up your entire store of glycogen at about 17mph, if there is a head wind or hills or you put a decent amount of effort into the ride you can deplete glycogen in about 20 minutes. So there is a need for carbs to be replaced to avoid the bonk.

Yesterday on a 80k ride I stopped midway to eat an indian meal, rode after eating for one hour then bonked, used my glucose meter and the reading was 64mg\dl (70mg\dl is a bonk\hypo) it was 180 when I set off, so in one hour it is possible to use up all the carbs in an entire meal*.

*Conclusive proof of the need to eat the right amount whilst exercising, done with a scientific test group of one, so must be true there!

AIUI the body can store about 2000 kcal worth of glycogen. Not many cyclists will deplete that in 90 mins as that equates to riding at an average power of ~350 Watts. Riding at 17mph on flat or undulating roads would be more like 200-250W. And it's actually easier to keep power up on the flat anyway since there's less coasting.

No way would you bonk after 20 minutes of riding and no way did you bonk 1 hour after having a big meal.

sheffsimon

hulla the hulla wrote:

Seeing as we are asking, do people find the need to eat before cycling to work ? I need to leave home at 6.30ish to get to work in time to shower and change so I am at my desk by 8 ish - ride is 18 miles so about 1 and a bit hrs but I really don't fancy eating before I leave. I usually feel better / faster on the way home and that could be because I've eaten during the day - what do others do ?

Cant leave the house without breakfast, mainly cos I am starving in the morning, secondly my kids are having their breakfast same time.

Never bother with gels or energy drinks, just expensive and revolting. Just water/ribena in my bottle, and if I am out for a long ride, say more than 3 hours, always stop at a caff for tea and cakes (always in fact arrange my route so that I arrive at a caff at the appropriate time)

rake

amaferanga wrote:

team47b wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

For a ride of an hour and a half you definitely shouldn't need to eat anything unless you didn't eat for a long time before the ride. Energy drinks would also be a bit unnecessary.

Placebo effect I think.

It takes about 90 minutes to use up your entire store of glycogen at about 17mph, if there is a head wind or hills or you put a decent amount of effort into the ride you can deplete glycogen in about 20 minutes. So there is a need for carbs to be replaced to avoid the bonk.

Yesterday on a 80k ride I stopped midway to eat an indian meal, rode after eating for one hour then bonked, used my glucose meter and the reading was 64mg\dl (70mg\dl is a bonk\hypo) it was 180 when I set off, so in one hour it is possible to use up all the carbs in an entire meal*.

*Conclusive proof of the need to eat the right amount whilst exercising, done with a scientific test group of one, so must be true there!

AIUI the body can store about 2000 kcal worth of glycogen. Not many cyclists will deplete that in 90 mins as that equates to riding at an average power of ~350 Watts. Riding at 17mph on flat or undulating roads would be more like 200-250W. And it's actually easier to keep power up on the flat anyway since there's less coasting.

No way would you bonk after 20 minutes of riding and no way did you bonk 1 hour after having a big meal.

seems to be a bit of confusion, feeling a bit fatigued or tired isnt a bonk. i had to get off my bike and lay down for a few minutes or id have fainted or fallen off. 5 minutes later i felt like i could have done another 85 miles. i done 85 and only had an energy drink at about 20, had no money left the rest was on water which ran out 2/3 way back. the only time i felt like that. averaged 17.9 on the computer.

ShutUpLegs

rake wrote:

seems to be a bit of confusion, feeling a bit fatigued or tired isnt a bonk. i had to get off my bike and lay down for a few minutes or id have fainted or fallen off. 5 minutes later i felt like i could have done another 85 miles. i done 85 and only had an energy drink at about 20, had no money left the rest was on water which ran out 2/3 way back. the only time i felt like that. averaged 17.9 on the computer.

What the hell are you on about

rake

bonking, or very low blood sugar.

Alibran

SheffSimon wrote:

Cant leave the house without breakfast, mainly cos I am starving in the morning, secondly my kids are having their breakfast same time.

I tried my commute without breakfast a couple of times, but I just felt so tired and sluggish for the whole ride that I got no pleasure out of it, and found it was better to get up 15 minutes earlier and give myself time to eat. That's quite strange because my commute was only 10 miles, and I have no trouble running 5 or 6 miles before breakfast. I wonder if the extra time I took to eat breakfast just gave me a chance to wake up properly.

ianbar

maybe it was a placebo effect but i don't tend to eat much during the week before i go out. i work nights so i have been getting up at say 2 and going straight out. i had my little flapjack as i set off but that was it oner the last 8 hours. i don't normally respond to placebo but it was an enjoyable ride too plus was a few little roads i have not been down before so maybe the fun of new tarmac pushing me on.

mattshrops

from what i've read your body has about 2 hrs glycogen stores(providing youve been eating well/correctly/healthily)

if youre riding over 2 hours you need to start to replenish those after about 1 hr(its not instant)

its also worth thinking about your next session as your recovery can start with what you are eating and drinking during this ride(depending if youre training again the next day, and how far etc.)


Having said all that if youre fairly new to cycling you may need food on a shorter ride. i remember needing food just to do20+ miles. As you get stronger it becomes less of an issue especially on shorter rides.