Best nutrition for long rides

markhewitt1978

Since I posted in the training forum I just got insults. Perhaps the beginners forum will be better?

I often go for 50-60 mile rides on a Sunday morning getting up and going straight out.

Eating what is quick mostly e.g. breakfast cereal, cheese toastie

I end up feeling quite tired after 20ish miles but after 30 minutes or so I feel better and can complete the ride without issue.

Any tips on a better breakfast and food during the ride.

Yes I know fitter people can do 60 miles without anything in particular but I'm not that fit.

stueys

Porridge, banana. Essentially mid to low Gi food so you get a consistent feed of juice.

Then start eating after the first hour at regular intervals. It's very hard comparing how far people go without eating. 50 miles at a nice, low effort level is a world of difference from 50 miles at a tempo pace with some climbs.

Wirral_paul

Probably of greater importance is what you eat the evening before. If you're trying to fuel yourself for a 60 mile ride straight after getting up and having breakfast then you've left it too late. Breakfast is just a top-up. Plenty of carbs - pasta etc (as part of a nomal meal) always works for me.

LeicesterLad

markhewitt1978

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Probably of greater importance is what you eat the evening before. If you're trying to fuel yourself for a 60 mile ride straight after getting up and having breakfast then you've left it too late. Breakfast is just a top-up. Plenty of carbs - pasta etc (as part of a nomal meal) always works for me.

You mean curry and rice is no good?

Calpol

LeicesterLad wrote:

+10

Wirral_paul

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Probably of greater importance is what you eat the evening before. If you're trying to fuel yourself for a 60 mile ride straight after getting up and having breakfast then you've left it too late. Breakfast is just a top-up. Plenty of carbs - pasta etc (as part of a nomal meal) always works for me.

You mean curry and rice is no good?

Rice = carbs so thats a bonus. I guess it depends on the curry then.

Mmmmm fig rolls - excellent choice sir!! 8)

freezing77

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Probably of greater importance is what you eat the evening before. If you're trying to fuel yourself for a 60 mile ride straight after getting up and having breakfast then you've left it too late. Breakfast is just a top-up. Plenty of carbs - pasta etc (as part of a nomal meal) always works for me.

You mean curry and rice is no good?

Uncooked white rice is 80 grams of carbs per 100 gram sample... so 80% carbs.

Bozman

It's whatever works for you, oats don't agree with me so of all the things to have I eat a poached egg and bean sandwich for breakfast, depending on distance I'll use flapjack as fuel on a ride over 40 miles.
As mentioned, the day before seems to be more important, stay well hydrated and have a good evening meal.

Mikey41

Not sure I would have the cheese.

If I'm going for a long ride (60 miles + now), I'll have a decent meal with pasta/rice the night before, drink plenty of fluids during that day, then a bowl of cereal in the morning with a couple of slices of toast and a coffee. Wait a couple of hours before setting off. I'll take a couple of flapjack bars and a couple of gels with me.

Eat something about every hour, but the most important thing is to keep drinking and know where you can refill your bottles if need be. When it's hot it is even more important. I'm a bugger for not drinking enough and I suffer for it at the end. I'll learn one of these days.

cattytown

Bozman wrote:

It's whatever works for you, oats don't agree with me so of all the things to have I eat a poached egg and bean sandwich for breakfast, depending on distance I'll use flapjack as fuel on a ride over 40 miles.

Er, I thought flapjacks were oats bound together with syrup...

alihisgreat

For the Sunday club run I tend to get up at 7.15 and get on the bike at 8.00 - so similar to you in that Its very get up and go.

So I only have a small breakfast - eg. small bowl of cereal + banana or cereal bar just before I leave - otherwise I end up feeling sluggish for half the ride. If you look at what the Professionals are doing, its a big meal 3 hours before the ride, then topping up in-between the meal and the start line. You're not going to feel great having a big breakfast unless you've got time to let it settle.

If you're going down the small-ish breakfast route you need plenty of energy on the bike, and its a good idea to have a balance of energy that your body can access more immediately, and energy that's slower to release.

So 80 miles 4 hours fast club run I'll take ->

2x SIS energy gels (or 1x Gel + 1x Frusli bar)
2x SIS Energy drink 750ml
1x Banana (or 1x Frusli bar - Bananas are tastier though!)

Which puts me at ~30g carb per hour give or take.

I find that Energy gels work well for me since they don't sit heavily in your stomach, they give a pretty instant boost, and they're compact and easy to carry.

doug5_10

LeicesterLad wrote:

Top tip for fig rolls, have a swig from your bidon first before munching away. Its like trying to do a Jacobs cracker challenge otherwise!

Bozman

cattytown wrote:

Bozman wrote:

It's whatever works for you, oats don't agree with me so of all the things to have I eat a poached egg and bean sandwich for breakfast, depending on distance I'll use flapjack as fuel on a ride over 40 miles.

Er, I thought flapjacks were oats bound together with syrup...

I know they are, flapjack and oat biscuits are fine but for some reason porridge plays hell with my stomach.

zardoz

Bozman wrote:

cattytown wrote:

Bozman wrote:

It's whatever works for you, oats don't agree with me so of all the things to have I eat a poached egg and bean sandwich for breakfast, depending on distance I'll use flapjack as fuel on a ride over 40 miles.

Er, I thought flapjacks were oats bound together with syrup...

I know they are, flapjack and oat biscuits are fine but for some reason porridge plays hell with my stomach.

Do you make your porridge with Milk or water? If its milk, then you may find it's the milk upsetting your stomach.

markhewitt1978

Some good advice . I might be having too much for breakfast then. Perhaps I'll stick with cereal and a slice of toast and take a bit of flapjack with me along the way.

