Food + Drink ideas for a moderate ride

Squinchy

Hi,

Im very new to this forum so please excuse my ignorance. Ive been using my Cube Ltd Ed Comp Pro 2010 for a fair few months now doing fairly easy 16-20 mile rides at a very small increase in elevation a couple of times a week on the road.

Recently I have been venturing out of the comfort zone and pushing for futher distances at higher elevations and finding it a lot harder. I have a 45 mile planned next week which has an elevation increase of up to 1100 ft over the course of the 45 miles and would really appreciate some dietary advice on what food and drink to eat before/during and after my ride?

I have done the course about a year ago without any thought, took a banana and a drink bottle of squash and went for it, and found the 4 hour ride to be very hard work.

njee20

A couple of bananas and a couple of bottles of squash?

Squinchy

Am i thinking too much into this then :P

njee20

Well you can over analyse if you want - you can take on up to 65g of carbs per hour etc etc, but I'd not worry too much. I'd take a couple of bottles of drink for a 4 hour ride, and may stop somewhere for a bit of cake midway round. If you stay hydrated you'll be alright, maybe some Jelly Babies or something easy to eat.

Squinchy

Cool thanks for advice! Il let you know how it goes!

andhr

There's some train of thought that suggests having plenty complex carbs (potatoes/pasta/rice) before the ride - usually the night before - which by the time you wake up are ready to be burnt off. I've noticed a little difference by doing that, but it can easily get complicated.

Top that up with 0.5-1.0 litre squash, or better still some isotonic hydration drinks an hour before you start (pay the necessary toilet visit) and then keep yourself hydrated and you should be fine. Any squash you have needs to have the relevant electrolytes in it, which is why something like Lucozade Sport/Powerade/etc are somewhat better, as they maintain the bodies electrolyte and fluid levels.

Take a look at this for more info.

And I like the suggestion of cake on the way around... a lot.

Squinchy

Cool thanks dude, that sounds easy enough to achieve. Can I ask what the cake is for? is that for the sugar aspect or cos cake is what everyone needs :P

YeehaaMcgee

Cake is just food, and really good (as in tasty) food.
Don't overthink things, and bear in mind that a 30 mile ride in coed y Brenin (for example) will have roughly 6 times as much altitude gain as the ride you're planning.

Generally, people need far less food than they think they do.

Squinchy

Thanks for the advice!

Bigchris

njee20 wrote:

A couple of bananas and a couple of bottles of squash?

Interestingly I recently found out bananas contain a chemical which is a muscle relaxant, so is actually excellent for a post workout option.

floosy

I usually ahve wholemeal bread Jam sandwiches and some malt loaf... and Jelly babies as a back up...

I usually have an isotonic energy drink in my camelbak.

Hope that helps

Dave

benpinnick

A nice chablis wouldnt go a miss on a long ride.

paulmgreen

A nice big bowl of porridge beforehand is a good idea!