Bozman

zardoz wrote:

Bozman wrote:

cattytown wrote:

Bozman wrote:

It's whatever works for you, oats don't agree with me so of all the things to have I eat a poached egg and bean sandwich for breakfast, depending on distance I'll use flapjack as fuel on a ride over 40 miles.

Er, I thought flapjacks were oats bound together with syrup...

I know they are, flapjack and oat biscuits are fine but for some reason porridge plays hell with my stomach.

Do you make your porridge with Milk or water? If its milk, then you may find it's the milk upsetting your stomach.

Slightly off subject for the op, but yes I do use milk, I have milk with other cereal and I'll drink a small glass after a ride with no issue, put milk and oats together and within an hour my stomach is bloated and uncomfortable. I wouldn't use water for all the tea in China so I work around it.

Phil_D

I once read on here there was a well established formula for working out what you need on a ride. It was something along the lines of 500ml of water per hour plus a certain amount of calories and carbs per kg of body weight per hour and then after the ride a certain amount of protein per kg of body weight within 30 minutes of the finish.

It's not much help without the certain amounts being defined, but maybe somebody knows?

markhewitt1978

Well I did read the High5 nutrition thing and it reckoned I should take 3x energy gels before setting out then 3 per hour. I think I'd be bouncing if I did that!

shamrock134

Pasta the night before, porridge for breakfast, Sainsburys brand fig rolls (12-pack for 50p) during. Maybe an energy powder in my water bottle.

Mikey41

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Well I did read the High5 nutrition thing and it reckoned I should take 3x energy gels before setting out then 3 per hour. I think I'd be bouncing if I did that!

Yeah, if you're pushing it really hard or racing then I'm sure that's fine, but us mere mortals aren't going to need quite that much. My theory is to have a flapjack bar after an hour, then a gel after another hour, then flapjack again etc..

Which works great until I forget that I really need to keep up the food, and I bring half the stuff back with me

markhewitt1978

I'm not sure the fig rolls thing would work for me. They'd all be eaten before I manage to get out on my ride!

charlie_potatoes

Medjool Dates work well for me. Packed with sugar and really easy to eat on the move.
I carry a few gels with caffiene in case I am struggling later in the ride.

Pasta the night before and Porridge/Honey in the morning.

markhewitt1978

Well taken some of the advice here. Before my 68 mile ride yesterday I had a bowl of pasta on Saturday night. Then for breakfast had some porridge with golden syrup and a couple of slices of toast.

The ride went much better this time, stopped at about 25 miles at the feed station and had some flapjack and a banana and I didn't get my usual drop off after the first hour, I started to get slightly out of breath, which is the usual sign that fatigue is on it's way, but it didn't happen thankfully.

I started seriously tiring at about 60 miles so the last miles to the finish were tough, but that's down to my endurance fitness not nutrition!

drlodge

Small porridge for breakfast (one of the sachets + milk that needs 2 mins in the microwave), and the some homemade flapjack to take with me, and High5 Isotonic drink. Oh, and may be some jelly babies.

Wirral_paul

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I started seriously tiring at about 60 miles so the last miles to the finish were tough, but that's down to my endurance fitness not nutrition!

Well done mate - keep it up and you'll soon be building those miles up and heading for your first 100 miler.
Once you figure out what works for you as your basic pre-ride diet, then building those miles just becomes about riding the miles and topping up your energy through the ride - be that bananas, fig rolls, dates, flapjack, beans on toast, energy gels / bars / drinks etc.

Pross

3 Weetabix in the morning for me. I often won't eat then on the ride if less than about 50 miles (but do carry some gels) unless I'm riding hard. A couple of gels does me for up to around 80 miles but I prefer a banana or bar. Everyone differs and individuals differ on each ride. I'm not a good example of how to do things as I eat and drink very little which is usually fine but then I have rides where I really struggle as I've left it too late to eat. Don't eat lots of food before riding though as your body uses energy up digesting it, also avoid too much sugar as it can result in insulin levels rising to control blood sugar levels and subsequently your blood sugar levels dropping too low.

EDIT by 'sugar' I mean glucose before someone rightly picks me up!

folsom1

I'm not up to the regular massive mileage of some of the members here, but for my 10 mile commute and 40 mile weekend rides, masses of porridge and bananas seem to work. Tend to get ridiculously hungry by lunchtime, but that's probably because I get up dead early..

markhewitt1978

drlodge wrote:

Small porridge for breakfast (one of the sachets + milk that needs 2 mins in the microwave), .

Yeah those are the ones I had, with a bit of golden syrup, a very pleasant breakfast!

Thinking about getting a 100 miler in before the end of the year.

keef66

I did an 80 mile sportive on Sunday. Pile of pasta on Saturday night, big bowl of porridge in the morning, packet of fig rolls in one pocket and packet of jelly babies in the other, plus about 6 chunks of flapjack at the 30 mile feed stop. I reckon I ingested more calories than I expended because I finished pretty strongly, then rode 6 miles home and took the dog for her afternoon 3.5 mile walk. I was expecting to have the munchies the following day, but felt perfectly normal.

marcusjb

Charlie Potatoes wrote:

Medjool Dates work well for me. Packed with sugar and really easy to eat on the move.
I carry a few gels with caffiene in case I am struggling later in the ride.

Pasta the night before and Porridge/Honey in the morning.

Dates are a great food on the go - as you say, lots of sugar in there. Good unprocessed sugar that is pretty easy for the body to digest. Decent bit of fibre as well that helps make you feel like you've eaten something and wards off further hunger.

Taste lovely as well!